峡谷天使离开人间 一生守护自杀圣地

 　　For nearly five decades he gazed out of his Sydney home overlooking the Pacific Ocean, inspired by one of Australia's most picturesque¹ views. But it was not just a love for the sea that drew him to the dramatic panorama².

　　近五十年来，里奇一直从自己悉尼的家眺望着太平洋，从这里可以欣赏到澳大利亚最如诗如画般的景致。然而，他会选择定居在这片梦幻而壮阔的地区，却并不是出于对大海的热爱。

　　Don Ritchie's window-watching had a far greater purpose. Since l964 he has saved at least 160 lives, though some say the true figure is much higher. Mr Ritchie, who died this week at the age of 86, was known as the Angel of the Gap, a title earned for persuading people not to throw themselves off the notorious Australian suicide spot.

　　唐·里奇隔窗眺望的不只是美景，而是一个更伟大的目标——生命。自1964年起，他已经拯救了超过160名自杀者——更有人说远远不止这个数字。多年来，他因为劝阻来到澳大利亚这个“自杀圣地”的人们而被亲切地称为“峡谷天使”。然而，人间天使未能永生，本周唐·里奇逝世，享年86岁。

　　Like Beachy Head on the Sussex coast, the sheer cliffs at the mouth of Sydney harbour have long acted as a magnet to those who have lost all hope. But thanks to his calm voice and sympathetic manner, Mr Ritchie offered a helping³ hand to the desperate by engaging them in conversation on the cliff-top in their hour of need.

　　正如萨塞克斯的比奇角一样，悉尼港河口的峭壁也是无数对生活完全丧失了信心的自杀者的首选。然而，幸好有里奇在。他用镇定的嗓音和温暖的方式和命悬一线的自杀者交谈，从而伸出救援之手。

　　A modest man who did not court celebrity⁴ or praise, Mr Ritchie would spot would-be suicides from his home and slowly walk across the road to them. At the cliff-edge he would simply smile and ask them, "Can I help you in some way?" More often than not the quiet approach worked, though on some occasions he risked his own life by physically⁵ restraining the more determined⁶ from making their final leap.

　　不为名利，不求褒奖，里奇始终从家里观察着悬崖，一旦发现意欲自杀的人，他就会稳步走过去微笑着问“有什么我能帮你的吗？”，这往往比什么都不说有用。虽然时不时还是有人打定主意要纵身一跃，但千钧一发之际他总是冒着生命危险去拉住自杀者。

　　Afterwards he would invite them back to his home for a cup of tea and a chat and occasionally they would return years later to thank him for saving their life. One survivor⁷ gave him a painting of an angel with the rays of the sun and the simple message: "An angel who walks amongst us."

　　把自杀者从悬崖上劝下来之后，里奇会请他们来家里坐坐，喝杯茶聊聊天。有时许多年过去，那些曾被他救过的人还会回来感谢他当年的劝阻。一位幸存者送给里奇一幅画，画上是一个闪耀着太阳光环的天使，旁边配着简单的一句：“我们身边的天使。”

　　"My ambition has always been to just get them away from the edge, to buy them time, to give them the opportunity to reflect and give them the chance to realise that things might look better the next morning," he once confided⁸."You just can't sit there and watch them," he added. "You've got to try and save them."

　　“我只是想把要自杀的人从悬崖上劝下来，让他们有时间也有机会再好好想想，说不定就能想通一切都会好起来的。”里奇曾这样吐露心声。“我就是没办法坐视人们轻生，”他补充道，“总要有人去试着挽回他们的心意。”

　　Mr Ritchie's daughter, Sue, said her father enjoyed his ocean view, but was equally determined to watch out for troubled souls. He once said an offer of help "was all that was needed to turn people around and he would say not to underestimate the power of a kind word and a smile," she told the Sydney Morning Herald⁹.

　　里奇的女儿苏曾说过父亲非常喜欢海景，但更笃定要帮助那些轻生的灵魂。“父亲曾说简单的一句话就能够使人回心转意，永远不要低估善意语言和温暖微笑的力量。”在接受悉尼先驱晨报采访时，她回忆道。

　　He was "a great mixture of strength and compassion¹⁰... an everyday person who did an extraordinary thing for many people that saved their lives, without any want of recognition," she added.

　　“父亲富有勇气和同情心。他只是一个平凡的人，却拯救了这么多人的性命。这是件高尚的举动，而他却不求任何回报。”

　　Mr Ritchie was a seaman¹¹ in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War and witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in 1945. Back in Sydney he worked in the insurance industry. He would later tell friends of the people he had saved: "I was a salesman for most of my life and I sold them life."

　　里奇曾在二战期间效力于澳大利亚皇家海军，并于1945年在东京湾见证了日本投降。战争结束后，他回到悉尼从事保险推销工作。里奇曾这样跟幸存者的朋友说，“我做了大半辈子的保险推销员，而我卖给他们的是生命。”

1 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

2 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

8 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

10 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

11 seaman   

n.海员，水手，水兵

参考例句：

• That young man is a experienced seaman.那个年轻人是一个经验丰富的水手。
• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。