首先问大家一个问题,还记得自己13岁的时候在干什么吗?估计大部分人都是在念初中吧。
 

而我们今天要介绍的这个主人公,今年也是13岁,即将在这个5月从明尼苏达大学毕业,拿到物理学士学位数学辅修学位

 

 

厉害了,这是什么天才少年?!

 

同时,他即将在今年秋天,以博士生的身份进入明尼苏达大学继续深造。虽然才13岁,但他对于自己未来的职业发展规划得格外清晰:

 

他计划在五到六年内拿到博士学位,成为一名高能量理论物理学家,然后未来在大学里教授物理学,让更多人感受到物理的魅力。

 

 

换句话说,他博士毕业的时候可能还不到20岁,而根据美国国家科学基金会的数据,美国获得博士学位的平均年龄是31.5岁
 

这就是传说中的“降维打击”吧,又是感觉自己来人间凑数的一天呢。

 

 

介绍一下,这位13岁的“天才少年”——Elliott Tanner。
 

Elliott, who lives in Minneapolis, started showing signs of being academically gifted from a very young age.

艾略特出生于美国明尼阿波利斯市,从很小的时候他就开始表现出在学术上的天赋。

 

He taught himself to read at age 2 or 3, and around age 5, while other kids were talking about superheroes, Elliott was voluntarily memorizing the periodic table, including the weights and atomic masses of each of the 118 elements, according to his mom, Michelle Tanner.

据艾略特的妈妈米歇尔·坦纳介绍,他在2岁、3岁时自学阅读,大约5岁,同龄孩子在谈论超级英雄时,艾略特就自己在背元素周期表,包括118种元素中每种元素的重量和原子质量。

 

 

At age 6, Elliott was classified as "profoundly gifted" on an IQ test — the highest level on the scale — said Tanner, a 45-year-old freelance photographer and social media manager.

45岁的自由摄影师兼社交媒体经理坦纳说,艾略特6岁时在智商测试中被评价为“极有天赋”——这是最高等级。

 

The family doesn't know how or why Elliott is so intelligent, but they think genetics are likely involved. 

家里人并不知道艾略特为什么这么聪明,但他们认为这可能与遗传有关。

 

 

Tanner, who has a two-year associate's degree in graphic design, believes she was gifted as well, but had undiagnosed dyslexia.

坦纳拥有两年平面设计学的副学士学位,她认为自己也很有天赋,但患有未确诊的诵读困难症。

 

Her husband, who graduated high school but never went to college, is a music savant she said, while her husband's father is a "super-smart" civil engineer who taught himself six languages.

她说,她丈夫是一名音乐制作人,高中毕业,从未上过大学,而她丈夫的父亲是一名“绝顶聪明”的土木工程师,自学了6种语言。

 

 

After one year in a local kindergarten, where Elliott was far outpacing his peers, Tanner started homeschooling her son.

在当地的幼儿园学习了一年后,艾略特远远超过了他的同龄人,坦纳开始在家教育她的儿子。

 

"We kept providing for him," she said of herself and husband Patrick, a 56-year-old music producer. "But he was flying through the curriculum and then pretty soon he outsmarted us. So we approached the local community college."

“我们一直是自己教他,”她谈到自己和丈夫帕特里克,一位56岁的音乐制作人。“但他很快就学完了课程,远远超过了我们。所以我们联系了当地的社区大学。”

 

 

Elliott started attending Normandale Community College at age 9, graduating with an associate's degree at age 11. Then, he began his studies at the University of Minnesota.

艾略特9岁开始上诺曼代尔社区学院,11岁毕业并获得副学士学位。之后,他开始在明尼苏达大学学习。

 

Elliott says his classmates were initially shocked he was in their class: "For them there was a little bit of a 'wow' period. Who is this kid?"

艾略特说,他的同学最初这位同班同学感到震惊:“对他们来说,刚开始一直好奇:这小子是谁?”

 

Ultimately though, he didn't feel out of place at all with the other physics students, a group he describes as preferring to stay in rather than going out partying every night. "For me it was just normal," he says. "Everyone was really kind to me."

但最终,他一点也不觉得和其他物理系学生格格不入,他形容这个群体更喜欢呆在家里,不会每晚都出去派对。“对我来说,这很正常,”他说。“每个人都对我很好。”

 

 

Though they are thrilled about their son's achievements, his parents have encountered one problem: paying for graduate school. As two self-employed workers, they didn't think they would have to pay for school so soon.

虽然他们对儿子的成就感到兴奋,但艾略特的父母遇到了一个问题:支付研究生院的费用。作为两名个体户,他们没想到这么快就要交学费了。

 

They also hoped Elliott would receive some kind of financial aid, as he did for his undergraduate degree.

他们也希望艾略特能获得某种形式的经济资助,就像他获得本科学位一样。

 

Tanner said she was "shocked" that the university didn't give Elliott any financial aid for the Ph.D. program, which she estimates will cost about $87,000 in total. The University of Minnesota declined to comment, citing privacy restrictions.

坦纳说,她感到“震惊”的是,该大学没有为艾略特的博士项目提供任何财政援助,她估计该项目总共将花费约87000美元。明尼苏达大学以隐私为由拒绝置评。

 

 

Since then, the family has started a GoFundMe page, and thanks to hundreds of generous donations, they recently announced that they've raised enough money to fund his first two years — and are now focusing on year three.

从那以后,这个家庭建立了一个GoFundMe页面,由于数百名热心人士的慷慨捐款,他们最近宣布已经筹集到足够的资金来资助他的头两年学习——现在开始筹备第三年。

 

"We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible outpouring of support everyone has shown for Elliott," Tanner wrote on the fundraising page. "Please know how incredibly happy and thankful we are."

坦纳在筹款页面上写道:“我们非常感谢每个人对艾略特的大力支持。”。"请知道我们是多么的快乐和感激。"

 

 

 

However, Elliott doesn't consider himself to be much different from others his age."I feel like I'm a regular 13-year-old," he says. "I just go to a different school."

然而,艾略特并不认为自己和同龄人有什么不同。“我觉得自己就是一个普通的13岁孩子,”他说。“我只是去了一所不同的学校。”

 

 

Still, balancing his studies and having fun at home can make for an interesting juxtaposition.

尽管如此,他在平衡学业和享受家庭生活方面经历了很有趣的过程。

 

For instance, one day he may be presenting his research on "Determining the Momentum Distribution of Cosmic Muons," while the next day he'll get dressed up in a homemade costume made of cardboard boxes.

例如,有一天他可能会展示他关于“确定宇宙介子的动量分布”的研究,而第二天他会穿上由纸板盒制成的自制服装。

 

 

"I can still find time to play with friends," says Elliott, whose favorite games include Dungeons & Dragons and Minecraft along with board games like Risk and Catan.

“我仍然有时间和朋友们一起玩,”艾略特说,他最喜欢的游戏包括《龙与地下城》和《我的世界》,以及像Risk和《卡坦岛》这样的棋盘游戏。

 

 

He's also a fan of the TV show Young Sheldon and enjoys listening to the Steely Dan tunes his dad spins on their record player at dinnertime.

他也是电视剧《小谢尔顿》的粉丝,喜欢在晚餐时听他父亲用电唱机播放的斯迪利·丹歌曲。

 
说到这里,大家有没有觉得Elliott简直就是现实版的小谢尔顿啊:智商拔群、勤奋好学,从小就确定了要为物理事业奋斗终身!
 

有趣的是,这两个小可爱竟然还一起同框过:

 

 

这样的人生太令人佩服了!不说了,伊丽莎这就再去怒刷两套雅思阅读真题......