居里夫人的精彩人生

居里夫人（1867-1934）出身于波兰一个教师家庭，尽管天资聪颖，但由于受到华沙大学只收男生的限制而被迫到秘密组织的地方学习。当她有机会到外国深造的时候，又因为贫穷而不得不推迟计划。功夫不负有心人，这位伟大的女科学家以自己的勤奋和天赋，在物理和化学领域都作出了杰出的贡献，并成为唯一一位在两个不同学科领域、两次获得诺贝尔奖的科学家。

今年是居里夫人诞辰146周年，就让我们一起来回顾这位伟大科学家的光辉人生！

Marie Curie grew up in Warsaw， Poland where she was born on November 7th， 1867. Her birth name was Maria Sklodowska， but her family called her Manya. Her parents were both teachers. Her dad taught math and physics[物理学] and her mom was headmistress[女校长] at a girls school. Marie was the youngest of five children.

Growing up the child of two teachers， Marie was taught to read and write early. She was a very bright child and did well in school. She had a sharp memory and worked hard on her studies.

Tough Times in Poland

As Marie grew older， her family came upon tough times. Poland was under the control of Russia at the time. People were not even allowed to read or write anything in the Polish language. Her father lost his job because he was in favor of Polish rule. Then， when Marie was ten， her oldest sister Zofia became sick and died from the disease typhus[斑疹伤寒症]. Two years later， her mother died from tuberculosis[肺结核]. This was a difficult time for the young Marie.

A top student in her secondary school， Marie could not attend the men-only University of Warsaw. She instead continued her education in Warsaws “floating university，” a set of underground， informal classes held in secret. Both Marie and her sister Bronya dreamed of going abroad to earn an official degree， but they didnt have the money to pay for more schooling. Undeterred[未被吓住的]， Marie worked out a deal with her sister. She would work to support Bronya while she was in school， and Bronya would return the favor after she completed her studies.

School in France

For about five years， Marie worked as a governess[女家庭教师]. She used her spare time to study， reading about physics， chemistry and math. In 1891， she finally made her way to Paris where she enrolled[注册] at the Sorbonne in Paris. In order to fit in， she changed her name from Maria to Marie. She threw herself into her studies， but this dedication[奉献] had a personal cost. With little money， Marie survived on buttered bread and tea， and her health sometimes suffered because of her poor diet.

Marie completed her masters degree[硕士学位] in physic in 1893 and earned another degree in mathematics the following year. Around this time， she received a commission[委托] to do a study on different types of steel and their magnetic properties[磁性]. Marie needed a lab to work in， and a colleague[同僚] introduced her to French physicist Pierre Curie. A romance developed between the brilliant pair. They married a year later and soon had their first child， a daughter named Irène.

Scientific Discoveries

Marie became fascinated by rays that had been recently discovered by scientists Wilhelm Roentgen and Henri Becquere. Roentgen discovered X-rays and Becquerel had found rays given off by an element called uranium[铀]. Marie began to do experiments.

One day Marie was examining a material called pitchblende[沥青油矿]. She expected there to be some rays given off by the uranium in pitchblende， but she found many more rays than expected. She soon realized that there must be a new， undiscovered element in pitchblende.

New Elements

Marie and her husband spent many hours in the science lab investigating pitchblende and the new element. They eventually figured out that there were two new elements in pitchblende. They had discovered two new elements for the periodic table[（元素）周期表]！

Marie named one of the elements polonium[钋] after her homeland Poland. She named the other radium[镭]， because it gave off such strong rays. The Curies came up with the term “radioactivity[放射性，放射现象]” to describe elements that emitted[发出] strong rays.

Nobel Prizes

In 1903， the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Marie and Pierre Curie as well as Henri Becquerel for their work in radiation. Marie Curie became the first woman to be awarded the prize.

In 1911， Marie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the two elements， polonium and radium. She was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. Marie became very famous， and scientists came from around the world to study radioactivity with her. Soon doctors found that radiology[放射学] could help with curing cancer.

World War I

When World War I started， Marie learned that doctors could use X-rays to help determine what was wrong with an injured soldier. However， there werent enough X-ray machines for every hospital to have one. She came up with the idea that the X-ray machines could move from hospital to hospital in a truck. Marie even helped to train people to run the machines. The trucks became known as “little Curies” and are thought to have helped over one million soldiers during the war.

Final Days

Marie died on July 4th， 1934. She died from over exposure[过度曝露于……中] to radiation， both from her experiments and from her work with X-ray machines.

Marie Curie made many breakthroughs[突破] in her lifetime. She is the most famous female scientist of all time， and has received numerous[无数的] honors. In 1995， her and her husbands remains were interred[埋葬] in the Panthéon in Paris. Marie Curie became the first and only woman to be laid to rest there.

