王虹和邓煜：两个北大老同学，第一次为中国拿下菲尔兹奖

他们都非常会数学。

Both are very good at math.

今天，世界上很多人，都在说他们两个。

Today, many people around the world are talking about the two of them.

为什么呢？

Why?

我们慢慢说。

Let's take it slowly.

很小的时候，他们就很喜欢数学。

When they were young, they already loved math.

别的孩子在外面玩，他们两个，喜欢一个人想数学。

While other kids played outside, these two liked to sit alone and think about math.

邓煜从小就特别会数学。

Deng Yu was especially good at math from a young age.

有一年，很多国家的孩子一起比数学，看谁做得最好。

One year, kids from many countries competed in math to see who was best.

那一次，邓煜做得最好。

That time, Deng Yu did the best.

后来，他去了北京一个很有名的大学。

Later, he went to a famous university in Beijing.

王虹，也很喜欢数学。

Wang Hong also loved math.

可是一开始，她没能进大学的数学班。

But at first, she couldn't get into the university's math class.

她学的是别的。

She studied something else.

但是她心里，一直想学数学。

But in her heart, she always wanted to study math.

她自己在家，一直学，一直想。

On her own at home, she kept studying, kept thinking.

后来，她真的学了数学，和邓煜做了同学。

Later, she really did study math, and became Deng Yu's classmate.

在同一个大学里，两个同学一起学数学，学了很多年。

At the same university, the two classmates studied math together for many years.

再后来，他们两个都去了美国，学更难的数学。

Later still, they both went to America to study even harder math.

数学里，有一些非常难的问题。

In math, there are some very hard problems.

有的问题，很多人想了一百年，都想不出来。

Some problems, many people thought about for a hundred years and couldn't work out.

王虹和邓煜，一人想出来了一个。

Wang Hong and Deng Yu each worked one out.

王虹想出来的那个问题，很多人想了一百多年。

The problem Wang Hong solved, people had puzzled over for more than a hundred years.

邓煜想出来的，也非常难。

What Deng Yu solved was also very hard.

两个中国同学，都做到了很多人做不到的事。

The two Chinese classmates each did what many people couldn't.

所以，今天，一个很大的奖，给了他们——菲尔兹奖。

So today, a very big prize was given to them — the Fields Medal.

菲尔兹奖，是什么？

What is the Fields Medal?

数学里，有一个最大最大的奖，就叫菲尔兹奖。

In math, there is one biggest prize of all, and it's called the Fields Medal.

很多人叫它“数学里的诺贝尔奖”。

Many people call it "the Nobel Prize of math."

这个奖，四年，才给一次。

This prize is given only once every four years.

一次，也只给很少的几个人。

And each time, only to a very few people.

而且，只给还很年轻的人。

What's more, only to people who are still young.

所以，能有这个奖的人，非常非常少。

So very, very few people ever get this prize.

最让中国人高兴的是：

What makes Chinese people happiest is this:

王虹和邓煜，是头两个有这个奖的中国人。

Wang Hong and Deng Yu are the first two Chinese to win it.

很多很多年来，中国人都没有过。

For many, many years, no Chinese person ever had.

今天，两个老同学，一起做到了。

Today, two old classmates did it together.

还有一件事，也很好。

There's one more thing that's also wonderful.

王虹是个女的。

Wang Hong is a woman.

在这个奖里，女的非常非常少。

Among winners of this prize, women are very, very few.

王虹，是很多年来的第三个。

Wang Hong is only the third in many years.

一个中国女的，这么会数学，很多人都很高兴。

A Chinese woman this good at math — many people are very happy.

你想一想：

Think about it:

你小的时候，有没有一件很喜欢、一直想做好的事？

When you were young, was there something you loved and always wanted to do well?