1996年考研翻译英译汉试题
The differences in relative growth of various areas of scientific research have several causes. (71)Some of these causes are completely reasonable results of social needs. Others are reasonable consequences of particular advances in science being to some extent self-accelerating. Some, however, are less reasonable processes of different growth in which preconceptions of the form scientific theory ought to take, by persons in authority, act to alter the growth pattern of different areas. This is a new problem probably not yet unavoidable; but it is a frightening trend. (72)This trend began during the Second World War, when several governments came to the conclusion that the specific demands that a government wants to make of its scientific establishment cannot generally be foreseen in detail. It can be predicted, however, that from time to time questions will arise which will require specific scientific answers. It is therefore generally valuable to treat the scientific establishment as a resource or machine to be kept in functional order. (73)This seems mostly effectively done by supporting a certain amount of research not related to immediate goals but of possible consequence in the future.
This kind of support, like all government support, requires decisions about the appropriate recipients of funds. Decisions based on utility as opposed to lack of utility are straightforward. But a decision among projects none of which has immediate utility is more difficult. The goal of the supporting agencies is the praisable one of supporting “good ” as opposed to “bad” science, but a valid determination is difficult to make. Generally, the idea of good science tends to become confused with the capacity of the field in question to generate an elegant theory. (74)However, the world is so made that elegant systems are in principle unable to deal with some of the world's more fascinating and delightful aspects. (75)New forms of thought as well as new subjects for thought must arise in the future as they have in the past, giving rise to new standards of elegance.
1996年考研翻译英译汉语参考译文（全文翻译）
科学研究各个领域相对发展各不相同有着多方面的原因。71）在这些原因中，有些完全是自然而然地来自社会需求，另一些则是由于科学在一定程度上自我加速而产生某些特定发展的必然结果。然而，有些原因却是不同发展中不太合理的过程，在这些不同的发展中，关于科学理论应该采取何种形式的先入之见，据权威人士们认为，起着改变不同领域发展模式的作用。这是一个目前可能仍然无法避免的新问题，但它是一种可怕的趋势。72）这种趋势始于第二次世界大战期间，当时一些国家的政府这样的得出结论：政府向科研机构提出的具体要求通常是无法详尽预见的。然而可以预的是，时不时会出现一些问题，这些问题需要具体的、科学的回答。因此，把科研机构看作是一种资源或者一部保持良好运行状态的机器通常是有价值的。73）给某些与当前目标无关但将来可能产生影响的科研以支持，看来通常能有效地解决这一问题。
这种支持与所有政府部门的支持一样需要决定合适的资金接受对象。以有无效果为依据做决定是简单的，而要在几个没有直接效果的项目中做决定就更加困难。资助机构的目标一般都无懈可击，因为它总是支持“好”的科学而不支持“坏”的科学，但要做出有效的决定却是很困难的。一般来说，好科学的概念往往与该领域提出一套完美理论的能力相混淆。