玛丽·居里于1867年11月7日出生于波兰的华沙，并在那里成长。她出生时的名字是玛丽亚·斯克沃多夫斯卡，但家里人都叫她马妮亚。她的父母都是教师，父亲教数学和物理，母亲则是一间女子学校的校长。玛丽是五个孩子中最小的一个。

由于双亲都是教师，玛丽很早就接受读写教育。她很聪明，在校成绩不错，并有着惊人的记忆力，学习也很用功。

波兰的艰苦岁月

随着玛丽慢慢长大，一家人的日子变得不那么好过了。当时的波兰被俄国统治，人们不得以波兰语进行阅读或书写。她的父亲因为拥护波兰而丢掉了工作。玛丽10岁的时候，年纪最大的姐姐索菲娅染上了斑疹伤寒症，最终死去。两年后，她的母亲也死于肺结核。这对于年轻的玛丽来说是一段艰苦的日子。

尽管在中学是优等生，玛丽不能入读只招收男生的华沙大学。于是她在华沙的“流动大学”继续深造。这种“大学”是秘密举办的地下非正规课程。玛丽和姐姐布罗尼娅都梦想到外国获得正规的学位，但她们没有钱付学费了。毫不畏惧的玛丽和姐姐达成了一个协议——玛丽先去工作，赚钱供布罗尼娅读书，布罗尼娅完成学业后则以同样的方式回报玛丽。

留学法国

玛丽当了差不多五年的家庭教师。她利用空余时间学习，阅读物理、化学和数学方面的资料。1891年，她终于来到巴黎，入读巴黎的索邦大学。为了更好地融入当地环境，她把自己的名字“玛丽亚”改成“玛丽”。她全身心地投入到学习当中，然而她本人也为此付出了代价。捉襟见肘的她只能靠奶油面包和茶度日，这种不良的饮食有时候会影响她的健康。

1893年，玛丽完成了物理学的硕士学位，并在第二年获得了数学学位。大约在这个时候，她接受了一项委托，研究各种钢铁及其磁性。玛丽需要一间实验室工作，一位同僚把她介绍给法国物理学家皮埃尔·居里。两位才华横溢的人发展出一段恋情。他们在一年后结婚，不久后有了第一个女儿，取名伊雷娜。

科学发现

玛丽对科学家威廉·伦琴和亨利·贝可勒尔新近发现的射线非常感兴趣。伦琴发现了X射线，贝可勒尔则发现了由铀元素放出的各种射线。玛丽开始进行各种实验。

一天，玛丽在检查一种叫沥青铀矿的物质。她本以为沥青铀矿里的铀会释放出几种射线，但她发现了其他东西。她随即意识到沥青铀矿中一定有一种未被发现的新元素。

新元素

玛丽和丈夫在实验室里花费了大量时间研究沥青铀矿和这种新元素。他们最终发现沥青铀矿里有两种新元素——他们为元素周期表找到了两个新元素呢！

为了纪念自己的祖国波兰，玛丽把其中一种元素命名为“钋”。她给另一种元素取名为“镭”，因为它会放出强烈的射线。居里夫妇还发明了“放射能”一词，用以形容放出强烈射线的元素。

诺贝尔奖

1903年，玛丽和皮埃尔·居里及亨利·贝可勒尔因为对放射性现象的研究而被授予诺贝尔物理奖。玛丽·居里成为了获得这个奖项的第一位女性。

1911年，玛丽因为发现了两种新元素——钋和镭而获得诺贝尔化学奖。她是第一个获得两项诺贝尔奖的人。玛丽成了大名人，世界各地的科学家都来和她研究放射现象。医生很快就发现放射学可以用于癌症治疗。

第一次世界大战

一战爆发时，玛丽得知医生可以借助X射线确定受伤士兵的伤处。然而不是每一间医院都有X光机。她想到一个方法，就是把机器放在卡车上，方便在各间医院运送。玛丽甚至亲自给人们培训，教他们使用机器。这些卡车被称为“小居里”，据说战时的受惠士兵超过一百万人。

最后的日子

玛丽于1934年7月4日去世。她的去世是过度暴露在放射性物质之下的结果，因为她要做实验和经常接触X光机。

玛丽·居里在世时实现了众多突破。她是有史以来最有名的女科学家，一生获奖无数。1995年，她和丈夫的遗体被安葬在巴黎的先贤祠。玛丽·居里是安葬在那里的第一位——也是唯一一位女性。

你知道吗？

1906年4月，玛丽的丈夫皮埃尔在一场马车车祸中丧生。

丈夫死后，玛丽当上了索邦大学的物理学教授。她是出任该职位的第一位女性。

玛丽后来和阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦成了莫逆之交。

她的长女伊雷娜和长女婿于1935年共同获得了诺贝尔化学奖。

居里夫人还有一个小女儿，名叫艾芙（Eve），她为母亲写过一部传记。

位于巴黎的居里学院（The Curie Institute）由居里夫人在1921年创立，现在依然是癌症研究的重要机构。