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AndrewSolomon_2014-_生命中最惨痛的时刻如何造就我们_
As a student of adversity , 我从逆境中学习:
adversity:n.逆境;不幸;灾难;灾祸;
I've been struck over the years by how some people with major challenges seem to draw strength from them, and I've heard the popular wisdom that that has to do with finding meaning. 这些年来,我一次又一次 被人们如何 从极大的挑战中 得到力量而震撼, 人们说, 这和找寻生命的意义有关。
wisdom:n.智慧;明智;才智;学问;
And for a long time, 很长一段时间,
I thought the meaning was out there, some great truth waiting to be found. 我以为生命的意义在某一处 它是等待被发掘的真理。
But over time, I've come to feel that the truth is irrelevant . 但随着时间的迁移,我渐渐感到 真理无关紧要
irrelevant:adj.不相干的;不切题的;
We call it finding meaning, but we might better call it forging meaning. 我们称它为找寻意义, 但或许我们该更准确地称它铸造意义。
forging:n.锻造;锻件;伪造;v.锻造;打制(forge的现在分词);
My last book was about how families manage to deal with various kinds of challenging or unusual offspring , and one of the mothers I interviewed , who had two children with multiple severe disabilities , said to me, People always give us these little sayings like, 我上一本书讲的是家庭 如何应对各种让人伤脑筋的, 或不寻常的儿女们, 我访问了一位有两名 患有多重残疾的孩童的母亲, 她对我说:“人们总是给予我们 一些所谓的名言,例如
offspring:n.后代,子孙;产物; interviewed:v.对(某人)进行面试(或面谈); (媒体)采访(interview的过去分词和过去式) multiple:adj.数量多的;多种多样的;n.倍数; severe:adj.极为恶劣的;十分严重的;严厉的;苛刻的; disabilities:n.残疾(disability的复数);身心障碍者;
'God doesn't give you any more than you can handle ,' but children like ours are not preordained as a gift. ‘上帝不会给你多过你能承载的’ 但是像我家这样的孩子 并不是天生就注定是份礼物。
handle:n.[建]把手;柄;手感;口实;v.处理;操作;运用;买卖;触摸; preordained:adj.注定的;天命的;v.预先注定;预定(preordain的过去式和过去分词);
They're a gift because that's what we have chosen. 他们是一份礼物,是因为我们选择如此。”
We make those choices all our lives. 我们一生中有很多这样的选择。
When I was in second grade, 我小学二年级的时候,
Bobby Finkel had a birthday party and invited everyone in our class but me. 鲍比开了个生日派对 他邀请了班上的所有人,除了我 。
Bobby:警察
My mother assumed there had been some sort of error, and she called Mrs. Finkel, who said that Bobby didn't like me and didn't want me at his party. 我妈妈认为一定是出了什么差错, 所以给鲍比的母亲打了电话, 鲍比的母亲说,鲍比不喜欢我, 不想让我参加他的派对。
assumed:adj.假定的;假设的;v.假定;假设;认为;承担;(assume的过去分词和过去式)
And that day, my mom took me to the zoo and out for a hot fudge sundae . 那天,我妈妈带我去了动物园 并去吃了焦糖冰激凌。
fudge:n.软糖;胡说;谎话;v.捏造;粗制滥造;回避;int.胡说八道！; sundae:n.圣代冰淇淋;
When I was in seventh grade, one of the kids on my school bus nicknamed me Percy as a shorthand for my demeanor , and sometimes, he and his cohort would chant that provocation the entire school bus ride, 45 minutes up, 45 minutes back, 我在7年级（初中一年级）时, 我乘坐的校车上有个孩子 叫我:‘波西’ （发音似女式手提包） 取笑我的言行举止, 有时,他和他的伙伴 会在整个校车的路途上 不停的吆喝着这个挑衅, 去学校的45分钟,回家的45分钟,
nicknamed:给…取绰号(nicknamed的过去式,过去分词); shorthand:n.速记;速记法;adj.速记法的; demeanor:n.风度;举止;行为; cohort:n.一群人,一批人;同伙;支持者; chant:v.吟唱;歌颂;赞扬;卖唱;n.颂歌;单调的歌;吟诵语调;呆板无味; provocation:n.挑衅;激怒;挑拨;
Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! ‘波西！波西！波西！波西！’
When I was in eighth grade, our science teacher told us that all male homosexuals develop fecal incontinence because of the trauma to their anal sphincter . 当我8年级（初中二年级）的时候, 我们的科学老师告诉我们, 所有的男性同性恋者 都会大便失禁 因为他们的肛门肌肉受到创伤。
homosexuals:n.[心理]同性恋者(homosexual的复数); fecal:adj.排泄物的;残渣的;糟粕的; incontinence:n.[医]失禁;无节制;不能自制; trauma:n.[外科]创伤(由心理创伤造成精神上的异常);外伤; anal:adj.[解剖]肛门的,直肠的;肛门附近的; sphincter:n.[解剖]括约肌;
And I graduated high school without ever going to the cafeteria, where I would have sat with the girls and been laughed at for doing so, or sat with the boys and been laughed at for being a boy who should be sitting with the girls. 我直到高中毕业, 我都从没去过学校的食堂, 在那儿我如果和女生坐在一起, 那么我会被笑话, 或者如果我和男生坐在一起 那么我会被笑话为一个 本应该跟女生坐在一起的男生。
