Passage 13
学霸导读 霍金虽已仙逝，他的学术成就和幽默感却永远留在人们的记忆里。
There aren’t very many scientists who achieved rock star status. Stephen Hawking was def initely one of them.
Hawking was a theoretical physicist （ 理论物理学家 ） whose e 1 work on black holes transformed how scientists think about the nature of the universe. Lawrence Krauss， a theoretical physicist from Arizona State University and a friend and colleague of Hawking’s， says that at a young age， Hawking d 2 something “truly remarkable”. Krauss says before Hawking， physicists thought that the large gravity of a black hole drew everything in and nothing could escape. But by combining quantum mechanics （ 量子力学 ） and the theory of relativity （ 相对论 ）， Hawking showed something and changed everything about the way we think about gravity. Krauss says Hawking pointed out a fundamental problem in the way physicists understand our world—a problem that Krauss says has y 3 to be resolved.
But his fame wasn’t just a result of his research. Hawking， who had a rare disease that made it i 4 for him to move or speak， was also a popular public f igure （ 公众人物 ） and best-selling author. When he came to scientif ic conferences， the audience focused their attention on him. And it wasn’t just the scientists but the general public as well who showed great respect for him. His popular book about his work， A Brief History of Time， was a best-seller （ 畅销书 ）. But he a 5 that that book was probably the least-read， most-bought book ever. This showed Hawking’s sense of humor.
That sense of humor, a 6 with his fame, allowed Hawking to appear on The Simpsons several times as well as on a number of other popular shows.
Toward the end of his life， Hawking’s disease left him almost paralyzed （ 瘫痪的 ）. It took an enormous e 7 for Hawking to communicate， using the tiny movements he could make to control a computer. It’s tempting to say that Hawking achieved his fame in spite of his physical challenges.
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高频词汇
transform /træns'fɔːm/ v. 使彻底改观；使大变样
remarkable /rɪ'mɑːkəbl/ adj. 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的
combine /kəm'baɪn/ v. （使） 结合
fundamental /ˌfʌndə'mentl/ adj. 基础的，基本的
respect /rɪ'spekt/ n. 敬重；尊重；注重；重视
appear /ə'pɪər/ v. 出现；呈现；显现
physical /'fɪzɪkl/ adj. 身体的，肉体的