二、

I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again.

我不想再谈关于作为一位女性科学家的问题了。

There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field dominated by men.

有一段时间，人们不断地问我在男性主导的领域中工作的故事。

I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting.

我不擅长将这些故事，因为实际上我并不觉得它们有趣。

What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.

我真正感兴趣的是宇宙的起源，时空的形状和黑洞的本质。

At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom.

在19岁的时候，我开始学习天体物理学，作为班上唯一的女性，我一点也不觉得苦恼。

But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me.

但是当我在麻省理工学院攻读博士学位和之后作为博士后进行太空研究时，这一点开始让我觉得苦恼。

My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards—was viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics.So were my failures.

我的每一项成就----工作，研究论文，奖项---都被人们从性别政治的角度进行审视。我的失败也一样。

Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.

有时候，当我陷入左脑和右脑，天赋与培育的争论中时，我会立刻为我自己和所有的妇女进行激烈的抗辩。

Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don’t talk about that anymore.

然后再很多年以后的一天，我口中冒出一句最终成为我对所有挑衅的回答：“我不再讨论这个问题了”

It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues.

我花了十年的时间重获19岁时的自信，让自己认识到我不再想要处理性别的问题。

Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist?

为何性别歧视要成为每位女性科学家的另一个可怕的负担？

After all, I don’t study sociology or political theory.

毕竟，我不是社会学或政治理论的研究者。

Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City.

现在，我在Barnard---纽约的一所女子学院进行研究和授课。

Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women.

最近，有人问我班上的45个学生中有多少是女性。

You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45.

你很难想象我在回答时的满足感：45。

I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children.And I don’t dismiss those concerns.

我知道有些学生会担心如何处理科学俺就和生儿育女之间的矛盾，我不会不理会这些担心。

Still, I don’t tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments.

但是，我也不会跟她们讲述“战争”的故事，相反，我会告诉他们：他们的物理教授身怀六甲仍然坚持做物理实验的景象。

And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.

作为回报，他们给我我45个热爱科学的女性的形象。这才是值得谈论的景象。