I survived that childhood through a mix of avoidance and endurance . 我用了忍耐加上逃避, 才熬过了我的童年。
childhood:n.童年;幼年;孩童时期 avoidance:n.逃避;废止;职位空缺; endurance:n.忍耐力;忍耐;持久;耐久;
What I didn't know then, and do know now, is that avoidance and endurance can be the entryway to forging meaning. 我当时不知道, 但我现在明白了: 逃避和忍耐 是铸造意义的入口通道。
entryway:n.入口通道;
After you've forged meaning, you need to incorporate that meaning into a new identity . 铸造了意义以后, 你必须把这个意义融入 一个新的身份。
forged:v.艰苦干成;努力加强;假冒;制作;(forge的过去分词和过去式) incorporate:vt.包含,吸收; vi.合并; adj.合并的; identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式;
You need to take the traumas and make them part of who you've come to be, and you need to fold the worst events of your life into a narrative of triumph , evincing a better self in response to things that hurt. 你需要把创伤变成 你自身的一部分, 你必须把生命中最糟糕的时间, 揉搓成胜利的故事, 用更好的自己 来还击能伤害你的事物。
traumas:n.外伤;精神创伤(trauma的复数); fold:v.折叠;包;可叠平(以便贮存或携带);裹;n.褶;褶层;折叠部分;褶痕; narrative:n.叙述;故事;讲述;adj.叙事的,叙述的;叙事体的; triumph:v.战胜;成功;打败;n.巨大成功;重大成就;伟大胜利;喜悦; evincing:vt.表明,表示;引起; in response to:响应;回答;对…有反应;
One of the other mothers I interviewed when I was working on my book had been raped as an adolescent , and had a child following that rape, which had thrown away her career plans and damaged all of her emotional relationships. 我在写我的书时, 访问了一位母亲, 她年少时被强奸, 而在那之后她怀了孩子, 这摧毁了她的事业计划 也使她的情感关系受创。
raped:v.强奸;强暴(rape的过去分词和过去式) adolescent:adj.青春期的;未成熟的;n.青少年; career:n.职业;事业;生涯;经历; emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的;
But when I met her, she was 50, and I said to her, 当我遇见她时,她已经50岁了, 我问她,
Do you often think about the man who raped you? “你常想起那个强奸你的男人吗？”
And she said, I used to think about him with anger, but now only with pity. 而她回答道:“我曾经对他很气愤, 但现在只有怜悯。”
And I thought she meant pity because he was so unevolved as to have done this terrible thing. 我以为她所说的怜悯是因为 只有粗鄙的男人才能做出如此不堪的事情。
unevolved:未进化的;
And I said, Pity? 我问她:“怜悯？”
And she said, Yes, because he has a beautiful daughter and two beautiful grandchildren and he doesn't know that, and I do. 她回答到:“是的, 因为他有一个美丽的女儿 和两个美丽的孙子孙女 但他并不知道,而我知道。
So as it turns out, I'm the lucky one. 所以显然,我是幸运的。”
Some of our struggles are things we're born to: our gender , our sexuality , our race, our disability . 有些挣扎是先天的: 我们的性别,性倾向,种族,残疾。
gender:n.性别; sexuality:n.[胚]性别;性欲;性征;性方面的事情(比如性行为或性能力); disability:n.残疾;无能;无资格;不利条件;
And some are things that happen to us: being a political prisoner, being a rape victim , being a Katrina survivor. 有些是后天发生的事情: 成为政治犯,成为强奸的受害者, 成为飓风卡特里娜的幸存者。
victim:n.受害人;牺牲品;牺牲者;
Identity involves entering a community to draw strength from that community, and to give strength there too. 身份意味着进入一个社群 从社群中得到力量, 并同时给予那社群力量。
involves:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加,加入(involve的第三人称单数) community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
It involves substituting and for but -- not I am here but I have cancer , but rather, I have cancer and I am here. 这需要把“但是”转换成“而且” 不是“我在这儿但是我有癌症” 而是,“我有癌症而且我在这里。”
substituting:n.取代;[数]代入;v.代替,取代(substitute的现在分词形式); cancer:n.癌症;恶性肿瘤;
When we're ashamed , we can't tell our stories, and stories are the foundation of identity. 当我们对自己感到惭愧, 我们就无法阐述自己的故事, 而故事是身份的基础。
ashamed:adj.惭愧;尴尬;因惭愧而不情愿; foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立;
Forge meaning, build identity, forge meaning and build identity. 铸造意义,建立身份, 铸造意义并建立身份,
That became my mantra . 这变成了我的口头禅。
mantra:n.咒语(尤指四吠陀经典内作为咒文或祷告唱念的);颂歌;
Forging meaning is about changing yourself. 铸造意义所需要的是改变自己。
Building identity is about changing the world. 建立身份所需要的是改变世界。
