I was ten years old in 1966, when the original Star Trek television series first ran. This was the time of the moon race, when everyone predicted that we were at the start of a new space age. My family lived in Florida and an uncle worked at Cape Canaveral, so, of course, I dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut. Almost none of those dreams—personal or societal — have come true. After all, I’m not writing this from my office on the moon.
1966年，《星際迷航》原版電視連續(xù)劇第一次播出時我只有10歲。那是太空競賽的時代，在這個時代每個人都預(yù)言我們處于新太空時代的開端。我們一家人居住在弗羅里達(dá)州，我的叔叔在卡納維拉角工作。因此，我的理想自然是成為一名宇航員?？上В瑹o論是個人理想還是社會理想幾乎都沒有實現(xiàn)。畢竟，我此刻不是在月球上的辦公室寫這篇文章。

Unlike the current, brain-dead, shoot-em-up movies, the original Star Trek series was deeply philosophical. It pictured alternative societies—both utopias and dystopias. But, the thing that really attracted me as a teenager was the Star Fleet Academy—a university for future Star Fleet officers. Maybe, it would be up and running by the time I turned 18.
跟如今那些無腦的槍戰(zhàn)片不同，《星際迷航》電視連續(xù)劇具有深刻的哲理。這部電視劇交替描述了烏托邦和反烏托邦兩個社會。然而，真正吸引年少的我的是一所培養(yǎng)未來星際軍艦軍官的星際艦隊學(xué)院。或許，在我十八歲的時候，它就會成為現(xiàn)實了。

As I got older, I became more interested in the Vulcan Science Academy—a research institution located on the planet Vulcan. Graduates of the VSA could solve any technical or scientific problem within the hour-long TV episode.
隨著年齡的增長，我對瓦肯星的研究機(jī)構(gòu)——瓦肯科學(xué)院越來越感興趣。瓦肯科學(xué)院的畢業(yè)生都很優(yōu)秀，他們可以在一集一小時長的電視劇里解決任何技術(shù)或科學(xué)問題。

I had no luck getting into either Star Fleet or the VSA, but I’ve recently had the pleasure of visiting a number of impressive research academies in China. These are specialized research centers, funded by both the central government and provincial governments. They are mostly separate from universities—although they do have doctoral students. In the US most of this type of research is done at universities, so we don’t have such organizations that are designed to provide research on social and economic issues directly to government officials at all levels.
很不幸，我沒有進(jìn)入星際艦隊和瓦肯科學(xué)院，但最近我有幸參觀了中國的一些研究機(jī)構(gòu)，它們給我留下了深刻的印象。這些都是中央政府和省級政府共同資助的專業(yè)研究中心。盡管有許多博士在這里做研究，但大部分研究中心獨立于大學(xué)。在美國，這種研究大部分在大學(xué)進(jìn)行，因此我們并沒有這種專門為各級政府官員研究社會和經(jīng)濟(jì)問題的機(jī)構(gòu)。

For example, the Hunan Academy of Social Sciences, in Changsha, is doing interesting economic analysis designed to inform both the Hunan government and the central government about the possible consequences of the trade war.
例如，長沙的湖南社會科學(xué)院正在進(jìn)行一項有趣的經(jīng)濟(jì)分析，該分析旨在向湖南省政府和中央政府報告貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)帶來的潛在影響。

I also got a chance to visit the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Institute, which has greatly improved the yield of rice, feeding hundreds of millions around the world. In Hebei province, the Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences is making similar improvements in the yield of millet. Both organizations are working to make those advances available to farmers in Africa. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that five research organizations in China are key components of its South-South Cooperation program.
我還有幸參觀了湖南雜交水稻研究所，該研究所大幅提高了水稻的產(chǎn)量，給全世界數(shù)億人口提供了糧食。河北省張家口農(nóng)業(yè)科學(xué)院也在谷子產(chǎn)量方面取得了巨大的提升。兩個機(jī)構(gòu)都致力于讓這些研究進(jìn)展造福非洲的農(nóng)民。聯(lián)合國糧農(nóng)組織表示，五個中國研究機(jī)構(gòu)是南南合作計劃的關(guān)鍵組成部分。

The Chinese Academy of Sciences includes 104 research institutes with leading researchers in all sciences. I had the opportunity to visit the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, which is advancing the new science of using ancient DNA to explore human history.
中國科學(xué)院有104個研究機(jī)構(gòu)，擁有科學(xué)界的頂尖研究人員。我也有幸參觀了古脊椎動物和古人類研究所，其研究成果推動了利用古人類DNA探索人類歷史的新科學(xué)。

China is now working to upgrade its manufacturing, to produce more high value-added products, and to become a leader in technological innovation.
中國正致力于升級制造業(yè)，生產(chǎn)更多高附加值產(chǎn)品，并最終成為技術(shù)創(chuàng)新的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。

In a 2017 speech to the CAS, Premier Li Keqiang said: “Manufacturing is the key to the nation's economic development, and the economic restructuring requires making the sector stronger. But the sector is still on the low to medium tier compared with other leading countries, thus it is vital to improve the quality and upgrade to increase competitiveness.
2017年，李克強(qiáng)總理在中科院的演講中表示，“制造業(yè)是國家經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的核心，經(jīng)濟(jì)重建要求制造業(yè)更加強(qiáng)大。但是，與發(fā)達(dá)國家相比，我們的制造業(yè)依舊處于中低端水平。因此，提升產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量，提高競爭力至關(guān)重要?！?/p>

The upgrade depends on innovations, and manufacturers should make technological breakthroughs by focusing on quality and branding and using top manufacturing countries as benchmarks.”
產(chǎn)業(yè)升級依靠創(chuàng)新，制造商應(yīng)該聚焦于質(zhì)量和品牌，以制造大國為基準(zhǔn)，實現(xiàn)技術(shù)突破。

Private companies are essential to this effort. For example, Alibaba, iFlytek, and others are pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence and Huawei is one of the world’s leading innovators in 5G.
私營企業(yè)也發(fā)揮著重要作用。例如，阿里巴巴，科大訊飛及其他企業(yè)正在拓展人工智能發(fā)展的無限可能，同時華為成為了5G領(lǐng)域的全球領(lǐng)先創(chuàng)新者之一。

But, fundamental scientific research is also key to the transformation of the economy. These research academies, which are present in every large city in the country, are working with industry to push the technology out of the laboratory and into the economy. I’m still hoping that warp drive is on the agenda.
然而，基礎(chǔ)科學(xué)研究也是經(jīng)濟(jì)轉(zhuǎn)型的重要影響因素。這些研究機(jī)構(gòu)分布在中國各大城市，它們和企業(yè)聯(lián)手推動了技術(shù)從實驗室到經(jīng)濟(jì)的轉(zhuǎn)型。我希望，超光速旅行的理想能早日實現(xiàn)。

翻譯：薛蕾（實習(xí)）
編審：董靜 丹妮
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About author and broadcaster

David Blair writes for the international weekly editions of China Daily.