"At school, I was never more than about halfway up the class. It was a very bright class. My classwork was very untidy, and my handwriting was the despair of my teachers. But my classmates gave me the nickname Einstein, so presumably they saw signs of something better. When I was twelve, one of my friends bet another friend a bag of sweets that I would never come to anything. I don't know if this bet was ever settled, and if so, which way it was decided."
“在学校时，我的学习一直都是中不溜。班里的同学都很聪明。我的作业写得很乱，我的那笔字让老师头疼。但是我同学给我起绰号叫爱因斯坦，显然他们觉得我还是有点才华的。在我12岁那年，我的一个朋友用一包糖和另一个朋友打赌我将会一事无成。我不知道这个赌局有结果了没，如果有，是谁得到了那包糖。”
— From the lecture "My Brief History," 2010
——霍金2010年讲座《我的简史》
