英国政府打算出资100万英镑（约合人民币963万元）寻找能够解决世界最大难题的人，而至于什么才是世界当前面临的最大难题，则由民众来决定，或许是寻找石油替代品，也可能是生产低成本食品。这一做法其实是在效仿英国议会在1714年推出的“经度奖”。当时，人们已经能够测定南北航行的位置，但一直没有找到测定东西向位置的方法。议会悬赏2万英镑寻找能够测定船只在东西向航行时所处位置的人，后来，一位普通的钟表匠设计了一台时钟，解决了这个问题。

300年后的今天，首相卡梅伦决定设立一个新的经度委员会，由皇家天文学家李斯勋爵担任主席，该委员会负责收集整理出一个世界难题清单，然后发起世界最大难题解决办法的征集活动。英国首相府的消息人士称：“我们希望人们能够放宽眼界去思考，世界需要什么？我们如何才能满足这个需要？我们正在寻找下一个盘尼西林、飞机或互联网，某些能够让我们的生活方式产生颠覆性影响的事物，它能让我们在全球竞争中一马当先。

The Longitude Prize launched in 1714 solved the tricky problem of pinpointing ships' location at sea by measuring how far they were from Greenwich

David Cameron is offering £1 million of taxpayer's cash to anyone who can solve the world's biggest problem - whatever that might be.

In an unusual competition, the Government will ask people to determine the greatest challenge facing humanity today, such as finding a replacement for oil, producing low-cost food or eradicating malaria.

Once the trickiest issue has been decided, the Prime Minister will give away £1 million in cash to the person who successfully works out the answer.

The competition is modelled on the Longitude Prize launched by Parliament in 1714, which offered £20,000 to anyone who could discover how far east or west ships had sailed. Sailors could work out their location north and south, and were able to determine their local time from the sun. However, they needed to know the time at a reference point in order to find out how far they had travelled east or west.

Many people thought the issue was impossible to solve, but the prize was eventually won by John Harrison, a working-class joiner. He did this by designing a clock that kept accurate time at sea and enabled sailors to work out their location.

Almost exactly 300 years on, Mr Cameron will set up a new Longitude Committee, chaired by the Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal, to gather suggestions and draw up a shortlist of problems facing the world. It will then launch a race to solve the most difficult predicament.

Sources said the prize may not actually be awarded for many years, as scientists in universities and companies have been wrestling with many of the world's most difficult problems for a long time.

A Downing Street source said: “We want people to think big: what does the world need and how can we achieve that? We are looking for the next penicillin, aeroplane or World Wide Web. Can we grow limbs or create universal low carbon travel? Something that is going to really revolutionize what we do and how we live our lives - sending us sprinting ahead in the global race.”

Speaking at a conference on science ahead of the G8 summit, Mr Cameron will say it is essential to "nurture new ideas" and "bend over backwards to attract the best and the brightest" to Britain.

He will host the G8 summit of world leaders in Northern Ireland next week, pledging to promote an "ambitious practical and pro-business agenda that benefits everyone".

Last night a Labour source said the party could think of "plenty of problems" to solve if Mr Cameron wants ideas.

(Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

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（中国日报网英语点津 Helen ）