Unit 04 The man in the water 譯文.doc

Lesson SixText A水里那個(gè)人The Man in the Water和一般災(zāi)難相比，這次災(zāi)難非?？膳?，但并不特殊，肯定也不是美國(guó)有記錄的最悲慘的墮機(jī)事件之一。As disasters go, this one was terrible, but not unique, certainly not among the worst U. S. air crashes on record.當(dāng)然，不同尋常的有那座橋，還有飛機(jī)是在交通高峰期撞到橋上。另外，還有這個(gè)事件發(fā)生的地點(diǎn)。There was the unusual element of the bridge, of course, and the fact that the plane hit it at a moment of high traffic. Then, too, there was the location of the event.華盛頓這個(gè)布局合理、井然有序的城市，由于寒冬一陣突如其來(lái)的強(qiáng)勁氣流和金屬之間的劇烈碰撞而陷入混亂之中。Washington, the city of form and rules, turned chaotic by a blast of real winter and a single slap of metal on metal.從華盛頓國(guó)家機(jī)場(chǎng)起飛的噴氣客機(jī)，通常會(huì)像饑餓的海鷗一樣繞著總統(tǒng)紀(jì)念建筑物飛過(guò)。眼下，這架墜落的飛機(jī)成了它們的代表。The jets from Washington National Airport that normally fly around the presidential monuments like hungry gulls are, for the moment represented by the one that fell.而且還有給人以美感的撞擊藍(lán)綠相間的佛羅里達(dá)航空公司（“佛羅里達(dá)航空公司”字面意思是“飛翔的花園”）的飛機(jī)，沉入了黑色的河流中，被灰色的巨大冰塊所包圍。And there was the aesthetic clash as wellblue-and-green Air Florida, the name of a flying garden, sunk down among grey chunks of ice in a black river.Florida出自詞根flo(u)r-，意為“花”。例如：floral花的，floret小花，florid華麗的，florist花匠，florescence花期，floriculture花的培養(yǎng)，flourish繁榮herb=grass草：herbicide除草劑佛羅里達(dá)州的名稱來(lái)自西班牙語(yǔ)Florida，其意義是“多花的地方”。佛羅里達(dá)州的名稱來(lái)自西班牙語(yǔ)，西班牙航海家胡安龐塞德萊昂在1513年4月2 日，發(fā)現(xiàn)這片地方。時(shí)值西班牙人稱為Pascua Florida（花的復(fù)活節(jié)）的節(jié)日，所以此地被德萊昂命名為L(zhǎng)a Florida。確實(shí)，所有那些事情都值得注意。All that was worth noticing, to be sure.然而，除了死亡，事件中沒(méi)有什么很特別的。死亡雖然總是很特別，但也不是一定會(huì)引起成千上萬(wàn)的人哭泣或注意。Still, there was nothing very special in any of it, except death, which, while always special, does not necessarily bring the nation to tears or to attention. 那么，為什么這次事件中我們受到巨大的震動(dòng)呢？Why, then, the shock here?也許是因?yàn)樵谶@場(chǎng)災(zāi)難里面，全國(guó)人民所看到的不僅僅是機(jī)器故障。Perhaps because the nation saw in this disaster something more than a mechanical failure.也許是因?yàn)樵诶锩嫒藗兛吹降母静皇鞘。ü收希?，而是他們自己的成功。Perhaps because people saw in it no failure at all, but rather something successful about themselves.這次事件中，畢竟有兩種形式的自然力量相撞了，那就是惡劣的天氣和人的品質(zhì)。Here, after all, were two forms of nature in collision: the elements and human character.上周三，與平時(shí)一樣冷漠的惡劣天氣，將90次班機(jī)擊落下來(lái)。Last Wednesday, the elements, indifferent as ever, brought down Flight 90.在同一個(gè)下午，人的品質(zhì)搜索著，掙扎著奮起應(yīng)對(duì)這個(gè)（艱難）時(shí)刻。On that same afternoon, human naturegroping and strugglingrose to the occasion.（牛津）rise to the occasion, challenge, task, etc挺身而出處理危機(jī)、迎接挑戰(zhàn)、完成任務(wù)等的能力這次事件中公認(rèn)的四位英雄里，有三位能夠?yàn)樗麄兊男袨樽龀鼋忉?。Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event, three are able to account for their behavior.公園巡警直升機(jī)機(jī)組人員唐納德厄舍和尤金溫莎每一次將飛機(jī)的起落架貼近水面，拉起幸存者時(shí)，都要冒著失去生命的危險(xiǎn)。Donald Usher and Eugene Windsor, a park police helicopter team, risked their lives every time they dipped their skids into the water to pick up survivors.在電視節(jié)目里，他們肩并肩地坐著，把自己的勇氣完全描繪成是職責(zé)所在。On television, side by side, they described their courage as all in the line of duty.勒尼斯庫(kù)尼克是一名28歲的國(guó)會(huì)預(yù)算辦公室的雇員，他說(shuō)：“那樣的事我從來(lái)沒(méi)想過(guò)會(huì)去做”他指的是跳入水中將一個(gè)受傷的婦女拖到岸上。