Value for money? 价值仅仅在于金钱吗？

Ornithology provides a striking example of the limits of “value for money” thinking regarding scientific research. 对于“金钱至上”观在科学研究中的局限性，鸟类学的研究给出了一个极其鲜明的针对性案例。
You could make a convincing case 这个也确实极具说服力。

that bird watching is a fascinating hobby but governments shouldn’t be paying people to do it. 你可能马上就会想到，观看鸟儿的确是一项非常迷人的运动爱好，可是政府部门并不会对此爱好付钱，

It doesn’t have much economic value, except as a minor tourist attraction. 除了作为一个小小的的旅游看点，鸟儿实在没有多少经济价值。

Then along comes avian influenza, and the possibility that some national poultry industries could be wiped out, or that the virus could even mutate and infect humans. Suddenly, migration patterns, nesting habits and so on become vital pieces of information. 不过要是禽流感来了呢？一个国家的禽类产业都可能被整个摧毁，甚至于病毒会发生变异，而感染到人类。突然之间，像鸟类的迁徙、筑巢规律以及等等、等等，这些不起眼的事情立即变成了极其有用的信息要素。

A funding approach that relies on spotting winners ignores the role that unforeseen connections and insights play in science and technology.
这种只依赖识别赢家的资助办法全然忽视了意外的联系和洞察力在科学研究中的重要意义。

To take another example. 再看另外一个例子：
Researchers in Italy studying toads discovered that the toads abandoned breeding behaviour and fled their usual habitat in the days before the Aquila earthquake.
在意大利，学者们在研究蟾蜍时发现，在亚桂拉地震发生前，蟾蜍们停止了繁育行为，并在震前的几天里逃离了它们平时的栖息地。
The scientists weren’t looking for anything remotely to do with seismology, but the finding could turn out to be a “useful” contribution to predicting Earth tremors.
这些科学家们所搜寻的现象，与地震学研究算得上是遥不可及，但是他们的这些发现在地震预测上，也是可以发挥作用的。