TED演讲： 凌晨4点(3)

 　　It works a little something like -- this is a recent Google search for four in the morning. 这是结果，请看最近的一个谷歌搜索。搜索：凌晨4点

　　Results vary, of course. This is pretty typical.  当然搜索的结果不一，这是其中最典型的一个。

　　The top 10 results yield you four hits for Faron Young's song, "It's Four in the Morning," 最上面的10个结果中，4个是Faron Young的歌：“现在是凌晨4点。”

　　three hits for Judi Dench's film, "Four in the Morning," 3个是Judi Dench的电影：“凌晨4点。”

　　one hit for Wislawa Szymborska's poem, "Four in the Morning." 1个是Wislawa Szymborska的诗：“凌晨4点。”

　　But what, you may ask, do a Polish poet, a British Dame¹, a country music hall of famer all have in common 但你们也许会问，一个波兰诗人，一个英国贵妇，一个乡村音乐圣殿的歌星间有什么共同的地方？

　　besides this totally excellent Google ranking?  除了他们在谷歌搜索结果上都有很高的排名以外

　　Well, let's start with Faron Young -- who was born incidentally in 1932. 我们从Faron Young开始吧，他不小心生于：1932年。

　　In 1996, he shot himself in the head on December ninth -- which incidentally is Judi Dench's birthday. 1996年12月9日他往自己头上开枪自杀那天--正巧是Judi Dench的生日。

　　But he didn't die on Dench's birthday.  但是他并没在Dench的生日死去。

　　He languished² until the following afternoon when he finally succumbed³ to a supposedly self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 64 他滞留到第二天下午才绝别人世，终年64岁，据称是开枪自伤--

　　which incidentally is how old Alberto Giacometti was when he died.  碰巧的是，阿尔贝托·贾科梅蒂也是这年龄去世的。

　　Where was Wislawa Szymborska during all this?  那这段时间Wislawa Szymborska都在干什么呢？

　　She has the world's most absolutely watertight alibi⁴.  她有着世上最无懈可击的不在场证明，

　　On that very day, December 10, 1996 while Mr. Four in the Morning, 1996年12月10日那天，当凌晨4点钟先生，

　　Faron Young, was giving up the ghost in Nashville, Tennessee, Faron Young在田纳西州纳什维尔向鬼神投降的时候，

　　Ms. Four in the Morning -- or one of them anyway -- Wislawa Szymborska  凌晨4点钟女士中的一位，Wislawa Szymborska

　　was in Stockholm, Sweden, accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature.  在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩，接受诺贝尔文学奖。

　　100 years to the day after the death of Alfred Nobel himself. Coincidence? No, it's creepy. 那也是阿尔弗雷德诺贝尔本人去世100年纪念日。巧合？不，那是“鬼异”。

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 languished   

长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 )； 受折磨； 变得（越来越）衰弱； 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐

参考例句：

• Our project languished during the holidays. 我们的计划在假期间推动得松懈了。
• He languished after his dog died. 他狗死之后，人憔悴了。

3 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

4 alibi   

n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口

参考例句：

• Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
• The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。