只要人人都献出一点爱 世界将会更美好

 One of the nice things about being a human being is that when you have a problem, you can appeal for help, and you'll often get it. People actually want to help people. (Unlike chimps¹, who have a very nasty² attitude.)

作为一个人，好处之一就是当你遇到问题时，你可以请求帮助，而且你常常会得到帮助。实际上人们想要帮助他人。（不像脾气不好的黑猩猩。）

You would not believe how many people called my office after the earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, and asked how they could help. A lot of those people had never met a Haitian in their entire lives. But they wanted to help.

你可能不相信，2010年1月12日海地地震后，多少人往我办公室打过电话，并询问他们怎样才能提供帮助。那些人中的很多人一生中从未遇到过一个海地人，但是他们想要提供帮助。

只要人人都献出一点爱 世界将会更美好

I'll give you another example.

再给你举一个例子。

I went to Somalia a few years ago. I went with a group. Our group also visited other countries in East Africa. We flew from one country to another, often because land borders were closed. But flights were few and far between.

几年前我去了索马里。我跟一群人一起去的。我们这群人也访问了东非的其他国家。我们时常因为国土边界被封锁而从一个国家飞到了另一个国家，但是那里几乎没有什么航班而且航班之间相隔的时间很久。

Upon arrival at the airport in one small country, the immigration official noticed that the visa for a member of our group had expired³. She said that that member would have to re-board the flight, and return from whence we had come. Which was a huge problem, because the next flight was four days later, and we were staying only for three.

到达一个小国家机场的时候，移民局官员注意到我们这群人中的一位成员签证过期了。她说那位成员必须重新登机，从哪里来就回哪里去。这是个大问题，因为下一个航班在四天后，而我们只呆三天。

In some parts of the world, such problems are solved by the sudden appearance of cash. Sure enough, cash suddenly appeared.

在世界上的一些地区，这样的问题可以通过突然出现的现金来解决。毫无疑问，现金突然出现了。

The immigration official quietly declined⁴ the offer. She reiterated⁵ that our colleague needed to re-board the airplane. This caused a great deal of consternation⁶ within our group.

移民局官员平静地拒绝了这些钱。她重申我们的同事需要重新登机，这在我们这群人中引起了极大的恐慌。

Our group leader was possibly the most traveled human being who ever lived. For instance, he had been to Ethiopia, a nearby country, more than thirty times. He knew a thing or two about human nature. He went up to the immigration official, he quietly and tactfully explained the awful consequences for our colleague if he were separated from our group, and he then used the magic words:

我们的领队可能是活着的人中游历经验最丰富的人了。例如，他去过附近的一个国家埃塞俄比亚30多次。他对人类本性略知一二。他去找移民局官员，他平静又机智地解释如果我们的同事和我们这群人分开，对他来说后果很可怕，然后他用了这条咒语：

"Have a heart."

“发发善心吧。”

He said those words three times.

他把这句话说了3遍。

The immigration official smiled (for the first time), took the passport with the expired visa, and told him that everyone would have to wait until she returned. So we did.

移民局官员（第一次）笑了，拿起这本签证过期的护照，并告诉他每个人都必须等到她回来才行。所以我们就按她说的办了。

The plane left. We didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

飞机起飞了。我们不知道那是好事还是坏事。

After 45 minutes, she came back. She showed my colleague that inside the passport there was a new, valid⁷ visa.

45分钟之后，她回来了。她把护照拿给我的同事看，护照里有一个新的有效签证。

"No charge," she said in French.

“免费的，”她用法语说。

What makes a $15 minimum wage politically possible? It's because people have a heart. Why immigration reform? Because people have a heart. Why universal healthcare, paid sick leave, free public college? Because ... people have a heart.

什么使得15美元的最低工资在政治上成为可能？这是因为人们发善心。为什么要进行移民政策改革？因为人们发善心。为什么会有全民医疗、带薪病假、免费公立大学？因为……人们发善心。

Our progressive campaign is not rooted merely in idealism, the conviction⁸ that the world can be a better place. Our progressivism is rooted in human nature, that shared spark in all of us we call "empathy." In a very fundamental way, we care about each other. We love each other. We want everyone to live a decent⁹ life - even people we've never met, and never will meet.

我们的革新运动不是仅仅植根于理想主义，而是确信这个世界可以成为一个更好的地方。我们的革新论植根于人类的天性，它闪耀在我们所有人身上，我们称之为“同理心”。我们以非常基本的方式互相关心、相亲相爱。我们想要每一个人过上体面的生活——即使是我们从未遇见过且以后也不会遇见的人。

We all have a heart.

我们都发发善心吧。

1 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

2 nasty   

adj.令人讨厌的，困难的，恶劣的，下流的

参考例句：

• She got a nasty knock on the head when she fell.她跌倒时头部受到严重碰撞。
• When this material burns，it flings off a nasty smell.这种物质燃烧时发出一股难闻的气味。

3 expired   

期满( expire的过去式和过去分词 )； 文件、协议等（因到期而）失效； 断气； 逝世

参考例句：

• The period of validity of the agreement has expired. 本协议的有效期已过。
• Their licences have expired. 他们的执照已到期。

4 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

8 conviction   

n.确信，坚定的信仰；说服，信服；定罪

参考例句：

• His conviction carried him along in his research.他的信心支持着他把研究工作坚持下去。
• His conviction caused rioting in the streets.他被判有罪，引起了街头骚动。

9 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。