品味人生篇05：Playing a Violin with Three Strings断弦的小提琴

On Nov.18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is not a small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he walks with the aid of two crutches¹.
1995年11月18日，小提琴家伊扎克·帕尔曼举办了一场音乐会。如果你曾经听过帕尔曼的音乐会，你就知道对他来说走上舞台可不是一件容易的事情。他小的时候患过小儿麻痹症，所以走路要借助双拐。

The audiences sat quietly while he made his way across the stage to his chair and began his play. But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings² on his violin broke. We thought that he would have to stop the concert. But he didn’t. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.
观众静静地等着他穿过舞台坐在椅子上开始表演。但是这一次出了点意外。当他刚刚演奏完前面几小节的时候，一根琴弦断了。我们以为他不得不结束这场演奏会，然而他却没有。他停了一下，闭上了眼睛，然后向指挥示意重新开始。

The orchestra began and he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.
乐队再一次开始演奏，他用前所未有的激情、力量和纯洁的内心演奏着。

Of course, everyone knows that it is impossible to play a harmonious³ work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.
当然，我们都知道仅用三根琴弦是无法演奏出和谐的乐曲的。你我都明白这一事实，但是那晚伊扎克·帕尔曼拒绝承认。

When he finished, there was an awesome⁴ silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium⁵.
当演奏结束的时候，大厅里先是一阵可怕的沉寂。接着，人们从座位上起立并欢呼起来，从观众席的每一个角落都爆发出了热烈的掌声。

He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow and then he said in a quiet, sacred tone, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”
他微笑着，擦去了额头的汗珠，他用平静的、虔诚的语气说道：“有些时候音乐家需要去发现，用不完整的乐器，你还能演奏出怎样的音乐。”

So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.
也许这就是对生命的解释。我们要学会在这个动荡多变、充满迷惑的世界里演奏音乐，也许开始的时候倾尽所有来演奏，当有些东西不再拥有的时候，就用我们所剩下来的来演奏。
 

1 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

2 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

3 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

5 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。