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BobStein_2017S-_暮年的仪式_
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| I grew up white, secular and middle class in 1950s America. |
我出生于五十年代美国的 一个传统的白人中产阶级家庭里。 |
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secular:adj.世俗的; n.修道院外的教士,(对宗教家而言的)俗人; middle class:adj.中产阶级的;中层社会的;
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| That meant watching fireworks on the Fourth of July , trick-or-treating on Halloween and putting presents under a tree at Christmas. |
这意味着,七月四号（独立日）要看烟花, 在万圣节不给糖就捣乱, 以及圣诞节时会把礼物放在树下。 |
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fireworks:n.烟花;烟火表演;激烈的言辞;令人激动的行动;(firework的复数) Fourth of July:n.美国独立纪念日(纪念美国于1776年7月4日独立); trick-or-treating:n.不给糖就捣乱(美国万圣夜时孩子们玩的一种游戏); Halloween:n.万圣节前夕
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| But by the time those traditions got to me, they were hollow , commercial enterprises, which just left me feeling empty. |
到了我生活的年代时, 这些传统变成了空洞的商业之事, 让我感到空虚。 |
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hollow:n.孔; v.挖; adj.中空的; v.彻底; commercial:adj.贸易的;商业的;赢利的;以获利为目的的;n.(电台或电视播放的)广告;
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| So from a relatively young age, |
所以,从年轻的时候, |
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relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地;
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| I found myself looking to fill an existential hole, to connect with something bigger than myself. |
我就开始寻找方法填补 这个存在了的空洞, 以期与更伟大的事物相连。 |
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existential:adj.存在主义的;有关存在的;存在判断的;
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| There hadn't been a bar mitzvah in my family in over a century, so I thought I'd take a shot at that -- |
一个多世纪以来, 我家没有举办过一场（犹太）成人礼, 所以我想我应该试试看。 |
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bar mitzvah:n.受诫礼(为年满13岁的犹太男孩举行的成人仪式);v.[犹]使受戒;
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| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| only to be devastated when my one encounter with the rabbi , a really tall, godlike figure with flowing white hair, consisted of him asking me for my middle name so we could fill out a form. |
但和拉比（犹太教教义者）的相遇 仍带来了毁灭性的打击, 他很高,像神灵一样, 有一头飘逸的白发, 相遇时他询问我的中间名是什么, 以填在表格上。 |
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devastated:adj.不安的,混乱的,震惊的; v.彻底破坏; (devastate的过去分词和过去式) encounter:v.遭遇,邂逅;遇到;n.遭遇,偶然碰见; rabbi:n.拉比(犹太人的学者);法师;犹太教律法专家;先生; godlike:adj.上帝般的;似神的;庄严的; consisted:vi.组成;在于;符合; middle name:n.中名(名和姓之间的名字);
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| Yep, that was it. |
是的,就是这样。 |
| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| So I got the fountain pen , but I didn't get the sense of belonging and confidence |
我拿起了那只笔, 但并未获得我一直在寻找的 |
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fountain pen:n.自来水笔; confidence:n.信心;信任;秘密;adj.(美)诈骗的;骗得信任的;
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| I was searching for. |
归属感和信心。 |
| Many years later, |
多年后, |
| I couldn't bear the thought of my son turning 13 without some kind of rite of passage . |
我无法容忍我的孩子将满13岁, 却没有举行任何仪式, |
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rite of passage:n.(标志人生重要阶段的)通过仪式;
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| So I came up with the idea of a 13th birthday trip, and I offered to take Murphy anywhere in the world that had meaning for him. |
所以我想出了这个主意—— 十三岁生日之旅。 我提出带Murphy去 这个世界上任何一个对他有意义的地方。 |
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Murphy:n.马铃薯,土豆;
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| A budding young naturalist who loved turtles , he immediately settled on the Galapagos. |
作为一个崭露头角 喜欢乌龟的年轻博物学家, 他毫不犹豫地选择了加拉帕戈斯群岛, |
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budding:adj.开始发展的;崭露头角的;n.发芽;v.发芽;(bud的现在分词) naturalist:n.自然主义者; adj.自然的(等于naturalistic); turtles:n.海龟;龟;陆龟;水龟;鳖;(turtle的复数) settled:adj.稳定的; v.结束; (settle的过去分词和过去式)
