智慧人生篇章 第67期:母亲的爱

 　　"A few years ago my middle son who was around seven years old at the time, had cycled away from home without telling anyone. “几年前，七岁左右的儿子一声不吭地骑车离开了家。

　　It was a mild summer evening and there were many children playing in their gardens. 那是一个夏季的傍晚，天气怡人，许多孩子在院子里玩耍。

　　Our new house was in a family friendly estate and despite trying to keep calm for the 40 minutes that we couldn't find him, 我们所处的小区氛围友好，每家每户都其乐融融。在寻找儿子下落的40分钟里我还能故作镇定，

　　I felt as if my life had stopped. There seemed to be no past and no future just a desperate present filled with every possible what if. 可当没找着他时，我感觉我的生命停止了。没有过去，也没有未来，只有充满着各种可能的绝望的当下。

　　He came back cheerfully on his bike having made some new friends and completely oblivious¹ to the desperate panic at home. 结交了几个新朋友后，儿子欢天喜地的骑着车回到家，完全没有察觉家中绝望恐慌的气氛。

　　40 minutes may have seemed like a lifetime to me but I was lucky because some people really do spend a lifetime living with the disappearance² of their child. 这40分钟对我而言像一生一般漫长，但我还算幸运，因为有些人真的一生都生活在失去孩子的痛苦中。

　　Winnie Johnson, the mother of Keith Bennett who was murdered by Ian Brady in 1964 died this weekend. She died at the age of 78, 维妮·约翰逊于本周末逝世，享年78岁。她的孩子基思·班尼特在1964年被伊恩·布拉迪杀害，

　　and 47 of those years had been spent looking for her son's body, the remains³ of which may still be somewhere on Saddleworth Moor⁴. 47年里，维妮·约翰逊一直在寻找孩子的遗体。遗体被藏匿在沙德伍兹沼泽一带，至今下落不明。

　　I grew up in West Yorkshire and would often pass the sign for Saddleworth as we drove along the motorway⁵. 我在西约克郡长大，驾车时总会在高速公路上经过指向沙德伍兹的路标。

　　They are bleak⁶ and rolling moors⁷ but like many I came to associate this place only with the tragic⁸ murders of innocent young lives. 荒凉的沼泽地势崎岖，但和许多人一样，我只能由它想起几个无辜的年轻人被人谋杀的悲剧。

　　Most of us can't even begin to imagine Winnie Johnson's torment⁹. The letters she wrote to Ian Brady with her pleas that perhaps he might in a moment of remorse¹⁰ tell her where Keith's body lay, 多数人都无法想像维妮·约翰逊所遭受的痛苦。她给伊恩·布拉迪写信，恳求他能因刹那的悔恨告诉她基思遗体的下落。

　　her desperation to give Keith a Christian¹¹ burial, before she died herself when she became ill. 她那时已身染疾病，不顾一切地想给伊恩一个基督教式的葬礼。

　　But it is her relentless¹² hope as a mother which makes this story even more poignant¹³. 然而，就是这位母亲的无尽的愿望使整个故事更加让人痛心。

　　Her hope that in finding Keith's remains she would have done all in her power as a mother and finally made peace with herself. 她希望尽一个母亲的全部力量来找到基思的遗体，从而与自己讲和。

　　But holding onto such hope must have been a kind of torment itself always demanding courage and patience. 不过坚持这种希望一定是种折磨，需要靠勇气和耐心来支撑。

　　Maybe Winnie Johnson's Christian faith gave her some solace¹⁴ in her darkest hours but I think that keeping faith in the face of despair is God's biggest challenge to us. 也许维妮·约翰逊的基督教信仰在黑暗的时光里给予她安慰，但我想，在绝望中坚持信仰是上帝给我们设下的最大挑战。

　　Her son was the victim of Brady's murder but she became the victim of his silence. 她的儿子成为布拉迪谋杀行为的受害者，而她则成为布拉迪沉默态度的受害者。

　　And although her family will continue this search they too may never find out. 尽管她的家人们将继续寻找，但他们可能依旧一无所获。

　　In trying to keep her son's memory alive she took flowers and toys to the moors. 为了使人们记住自己的孩子，维妮在沼泽地里布置了鲜花和玩具。

　　And perhaps in years to come it is this tender image which will gradually eclipse the dark secrets of these moors and the infamous¹⁵ faces of the murderer, 也许若干年后，这温馨的景象会渐渐冲淡这片沼泽地的秘密，渐渐模糊凶手穷凶极恶的面容。

　　an image in which lies the haunting hope of a mother's love.", 而这温馨的景象背后，是一位母亲满怀爱意的心愿。

1 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

2 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

5 motorway   

n.高速公路，快车道

参考例句：

• Our car had a breakdown on the motorway.我们的汽车在高速公路上抛锚了。
• A maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.一个疯狂的司机以每小时110英里的速度在高速公路上逆行飙车35英里。

6 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

7 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

9 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

10 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

13 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

14 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

15 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。