All of us with stigmatized identities face this question daily: how much to accommodate society by constraining ourselves, and how much to break the limits of what constitutes a valid life? 所有像我这样身份沾有污点的人 每天都必须面对这个问题: 我该多大限度地通过禁锢自己 来迁就社会 我该多大限度地打破所谓 正确生活的底线？
stigmatized:adj.受非难的;被污名化的;v.污辱;指责(stigmatize的过去分词); identities:n.身份;本身;本体;特征;同一性;相同;(identity的复数) accommodate:vt.容纳;使适应;供应;调解;vi.适应;调解; constraining:约束; constitutes:v.被算作;组成;构成;(合法或正式地)成立,设立;(constitute的第三人称单数) valid:adj.有效的;有根据的;合法的;正当的;
Forging meaning and building identity does not make what was wrong right. 铸造意义和建立身份 不会把错的变成对的。
It only makes what was wrong precious . 只会把错误的变得珍贵。
precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的;
In January of this year, 今年一月,
I went to Myanmar to interview political prisoners, and I was surprised to find them less bitter than I'd anticipated . 我前往缅甸访问政治囚犯, 而我惊讶地发现他们 没有我想象中的那么怀恨。
Myanmar:n.缅甸(东南亚国家); bitter:adj.苦的; n.苦味; v.激烈地; v.使变苦; anticipated:adj.预期的; v.预期; (anticipate的过去式和过去分词)
Most of them had knowingly committed the offenses that landed them in prison, and they had walked in with their heads held high, and they walked out with their heads still held high, many years later. 他们大多在知情的情况下 犯下了让他们入狱的罪行, 而他们昂首挺胸地走入监狱, 多年后,他们依然昂首 地走出监狱。
knowingly:adv.故意地;机警地,狡黠地; committed:adj.坚信的; v.做出错事; (commit的过去分词和过去式) offenses:进攻;
Dr. Ma Thida, a leading human rights activist who had nearly died in prison and had spent many years in solitary confinement , told me she was grateful to her jailers for the time she had had to think, for the wisdom she had gained, for the chance to hone her meditation skills. 马提达博士,一位人活跃的权运动领袖 曾经几乎丧命于狱中 并在单独禁锢中度过多年, 但她告诉我她很感谢她的囚监 给她思考的时间, 让她得到了许多的智慧, 和增进她的沉思的能力。
activist:n.积极分子;激进主义分子; solitary confinement:n.单独监禁;单独禁闭; jailers:n.狱卒,看守监狱的人; hone:v.磨练,训练;磨(刀);n.磨刀石; meditation:n.冥想;沉思,深思;
She had sought meaning and made her travail into a crucial identity. 她追寻了意义, 并把她受的难变成了重要的身份。
sought:v.seek(寻求、寻找)的过去式和过去分词形式; travail:n.分娩的痛苦;艰苦劳动;vi.辛勤努力;经受分娩的阵痛; crucial:adj.重要的;决定性的;定局的;决断的;
But if the people I met were less bitter than I'd anticipated about being in prison, they were also less thrilled than I'd expected about the reform process going on in their country. 但如果我见到的人们 没我想象的中那么怀恨 他们在狱中的时间, 他们也没有我想象的 对他们国家的政治改革 那么高兴。
thrilled:adj.非常兴奋; v.使非常兴奋; (thrill的过去分词和过去式) reform:v.改革;改进;改良;(使)悔改;n.改革;改良;改善; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的;
Ma Thida said, 马提达说:
We Burmese are noted for our tremendous grace under pressure, but we also have grievance under glamour , she said, and the fact that there have been these shifts and changes doesn't erase the continuing problems in our society that we learned to see so well while we were in prison. “我们缅甸人出了名的 在压力下能保持优雅, 但在华丽表象下却有不满,” 他说道,“我们曾经历 这些动荡和改变 并不能消除我们 在狱中学会看清的 社会中 长久以来的问题。”
tremendous:adj.极大的,巨大的;惊人的;极好的; grace:n.优雅;恩惠;魅力;慈悲;v.使优美; grievance:n.不满,不平;委屈;冤情; glamour:n.魅力,魔力;迷人的美;vt.迷惑,迷住; shifts:n.转移; v.转移; (shift的第三人称单数) erase:vt.抹去;擦除;vi.被擦去,被抹掉;
And I understood her to be saying that concessions confer only a little humanity , where full humanity is due, that crumbs are not the same as a place a t the table, which is to say you can forge meaning and build identity and still be mad as hell. 而我所理解她所说的是 相比完整的人性所需要的, 妥协换来的只是一小部分的人性 这就像面包屑并不等于 饭桌前就餐的位置 而这意味着你可以在铸造意义 和寻求身份的同时十分气愤。
concessions:n.让步,让与;(票价)优惠;(concession的复数形式) confer:vt.授予;给予;vi.协商; humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科;
I've never been raped, and I've never been in anything remotely approaching a Burmese prison, but as a gay American, 我不曾被强奸, 我也不曾体验过任何 接近缅甸监狱的事情, 但身为一名同性恋的美国人,
remotely:adv.遥远地;偏僻地;(程度)极微地,极轻地; approaching:v.靠近,接近;接洽;建议;要求;(approach的现在分词)