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| And when my daughter, Katie, turned 13, she and I spent two weeks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon , where Katie learned for the first time that she was powerful and brave. |
当我的女儿Katie满13岁时, 我们一起在大峡谷底部度过了两周。 正是在那儿,Katie第一次 意识到了自己的强大与勇敢, |
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Canyon:n.(周围有悬崖峭壁的)峡谷;(
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| Since then, my partner, Ashton, and lots of our friends and relatives have taken their kids on 13th birthday trips, with everyone finding it transformative for both the child and the parent. |
在这之后,我的另一半Ashton 还有很多亲朋 都带着他们的小孩儿开启了 十三岁生日之旅。 无论是大人还是小孩 每个人都能看到它带来的改变, |
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relatives:n.亲戚;亲属;同类事物;(relative的复数) transformative:adj.变化的,变形的;有改革能力的;
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| I wasn't brought up saying grace . |
我家并没有饭前祷告的传统, |
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grace:n.优雅;恩惠;魅力;慈悲;v.使优美;
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| But for the last 20 years, we've been holding hands before every meal. |
但在过去的20年里, 每次用餐前我们都会牵住彼此的手。 |
| It's a beautiful bit of shared silence that brings us all together in the moment. |
那是寂静又美好的时刻, 我们在那时紧密相依, |
| Ashton tells everyone to "pass the squeeze ," |
Ashton告诉大家, 要紧握彼此, |
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squeeze:v.挤;紧握;勒索;压榨;n.压榨;紧握;拥挤;佣金;
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| while she assures them it's not religious . |
但她保证这并不带有宗教性质。 |
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assures:v.使确信;向…保证;查明;确保;(assure的第三人称单数) religious:adj.宗教的;虔诚的;严谨的;修道的;n.修道士;尼姑;
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| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| So recently , when my family asked me if I could please do something with the more than 250 boxes of stuff that I've collected over a lifetime, my ritual-making impulse kicked in. |
最近,当我的家人问我, 我是否能用我一生收集的 250多箱东西做点什么时, “举行仪式”的冲动再次涌上心头。 |
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recently:adv.最近;新近; stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本: impulse:n.冲动;[电子]脉冲;刺激;神经冲动;推动力;v.推动;
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| I started wondering if I could go further than simple death cleaning. |
我开始想,除去死亡清理, 我还能再做些什么？ |
| '"Death cleaning" is the Swedish term for clearing our your closets, your basement and your attic before you die, so your kids don't have to do it later. |
“死亡清理”是瑞典的习俗, 在你去世前 你会清理你的壁橱、地下室和阁楼, 这样你的孩子以后就不用做这些了。 |
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Swedish:adj.瑞典的;瑞典语的;瑞典人的;n.瑞典语;瑞典人; attic:n.阁楼;顶楼;鼓室上的隐窝;
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| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| I pictured my children opening up box after box and wondering why I'd kept any of that stuff. |
我开始想象我的孩子们 打开一个又一个箱子, 猜想我为什么要留着这些物什。 |
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opening up:n.解禁;开放;供开发;启用;
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| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| And then I imagined them looking at a specific picture of me with a beautiful young woman, and asking, "Who on earth is that with Dad?" |
我能想象到当他们看着 我和一位妙龄女子的合影时, 满腹疑惑 “和我爸爸在一起的究竟是谁”。 |
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specific:adj.特殊的,特定的;明确的;详细的;[药]具有特效的;n.特性;细节;特效药;
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| (Laughter) |
（笑声） |
| And that was the aha moment. |
这就是“顿悟时刻”, |
| It wasn't the things I'd saved that were important; it was the stories that went with them that gave them meaning. |
并非是我留下的东西很重要, 它背后的故事才是意义所在。 |
| Could using the objects to tell the stories be the seed of a new ritual , a rite of passage -- not for a 13-year-old, but for someone much further down the road ? |
是否可以通过讲述它们的故事, 开启一项新仪式, 不再是给13岁准备的成人礼, 而是为了更年长的人们。 |
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ritual:n.仪式;惯例;礼制;adj.仪式的;例行的;礼节性的; down the road:只要沿着这条路;将来;在路上;
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| So I started experimenting. |
