TED演讲:一段无人了解的经历(1)

Imagine being unable to say, "I am hungry," "I am in pain," "thank you," or "I love you."

想象一下不能说出“我饿了”，“我好疼” “谢谢”以及“我爱你”的情形。

Being trapped inside your body, a body that doesn't respond to commands. Surrounded by people, yet utterly¹ alone.

被束缚在自己的身体里，一个不能作出响应的身体，尽管被人群包围，但却沉浸在无尽的孤独中。

Wishing you could reach out, to connect, to comfort, to participate. For 13 long years, that was my reality.

极力想要接触身边的人群，去联系、去安抚、去参与。这就是我十三年来的处境。

Most of us never think twice about talking, about communicating. I've thought a lot about it. I've had a lot of time to think.

几乎没有人仔细的关注过自己的言谈和交流，我却思考了非常非常多，我有很多时间去想这些事。

For the first 12 years of my life, I was a normal, happy, healthy little boy. Then everything changed. I contracted a brain infection.

在我生命中的前十二年中，我曾是一个平常的、活泼的、健康的男孩。但是后来一切都发生了翻天覆地的变化，我不幸罹患脑部感染。

The doctors weren't sure what it was, but they treated me the best they could. However, I progressively² got worse.

我的医生不确定我感染了何物，但是他们尽全力医治我。但是我的病情急剧恶化。

Eventually, I lost my ability to control my movements, make eye contact, and finally, my ability to speak.

后来，我失去了控制自己行动的能力，失去了用眼神沟通的能力，最终，失去了说话的能力。

While in hospital, I desperately³ wanted to go home. I said to my mother, "When home?"

当我还在医院的时候，我近乎绝望地想要回到家中。我对我的母亲说“什么时候回家？”

Those were the last words I ever spoke⁴ with my own voice. I would eventually fail every test for mental awareness⁵.

这是我自己说出的最后几个字。后来，我没有通过任何一个心理意识测验。

My parents were told I was as good as not there. A vegetable, having the intelligence of a three-month-old baby.

我的父母被告知我是否仍在医院休养已没有太大差别，在他们眼里我成了一个和三个月婴儿智力无异的植物人。

They were told to take me home and try to keep me comfortable until I died.

医生建议他们把我带回家，让我过的尽可能舒适一些，直到我死去。

My parents, in fact my entire family's lives, became consumed⁶ by taking care of me the best they knew how.

我父母的，甚至是整个家庭的生活都因被尽可能好的照顾我而淹没。

Their friends drifted⁷ away. One year turned to two, two turned to three. It seemed like the person I once was began to disappear.

他们的朋友离他们远去，一年又一年，看起来原来的我逐渐消失。

The Lego blocks and electronic circuits⁸ I'd loved as a boy were put away. I had been moved out of my bedroom into another more practical one.

我爱玩的乐高积木和电路板被收了起来。我被从我的卧室搬了出来，到了另外一个更方便的房间。

I had become a ghost, a faded memory of a boy people once knew and loved.

我变成了一个幽灵，变成了一个人们模糊记忆中曾被人们熟知和喜爱的小男孩。

1 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

2 progressively   

adv.前进地，日益增加地；逐步

参考例句：

• The situation was becoming progressively more difficult. 局势变得愈发困难起来。
• The problem became progressively worse. 问题变得越来越严重。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 consumed   

v.消耗( consume的过去式和过去分词 )；烧毁；大吃；使充满（强烈的感情）

参考例句：

• Arguing about details consumed many hours of the committee's valuable time. 争论细节问题耗费了委员会数小时宝贵的时间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fire had consumed half the forest away before it was stopped. 大火在熄灭之前毁掉了树林的一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 drifted   

漂( drift的过去式和过去分词 )； 吹积； 漂泊； 浮现

参考例句：

• The boat slipped its moorings and drifted out to sea. 船的系泊绳索滑落，船漂向大海。
• Cold and hungry, they drifted helplessly towards the Arctic. 他们又冷又饿，无助地漂向北极。

8 circuits   

n.电路( circuit的名词复数 )；巡回；（体育运动）巡回赛；环行

参考例句：

• It is called series circuits in physics. 它在物理学上被称为串联电路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its use is only for precise work, as in making microelectronic circuits. 这类用途仅限于精密加工，如制造微电子电路等方面。 来自辞典例句