I've experienced prejudice and even hatred , and I've forged meaning and I've built identity, which is a move I learned from people who had experienced far worse privation than I've ever known. 我经历过歧视甚至仇恨, 而我也曾铸造过意义和建造了身份, 这是我从经历过比我 更多困苦的人身上 学习到的法则。
prejudice:n.偏见;侵害;vt.损害;使有偏见; hatred:n.仇恨;憎恨;厌恶; privation:n.贫困;丧失;被剥夺了某物的状态;
In my own adolescence , 我年少时,
adolescence:n.青春期;
I went to extreme lengths to try to be straight. 曾经千辛万苦地努力成为异性恋者。
extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物;
I enrolled myself in something called sexual surrogacy therapy , in which people I was encouraged to call doctors prescribed what I was encouraged to call exercises with women I was encouraged to call surrogates , who were not exactly prostitutes but who were also not exactly anything else. 我为自己报名参加了称为 性替代品的疗法。 所谓的医生为我 和所谓替代品女人 规定了所谓的练习, 她们并不是妓女, 但除了妓女却也什么都不是。
enrolled:v.(使)加入;注册;登记;(enroll的过去分词和过去式) surrogacy:n.替身代孕;代孕行为; therapy:n.治疗,疗法; prescribed:v.给…开(药); (prescribe的过去式和过去分词) surrogates:代理;替代; prostitutes:n.卖淫者;妓女v.滥用才能;出卖肉体(prostitute的第三人称单数和复数)
(Laughter) （笑声）
My particular favorite was a blonde woman from the Deep South who eventually admitted to me that she was really a necrophiliac and had taken this job after she got in trouble down at the morgue . 我最喜爱的 是从南部来的一位金发女郎, 她最终向我坦白 她是个恋尸癖 在她在停尸房中出了事儿后, 才接受了这份工作。
blonde:n.金发女郎;adj.金黄色的; Deep South:n.美国南部诸州(尤指佐治亚、亚拉巴马、密西西比、路易斯安那和南卡罗来纳州); eventually:adv.最后,终于; necrophiliac:adj., n.necrophilia的变形necrophilia[精神病学]恋尸狂,恋尸癖(指对尸体的色情欲)[亦作necrophilism]; morgue:n.陈尸所;资料室,资料档案;
(Laughter) （笑声）
These experiences eventually allowed me to have some happy physical relationships with women, for which I'm grateful, but I was at war with myself, and I dug terrible wounds into my own psyche . 这些经历最终让我和一些女人 发生了愉快的肉体关系, 我对此抱有感激, 但我也和自己不断的战斗, 我在自身的心灵里划下了了严重的伤。
physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; wounds:n.(身体上的)伤,伤口; v.使(身体)受伤; (wound的第三人称单数和复数) psyche:n.灵魂;心智;
We don't seek the painful experiences that hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences. 我们不寻求揉搓出我们身份 的那些惨痛经验 但我们在惨痛的经验之后, 却会追寻我们的身份。
seek:v.寻求;寻找;谋求; painful:adj.痛苦的;疼痛的;令人不快的; hew:vt.砍;劈;砍倒;vi.砍;劈;坚持; in the wake of:紧紧跟随;随着…而来;作为…的结果;仿效;
We cannot bear a pointless torment , but we can endure great pain if we believe that it's purposeful . 我们不能承担无谓的痛苦, 但如果我们认定它是有意义的, 我们就能忍受巨大的痛苦。
pointless:adj.无意义的;钝的;不尖的;不得要领的; torment:v.折磨,使痛苦;纠缠,作弄;n.痛苦,苦恼;痛苦的根源; endure:v.忍受;忍耐;持续;持久; purposeful:adj.有目的的;有决心的;
Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle. 安逸比起挣扎并不会对 我们留下深刻的印象。
impression:n.印象;影响;效果;感想;
We could have been ourselves without our delights , but not without the misfortunes that drive our search for meaning. 没有了喜悦,我们还会是我们, 但没有了促使我们追寻意义的不幸 我们就不是现今的自己。
delights:n.高兴; v.使高兴; (delight的第三人称单数和复数) misfortunes:不幸;
Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities , “所以,我在不幸中得到快乐,”
take pleasure in:乐于;喜欢; infirmities:n.虚弱;疾病;衰弱;缺点;
St. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians, for when I am weak, then I am strong. 圣保罗在第二哥林多前书中写道, ”当我软弱时,我是坚强的。“
In 1988, I went to Moscow to interview artists of the Soviet underground, and I expected their work to be dissident and political. 1988年,我前往莫斯科 采访苏联的地下艺术家, 我本以为他们的作品 会是持不同意见的和政治性的。
Soviet:adj.苏维埃的;苏联的;n.苏维埃(前苏联的各级代表会议);苏联人; dissident:n.持不同政见者,意见不同的人;adj.持不同政见的,意见不同的;
But the radicalism in their work actually lay in reinserting humanity into a society that was annihilating humanity itself, as, in some senses, Russian society is now doing again. 但是他们作品中的激进其实在 把人性重新注入 在毁灭人性的社会中, 正如,在某程度上, 现今的俄罗斯社会再一次在做的。
radicalism:n.激进主义; reinserting:vt.再插入,重新插入; annihilating:v.消灭;歼灭;毁灭;彻底击败;(annihilate的现在分词)