我开始尝试, |
| I got a few dozen things out of the boxes, |
我从箱子里挑选了几十样东西, |
| I put them about in a room, and I invited people to come in and ask me about anything that they found interesting. |
将它们摆放在一个房间内, 邀请人们前来, 并询问他们感兴趣的事物。 |
| The results were terrific . |
结果非常棒, |
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terrific:adj.极好的;极其的,非常的;可怕的;
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| A good story became a launching pad for a much deeper discussion, in which my visitors made meaningful connections to their own lives. |
一段好的故事会激发出 更深入的讨论, 让我的访客建立起 和他们自身息息相关的联系, |
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launching:n.发射;开办;起飞;v.开始从事,发起,发动;(launch的现在分词) pad:n.软垫,护垫;便笺本;爪垫;肉掌;v.填充,覆盖,保护;蹑手蹑脚地走;做黑账; meaningful:adj.严肃的;重要的;重大的;意味深长的;
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| Derrius [Quarles] asked me about a Leonard Peltier T-shirt that I'd worn a lot in the '80s, that, sadly, is still relevant today. |
Derrius曾问过我 关于Leonard Peltier T恤的故事, 我在80年代经常穿它, 令人感伤的是, 它与现在仍紧密相连。 |
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relevant:adj.相关的;切题的;中肯的;有重大关系的;有意义的,目的明确的;
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| Our conversation moved quickly, from a large number of political prisoners in American jails , to Derrius wondering about the legacy of the Black Liberation Movement of the '60s, |
我们的对话进展很快, 从美国监狱中关押的大量政治犯, 到Derrius想要了解 60年代黑人解放运动的遗留问题, |
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jails:n.监狱;监牢;拘留所;vt.监禁;下狱; legacy:n.遗赠,遗产; Liberation:n.释放,解放;
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| and how his life might be different if he'd come of age then, instead of 30-odd years later. |
以及如果他在那时就已成年, 而不是30年后, 他的人生将是什么样子, |
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come of age:达到法定年龄;
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| At the end of our conversation, |
在谈话的最后, |
| Derrius asked me if he could have the T-shirt. |
Derrius问我能否把T恤给他, |
| And giving it to him felt just about perfect. |
我想这可能是最完美的做法。 |
| As these conversations established common ground , especially across generations, |
当这些对话建立起共同点, 特别是跨世纪的共同点, |
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established:adj.已确立的;著名的;v.建立;创立;设立;(establish的过去分词和过去式) common ground:n.共同点; especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分;
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| I realized I was opening a space for people to talk about things that really mattered to them. |
我意识到我开拓了一片新天地。 人们可以谈论他们真正关心的事情, |
| And I started seeing myself with a renewed sense of purpose -- not as the old guy on the way out, but as someone with a role to play going forward. |
我的人生也有了全新的使命感。 我不再是将要离世的老人, 而是有角色要扮演的人, 在向前迈进, |
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renewed:adj.再次发生的; v.重新开始; (renew的过去分词和过去式)
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| When I was growing up, life ended for most people in their 70s. |
在我小时候, 大多数人会在70岁逝世, |
| People are living far longer now, and for the first time in human history, it's common for four generations to be living side by side . |
但是人们的寿命在延长, 人类史上第一次发现, 四世同堂是一件 很平常的事情, |
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side by side:adj.并肩的;并行的;
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| and with a bit of luck, |
如果幸运的话, |
| I've got 20 or 30 more years ahead of me. |
我还可以活20年或30年, |
| Giving away my stuff now and sharing it with friends, family, and I hope strangers, too, seems like the perfect way to enter this next stage of my life. |
现在就拿出我的收藏, 把它们的故事讲述给我的朋友、家人 我甚而希望是陌生人, 似乎是进入人生 新阶段的最好方式, |
| Turns out to be just what I was looking for: a ritual that's less about dying and more about opening the door to whatever comes next. |
这正是我所找寻的: 一个与死亡无关的仪式, 敞开大门, 迎接未来, |
| Thank you. |
谢谢你们。 |
| (Applause) |
（掌声） |
| Onward ! |
继续前行！ |
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Onward:adj.向前的;前进的;adv.向前;在前面;
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| (Applause) |
（掌声） |