偶像励志英语演讲 27:失败的好处和想象的重要性(9)

 　　Unlike any other creature on this planet, human beings can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's places.

　　与这个星球上任何其他的动物不同，人类可以学习和理解未曾经历过的事情。他们可以换位思考，能够设身处地去体会他人的感受。

　　Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional¹ magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathize.

　　当然，这种能力就像我在小说里虚构的魔法一样，没有邪恶之分。有人可能会利用这种能力去操纵或控制别人，也有人选择用它去了解和同情他人。

　　And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

　　而很多人不愿去运用他们的想象力。他们选择舒适地生活在自己经验所及的范围内，从来不愿费心去想想如果生在别处会怎样。他们会拒绝去听别人的尖叫，不愿看一眼囚禁的笼子；对于与自身无关的苦难，他们会封闭自己的内心；他们会拒绝了解这一切。

　　I might be tempted² to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terror. I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid. What is more, those who choose not to empathize enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright³ evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy⁴.

　　我可能会受到诱惑，去嫉妒那样生活的人。但我不认为他们做的噩梦会比我更少。选择生活在狭窄的空间会导致不敢面对开阔的视野，那种生活同样会有恐惧。我认为不愿展开想象的人会看到更多的怪兽，他们往往更会感到害怕。而且，那些没有同情心的人会激活真正的怪兽。因为尽管他们自身没有作恶，但他们对于罪恶无动于衷，这已足以使他们成为作恶者的共谋。

　　One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

　　18岁时，为了追寻我当时还无法解释的东西，我踏上了学习古典文学的征途并汲取了许多知识，其中一点便是希腊作家普鲁塔克所说：我们的内在修养将会改变外在的现实。

　　重点讲解：

　　1. other than

　　（用于否定陈述后）除了…以外；

　　eg. She seldom appears other than happy.

　　她总是看起来很幸福。

　　eg. I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life and be free.

　　我没有雄心大志，只求自由自在地过幸福生活。

　　2. be tempted to do sth.

　　想做…的；希望做某事；

　　eg. I'm very tempted to sell my house.

　　我很想把我的房子卖掉。

　　eg. He is often tempted to find steadier, more lucrative⁵ work.

　　他经常想找到较稳定，更赚钱的工作。

　　3. lead to

　　招致；致使；导致；

　　eg. It was an illegal act and will lead to your arrest.

　　这是非法行为，足以将你送入监狱。

　　eg. Such a mistake would perhaps lead to disastrous⁶ consequences.

　　这样一种错误可能导致灾难性的后果。

　　4. collude with

　　共谋；勾结；串通；

　　eg. Several local officials are in jail on charges of colluding with the Mafia.

　　几位当地官员因被控勾结黑手党而入狱。

　　eg. They two are people of the same ilk, who collude with one another.

　　他们俩臭味相投，相互勾结。

　　5. in search of

　　寻找；寻求；

　　eg. Miserable⁷, and unexpectedly lonely, she went in search of Jean-Paul.

　　内心痛苦、突感寂寞的她去寻找琼－保罗。

　　eg. The law already denies entry to people in search of better economic opportunities.

　　法律已经将那些逐寻更好商机的人们拒之门外。

　　名人简介：

　　人物轶事

　　哈利·波特终结篇最后一章含泪书写——J·K·罗琳披露写作过程

　　罗琳在英国广播公司（BBC）2007年7月6日播出的节目中说：“当我完成接近终结的一章时，我绝对是嚎啕大哭。”罗琳独自在酒店房间中写完《哈利·波特与死亡圣器》。她回忆说：“我发自内心地在哭，我在酒店的小酒吧一口气喝下半瓶香槟，回家时，我的脸上满是泪水冲下的睫毛膏。那可真是太难了”。

　　女富豪：“魔法妈妈”乔安妮·凯瑟琳·罗琳

　　英国小说家“哈利·波特”的作者乔安妮·凯瑟琳·罗琳凭着哈利·波特的魔力新登入了福布斯的10亿富翁排行榜。罗琳是“10亿富豪俱乐部”中唯一的英国女性、唯一的作家，是世界上白手起家打入其中的仅有的5名女性之一，也是最年轻的成员之一。

　　与粉丝对簿法庭

　　J·K·罗琳于2008年4月14日出庭，与一名美国“哈利·波特”迷对簿公堂。这名被控诉的《哈利·波特》“头号粉丝”是现年50岁的史蒂文·范德·阿克。当最后一部《哈利·波特》面世后，范德·阿克打算把网站上的内容出版成书。新书名为《哈利·波特词典》，是一本关于《哈利·波特》系列小说中人物、地点和咒语的指南读物。然而，罗琳认为《哈利·波特词典》侵犯了她的知识产权。罗琳声称，范德·阿克“剽窃”了她的文字，只不过按照从A到Z重新编排了一遍。4月17日，为期三天的审判落下帷幕。罗琳对法官说，如果这本书获准出版，将为无数其他作品的抄袭之作铺平道路。

1 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

2 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

5 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

6 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

7 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。