不确定时代的共鸣 | 昆杜播客

朗读者：Song Gao

钢琴演奏：Song Gao

撰文：Song Gao

Song Gao 博士是昆山杜克大学的环境化学教授，加州大学出版社《环境案例分析—可持续发展》的主编。

Gao 教授在这里分享在新冠疫情期间，来自于科学与音乐的内心共鸣。背景音乐取自他在昆山杜克大学学术楼内钢琴上的演奏录音。

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Resonance in a Time of Uncertainty

不确定时代的共鸣

In 1859, the British writer, Charles Dickens, famously started his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in the darkness and light during the French Revolution, this way:

1859年，英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯以法国大革命时期的黑暗与光明为背景的著名小说《双城记》，是这样开端的:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”

“这是最好的时代，这是最坏的时代；这是智慧的时代，这是愚蠢的时代；这是信仰的时期，这是怀疑的时期；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；这是希望之春，这是失望之冬；人们面前有着各样事物，人们面前一无所有……”

161 years later, it is starting to feel some spring of hope after a long winter of despair, in humanity’s hard and seemingly unending fight with the COVID-19 pandemic. Wait, can we really hear and move towards hope in all this difficulty and uncertainty? I’d like to think so, echoing Prof. O’Brien in his recent podcast.

161年过去，在经历了漫长的绝望之冬后，在人类与新型冠状病毒的艰苦且看似无休止的斗争中，人们开始感受到某种希望之春。等等，在所有这些困难和不确定性中，我们真的能听到并走向希望吗？与 O’ Brien 教授最近的播客相呼应，我想是的。

I’d also like to share my thought that in this challenging time, many unfamiliar situations resonate with the past, or even the familiar, albeit in somewhat novel ways. And let that “resonance” be of comfort and guidance to us, like “hope”, on the way forward.

我也想分享我的所思所想，在这个充满挑战的时代，许多不熟悉的情况与过去产生了共鸣，甚至与熟悉的情况产生了共鸣，尽管方式有些新颖。我们应该让这种“共鸣”成为前进道路上的安慰和指引，就像“希望”一样。

Charles Dickens’ famous lines provide an example of such resonance in historical periods that humans have had to endure and go through. Two other cases of resonance also come to mind.

查尔斯狄更斯的名言提供了这样一个例子:在人类不得不忍受和经历的历史时期，这种“共鸣”是存在的。另外两个“共鸣”的例子也浮现在我的脑海中。

First, social distancing, a measure that has brought much of the world to a standstill to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It is not something we feel familiar or comfortable with. Yet, it is by no means a new concept. I came to realize this during my ongoing teaching of a chemistry class at DKU.

首先是“社交距离”，这一措施已经使世界大部分地区陷入停顿以遏制新冠病毒的蔓延。这不是让我们感到熟悉或舒服的东西。然而，这绝不是一个新的概念。我在昆山杜克大学进行的化学教学中意识到了这一点。

Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (or: VSEPR) theory, is based on the simple idea that electron groups repel one another through coulombic forces to reach a relatively stable energy state. The preferred geometry of a molecule is the one in which the electron groups have the maximum separation possible. When I discussed this “electron distancing”, for the benefit of molecular stability, and its resonance with “social distancing”, for the benefit of societal stability, it was a moment of reflection and enlightenment for my students and myself.

价层电子对互斥理论是基于一个简单的概念，即电子基团通过库仑力相互排斥以达到一个相对稳定的能量状态。分子的首选几何结构是电子基团尽可能最大限度地分离的结构。讨论这个为了分子稳定性的利益产生的“电子距离”与为了社会稳定性的利益产生的“社交距离”的共鸣，这也是我和学生反思和启示的时刻。

Second, the music in the backdrop of this podcast is a prelude in C-major by one of the greatest composers of all time – Johann Sebastian Bach. To me, this little gem piece depicts the calm and delightful in the beginning, only to be eroded with bits of shadows and uncertainty momentarily, eventually relaxing back to the bright and hopeful, all in stepwise fashions without a forecast or preparation.

其次，这期播客的背景音乐是史上最伟大的作曲家之一约翰·塞巴斯蒂安·巴赫的C大调前奏曲。在我看来，这颗小小的宝石在一开始描绘的是一种平静和愉悦，但很快就被一些阴影和不确定的东西所侵蚀，最终又回到了光明和充满希望的状态，这一切都是在没有任何预测和准备的情况下逐步进行的。

Doesn’t it resonate with how COVID-19 has struck us ever so unknowingly but profoundly. Yet, life shall go on, when all is over and the new normalcy returns. The one thing that does change – as revealed by the ending of this music – it is a new world that we will face and embrace, having struggled, felt the pain, relied on science, reason and cooperation, and hopefully learned a thing or two as an individual, as a society, and as a civilization. In that process, let “resonance” help us connect, hope, act and move forward.

它是否与新冠肺炎如何在不知不觉中深刻地打击我们也有共鸣？然而，当一切都结束，新的常态回归时，生活还会继续。有一件事确实改变了——正如这首音乐的结尾所揭示的那样——这是一个我们将面对和拥抱的新世界，在挣扎、感受痛苦、依赖科学、理性和合作的基础上，我们还希望作为一个人、一个社会和一个文明学会一两件事。在这个过程中，让“共鸣”帮助我们连接，希望，行动和前进。

Word box

1．Resonance: 共振，共鸣，反响，在文章和乐曲中指激发联想的力量；引起共鸣的力量；引起的联想（或共鸣）

2．Epoch: 新纪元，新时代，时间上的一点，这里可以和 age，times 等统一理解为“时代”。

3．Erode: 腐蚀，侵蚀，也有减弱和使减少的意思，例如 erode morale 就有减弱士气的意思。

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昆杜播客（DKU Podcast）旨在用诗意的方式传递生活中点滴的美好。欢迎喜爱生活的你带着诗意的心加入我们。用中文、英文或其他任何一种语言，朗读那些打动了你的文字，与我们分享它如何抚动你的心扉。

来稿请将自我介绍、音频与文本投送至dkusocial@dukekunshan.edu.cn。

DKU Podcast aims to convey the beauty of life in a poetic way. Everyone who loves life is welcome to join us to read the wordsin any language that move you the most, and share with us how it touches your heart.

Send your self-introduction, audio,and message on email todkusocial@dukekunshan.edu.cn.We look forward to your participation.

音频制作：陈孛

文案 翻译：李蔚然

编辑：陆文蝶

出品：昆山杜克大学学生媒体中心

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一封邮件，让深处漩涡的我重拾希望 | 昆杜播客

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