One of the artists I met said to me, 我遇到的其中一名艺术家对我说,
We were in training to be not artists but angels. 我们正在苦炼成为天使,而不是艺术家。”
In 1991, I went back to see the artists 1991年,我回到莫斯科拜访这些
I'd been writing about, and I was with them during the putsch that ended the Soviet Union, and they were among the chief organizers of the resistance to that putsch. 我曾写过的艺术家, 我和他们一起度过了, 终结苏联的政变, 而他们是抵抗政变 的主要组织者之一。
putsch:n.(德)起义;暴动;叛乱; organizers:n.主办单位,组织者(organizer的复数形式); resistance:n.电阻;抵抗;阻力;抗力;
And on the third day of the putsch, one of them suggested we walk up to Smolenskaya. 在政变的第三天, 他们其中的一员建议我们去斯莫兰卡雅（莫斯科地名）。
And we went there, and we arranged ourselves in front of one of the barricades , and a little while later, a column of tanks rolled up, and the soldier on the front tank said, 我们去了那里, 然后我们列好队站在一个街垒前, 过了一会儿, 一列坦克车开来了, 最前方的坦克车士兵说,
arranged:adj.安排的;v.安排;计划;准备(arrange的过去式和过去分词); barricades:n.路障; v.设路障于; column:n.栏目,纵队; soldier on:继续服役;坚持着干;迎着困难干;
We have unconditional orders to destroy this barricade. “我们有无条件的命令 要摧毁这个街垒。
unconditional:adj.无条件的;绝对的;无限制的;
If you get out of the way, we don't need to hurt you, but if you won't move, we'll have no choice but to run you down. 如果你们让开, 我们不需伤害你们, 但如果你们待在这儿,我们没办法 只能压过你们。”
And the artists I was with said, 和我在一起的艺术家们说,
Give us just a minute. “给我们一分钟,
Give us just a minute to tell you why we're here. 给我们一分钟告诉你我们为什么在这里。”
And the soldier folded his arms, and the artist launched into a Jeffersonian panegyric to democracy such as those of us who live in a Jeffersonian democracy would be hard-pressed to present. 那个士兵把双臂交叉在胸前, 那名艺术家开始以杰斐逊式的民主颂词, 这是我们这些生活在 杰斐逊式的民主社会的人 也苦于表达的。
launched:v.发射;发起;开展;开始;(launch的过去式和过去分词) panegyric:n.颂词,赞颂; democracy:n.民主,民主主义;民主政治; hard-pressed:adj.被紧紧催逼的;被紧迫追赶的;
And they went on and on , and the soldier watched, and then he sat there for a full minute after they were finished and looked at us so bedraggled in the rain, and said, What you have said is true, and we must bow to the will of the people. 他们滔滔不绝地说着, 而那名士兵看着他们, 知道他们说完了之后, 他坐在那里待了整整一分钟, 看着我们这群落汤鸡, 然后说,“你们说的是事实, 而我们必须听从民意。
on and on:继续不停地; bedraggled:adj.全身泥污的; v.把…在泥水中拖脏;
If you'll clear enough space for us to turn around, we'll go back the way we came. 如果你们让出足够的位置让我们掉头, 我们会原路返回。”
And that's what they did. 而他们果真这样做了。
Sometimes, forging meaning can give you the vocabulary you need to fight for your ultimate freedom. 有时,铸造意义 能给你所需要的辞藻 来争取你最终的自由。
ultimate:adj.最终的;极限的;根本的;n.终极;根本;基本原则;
Russia awakened me to the lemonade notion that oppression breeds the power to oppose it, and I gradually understood that as the cornerstone of identity. 俄罗斯让我意识到逆境求生的概念: 剥削会繁衍抵抗剥削的力量, 而我逐渐明白了这是 身份的基石。
awakened:adj.觉醒的;v.唤醒(awaken的过去式); lemonade:n.柠檬水; notion:n.观念;信念;理解; oppression:n.压抑;镇压;压迫手段;沉闷;苦恼; breeds:n.[生物]品种; v.繁殖; oppose:v.反对(计划、政策等);抵制;阻挠;(在竞赛中)与…对垒; gradually:adv.渐渐地;逐步地; cornerstone:n.基础;柱石;地基;
It took identity to rescue me from sadness. 身份从伤痛中拯救了我。
rescue:n.救援;抢救;营救;获救;v.抢救;营救;援救;
The gay rights movement posits a world in which my aberrances are a victory. 同性恋权利运动憧憬一个 我的畸形是一种胜利。
posits:vt.安置;假定;n.假设;设想;
Identity politics always works on two fronts: to give pride to people who have a given condition or characteristic , and to cause the outside world to treat such people more gently and more kindly. 身份的政治总是从两方面出发: 给有特殊情况或特征的人 应有的自豪; 和让外在的世界 温柔地善待这些人。
politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数) characteristic:n.特征;特点;品质;adj.典型的;独特的;特有的; treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣; gently:adv.轻轻地;温柔地;温和地;
Those are two totally separate enterprises, but progress in each sphere reverberates in the other. 这是两种不同的途径, 但不管哪个方面的进展 都会在另一方面造成回响。