Lenny Skutnik, a 28-year-old employee of the Congressional Budget Office, said, Its something I never thought I would doreferring to his jumping into the water to drag an injured woman to shore.斯庫(kù)尼克又說(shuō)道：“總是有人要下水的”。他說(shuō)了每個(gè)英雄都會(huì)說(shuō)得話，這話并不因?yàn)橹貜?fù)多遍而不受敬仰。Skutnik added that somebody had to go in water, delivering every heros line that is no less admirable for being repeated.I did not marry her because I loved her. 因?yàn)閻?ài)她，我沒(méi)和她結(jié)婚。/ 我和她結(jié)婚并不是因?yàn)閻?ài)她。（兩個(gè)譯文都可以，要看上下文決定）He is very sad not because his younger sister disappeared.他很悲傷，并不是因?yàn)樗妹檬й櫫恕? 他并不是因?yàn)槊妹檬й櫫硕瘋?這句話也可以說(shuō)成：He is not very sad because his younger sister disappeared.A：他很悲傷，并不是因?yàn)樗妹檬й櫫?。（）B：因?yàn)槊妹檬й櫫?，他不是很悲傷。（X）He was not absent from the meeting because he was ill.A：他沒(méi)來(lái)開(kāi)會(huì)并不是因?yàn)椴×?。（）B：因?yàn)樗×?，所以沒(méi)缺席會(huì)議。（X）She is not learning English very well because she is slow-witted.A：她英語(yǔ)學(xué)得很好，并不是因?yàn)樗X子遲鈍。（X）B：她英語(yǔ)學(xué)得不很好，因?yàn)樗X子遲鈍。（）Dont give up because it is difficult.We should not despise a man because he is poor.Please do not look down upon your classmate because he is backward in learning.Dont be vain because youre good-looking.The seed does not complain because there are stones in its way.（諺）種子不因有石頭擋路而抱怨。實(shí)際上，沒(méi)有人必須跳入水中。有人確實(shí)這樣做了，這就是這個(gè)特殊的悲劇能銘刻在人們心中的部分原因。In fact, nobody had to go into the water. That somebody actually did so is part of the reason this particular tragedy sticks in the mind.但是，有一個(gè)人是這次災(zāi)難帶來(lái)的情感沖擊的最重要原因，最初，他僅僅被叫做“水里的那個(gè)人”。But the person most responsible for the emotional impact of the disaster is the one known at first simply as the man in the water.他正在謝頂，可能是50多歲，上唇留著濃密的胡子。Balding, probably in his 50s, a huge mustache.人們看見(jiàn)他與另外五個(gè)幸存者緊緊地抓著機(jī)尾部分。He was seen clinging with five other survivors to the tail section of the airplane據(jù)厄舍和溫莎的描述，這個(gè)人看上去非常警覺(jué)、鎮(zhèn)定。This man was described by Usher and Windsor as appearing alert and in control.他們每次放下救生索和救生圈的時(shí)候，他都把它傳遞給其他的乘客。Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him, he passed it on to another of the passengers.在傷亡慘重的事故中，你能發(fā)現(xiàn)像他那樣的人，但我從未見(jiàn)過(guò)具有那樣的奉獻(xiàn)精神的人。In a mass casualty, youll find people like him, but Ive never seen one with that commitment.直升飛機(jī)飛回來(lái)救他時(shí)，他已經(jīng)沉到了水下。When the helicopter came back for him the man had gone under.他的無(wú)私精神是這個(gè)故事受到全國(guó)關(guān)注的一個(gè)原因，而另一個(gè)原因是大家都不知道他的名字。His selflessness was one reason the story held national attention; his anonymity another.他不為大家所知這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)，賦予他一種帶有普遍性的特征。The fact that he went unidentified gave him a universal character.一時(shí)間，他成了每一個(gè)普通人的化身，這樣便證明（好像人們需要這個(gè)證明）沒(méi)有人是普通的。For a while he was Everyman, and thus proof (as if one needed it) that no man is ordinary.然而，他可能從沒(méi)想象過(guò)自己身上具有這樣的能力。Still, he could never haveimagined such a capacity in himself.就在他的品質(zhì)被考驗(yàn)的幾分鐘前，他正與普通的乘客一起，坐在這架普通的飛機(jī)上，聽(tīng)著空姐告訴他系好安全帶，說(shuō)一些關(guān)于“禁止吸煙”的標(biāo)志的事。Only minutes before his character was tested, he was sitting in the ordinary plane among the ordinary passengers, listening to the stewardess telling him to fasten his seat belt and saying something about the no smoking sign.