TED演讲 :影片纪录加纳民主进程(1)

 I was born in Switzerland and raised in Ghana, West Africa.  我出生在瑞士,在西非的加纳长大。

Ghana felt safe to me as a child.  加纳对儿时的我是安全的家。

I was free, I was happy.  我很自由快乐。

The early 70s marked a time of musical and artistic¹ excellence² in Ghana.  70年代早期是加纳的音乐和艺术的辉煌时期。

But then by the end of the decade,  但是70年代末，

the country had fallen back into political instability and mismanagement.  加纳陷入政治动荡和政策混乱。

In 1979,I witnessed my first military coup³.  1979年我目睹了军事政变。

We the children had gathered at a friend's house.  我们一群孩子聚集在一个朋友家里。

It was a dimly lit shack⁴.  是个破烂昏暗的棚子。

There was a beaten up black and white television flickering⁵ in the background,  有台破旧的黑白电视机在背景处一直闪动着，

and a former head of state and general was being blindfolded⁶ and tied to the pole. 放的是前总统和将军被蒙住眼睛绑在柱子上，

The firing squad⁷ aimed, fired the general was dead.  行刑的队伍来了，枪决了他们，将军死了。

Now this was being broadcast live.  这个场景在电视上直播。

And shortly after, we left the country,  不久后，我们离开了加纳，

and we returned to Switzerland.  回到了瑞士。

Now Europe came as a shock to me,  然后欧洲对我来说是个冲击，

and I think I started feeling the need to shed my skin in order to fit in.  我开始觉得有必要掩盖自己的肤色以融入这个社会。

I wanted to blend in like a chameleon⁸.  我想如变色龙一样。

I think it was a tactic⁹ of survival.  我觉得这是生存的技巧。

And it worked, or so I believed.  这个方法成功了，至少我觉得是这样的。

So here I was in 2008 wondering where I was in my life. 2008年的时候我开始思考我的人生定位。

And I felt I was being typecast as an actor.  我觉得我被定型为一个演员。

I was always playing the exotic African.  总是演异国风情的非洲人。

I was playing the violent African,  或是暴力的非洲人，

the African terrorist.  非洲恐怖分子。

And I was thinking,  我琢磨，

how many terrorists could I possibly play before turning into one myself? 在做回我自己之前我得演多少恐怖分子？

And I had become ashamed of the other,  我开始以我的一部分，

the African in me.  以我的非洲血统为耻。

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 shack   

adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚

参考例句：

• He had to sit down five times before he reached his shack.在走到他的茅棚以前，他不得不坐在地上歇了五次。
• The boys made a shack out of the old boards in the backyard.男孩们在后院用旧木板盖起一间小木屋。

5 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

6 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

8 chameleon   

n.变色龙，蜥蜴；善变之人

参考例句：

• The chameleon changes colour to match its surroundings.变色龙变换颜色以适应环境。
• The chameleon can take on the colour of its background.变色龙可呈现出与其背景相同的颜色。

9 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。