sphere:n.球;领域;球体;球形;v.使成球形;包围;把…放在球内;使处于天体之间; reverberates:v.回响;回荡;摇晃;产生广泛影响;(reverberate的第三人称单数)
Identity politics can be narcissistic . 身份的政治可以变成自恋的。
narcissistic:adj.自恋的;自我陶醉的;
People extol a difference only because it's theirs. 人们称赞不同只是应为那是他们自身的。
extol:vt.颂扬;赞美;赞颂;
People narrow the world and function in discrete groups without empathy for one another. 人们把世界窄化, 形成个体,对他人毫无同情。
narrow:adj.狭窄的; v.使窄小; n.峡谷; (场所,物品等的)狭窄部分; discrete:adj.离散的,不连续的;n.分立元件;独立部件; empathy:n.神入;移情作用;执着;
But properly understood and wisely practiced, identity politics should expand our idea of what it is to be human. 但如果它得以正确的理解 和理智的运用, 身份的政治应该 扩充我们对人性的概念。
expand:v.扩张;使膨胀;详述;发展;张开,展开;
Identity itself should be not a smug label or a gold medal but a revolution . 身份自身 不应是让人自满的标签 或是一枚金牌 但应是一个革命。
smug:adj.自鸣得意的;自以为是的;整洁的;n.书呆子;自命不凡的家伙; label:n.标签;标记;谓;唱片公司;v.贴标签于;用标签标明; gold medal:n.金牌;金质奖章; revolution:n.革命;旋转;运行;循环;
I would have had an easier life if I were straight, but I would not be me, and I now like being myself better than the idea of being someone else, someone who, to be honest, 如果我是异性恋,我的生活会轻松很多, 但我不会是我, 我现在比较喜欢做我自己 而不想成为另一个人, 说实话,
I have neither the option of being nor the ability fully to imagine. 我无法成为, 也无法想象其他人。
option:n.选择;可选择的东西;
But if you banish the dragons , you banish the heroes, and we become attached to the heroic strain in our own lives. 但如果你驱逐了恶龙, 你也同时驱逐了英雄, 而我们无法放下 我们生命中英雄的那一部分。
banish:vt.放逐;驱逐; dragons:n.龙;悍妇;母夜叉;(dragon的复数) attached:adj.依恋;v.重视;把…固定;(attach的过去分词和过去式) heroic:adj.英雄的;英勇的;记叙英雄及其事迹的;夸张的;n.史诗;英勇行为;
I've sometimes wondered whether I could have ceased to hate that part of myself without gay pride 's technicolor fiesta , of which this speech is one manifestation . 我有时候会问自己 如果没有同性恋权益的色彩斑斓, (这个演讲就是其显像之一）, 我能否停止憎恨自己的那一部分。
ceased:v.停止(cease的过去式及过去分词形式);中止;中断; gay pride:n.同性恋者尊严; technicolor:n.(美)[印刷][摄]彩色印片法;鲜艳的色彩;彩色电影; fiesta:n.圣日,宗教节日;祭典;假日; manifestation:n.表现;显示;示威运动;
I used to think I would know myself to be mature when I could simply be gay without emphasis , but the self-loathing of that period left a void, and celebration needs to fill and overflow it, and even if I repay my private debt of melancholy , there's still an outer world of homophobia that it will take decades to address. 我曾经认为当我是同性恋者, 却不加宣扬时,我就成熟了, 但那段时间的自厌留下了一个洞, 需要靠庆祝来填满和倾注, 就算我还清了我自身的悲伤, 外在的同性恋恐惧症还是存在的 那需要几十年的时间来解决。
mature:v.成熟; adj.明白事理的; emphasis:n.强调;重视;重要性;(对某个词或短语的)强调; self-loathing:n.自我讨厌的;自我憎恨的; overflow:vi.溢出;泛滥;充溢;n.充满,洋溢;泛滥;超值;溢值;vt.使溢出;使泛滥;使充溢; repay:v.偿还;报答;报复; debt:n.债务;借款;罪过; melancholy:adj.忧郁的;使人悲伤的;n.忧郁;悲哀;愁思; outer:adj.外面的,外部的;远离中心的;n.环外命中; homophobia:n.对同性恋的恐惧;对同性恋的憎恶;
Someday, being gay will be a simple fact, free of party hats and blame, but not yet. 有一天,同性恋身份会是个简单的事实, 没有夸耀或指责, 但现在不是这样。
A friend of mine who thought gay pride was getting very carried away with itself, once suggested that we organize 我有个朋友,他认为 同性恋权益忘乎所以, 他提议我们举行
Gay Humility Week. 同性恋“谦卑”一周。
Humility:n.谦卑,谦逊;
(Laughter) (Applause) （笑声）（掌声）
It's a great idea, but its time has not yet come. 这是个好主意, 但它的时间未到。
(Laughter) （笑声）
And neutrality , which seems to lie halfway between despair and celebration, is actually the endgame . 而中立,这似乎 在绝望和庆祝中间的东西, 才是最终的目标。
neutrality:n.中立;中性;中立立场; despair:v.绝望;失去希望;丧失信心;n.绝望; endgame:n.最后阶段;尾声;
In 29 states in the U.S., 在美国有29个州,
I could legally be fired or denied housing for being gay. 法律准许我因为同性恋身份, 而被开除或被拒之门外。
denied:v.否认;拒绝;否定;不承认;(deny的过去分词和过去式)
In Russia, the anti-propaganda law has led to people being beaten in the streets. 在俄罗斯,反政治宣传法 导致人们在大街上被殴打。
