最新現(xiàn)代大學(xué)英語第二版精讀2 unit 4課文翻譯

1、As disasters go, this one was terrible, but not unique, certainlynot among the worst U.S. air crasheson record. There was the unusualelement of the bridge, of course, and the fact that the plane clipped itat a moment of high traffic, one routine thus intersecting another anddisrupting both. Then, to

2、o, there was the location of the event.Washington,thecityofformandregulations,turnedchaotic,deregulated,by a blast of real winter and a single slap of metal on metal. The jetsfrom Washington National Airport that normally swoop around thepresidential monuments like famished gulls are, for the moment

3、,emblemized by the one that fell; so there is that detail. And there wastheaestheticclashaswellblue-and-greenAirFlorida,thenameaflyinggarden, sunk down among gray chunks in a black river. All that was worthnoticing,tobesure.Still,therewasnothingveryspecialinanyofit,except death, which, while always

4、special, does not necessarily bringmillions to tears or to attention. Why, then, the shock here?123456789就這次災(zāi)難而言，這次災(zāi)難和其他災(zāi)難一樣很嚴(yán)重，但并不特殊，落淚。那么，為什么這次空難如此令人震驚呢？Perhaps because the nation saw in this disaster something1morethanamechanicalfailure.Perhapsbecausepeoplesawinitnofailureat all, but rather somet

5、hing successful about their makeup. Here, afterall, were two forms of nature in collision: the elements and humancharacter. Last Wednesday, the elements, indifferent as ever, broughtdown Flight 90. And on that sameafternoon, human naturegropingand flailing in mysteries of itsownrose to the occasion應(yīng)

6、對(duì)得當(dāng).相撞存在著兩種因素：天氣和人性。上周三，因素之一是這冷漠糟糕的天氣將90號(hào)航班硬生生地從天空中拽到了水中。而還是在同一個(gè)下午，另外一個(gè)因素人性棗摸索著，掙扎著棗終于冒著風(fēng)險(xiǎn)戰(zhàn)勝了天氣。Ofthefouracknowledgedheroesoftheevent,threeareabletoaccount for heir behavior. Donald Usher and Eugene Windsor, a parkpolice helicopter team, risked their lives every time they dipped theskids into the wa

7、ter to pick up survivors. On television,side by sideinbrightbluejumpsuits,theydescribedtheircourageasallinthelineofduty.LennySkutnik,a28-year-oldemployeeoftheCongressionalBudgetOffice,said:ItssomethingIneverthoughtIwoulddoreferringtohisjumpingintothewatertodraganinjuredwomantoshore.Skutnikaddedthats

8、omebodyhadtogointhewater,deliveringeveryheroslinethatis nolessadmirableforitsrepetitions.In fact,nobodyhad togo intothe water. That somebody actually did so is part of the reason thisparticular tragedy sticks in the mind.2水中。而有人這樣做了，這便成了這次特殊的悲劇讓人們記住的部分原因。But the person most responsible for the emoti

9、onal impact ofthe disaster is the one known at first simply as the man in the water.(Balding, probably in his 50s, an extravagant mustache.) He was seenclinging with five other survivors to the tail section of the airplane.This man was described by Usher and Windsor as appearing alert and incontrol.

10、 Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him,he passed it on to another of the passengers. In a mass casualty, youllfind people like him, said Windsor. But Ive never seen one with thatcommitment.Whenthehelicoptercamebackforhim,themanhadgoneunder.His selflessness was one reason the s

11、tory held national attention; hisanonymity another. The fact that he went unidentified invested him witha universal character. For a while he was Everyman, and thus proof (asif one needed it) that no man is ordinary.但是，這次災(zāi)難使人們深深感動(dòng)的最關(guān)鍵人物是最初被簡(jiǎn)單叫做“水中人”的那個(gè)人?？赡苡?0來歲的鮑爾丁是一個(gè)大胡子。有人看到他和其他五個(gè)幸存者緊抓著失事飛機(jī)的尾翼。厄舍爾和

12、溫莎形容他表現(xiàn)得機(jī)警、鎮(zhèn)定。3的特征。一時(shí)間，他成了每一個(gè)普通人的代表，這樣也證明了（仿佛人們需要這個(gè)證明）沒有人是普通的。Still,hecouldneverhaveimaginedsuchacapacityinhimself.Only minutes before his character was tested, he was sitting in theordinaryplaneamongtheordinarypassengers,dutifullylisteningtothestewardesstellinghimtofastenhisseatbeltandsayingsomethi

13、ngaboutthe no smoking sign. So our man relaxed with the others, some of whomwould owe their lives to him. Perhaps he started to read, or to doze, ortoregretsomeharshremarkmadeintheofficethatmorning.Thensuddenlyhe knew that the trip would not be ordinary. Like every other person onthat flight, he was

14、 desperate to live, which makes his final act sostunning.也渴望生還，但這使得他最后的舉動(dòng)如此令人吃驚。For at some moment in the water he must have realized thathewouldnotliveifhecontinuedtohandovertheropeandringtoothers.He had to know it, no matter how gradual the effect of the cold. In hisjudgment he had no choice.When

15、the helicopter took off with what wasto be the last survivor, he watched everything in the world move awayfrom him, and he deliberately let it happen.4別人的話，他將不會(huì)活下來。他必須要清楚這一點(diǎn)，不管寒冷的作用有多緩慢。他感覺到自己別無選擇。離他遠(yuǎn)去，而他只能任由這一切發(fā)生。Yet there was something else about the man that kept ourthoughtsonhim,andwhichkeepsour

16、thoughtsonhimstill.Hewasthere,intheessential,classiccircumstance.Maninnature.Themaninthewater.For its part, nature cared nothing about the five passengers. Our man,ontheotherhand,caredtotally.SothetimelessbattlecommencedinthePotomac.Foraslongasthatmancouldlast,theywentateachother,natureand man; the

17、onemaking no distinctions ofgood and evil, acting on noprinciples, offering no lifelines; the other acting wholly ondistinctions, principles and, one supposes, on faith.水中。對(duì)自然界來說，它并不在意這五個(gè)乘客的生命。而相反，我們的英雄則非常在意。因此，古老的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)在波托馬克河重演。只要還有最后一口氣，人類總會(huì)與大自然相互斗爭(zhēng)；一方不分善與惡，行為不羈，拒絕給予生還的希望；而另一方則完全是在明辨是非、遵守準(zhǔn)則或許還在堅(jiān)持信仰。Si

18、nce it was he who lost the fight, we ought tocomeagainto the conclusionthatpeopleare powerlessin the world.In reality,webelievethereverse,andittakestheactofthemaninthewatertoremindus of our true feelings in this matter. It is not to say that everyonewouldhaveactedashedid,orasUsher,WindsorandSkutnik.

19、Yetwhatevermoved these men to challenge death on behalf of their fellows is not5peculiartothem.Everyonefeelsthepossibilityinhimself.Thatistheabiding wonder of the story. That is why we would notlet go of it.Ifthe man in the water gave a lifeline to the people gasping for survival,he was likewise giving a lifeline to those who o