2012年考研英語特訓：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

　　專業化是隨著科學知識不斷增長和積累形成的。把學科內容細分成更小的單位，科學家就能不斷地掌握信息，并以此為基礎進行進一步研究。但是，專業化只是一系列與影響交流過程相關的科學發展結果之一。另一個結果便是科研活動的職業化。

　　在科學上專業人員與業余科研人員之間并沒有明確的分界線：任何規則總存在例外。然而，“業余”這個詞的確有這樣一個含義，即相關人員接受長期而復雜的專業訓練，這給從事科研的業余人員帶來了更大的問題。這種趨勢在那些特別依賴數學或實驗室的學科領域中，自然十分明顯。我們可以用英國的地質學發展過程的例子來認識這種趨勢。

　　比較過去一個半世紀英國地質學刊物可以看出，地質學界不僅越來越強調科研的至高無上，而且對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，局部地質學研究本身就是有價值的科學研究;但到了20世紀，只有當這種局部研究涉及并思考了更大范圍的地質學問題時，這種局部性的地質學研究才能為專業人員所接受。另一方面，業余科研人員繼續以舊有方式從事局部性研究，其總體結果是，業余人員的論文更難進入專業地質學學刊，而學刊審計制度的廣泛引入使論文發表難度進一步加大。這一審計制度是在19世紀由全國學刊首先采用的，到了20世紀又被幾家地方地質學刊采用。這導致一個自然的結果是，不同的學刊面向不同的主體讀者群，要么是專業人員，要么是業余人員。地質科研人員中也發生了相似的分化現象，這使得全國專業地質人員逐漸形成了一兩個特定的科研協會，而業余科研人員往往要么呆在地方協會中，要么組成一個不同的全國性協會。

　　雖然職業化、專業化在19世紀的英國地質界進行得相當深入，然而其全部效應直至20世紀才體現出來。但是，就總體的科學研究而言，19世紀應被視為科研結構發生變化的關鍵時期。

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