雙語暢銷書《艾倫圖靈傳》第2章:下一個星期(32)

In the summer term of 1929 they were doing only the dull revision work for the Higher School Certificate, but even this was coloured by romance since 'As always it was my great ambition to do as well as Chris. I was always as well supplied with ideas as he, but have not the same thoroughness in carrying them out.' Alan had never before taken any notice of naggings to take care over details and style, since he had worked for himself, by himself. But now perhaps he recognised that what was good enough for Christopher Morcom was good enough for him, and that he should train himself to communicate in the way that the system required. He had not yet acquired the necessary skill. Andrews observed that he was 'at last trying to improve his style in written work, ' but Eperson, writing that his work for the Higher Certificate showed 'distinct promise', re-emphasised the need to 'put a neat and tidy solution on paper.' The examiner for the mathematics of the Higher Certificate24 commented that:

1929年夏季學期，他們爲了高等認證考試，進行着枯燥的複習，但即使是複習，也被浪漫渲染得色彩斑斕，因爲“我總想和克里斯做得一樣好，我也一樣充滿想法，只是沒有一樣能夠徹底實施。”艾倫自打開始學習，從來都不注意任何細節和風格問題，但他現在覺得，克里斯朵夫能做好的，他也要做得一樣好。他必須要訓練自己，用體制認可的方式去溝通，他缺少這方面的技能。安德魯發現，艾倫終於試着改善他的書寫風格了，但愛普森卻認爲，他的高等認證考試的試卷，仍然表明他急須改善卷面的整潔性。高等認證考試的數學科工作人員評論：

A.M. Turing showed an unusual aptitude for noticing the less obvious points to be discussed or avoided in certain questions and for discovering methods which would at once shorten or illumine the solutions. But he appeared to lack the patience necessary for careful computation of algebraic verification, and his handwriting was so bad that he lost marks frequently – sometimes because his work was definitely illegible, and sometimes because his misreading his own writing led him into mistakes. His mathematical ability was not of a standard to compensate entirely for the cumulative effects of these faults.

艾倫.馬西森.圖靈，在發現一些不明顯的線索，以及尋找快速解法等方面，表現出來一些潛質。但是，他顯然缺少代數證明所需的細心的耐心。他的書寫太差，爲此丟了很多分，因爲他的一些字完全不能辨認，有時他甚至因爲自己看錯了自己的字，而導致算錯。他很有數學才能，但這不能完全遮他的不足。

Alan obtained 1033 marks in the mathematics papers, compared with Christopher's 1436.

艾倫得的數學得了1033分，而克里斯朵夫的得了1436分。

The Morcoms were a wealthy, vigorous scientific and Artistic family, with a base in a Midlands engineering firm.

克里斯朵夫.默卡的家庭，是個富有而顯赫的科學和文藝家庭，還擁有一家本土工程公司。

They had developed a Jacobean dwelling near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire into a large country house, the Clock House, where they lived in some style. Christopher's grandfather had been an entrepreneur in stationary steam engines, and the Birmingham company of Belliss and Morcom, of which his father, Colonel Reginald Morcom, had recently become chairman, now also built steam turbines and air compressors. Christopher's mother was the daughter of Sir Joseph Swan, who starting from a very ordinary background had become in 1879 the inventor, independently of Edison, of the electric light. Colonel Morcom retained an active interest in scientific research, while Mrs Morcom matched his energy in her own pursuits. At the Clock House she ran a goat farm; she bought and renovated cottages in the neighbouring village of Catshill; she was out every day on some project or county duty. She had studied in London at the Slade School of Art, and in 1928 returned there, taking a flat and a studio near Victoria, and producing sculpture of force and style. It was typical of her flair and zest that when back at the Slade she still pretended to be 'Miss Swan', but then invited other art students back to the Clock House, involving herself in absurd disguises when she doubled as Mrs Morcom.

他們在詹姆士一世時代，住在一間靠近布羅格羅夫的房子，到後來搬到了一間郊區的大房子，起名叫“鍾屋”。克里斯朵夫的爺爺是個企業家，在伯明翰創辦了比利斯默卡公司，生產蒸汽機。他的父親瑞奇納德.默卡上校，後來成爲該公司的董事長，並開始生產蒸汽渦輪機和空氣壓縮機。克里斯朵夫的母親是約瑟夫.斯萬爵士的女兒。約瑟夫.斯萬爵士出身於一個普通家庭，1879年獨立於愛迪生而發明了電燈。默卡上校保持着對科學研究的興趣，默卡夫人則把他的幹勁用到了自己的追求中。她在鍾屋辦了一個牧羊場，買下並整修凱特西爾附近村莊的村舍，每天都很忙。她在倫敦斯萊德藝術學校讀過書，1928年回到那裏，住在維多利亞附近的公寓裏，創作雕塑。當她回到維多利亞時，她還假裝是“斯萬小姐”，後來她邀請一些藝術學生到鍾屋作客時，她的“默卡夫人”的身份，使她陷入了尷尬。