教育部考试中心模拟试题汇编：2010年考研英语翻译（8）

Relativity theory has had a profound influence on our picture of matter by forcing us to modify our concept of a particle in an essential way. （47）In classical physics, the mass of an object had always been associated with an indestructible material substance, with some "stuff" of which all things were thought to be made. Relativity theory showed that mass has nothing to do with any substance, but is a form energy. Energy, however, is a dynamic quantity associated with activity, or with processes.（48）The fact that the mass of a particle is equivalent to a certain of energy means that the particle can no longer be seen as a static object, but has to be conceived as a dynamic pattern, a process involving the energy which manifest itself as the particle's mass.

（49）This new view of particles was initiated by Dirac when he formulated a relativistic equation describing the behavior of electrons. Dirac's theory was not only extremely successful in accounting for the fine details of atomic structure, but also revealed a fundamental symmetry between matter and anti-matter. It predicted the existence of an anti-matter with the same mass as the electron but with an opposite charge. This positively charged particle, now called the positron, was indeed discovered two years after Dirac had predicted it. The symmetry between matter and anti-matter implies that for every particle there exists an antiparticles with equal mass and opposite charge. Pairs of particles and antiparticles can be created if enough energy is available and can be made to turn into pure energy in the reverse process of destruction.（50）These processes of particle creation and destruction had been predicted from Dirac's theory before they were actually discovered in nature, and since then they have been observed millions of times.

The creation of material particles from pure energy is certainly the most spectacular effect of relativity theory, and it can only be understood in terms of the view of particles outlined above.（51）Before relativistic particle physics, the constituents of matter had always been considered as being either elementary units which were indestructible and unchangeable, or as composite objects which could be broken up into their constituent parts; and the basic question was whether one could divide matter again and again, or whether one would finally arrive at some smallest indivisible units.

继续学习更多：第二页：答案与试题精解  |  第三页：全文翻译 

推荐阅读：

教育部考试中心模拟题汇编（全） 

“教育部考试中心模拟试题汇编：2010年考研英语翻译（8）”更多相关文章 

2010年考研报名正式启动，网报细节需注意！

2010年考研报名步骤详解（截图）

2010年考研报名必读：各省市官方网报公告一览

欢迎参加沪江网校2010考研英语强化班>>

2010年研究生招生考试网上报名Q&A

沪江考研阅读提示：双击或划选单词，查看详细解释，并可收录进生词本以供记忆学习 

更多提高请点击查看【2010研英强化班】（现在报名送大纲）