2015-04-23

【Aiden in English】

        After mom’s episode of being laid off from Merck, and also finding her another arguably better job, I have never seen much GSK. From the facts that mom tells me, it sounds really nice. Take Your Child to Work Day is a great opportunity to see how good of a replacement it was, and Merck had really set a high bar.

        Right away, GSK earned some easy points. On the outside, lush green trees dotted a sea of exuberant grass. A fountain lazily sprouted water as if it had nothing to do in the world, which it probably didn’t. Another few points were awarded inside, where everything was so modern. Entire walls were made of glass panes, paintings of people, nature, machines, whatever lined the sides. And every twenty or so feet was an elevator. I guess they were too cool for stairways, huh. Mom dropped her stuff off at her desk, and we quickly found the sign in the designated area. I got an orange wristband, you know, the kinds that gave you the itch but couldn’t come off or else. Footprints and signs led us to the breakfast area, and also showed us to a delicious breakfast of donuts. 

        I was in the orange group, and soon enough, members trickled to our first station. Rooms around the building were being used for this very delightful occasion, and some were about to be seriously messed up. But that’s science. It’s about messing things up and learning from the mistakes, although some of us here probably just wish to do it for fun. 

        The first experiment/step was called “Color Blast”. With a beckoning of a few hands, the orange group, which had suddenly and surprising grown significantly, put on lab coats, slipped on some gloves, and wore some nerdy glasses (no offense). The lab was filled with different kinds of machines. Pistons, monitors, and buttons, oh my! This seemed like a quantum leap in my brain, the time era jumping from the 21^st to the 22^nd century or something. The first experiment conducted was with sugar. Yep, the same old favored-in-coffee and loved-by-kids’ sugar. The sugar was mixed with sulfuric acid, which, in a moment, bubbled, then a black … thing rose from the container. It looked like asphalt, black as night with holes here or there. The thing rose up and out of the container, steam curling at the edges. Apparently, the sulfur was dehydrating or evaporating the water, from the sugar creating a violent chemical reaction. The black asphalt stuff continued to grow, stopping at five times the original amount of sugar. Some volunteers poked it, and so did I. Again hard as asphalt. The presenter Lynette even explained that this was the lead in pencils, aka. graphite. Pretty cool, huh? 

        However, that was only the start. The day continued on to explain and show the secret of glowsticks. The reaction inside a glowstick was a fluorescent mixture coming in contact with peroxide based upon the variable temperature. Furthermore fireworks were discussed, and they worked by lighting different atoms of nitrates on fire, burning at the molecules and changing colors in the hood. All different crazy kinds of colored flames erupted and danced, shooting up and down in bursts. Even at a distance, the heat could be felt. 

        After it, which was surprisingly only the first part of a long list to come, we went on to learn about the beating heart. Later we studied robotics to chicken eggs, a huge variety of science. To top it off, we had chicken strips and pizza for lunch.

        GSK was really a great place. New inventions constantly were happening, and learning was actual not as boring as school. What an environment, I might say to invest money in this pharmaceutical industry down the road. I’ll add GSK to my career list someday.

【红霞译文】

        自妈妈从默克公司下岗到重返熟识的职场以来，我对其新公司葛兰素史克了解极为有限，得知妈妈感觉良好，看来它算不错。带孩子上班日恰巧提供一次难能可贵的机会，让我身临其境，好歹以默克为准来评估葛兰素史克。

        转眼之间，葛兰素史克便轻松地拿下几个印象分。就外观而言，门前楼外的青草绿叶将其环境装点得郁郁葱葱，喷泉不紧不慢地吐着水花，好像从不在乎也不关心周围所发生的一切。从内部来讲，现代化的装潢令人心旷神怡，靠街的一面墙全部由落地玻璃板构成，相对的另一面墙壁则张贴着人物肖像、自然风光、机械器具等艺术作品；每隔廿英尺左右就有一台电梯，看来在这爬蹬楼梯反倒变得了不起。待妈妈把自己的东西搁到办公桌旁，俩人迅速来到指定地点。我先领了桔色腕带，就是你知道的既叫皮肤瘙痒又难以脱落的那种玩艺，然后顺着地标路牌去吃早饭，美味可口的甜甜圈正等待我们的到来。

        我所在的桔色小组需要赶到活动的第一站集结，今天每项活动地点均有不同，并且分别散布于大楼各个角落，有的房间因临时换来换去而难以一下子找到，但这就是科学所在，人们从零乱中摸索头绪，尽管不少参加者纯粹来凑热闹。

        第一项实验或第一个步骤叫“色彩爆破”。随着桔色队伍发展壮大，各个成员先后系紧实验服、穿好防护手套、戴上呆头呆脑的眼镜（毫无冒犯之意），实验室里五花八门的仪器随处可见，活塞、荧光屏、按钮之类的东西应有尽有！我的思绪马上转入时空穿梭，从眼下廿一世纪飞跃到未来廿二世纪甚至更远。该实验采用的材料是糖，一点没错，就是放进咖啡以及孩童爱吃的糖。糖与硫酸混合在一起，稍等片刻，逐渐产生气泡，随之在容器里转变成黑色……物质，看上去宛如沥青，像深夜地洞一般黢黑，这种黑色物质继续膨胀并慢慢溢出容器，周边同时还释放出袅袅炊烟。显然，硫磺吸收水分或使水挥发，与糖发生了剧烈的化学反应。这时，黑色沥青状物质不断增长，直至长到原来五倍体积为止。有人自报奋勇亲手感受硬度，我也戳一戳好生体验一番，这东西确实硬得跟沥青似的，主持人丽奈特同时还解释说我们所用的铅笔即石墨就是这样制成的，很酷吧？

        然而，这不过仅仅是个开头。接下来向我们展示的还有荧光棒的奥秘。荧光棒之所以发射荧光是因为不同温度下过氧化氢与荧光染料之间的氧化反应。此外，我们还讨论烟花爆竹，硝酸盐如何经过燃烧分解成原子，分子组成各异的硝酸盐如何呈现不同的色彩。通风橱里，光怪陆离的火焰正翩翩起舞，在空中上下窜跳并强烈放热，即使远隔一段距离，我们仍能感受到它的威力。

        第一实验就这样结束了，下面我们还要完成一长串引人入深的研究课题，从心率、机器人到鸡蛋，涉及到多种科学领域，其中最为称道的应该首推午餐上的炸鸡和比萨饼。

        葛兰素史克果真名不见虚传，目前正在不断进行新药开发，到此学习要比在学校实际有趣，况且氛围又棒，值得今后我来投资这样的制药工业，相信总有一天，我会把葛兰素史克纳入本人职业生涯规划之中。