From the vantage point of 2100 A.D., the year 1957 will most certainly stand in history as the year of man’s progression(前进；进展) from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional geography. It may well stand, also, as the point in time at which intellectual achievement forged ahead of weapons and national wealth as instruments of national policy.(它也很可能作为这样一个时间节点被铭记：智力成就超越武器与国家财富，成为国家政策工具。) . . .
站在公元2100年的制高点回望，1957年无疑将作为人类从二维地理迈向三维地理的一年而载入史册。它也很可能作为这样一个时间节点被铭记：智力成就超越武器与国家财富，成为国家政策工具。……
We should not make the mistake of seeing in the satellite merely the symbol of a foreign Power’s military progress. It does, of course, represent important advances in military capability. But quite irrespective of(完全不顾；与……无关) the usual interaction of scientific and military strength, the satellite symbolizes an intellectual attainment(成就；达到) that may dominate the period immediately ahead as the most powerful single instrument of national policy. The vital point is not so much that the Soviet satellite preceded that of the United States, heretofore credited as the leader of world technology; it is that the United States, for the first time, finds a challenging competitor in the most advanced scientific fields.(关键点与其说是苏联卫星先于此前一直被公认为世界技术领袖的美国卫星，不如说是美国首次在最先进的科学领域遇到了一个具有挑战性的竞争对手。) The achievement of the Soviet satellite has demonstrated to Americans what they refused to believe before, that they are in a race for intellectual leadership when they hadn’t realized that there was a race, or even that another nation had the capability to challenge their technology.(苏联卫星的成就向美国人证明了他们此前拒绝相信的事：他们正身处一场争夺智力领导权的竞赛，而他们此前并未意识到存在这样一场竞赛，甚至没意识到另一个国家有能力挑战他们的技术。) In the complacency(自满；自得) of our assumed technological lead, we have confused our high standards of living and material prosperity with intellectual stature. It is an extravagant(奢侈的；过度的) and dangerous mistake.
我们不应错误地只把卫星看作一个外国强权军事进步的象征。它当然代表着军事能力的重大进步。但是，完全撇开科学与军事力量之间通常的相互作用不谈，这颗卫星象征的是一种智力成就，它可能作为国家政策中最有力的单一工具而主导即将到来的时期。关键点与其说是苏联卫星先于此前一直被公认为世界技术领袖的美国卫星，不如说是美国首次在最先进的科学领域遇到了一个具有挑战性的竞争对手。苏联卫星的成就向美国人证明了他们此前拒绝相信的事：他们正身处一场争夺智力领导权的竞赛，而他们此前并未意识到存在这样一场竞赛，甚至没意识到另一个国家有能力挑战他们的技术。在我们假想的技术领先所带来的自满中，我们把高生活水平和物质繁荣与智力高度混为一谈。这是一个既奢侈又危险的错误。