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In 1907, or so it has sometimes been written, Albert Einstein saw a workman fall off a roof and began to think about gravity.
1907年，反正有時候書上是這么寫的，有個工人從房頂上掉了下來，愛因斯坦就開始考慮引力的問題。
Alas, like many good stories this one appears to be apocryphal.
天哪，像許多動人的故事一樣，這個故事的真實性似乎存在問題。
According to Einstein himself, he was simply sitting in a chair when the problem of gravity occurred to him.
據愛因斯坦自己說，他想到引力問題的時候，當時只是坐在椅子上。
Actually, what occurred to Einstein was something more like the beginning of a solution to the problem of gravity,
實際上，愛因斯坦想到的更像是開始為引力問題找個答案。
since it had been evident to him from the outset that one thing missing from the special theory was gravity.
他從一開頭就清楚地認識到，狹義相對論里缺少一樣東西，那就是引力。
What was "special" about the special theory was that it dealt with things moving in an essentially unimpeded state.
狹義相對論之所以“狹義”，是因為它研究的完全是在無障礙的狀態下運動的東西。
But what happened when a thing in motion—light, above all—encountered an obstacle such as gravity?
但是，要是一個運動中的東西——尤其是光——遇到了比如引力這樣的障礙會怎么樣？
It was a question that would occupy his thoughts for most of the next decade
在此后10年的大部分時間里，他一直在思索這個問題，
and lead to the publication in early 1917 of a paper entitled "Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of Relativity."
最后于1917年初發表了題為《關于廣義相對論的宇宙學思考》的論文。
The special theory of relativity of 1905 was a profound and important piece of work, of course,
當然，1905年的狹義相對論是一項深刻而又重要的成就。
but as C. P. Snow once observed, if Einstein hadn't thought of it when he did someone else would have, probably within five years;
但是，正如C.P.斯諾有一次指出的，要是愛因斯坦沒有想到，別人也會想到，很可能在5年之內。
it was an idea waiting to happen.
這是一件在等著要發生的事。
But the general theory was something else altogether.
但是，那個廣義相對論完全是另一回事。
"Without it," wrote Snow in 1979, "it is likely that we should still be waiting for the theory today."
“沒有它，”斯諾在1979年寫道，“我們今天有可能還在等待那個理論。”
