TED演讲:一段无人了解的经历(8)

Being given a means of communication changed everything.

有了交流的方式，一切都改变了。

I used the power of words and will to challenge the preconceptions of those around me and those I had of myself.

我用语言的力量挑战了来自于身边人的和来自于自己的偏见。

Communication is what makes us human, enabling us to connect on the deepest level with those around us,

交流是人类的特质，使我们能够在最深层次与身边的人沟通，

telling our own stories, expressing wants, needs and desires, or hearing those of others by really listening.

分享我们的故事，表达愿望，需要和渴求或者倾听他人的思想。

All this is how the world knows who we are. So who are we without it?

所有这些都让这个世界知道我们是谁。如果没有交流，我们会变成什么样子？

True communication increases understanding and creates a more caring and compassionate¹ world.

真正的交流增进理解，并且创造出富有同情心的世界。

Once, I was perceived to be an inanimate object, a mindless phantom² of a boy in a wheelchair.

曾经我被预言为毫无生命的物体，一个坐在轮椅上毫无思想的幽灵。

Today, I am so much more. A husband, a son, a friend, a brother, a business owner, a first-class honors graduate, a keen amateur photographer.

现在我有了多个角色，丈夫，儿子，朋友，兄弟，老板，一等荣誉毕业生，热情的业余摄影师。

It is my ability to communicate that has given me all this.

是交流的能力给予我这些。

We are told that actions speak louder than words. But I wonder, do they? Our words, however we communicate them, are just as powerful.

有人告诉我们，行动比语言更有力。但我想问：“是这样吗？”语言，无论我们怎么用它们交流，都是有力的。

Whether we speak the words with our own voices, type them with our eyes,

无论我们怎样使用语言，用声音，用眼神，

or communicate them non-verbally to someone who speaks them for us, words are among our most powerful tools.

或通过其他非口头的方式与他人交流，语言都是最有力的工具之一。

I have come to you through a terrible darkness, pulled from it by caring souls and by language itself.

我经过可怕的黑暗来到你们面前，被悲悯的灵魂和语言本身解救出来。

The act of you listening to me today brings me farther into the light. We are shining here together.

你们的倾听让我进一步走进光明，我们正一起发光。

If there is one most difficult obstacle to my way of communicating,

如果我在交流中有一个最大的障碍，

it is that sometimes I want to shout and other times simply to whisper a word of love or gratitude³. It all sounds the same.

那就是有时我想大喊，有时只想低声说出爱和感激。

But if you will, please imagine these next two words as warmly as you can: Thank you.

但如果你能够，请极尽热忱地想象这两个词：谢谢。

1 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

2 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

3 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。