于是，我們說(shuō)的這個(gè)人和其他人一起放松下來(lái)，而他們中間的一些人將要因?yàn)樗Ｗ×诵悦?。So our man relaxed with the others, some of whom would owe their lives to him.也許，他開(kāi)始看起書來(lái)，或者開(kāi)始打盹，或者為那天早上他在辦公室里說(shuō)的嚴(yán)厲的話而后悔。Perhaps he started to read, or to doze, or to regret some harsh remark made in the office that morning.接著，他突然意識(shí)到這次旅行將會(huì)不同尋常。Then suddenly he knew that the trip would not be ordinary. 像航班上的所有其他人一樣，他也拼命地想活下來(lái)，這使得他最后的行為那么令人震驚。Like every other person on that flight, he was desperate to live, which makes his final act so stunning.在水里的某個(gè)時(shí)間里，他肯定意識(shí)到了，如果他繼續(xù)把繩子和救生圈讓給別人的話，他將不會(huì)活下來(lái)。For some moment in the water he must have realized that he would not live if he continued to hand over the rope and ring to others.他必須意識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)，不管寒冷的作用是多么緩慢。他感覺(jué)自己別無(wú)選擇。He had to know it, no matter how slow the effect of the cold.He felthe had no choice.當(dāng)直升飛機(jī)帶著最后一個(gè)幸存者離開(kāi)時(shí)，他看著這個(gè)世界的一切離他而去，他任由這一切發(fā)生了。When the helicopter tookoff with what was to be the last survivor, he watchedeverything in the worldmove awayfrom him, and he let it happen.但是，在我們這個(gè)人身上，還有一些事情讓我們當(dāng)時(shí)對(duì)他念念不忘，現(xiàn)在仍然念念不忘。Yet there was something else about our man that kept our thoughts on him, and which keeps our thoughts on him still.他就在那里，那種重要的、典型的情況中。是人在自然中。是那個(gè)人在那一片水中。He was there, in the essential, classic circumstance. Man in nature. The man in the water.就大自然而言，它根本不關(guān)心那五位乘客。而另一方面，我們的那個(gè)人卻把他們都放在心上。For its parts, nature cared nothing about the five passengers. Our man, on the other hand, cared totally.于是，人與自然的古老戰(zhàn)斗在波托馬克河上又一次開(kāi)始了。So the age-old battle began again in the Potomac.只要那人還有一口氣，他們就會(huì)廝打在一起，一方是大自然，另一方是人。一方不分善惡，不根據(jù)原則行事，不管人的死活，而另一方則完全明辨是非，遵循原則，或許還堅(jiān)持信仰。For as long as that man could last, they went at each other, nature and man; the one making no distinction of good and evil, acting on no principles, offering no lifelines; the other acting wholly on distinctions, principles and, perhaps, on faith.既然他輸?shù)袅诉@場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)斗，我們會(huì)再次得出結(jié)論，認(rèn)為人在這個(gè)地球上是無(wú)能為力的。Since it was he who lost the fight, we ought to come again to the conclusion that people are powerless in the world.而實(shí)際上，我們所相信的恰恰相反。正是水里那個(gè)人的行為，讓我們想起了這個(gè)事件中我們真實(shí)的感覺(jué)。In reality, we believe the opposite, and it takes the act of the man in the water to remind us of our true feelings in this matter.take：需要It takes two men to do this.做這項(xiàng)工作需要兩個(gè)人。Itll take a long time for her to recover from the illness. 她的病要很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能痊愈. It would take a strong man to lift that weight. 身強(qiáng)力壯的人才能舉得起那么重的東西. That cut is taking a long time to heal. 那傷口要很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能愈合. 這并不是說(shuō)，每個(gè)人都會(huì)像他那樣做，或者像厄舍、溫莎和斯庫(kù)尼克那樣做。It is not to say that everyone would have acted as he did, or as Usher, Windsor and Skutnik.然而，無(wú)論是什么力量驅(qū)使這些人代表同胞們?nèi)ヌ魬?zhàn)死亡，這力量都不為他們所獨(dú)有。Yet whatever moved these men to challenge death on behalf of their fellows is not peculiar to them.每個(gè)人都能感到自己身上有這種可能性。這就是這個(gè)故事的永久魅力。這就是我們不會(huì)忘記它的原因。Everyone feels the possibility in himself. Thatistheenduring wonder of the story.That i