2011年考研英語(yǔ)特訓(xùn)：看閱讀背單詞(7)

　　Specialization can be seen as a responseto the problem of an increasing accumulationof scientific knowledge. By splittingup the subject matter into smaller units, one man could continue to handle the information and use it as the basis for further research. But specialization was only one of a series of related developments in science affecting the process of communication. Another was the growing professionalization of scientific activity.

　　No clear-cut distinctioncan be drawn between professionals and amateursin science: exception can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word “amateur” does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integratedinto the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialization in the nineteenth century, with itsconsequent requirementof a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participationin science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical or laboratory training, and can be illustratedin terms of the development of geology in the United Kingdom.

　　A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half reveals not simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a changing definition of what constitutes an acceptable research paper. Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geological studies represented worthwhile research in their own right; but, in the twentieth century, local studies have increasingly become acceptable to professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the wider geological picture. Amateurs, on the other hand, have continued to pursue local studies in the old way. The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of refereeing, first by national journals in the nineteenth century and then by several local geological journals in the twentieth century. As a logical consequence of this development, separate journals have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur readership. A rather similar process of differentiation has led to professional geologists coming together nationally within one or two specific societies, whereas the amateurs have tended either to remain in local societies or to come together nationally in a different way.

　　Although the process of professionalization and specialization was already well under way in British geology during the nineteenth century, its full consequences were thus delayed until the twentieth century. In science generally, however, the nineteenth century must be reckoned as the crucial period for this change in the structure of science.

　　譯文

　　專業(yè)化是隨著科學(xué)知識(shí)不斷增長(zhǎng)和積累形成的。把學(xué)科內(nèi)容細(xì)分成更小的單位，科學(xué)家就能不斷地掌握信息，并以此為基礎(chǔ)進(jìn)行進(jìn)一步研究。但是，專業(yè)化只是一系列與影響交流過程相關(guān)的科學(xué)發(fā)展結(jié)果之一。另一個(gè)結(jié)果便是科研活動(dòng)的職業(yè)化。

　　在科學(xué)上專業(yè)人員與業(yè)余科研人員之間并沒有明確的分界線：任何規(guī)則總存在例外。然而，“業(yè)余”這個(gè)詞的確有這樣一個(gè)含義，即相關(guān)人員接受長(zhǎng)期而復(fù)雜的專業(yè)訓(xùn)練，這給從事科研的業(yè)余人員帶來了更大的問題。這種趨勢(shì)在那些特別依賴數(shù)學(xué)或?qū)嶒?yàn)室的學(xué)科領(lǐng)域中，自然十分明顯。我們可以用英國(guó)的地質(zhì)學(xué)發(fā)展過程的例子來認(rèn)識(shí)這種趨勢(shì)。

　　比較過去一個(gè)半世紀(jì)英國(guó)地質(zhì)學(xué)刊物可以看出，地質(zhì)學(xué)界不僅越來越強(qiáng)調(diào)科研的至高無上，而且對(duì)什么是可接受的科研論文的界定也不斷地變化。因此，19世紀(jì)，局部地質(zhì)學(xué)研究本身就是有價(jià)值的科學(xué)研究;但到了20世紀(jì)，只有當(dāng)這種局部研究涉及并思考了更大范圍的地質(zhì)學(xué)問題時(shí)，這種局部性的地質(zhì)學(xué)研究才能為專業(yè)人員所接受。另一方面，業(yè)余科研人員繼續(xù)以舊有方式從事局部性研究，其總體結(jié)果是，業(yè)余人員的論文更難進(jìn)入專業(yè)地質(zhì)學(xué)學(xué)刊，而學(xué)刊審計(jì)制度的廣泛引入使論文發(fā)表難度進(jìn)一步加大。這一審計(jì)制度是在19世紀(jì)由全國(guó)學(xué)刊首先采用的，到了20世紀(jì)又被幾家地方地質(zhì)學(xué)刊采用。這導(dǎo)致一個(gè)自然的結(jié)果是，不同的學(xué)刊面向不同的主體讀者群，要么是專業(yè)人員，要么是業(yè)余人員。地質(zhì)科研人員中也發(fā)生了相似的分化現(xiàn)象，這使得全國(guó)專業(yè)地質(zhì)人員逐漸形成了一兩個(gè)特定的科研協(xié)會(huì)，而業(yè)余科研人員往往要么呆在地方協(xié)會(huì)中，要么組成一個(gè)不同的全國(guó)性協(xié)會(huì)。

　　雖然職業(yè)化、專業(yè)化在19世紀(jì)的英國(guó)地質(zhì)界進(jìn)行得相當(dāng)深入，然而其全部效應(yīng)直至20世紀(jì)才體現(xiàn)出來。但是，就總體的科學(xué)研究而言，19世紀(jì)應(yīng)被視為科研結(jié)構(gòu)發(fā)生變化的關(guān)鍵時(shí)期。