An ignominious end 可耻的下场 Professor randall, an illustrious volcanologist, pursued his discipline with a passion that went well beyond ordinary scientific enquiry. He even had to park his car out in the street, as his garage was stacked up to the rafters with a multitude of samples of igneous rock. The professor’s theories, while highly imaginative, were by no means universally accepted. In particular, he found himself rebutted on a wide range of issues by one of his colleagues, professor martin. This, of course, was just what might be expected in the world we live in . what was not to be expected was just how much professor randall’s fury would be ignited. He was fond of calling his detractor illiterate, denouncing his scientific theories as illegitimate and illusive. Making use of a kind of poetic imagery one would not ordinarily expect from a scientist, he wrote: “those ignorant comments do nothing to illustrate, let alone illuminate, the fundamental principles at stake, they convey an image of a reality that is akin to an illusion.” Professor martin did his best to ignore this stream of invective but then , one day, he found his laboratory on fire, the flames illuminating the evening sky, his lifetime’s work had been incinerated, professor randall, the perpetrator of this ignoble act, at first pleaded ignorance, but soon confessed, confronted with the weight of the evidence. He found himself indicted for arson and attemptedd murder, his career came to an abrupt and ignominious end. When he finally killed himself he was in a state of extreme distress. His suicide note was all but illegible. This sad tale is by no means an imaginary example, it is a fitting illustration of the principle that it can be dangerous to allow fame to go to one’s head. 兰德尔教授是著名的火山学家，他从事这门学科的热情远远超过普通的科学调查。他甚至不得不把车停在大街上，因为他的车库里堆满了各种各样的火成岩的标本，一直堆到房椽上。 教授的理论虽然颇具想像力，但根本没达到被普遍接受的程度。特别是他发现同事马丁教授在很多问题上反驳他。当然，这是我们在自己生存的世界里意料之中的事情。意想不到的是兰德尔教授的怒火被点燃的程度。他喜欢把他的恶意批评者称作文盲，公然抨击他的科学理论是非法的，迷惑人的。他用人们一般认为科学家不会使用的如诗般形象的语言写道：“那些无知的评论无法说明，更不用说阐明所争论的基本原则。它们传达的是真实情况的映象，类似于幻觉。” 马丁教授尽量不理会这一连串的恶语谩骂，但是，有一天，他发现自己的实验室着火了，火焰照亮了夜空。他一生的工作成果都被烧成了灰烬。这起卑鄙事件的作恶者兰德尔教授起初借口说不知道，但很快就迫于证据的压力承认了。 他被指控犯有纵火罪和谋杀未遂。他的事业突然间落了个可耻的下场。他最后自杀的时候，已经处于极度痛苦的状态。他自杀前留的字条几乎无法辨认。 这个悲惨的故事决不是一个虚构的例子。它是一个合适的例证来证明这个道理：如果允许让名誉占据一个人的头脑，那是很危险的。 igneous adj. (地)火的,火成的(火山喷出的) ignite v.点燃,使燃着来源：考试大 ignoble adj.卑鄙的,下流的 ignominious adj.可耻的,不名誉的 ignorance n.无知,不了解 ignore vt.忽视,不顾,不理会 illegible adj.难以辨认的.(字迹)模糊的 illegitimate adj.非法的,私生的 illiterate adj.文盲的,缺乏教育的 illuminate v.照明,照亮, 说明,阐明 illusion n.幻觉,错觉来源:百考试题网 illusive adj.迷惑人的,错觉的 illustrate vt.说明,阐明 illustration n.例证,插图 illustrious adj,辉煌的,著名的 image n.图像,肖像,形象来源：www.examda.com imagery n.肖像,形象,形象化的比喻 imaginary adj.想像中的,虚构的 imaginative adj.富于想像力的. 更多信息请访问：百考试题外语站点 百考试题外语论坛