Twenty-seven African countries have passed laws against sodomy , and in Nigeria, gay people can legally be stoned to death, and lynchings have become common. 二十七个非洲国家 立法严禁肛交, 在尼日利亚,同性恋者 可以合法地被处于石刑, 私刑也最近变得越发常见
sodomy:n.鸡奸,兽奸; lynchings:n.处以私刑;处私刑杀害;v.以私刑处死(lynch的ing形式);
In Saudi Arabia recently , two men who had been caught in carnal acts, were sentenced to 7,000 lashes each, and are now permanently disabled as a result . 近日在沙特阿拉伯,两个被逮到 在发生肉体关系的男人, 每人被判了7000下的鞭刑, 而现在变得终身残疾。
Saudi:adj.沙乌地阿拉伯(人或语)的;n.沙乌地阿拉伯人; Arabia:n.阿拉伯半岛(亚洲西南部,等于ArabianPeninsula); recently:adv.最近;新近; carnal:adj.肉体的;肉欲的;淫荡的;性欲的; lashes:n.睫毛; v.鞭打; (lash的第三人称单数和复数) permanently:adv.永久地,长期不变地; as a result:结果;
So who can forge meaning and build identity? 那谁能铸造意义 和建立身份呢？
Gay rights are not primarily marriage rights, and for the millions who live in unaccepting places with no resources , dignity remains elusive . 同性恋权益不主要是婚姻权益, 而对数以百万生活在不包容 和缺少资源地方的人们, 尊严是可望而不可及的。
primarily:adv.首先;主要地,根本上; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); dignity:n.尊严;高贵; elusive:adj.难懂的;易忘的;逃避的;难捉摸的;
I am lucky to have forged meaning and built identity, but that's still a rare privilege , and gay people deserve more collectively than the crumbs of justice . 我很幸运,能够铸造意义 和建造身份, 但这是少有的特权, 同性恋者群体应得到的 不只是一点点的正义。
privilege:n.特权;优待;v.给与…特权;特免; deserve:vi.应受,应得; collectively:adv.共同地,全体地; justice:n.公平;公正;司法制度;审判;
And yet, every step forward is so sweet. 然而,每点进步 都是甜蜜的。
In 2007, six years after we met, my partner and I decided to get married. 在2007年,在我和我的伴侣 相识六年后, 我们决定结婚。
Meeting John had been the discovery of great happiness and also the elimination of great unhappiness , and sometimes, I was so occupied with the disappearance of all that pain that I forgot about the joy, which was at first the less remarkable part of it to me. 遇见约翰让我找到了 巨大的快乐, 也去除了庞大的不快乐, 有时候,我太在乎着 痛苦的消失, 而忘了喜悦, 它一开始并不是那么的起眼。
elimination:n.消除;淘汰;除去; unhappiness:n.苦恼;忧愁; occupied:adj.被占领的; v.占用; (occupy的过去分词和过去式) disappearance:n.消失;不见; remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
Marrying was a way to declare our love as more a presence than an absence . 婚姻是我们宣扬我们爱的存在 而不是缺憾。
presence:n.存在;出席;参加;风度;仪态; absence:n.没有;缺乏;缺席;不注意;
Marriage soon led us to children, and that meant new meanings and new identities, ours and theirs. 婚姻很快把我们引导向孩子, 而这意味着新的意义 和新的身份,我们的和他们的。
I want my children to be happy, and I love them most achingly when they are sad. 我要我的孩子们开心, 在他们伤心时,我最疼他们。
achingly:adv.极其;痛惜地;非常痛地;
As a gay father, I can teach them to own what is wrong in their lives, but I believe that if I succeed in sheltering them from adversity, 作为一名同性恋的父亲,我可以教导他们 去理解他们生命中的错误, 但我相信如果我成功地 让他们远离逆境,
I will have failed as a parent. 那我身为父亲是失败的。
A Buddhist scholar I know once explained to me that Westerners mistakenly think that nirvana is what arrives when all your woe is behind you and you have only bliss to look forward to . 我认识的一位佛教学者曾向我解释 西方人错误地认为 涅盘降临在所有疾苦消逝 只剩下 幸福在眼前的时候。
Buddhist:n.佛教徒;adj.佛教的; scholar:n.学者;奖学金获得者;聪颖勤奋的学生; Westerners:n.西方人(westerner的复数); mistakenly:adv.错误地;曲解地,被误解地; nirvana:n.涅槃;天堂; woe:n.麻烦;问题;困难;痛苦;苦恼;悲伤; bliss:n.幸福;极乐; look forward to:盼望,期待;
But he said that would not be nirvana, because your bliss in the present would always be shadowed by the joy from the past. 但他说这不是涅盘, 因为你现今的幸福 总会被以前的喜悦掩盖。
Nirvana, he said, is what you arrive at when you have only bliss to look forward to and find in what looked like sorrows the seedlings of your joy. 以他来看,涅盘的降临, 是当你眼前只有幸福, 而在看起来像是悲伤里 也能找到喜悦的种子。
seedlings:n.[植]籽苗(seedling的复数);
And I sometimes wonder whether I could have found such fulfillment in marriage and children if they'd come more readily , if I'd been straight in my youth or were young now, in either of which cases this might be easier. 有时候我在想 如果婚姻和孩子 来得更容易些, 我是否会找到这样的满足, 而如果我年轻时是异性恋,或我还年轻, 它们会让事情变得简单。
