国家地理:难以适应的新常态（3）

My daughter is an ambulance-driving paramedic. One city over from mine, that's all, but for us she's a voice on the phone, a face on the screen, until somebody can promise that sharing a kitchen table won't inadvertently set off a new chain of transmission. Our deepest human impulse for the giving and receiving of comfort, especially in crisis -- to move closer, to join hands, to feel the literal nearness of others -- is the one we cannot indulge.

我女儿是开救护车的护理人员。我们相隔一座城市，如此而已，但对我们来说，她变成手机上的一个声音、屏幕上的一张脸，直到有人能保证一起上餐桌不会无意间引发一连串新的病毒传播为止。我们对于给予和获得安慰的深层渴望，特别是面临危机时--靠近彼此、手牵着手、感受彼此确实就在身旁--是此刻我们不能享有的。

I listen every morning for the boys across the street. Their mother is Australian, and the school-gone-online routine starts with driveway cricket, one parent pitching, the other jiggling the baby sister. They shout and whoop¹, the ball smacks² off the cricket bat, and somehow it's like the sound of those Italians singing in unison³ off their balconies, and the people in great cities opening their windows for evening salutes⁴ to frontline workers, and the balloon-covered Happy Birthday Kevin! car that honked⁵ and blasted music through my neighborhood this week. Halfway⁶ out the sunroof and waving like the star of a parade float, his legs pinioned⁷ by adults within, Kevin -- I'm going to go ahead and assume that was Kevin -- had block after block of Oakland residents wishing him a happy birthday and merrily waving back.

每天早上我都仔细聆听对街男孩的声音。他们的妈妈是澳洲人，在学校改成在线课程后，日常活动就从在车道上打板球开始，父母其中一个负责投球，另一个则轻轻摇着小女婴。他们大声喊叫与欢呼、板球啪地撞击板球棒，不知为何这就像是那群意大利人在阳台上齐声歌唱的声音；也像大城市的居民在傍晚打开窗户向前线工作人员致敬；或像那辆挂满气球的“祝凯文生日快乐！”庆生专车，这周经过我家小区时狂按喇叭与大声播放音乐的声音。凯文--我就当他是凯文--的双腿被车子里的大人抓住，从天窗露出半个身体，像是游行花车上的明星挥着手，在经过一个又一个街区时，奥克兰的居民祝他生日快乐，并且也开心地向他挥手。

"Let us not let this virus infect our souls," I heard a local pastor⁸ implore⁹ his congregation last month. He was getting the hang of preaching by Zoom¹⁰, the amens floating up the chat window on one side of the screen. A soprano sang a hymn¹¹ at her living room piano, and it was possible for a while to imagine all this improvisation¹² as terrified humans fumbling¹³ for grace and, at odd moments -- driveway cricket, a mask-sewing brigade, a How are you? that means something new -- finding it.

“别让这个病毒感染我们的灵魂。”我上个月听到一位地方牧师向信众做出这番呼吁。他正在学习通过Zoom讲道，一句句阿门从屏幕侧边的聊天窗口中浮出来。一位女高音伴着她家客厅里的钢琴唱赞美诗，而当惶恐的人们摸索着寻找恩典的方式时，可能会有好一段时间都需要想出这些应变做法，并且在出乎意料的时刻--车道上的板球比赛、致力缝口罩的军队、一句被赋予新义的“你好吗？”--找到恩典。

1 whoop   

n.大叫，呐喊，喘息声；v.叫喊，喘息

参考例句：

• He gave a whoop of joy when he saw his new bicycle.他看到自己的新自行车时，高兴得叫了起来。
• Everybody is planning to whoop it up this weekend.大家都打算在这个周末好好欢闹一番。

2 smacks   

掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌

参考例句：

• His politeness smacks of condescension. 他的客气带有屈尊俯就的意味。
• It was a fishing town, and the sea was dotted with smacks. 这是个渔业城镇，海面上可看到渔帆点点。

3 unison   

n.步调一致，行动一致

参考例句：

• The governments acted in unison to combat terrorism.这些国家的政府一致行动对付恐怖主义。
• My feelings are in unison with yours.我的感情与你的感情是一致的。

4 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

5 honked   

v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I drove up in front of the house and honked. 我将车开到屋子前面然后按喇叭。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He honked his horn as he went past. 他经过时按响了汽车喇叭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

7 pinioned   

v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His arms were pinioned to his sides. 他的双臂被绑在身体两侧。
• Pinioned by the press of men around them, they were unable to move. 周围的人群挤压着他们，使他们动弹不得。 来自辞典例句

8 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

9 implore   

vt.乞求，恳求，哀求

参考例句：

• I implore you to write. At least tell me you're alive.请给我音讯，让我知道你还活着。
• Please implore someone else's help in a crisis.危险时请向别人求助。

10 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

11 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

12 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

13 fumbling   

n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理

参考例句：

• If he actually managed to the ball instead of fumbling it with an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。
• If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it awkwardly an off-balance shot. 如果他实际上设法拿好球而不是fumbling它。50-50提议有时。他从off-balance射击笨拙地和迅速地会开始他的岗位移动，经常这样结束。