The term supernova was coined in the 1930s by a memorably¹ odd astrophysicist named Fritz Zwicky. 超新星这个名字，是一位脾气极其古怪的天文物理学家在20世纪30年代创造的，他的名字叫弗里茨·兹威基。

Born in Bulgaria and raised in Switzerland, Zwicky came to the California Institute of Technology in the 1920s 他出生在保加利亚，在瑞士长大，20世纪20年代来到加州理工学院，

and there at once distinguished² himself by his abrasive³ personality and erratic⁴ talents. 很快以粗暴的性格和卓越的才华闻名遐迩。

He didn't seem to be outstandingly bright, and many of his colleagues considered him little more than "an irritating buffoon⁵." 他似乎并不特别聪明，他的许多同事认为他只不过是个"恼人的小丑"。

A fitness buff, he would often drop to the floor of the Caltech dining hall or other public areas 他是个健身狂，经常会扑倒在加州理工学院饭厅或别的公共场所的地板上

and do one-armed pushups to demonstrate his virility⁶ to anyone who seemed inclined to doubt it. 做单臂俯卧撑，向任何表示怀疑的人显示他的男子气概。

He was notoriously aggressive, his manner eventually becoming so intimidating⁷ that his closest collaborator⁸, 他咄咄逼人，最后变得如此气势汹汹，连他最亲密的合作者

a gentle man named Walter Baade, refused to be left alone with him. 性格温和的沃尔特·巴德--也不愿意跟他单独在一起。

Among other things, Zwicky accused Baade, who was German, of being a Nazi⁹, which he was not. 兹威基还指责巴德是个纳粹分子，因为他是德国人。其实，他不是。

On at least one occasion Zwicky threatened to kill Baade, who worked up the hill at the Mount Wilson Observatory¹⁰, if he saw him on the Caltech campus. 巴德在山上的威尔逊山天文台工作。兹威基不止一次扬言，要是他在加州理工学院校园里碰上，他要把巴德杀了。