放大圖片
■史密斯(大圖左)和施密特(小圖)「捨身成仁」,研究昆蟲螫咬造成的痛楚,勇奪搞笑生理學獎。 網上圖片
下文節錄自香港《文匯報》報道:「本年度搞笑諾貝爾獎名單9月17日出爐。佐治亞理工學院團隊憑提出『排尿定律』奪得搞笑物理學獎,他們的研究發現哺乳類動物不論大小,只要是3公斤以上,排尿時間均為約21秒。
生理學獎則由康奈爾大學畢業生史密斯和亞利桑那大學研究員、昆蟲學家施密特共得,兩人均研究昆蟲螫咬造成的痛楚。史密斯捨身讓蜜蜂叮身體25處不同部位,每日被叮5次,持續38天,共被叮約200次,發現被叮後最痛的部位為鼻孔、上唇和陰莖,痛楚最輕微部位則是頭頂、中指和上臂。
施密特則讓150種不同物種螫咬自己逾千次,制定由1到4(最痛)的痛感表,蜂叮痛感僅為2級,反而被子彈蟻咬最痛,形容痛楚有如3吋長釘子插進腳Z,再走在燒紅的炭上。」各位會如何把這段文字翻譯成英文?
「本年度搞笑諾貝爾獎名單9月17日出爐。佐治亞理工學院團隊憑提出『排尿定律』奪得搞笑物理學獎,他們的研究發現哺乳類動物不論大小,只要是3公斤以上,排尿時間均為約21秒」:「諾貝爾獎」是Nobel Prize,而「搞笑諾貝爾獎」是Ig Nobel Prize,Ig Nobel即是ignoble,意思是不光彩的,是對「諾貝爾獎」的謔稱;「物理學」是physics;「哺乳類動物」是mammals;「排尿」是urinate,名詞是urination。
「生理學獎則由康奈爾大學畢業生史密斯和亞利桑那大學研究員、昆蟲學家施密特共得,兩人均研究昆蟲螫咬造成的痛楚。史密斯捨身讓蜜蜂叮身體25處不同部位,每日被叮5次,持續38天,共被叮約200次,發現被叮後最痛的部位為鼻孔、上唇和陰莖,痛楚最輕微部位則是頭頂、中指和上臂」:「生理學」是physiology;「螫咬」可用sting或bite表達;「痛楚」可用pain;「鼻孔」是nostrils;「上唇」是upper lip;「陰莖」是penis;「頭頂」是skull;「中指」是middle finger;「上臂」是upper arm。
「施密特則讓150種不同物種螫咬自己逾千次,制定由1到4(最痛)的痛感表,蜂叮痛感僅為2級,反而被子彈蟻咬最痛,形容痛楚有如3吋長釘子插進腳Z,再走過燒紅的炭上」:「物種」可用species表達;「子彈蟻」是bullet ant;「燒紅」可以flaming表示;「炭」是charcoal。
Ig Nobel Prize: sacrifice body for science
因此全段可英譯如下:The Ig Nobel Prizes of this year were awarded on September 17. The Prize for physics was given to the research team of Georgia Institute of Technology with their discovery of the "law of urination." They found that all mammals weighing over three kilograms, regardless of body size, would take about 21 seconds to empty their bladders.
Michael Smith, a graduate of Cornell University, and the entomologist Dr. Justin Schmidt, a researcher from the University of Arizona, were jointly awarded the Prize for physiology with their research on the level of pain when stung by various insects. Smith let bees sting him five times a day on 25 different parts of his body. The experiment lasted 38 days, with a total of around 200 stings received. The most painful parts turned out to be the nostrils, the upper lip and the penis; the least the skull, the middle finger and the upper arm.
Schmidt had 150 species bite him a thousand times, then created the Schmidt "sting pain index" which ranges from one to four (the most painful). Bee stings only rank a two, while that of a bullet ant get a four, comparable to walking over flaming charcoals with a three-inch nail in one's heel.
Q&A
1. 獎項除了prize,也可用a____表示?
2. 搞笑諾貝爾獎的頒獎地點是?
3. 真正的諾貝爾獎有哪5個獎勵領域?
Answer
1. Award,亦可解作動詞「頒授」
2. Harvard University
3. Chemistry, literature, peace, physics, physiology or medicine
隔星期三見報
|