TED演讲 :生命中最惨痛的时刻如何造就我们(3)

 Dr. Ma Thida, a leading human rights activist  马提达博士，一位人活跃的权运动领袖

who had nearly died in prison  曾经几乎丧命于狱中

and had spent many years in solitary¹ confinement,  并在单独禁锢中度过多年，

told me she was grateful to her jailers  但她告诉我她很感谢她的囚监

for the time she had had to think,  给她思考的时间，

for the wisdom she had gained,  让她得到了许多的智慧，

for the chance to hone her meditation² skills.  和增进她的沉思的能力。

She had sought meaning  她追寻了意义，

and made her travail³ into a crucial identity.  并把她受的难变成了重要的身份。

But if the people I met  但如果我见到的人们

were less bitter than I'd anticipated  没我想象的中那么怀恨

about being in prison,  他们在狱中的时间，

they were also less thrilled than I'd expected  他们也没有我想象的

about the reform process going on  对他们国家的政治改革

in their country.  那么高兴。

Ma Thida said,  马提达说：

"We Burmese are noted  “我们缅甸人出了名的

for our tremendous grace under pressure,  在压力下能保持优雅，

but we also have grievance⁴ under glamour,"  但在华丽表象下却有不满，”

she said, "and the fact that there have been  他说道，“我们曾经历

these shifts and changes  这些动荡和改变

doesn't erase⁵ the continuing problems  并不能消除我们

in our society  在狱中学会看清的

that we learned to see so well  社会中

while we were in prison."  长久以来的问题。”

And I understood her to be saying  而我所理解她所说的是

that concessions⁶ confer only a little humanity,  相比完整的人性所需要的，

where full humanity is due,  妥协换来的只是一小部分的人性

that crumbs⁷ are not the same  这就像面包屑并不等于

as a place at the table,  饭桌前就餐的位置

which is to say you can forge meaning  而这意味着你可以在铸造意义

and build identity and still be mad as hell.  和寻求身份的同时十分气愤。

I've never been raped,  我不曾被强奸，

and I've never been in anything remotely approaching  我也不曾体验过任何

a Burmese prison,  接近缅甸监狱的事情，

but as a gay American,  但身为一名同性恋的美国人，

I've experienced prejudice and even hatred,  我经历过歧视甚至仇恨，

and I've forged meaning and I've built identity,  而我也曾铸造过意义和建造了身份，

which is a move I learned from people  这是我从经历过比我

who had experienced far worse privation  更多困苦的人身上

than I've ever known.  学习到的法则。

In my own adolescence,  我年少时，

I went to extreme lengths to try to be straight.  曾经千辛万苦地努力成为异性恋者。

I enrolled⁸ myself in something called  我为自己报名参加了称为

sexual surrogacy therapy,  性替代品的疗法。

in which people I was encouraged to call doctors  所谓的医生为我

prescribed what I was encouraged to call exercises  和所谓替代品女人

with women I was encouraged to call surrogates, 规定了所谓的练习，

who were not exactly prostitutes  她们并不是妓女，

but who were also not exactly anything else.  但除了妓女却也什么都不是。

My particular favorite  我最喜爱的

was a blonde woman from the Deep South  是从南部来的一位金发女郎，

who eventually admitted to me  她最终向我坦白

that she was really a necrophiliac  她是个恋尸癖

and had taken this job after she got in trouble  在她在停尸房中出了事儿后，

down at the morgue.  才接受了这份工作。

These experiences eventually allowed me to have  这些经历最终让我和一些女人

some happy physical relationships with women,  发生了愉快的肉体关系，

for which I'm grateful,  我对此抱有感激，

but I was at war with myself,  但我也和自己不断的战斗，

and I dug terrible wounds into my own psyche⁹.  我在自身的心灵里划下了了严重的伤。

We don't seek the painful experiences  我们不寻求揉搓出我们身份

that hew¹⁰ our identities,  的那些惨痛经验

but we seek our identities  但我们在惨痛的经验之后，

in the wake of painful experiences.  却会追寻我们的身份。

1 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

2 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

3 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

4 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

5 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

6 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

7 crumbs   

int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式

参考例句：

• She stood up and brushed the crumbs from her sweater. 她站起身掸掉了毛衣上的面包屑。
• Oh crumbs! Is that the time? 啊，天哪！都这会儿啦？

8 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 psyche   

n.精神；灵魂

参考例句：

• His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。

10 hew   

v.砍；伐；削

参考例句：

• Hew a path through the underbrush.在灌木丛中砍出一条小路。
• Plant a sapling as tall as yourself and hew it off when it is two times high of you.种一棵与自己身高一样的树苗，长到比自己高两倍时砍掉它。