Prof Hawking, who has motor neurone disease, has argued that keeping someone alive against their own wishes is the “ultimate indignity”.In an interview with Dara O’Briain, for a new BBC programme, the world-renowned scientist disclosed he suffered bouts of loneliness, because people can be afraid to talk to him or let him answer.

　　In 2013, he offered his public support to the discussion of assisted dying, saying: “We don't let animals suffer, so why humans?"

　　霍金患有運(yùn)動(dòng)神經(jīng)元疾病，他主張，違背他人意愿強(qiáng)留其生命是對人“莫大的侮辱”。在接受BBC一檔節(jié)目的訪談時(shí)，霍金這一舉世聞名的科學(xué)家向主持人達(dá)拉·奧布萊恩透露道，他頻遭寂寞孤單之苦，因?yàn)槿藗兒ε滤驼勗?，害怕他的回答?/p>

　　2013年的時(shí)候，霍金公開支持討論安樂死，他說，“我們不忍心看動(dòng)物受苦，所以更何況人呢?”

　　Professor Stephen Hawking tells Dara O'Briain he would consider assisted dying only if he were in great pain or had nothing left to contribute to the world and was merely a burden.

　　But, he added: "I am damned if I'm going to die before I have unravelled more of the universe.”

　　斯蒂芬·霍金教授告訴達(dá)拉·奧布萊恩說，僅當(dāng)他深陷痛苦、對世界無所貢獻(xiàn)又徒增負(fù)擔(dān)時(shí)，才會(huì)考慮安樂死。

　　但是霍金補(bǔ)充道，“我要是還沒來得急解開宇宙的謎團(tuán)就死去，就忒不應(yīng)該了。”

　　He is not in pain, he said, but suffers occasional discomfort because he cannot adjust his own position.O’Briain, a comedian and broadcaster who has a degree in theoretical physics, praised Prof Hawking for his “impressively honest answers, even to the most direct questions”.

　　He also asked the 73-year-old physicist, who communicates through his famous speechsynthesiser, whether he ever finds life lonely.

　　他其實(shí)并不痛苦，霍金說道，但偶爾不適，因?yàn)樗麤]法調(diào)整姿勢。主持人達(dá)拉·奧布萊恩既是喜劇演員又是播音員，持理論物理學(xué)文憑，大贊霍金教授“坦誠面對單刀直入的問題，令人印象至深”。

　　奧布萊恩還問了霍金，這位73歲的物理學(xué)家可曾覺得人生孤單。眾所周知，霍金需要通過語音合成器才能與人交流。

　　“At times I get very lonely because people are afraid to talk to me or don't wait for me to write a response,” said Prof Hawking, who is currently trialling even more sophisticated communication technology.“I'm shy and tired at times. I find it difficult to talk to people I don't know."

　　When asked about what he misses about being able-bodied, he added: "I like to be able to swim again. When my children were young, I missed not being able to play with them physically."

　　霍金答道，“有時(shí)候我覺得孤單，是因?yàn)槿藗兒ε潞臀医涣?，有時(shí)甚至不等我寫下回復(fù)”?；艚鹉壳罢趪L試更復(fù)雜精密的通信技術(shù)，“我有時(shí)候膽怯、感到很累，我覺得和不認(rèn)識(shí)的人交流很難”。

　　問及可曾懷念昔日健康的體魄，霍金補(bǔ)充說，“我希望可以重回泳池。我孩子還小的時(shí)候，我都沒能和他們一起玩兒。”