fulfillment:n.履行;实行; readily:adv.容易地;乐意地;无困难地;
Perhaps I could. 也许我会的。
Perhaps all the complex imagining I've done could have been applied to other topics. 也许我做过的所有的复杂事情 都可以应用在其他的议题上。
complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施; applied:adj.应用的;实用的;v.应用;使用;申请,请求;(apply的过去分词和过去式)
But if seeking meaning matters more than finding meaning, the question is not whether I'd be happier for having been bullied , but whether assigning meaning to those experiences has made me a better father. 但如果寻求意义 比找到意义更重要, 那问题不是我是不是因为被欺负 而更加快乐, 而是这些被赋予意义 的经历 是否让我成为更好的父亲。
seeking:v.寻找;寻求;谋求;争取;(向人)请求(seek的现在分词) bullied:v.恐吓;伤害;胁迫;(bully的过去分词和过去式) assigning:v.分派;设定(assign的ing形式);
I tend to find the ecstasy hidden in ordinary joys, because I did not expect those joys to be ordinary to me. 我常常发现在普通的快乐中躲藏的狂喜, 因为我不认定这些快乐 对我来说是普通的。
ecstasy:n.狂喜;入迷;忘形;
I know many heterosexuals who have equally happy marriages and families, but gay marriage is so breathtakingly fresh, and gay families so exhilaratingly new, and I found meaning in that surprise. 我认识许多异性恋者他们 有着同样快乐的婚姻和家庭, 但同性婚姻是那么的让人赞叹的新鲜, 同性家庭是那么的令人振奋的新奇, 而我在这惊喜中找到了意义。
heterosexuals:n.异性恋者(heterosexual的复数); breathtakingly:adv.惊人地;令人激动地;
In October, it was my 50th birthday, and my family organized a party for me, and in the middle of it, my son said to my husband that he wanted to make a speech, and John said, 10月是我的50岁生日, 我的家人为我举办了派对, 在进行到一半时, 我的儿子对我的先生说 他想要演讲, 约翰说,
organized:adj.有组织的; v.组织; (organize的过去分词和过去式)
George, you can't make a speech. You're four. “乔治,你不能演讲,你才四岁。”
(Laughter) （笑声）
Only Grandpa and Uncle David and I are going to make speeches tonight. “今晚只有爷爷和大卫叔叔 和我要演讲。”
But George insisted and insisted, and finally , John took him up to the microphone , and George said very loudly, 但是乔治一再的坚持, 终于,约翰把他带到了麦克风前, 然后乔治很大声的说,
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; microphone:n.麦克风;传声器;话筒;
Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. “女士们先生们, 请大家注意一下。”
And everyone turned around, startled . 大家都转过身来,惊呆了,
startled:v.使惊吓;使大吃一惊(startle的过去分词和过去式)
And George said, 乔治说道,
I'm glad it's Daddy's birthday. “我很高兴今天是爹爹的生日。
I'm glad we all get cake. 我很高兴有蛋糕吃。
And daddy, if you were little, 还有,爹爹,如果你还是小孩,
I'd be your friend. 我会做你的朋友。”
And I thought — Thank you. 而我想 （ 谢谢）
I thought that I was indebted even to Bobby Finkel, because all those earlier experiences were what had propelled me to this moment, and I was finally unconditionally grateful for a life I'd once have done anything to change. 我想我甚至对鲍比 都有亏欠, 应为所有这些先前的经历 把我带到了现在这一刻, 而我终于无条件地感激 这个我一度千方百计想要改变的人生
indebted:adj.感激的;负债的;蒙恩的; propelled:adj.推进的;v.推动;驱使(propel的过去分词); unconditionally:adv.无条件地;
The gay activist Harvey Milk was once asked by a younger gay man what he could do to help the movement, and Harvey Milk said, 曾问过同性恋运动人士哈维·米尔克 他能为这个运动做点什么, 哈维·米尔克说,
Go out and tell someone. “出去告诉一个人。”
There's always somebody who wants to confiscate our humanity, and there are always stories that restore it. 世上总是有人 想要没收我们的人性 但也总是有恢复人性的故事。
confiscate:v.没收;(尤指作为惩罚)把…充公; restore:v.恢复;修复;恢复(某种情况或感受);使复原;
If we live out loud, we can trounce the hatred and expand everyone's lives. 如果我们活出精彩, 我们就能战胜憎恨 拓宽众人的生命。
trounce:vt.痛打;严责;打败;
Forge meaning. Build identity. 铸造意义,建立身份
Forge meaning. 铸造意义,
Build identity. 建立身份。
And then invite the world to share your joy. 然后邀请世界 共享你的喜悦。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）
Thank you. (Applause) 谢谢。（掌声）
Thank you. (Applause) 谢谢。（掌声）
Thank you. (Applause) 谢谢。（掌声）