精美英文欣赏:有个男孩名叫纳考西(上)

A Boy Named Nkosi

有个男孩名叫纳考西

In 1989 in a Zulu village, Daphne gave birth to a baby, named Xolani Nkosi. The baby was tiny, no more than two kilos.

1989年，达芙妮生了一孩子，叫做纳考西。婴儿非常小，体重不足两千克。

As the months passed, Daphne realized the boy was ill.

几个月过去了，达芙妮意识到这个小男孩病了。

The doctor who examined the boy had said his illness might be a result of HIV infection—and if that turned out to be the case, Daphne herself was probably infected and it's her who gave the sickness to Nkosi.

给男孩做检查的医生说他的病可能是艾滋病感染的结果——如果事实真是如此，达芙妮自己也很可能被感染了，并且是她把疾病传染给纳考西的。

The identity¹ of his father would remain Daphne's secret.

纳考西的父亲是谁，达芙妮从没有说过。

Whoever² he was, he was the most significant³ person Daphne would ever know, for he had put death into her body.

不论父亲是谁，他都是达芙妮应该知道的重要的人，是他带给她病毒和死亡的危险。

Daphne was not yet 20, yet she was dying⁴, and on the very first day of is life, so was her tiny son.

达芙妮还不到20岁，却濒临死亡；而她的儿子在出生的第一天就面临着死亡的威胁。

Meanwhile, another South African woman, Gail Johnson, was living a different life.

同时，还有一个南非女性，盖尔·约翰逊，过着另外一种生活。

She and her husband were not wealthy, but were comfortably middle class.

她和她的丈夫不算富裕，但是过着舒适的中产阶级的生活。

A visit to a friend's brother, who was in the terminal⁵ stage of AIDS, made her determined⁶ to do something.

在探望完一个朋友的处于艾滋病晚期的弟弟以后，她决定为此做些什么。

By October, she had raised enough money to set up the Guest House, and took in a dozen dying of AIDS.

到了十月，她已经筹集到足够的资金建立庇护所，让艾滋病毒携带者入住。

Daphne sent her boy to the Guest House, where he became a star.

达芙妮把她的儿子送进了庇护所，在那儿纳考西成了明星。

But in 1992 the Guest House had to be close for lack of money.

但是到了1992年，庇护所因为缺少资金而关门。

Gail offered to adopt Nkosi. By his 4th birthday, Nkosi was eating better, gaining some weight. In 1997, Gail sent Nkosi to school.

盖尔收养了纳考西。在他四岁的时候，纳考西吃得更好，体重增加了些。1997年，盖尔送纳考西去上学。

There was no law preventing HIV-positive kids from entering South African's schools.

当时南非的法律没有不准许阳性艾滋病毒携带者上学。

The question had simply never arisen before.

这个问题之前从未出现过。

Eight-year-old Nkosi had lived longer than any child ever born HIV-positive in South Africa.

在南非，八岁的纳考西比其他生来就携带艾滋病毒的孩子活的时间都长。

1 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

2 whoever   

pron.无论谁，不管谁；任何人

参考例句：

• I'll find the person who did this,whoever he is.我要找出干这件事的人，不管他是谁。
• Whoever does best will get the prize.谁做得最出色谁就得奖。

3 significant   

adj.相当数量的；意义重大的；意味深长的

参考例句：

• Your success today may be significant for your whole future.你今天的成功对你的整个未来可能是重要的。
• She cast him a significant smile.她向他投去意味深长的一笑。

4 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

5 terminal   

n.终端机，终点，末端；adj.终点的，按期的，致死的

参考例句：

• The car has reached its terminal speed and can run faster no longer.这辆车的速度已达到了极限，不能再跑更快了。
• There's a taxi stand outside the terminal.在终点站的外面有出租车。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。