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乡村少年撒下弥天大谎成民族英雄
http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/02/28 17:25  国际在线

  An Indian teenager from one of the country's most backward states appears to have fooled governments, the media and even the president into believing he had topped the world in a NASA (news - web sites) science exam.

  In a country hungry for international recognition, 17-year-old Saurabh Singh was feted as a national hero after announcing he had won NASA's International Scientist Discovery examination, which he said he took at Oxford University.

  The Uttar Pradesh state government rewarded him with a 500,000 rupee ($11,500) prize and more than 100 members of the state's upper house each donated a day's salary to him.

  But as he was at the president's official residence awaiting an audience during the week, his story unraveled.

  An Indian news portal, rediff.com, contacted NASA, which denied any knowledge of the exam.

  "Right now, no one knows where this examination comes from," Rediff quoted NASA education official Dwayne Brown saying.

  A meeting planned with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was hastily called off and the boy returned to his village of Narhai, where he is now under police investigation.

  Singh had also said President Abdul Kalam and Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia shuttle explosion in 2003, had sat the test. Kalam's office denies this.

  Singh insists he met Kalam, although some Indian newspapers say the meeting was canceled as he waited to go in.

  "It was really inspiring," Singh told Reuters by phone. "And let me tell you, he saw my certificate and praised me for the achievement, while you all are asking all kinds of questions and trying to dub me as a fraud."

  The certificate, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, declared "You are the member of NASA" (sic) and is signed by Singh and "Chief of NASA, Cin K. Kif" -- NASA's former administrator was Sean O'Keefe. It also lists the name of Singh's father, common practice in Indian documents.

  Singh says he flew to London on Indian Airlines -- which does not fly to the city -- and took a taxi to Oxford University and back every day for the exam from January 4-8, a round trip of about 230 km (140 miles).

  Singh told Reuters he stayed in a hotel, but told a Hindi language newspaper he stayed at Buckingham Palace.

  The Indian school where he says he sat the preliminary exam along with 200,000 others does not exist. The Bansal institute, where he says he studied mathematics, has never heard of him.

  Singh cannot produce his passport to back his claim. That, he says, is with institute director P.K. Bansal.

  "How can we possess his passport when we don't even know him?" Saturday's The Indian Express quoted Bansal saying.

乡村少年撒下弥天大谎成民族英雄

  有谁会想到,一位来自印度最贫困邦的乡村少年竟然用他的弥天大谎戏弄了该国政府、媒体和民众在内的上上下下。但不久前,印度媒体甚至连总统卡拉姆都曾坚信,他们的天才少年索拉布-辛格在美国航空航天局的科学考试中一举夺魁,为印度人民挣足了面子。

  据路透社2月26日报道,当17岁的索拉布-辛格宣布他在牛津大学举行的“美国航空航天局国际科学家发现考试”中夺取第1名之后,这位来自印度奈尼塔尔邦纳尔艾村的少年,在这个急欲获得国际赞誉的国家里,如同民族英雄般地开始被国人追捧着。印度奈尼塔尔邦政府奖励给辛格50万卢比(约合1.15万美元);100名印度社会名流也欣然将自己一天的薪水捐赠给辛格。

  但本周,当辛格正准备接受总理接见时,他的弥天大谎被拆穿了。

  印度一家名为雷迪夫的新闻网就辛格考试夺冠一事联系了美国航空航天局,但令他们意外的是,美国航空航天局否认了有关所谓国际科学家发现考试的所有消息。雷迪夫新闻网援引美国航空航天局主管教育的官员布朗先生的话说:“现在,没有人知道那个考试是怎么回事。”

  消息传出后,辛格预计与印度总理曼莫汉-辛格见面的计划当即被取消,这名少年也立刻被带回他所在的纳尔艾村。

  辛格曾说,印度总统卡拉姆和宇航员卡帕娜·乔拉都曾参加了“国际科学家发现考试”,但卡拉姆政府否认了此事,而印度女宇航员卡帕娜-乔拉也已在2003年哥伦比亚号航天飞机爆炸事故中遇难。

  辛格一直强调说他见到了卡拉姆,他曾通过电话告诉路透社的记者:“这真是令人鼓舞的事情(指他考试夺冠的消息),让我告诉你吧,他(卡拉姆)看了我的获奖证书并夸奖了我,而你们所有的人却在用各种各样的问题质疑我,试图想证明我是一个骗子。”路透社还保留着辛格的“美国航空航天局证书”复印件。“证书”上写道:“你是美国航空航天局的一员”,上面有美国航空航天局前局长肖恩·奥基夫和辛格的签名,上面还注明了辛格父亲的姓名。

  辛格曾告诉媒体,他乘坐印度航空公司的飞机飞往英国伦敦(事实上该航空公司根本就没有直飞伦敦的班机);从1月4日至8日,他每天都乘坐出租车往返于伦敦和牛津大学之间参加这次考试(伦敦和牛津大学之间的距离大约为230公里)。

  辛格曾告诉路透社,他住在伦敦的一家旅馆里,但是他却对印度一家报纸说,他住在白金汉宫。

  据辛格所说,他曾经和20万人在印度一所学校参加了初试,但事实上这所学校根本就不存在;而据他称让他进行数学研究的邦萨尔研究所也表示,从来就不认识辛格此人。

  辛格曾因出示不了去英国的护照而找出理由说,他把护照放在了邦萨尔研究所所长邦萨尔那里。而《印度快报》援引邦萨尔所长的话说:“我们怎么可能替一个不认识的人保管护照?” (文/蒋黎黎)




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