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ChrisDowney_2013Z-_心念盲人,设计一座城_

So, stepping down out of the bus, 嗯,我下了公交,
I headed back to the corner to head west en route to a braille training session . 走到街角, 正准备往西走去上盲文培训班。
en route:在途中;在航路上; braille:vt.用盲字印;n.布莱叶(法国盲人教育家);盲人用点字法; session:n.会议;(法庭的)开庭;(议会等的)开会;学期;讲习会;
It was the winter of 2009, and I had been blind for about a year. --那是2009年的冬天, 那时我已失明约一年--
Things were going pretty well. 一切还挺顺利
Safely reaching the other side, 我安全地到了街的另一头。
I turned to the left, pushed the auto-button for the audible pedestrian signal, and waited my turn. 我向左转, 按了盲人过街的语音提示按钮, 等着过马路。
audible:adj.听得见的;听得见地; pedestrian:adj.徒步的;缺乏想像力的;n.行人;步行者;
As it went off, I took off and safely got to the other side. 當提示声响起,我走了出去 并且安全地过到马路另一边。
Stepping onto the sidewalk , 走上人行道,
sidewalk:n.人行道;
I then heard the sound of a steel chair slide across the concrete sidewalk in front of me. 我随后听见一把铁椅子 在我面前划过水泥人行道的声音。
concrete:n.混凝土;adj.混凝土制的;确实的,具体的;vt.用混凝土覆盖
I know there's a cafe on the corner, and they have chairs out in front, so I just adjusted to the left to get closer to the street. 我知道街角有个咖啡馆, 他家店前摆着椅子, 所以我就向左边避了避 移到靠路那一边。
adjusted:adj.调整过的,调节了的;v.调整;校正(adjust的过去分词);
As I did, so slid the chair. 我正移着,那椅子也向这边移。
I just figured I'd made a mistake, and went back to the right, and so slid the chair in perfect synchronicity . 我估计我搞错了, 于是又重新走到右边, 接着那椅子(居然)跟我完全合拍地也向那边移去。
synchronicity:n.同步性,同时发生;
Now I was getting a little anxious. 这下我有点慌了。
I went back to the left, and so slid the chair, blocking my path of travel. 我又向左挪了挪, 椅子也向左挪了挪, 挡住了我的去路。
Now, I was officially freaking out. 这会儿我已经開始抓狂了,
freaking:adj.该死的,他妈的;v.(使)强烈反应,畏惧;(freak的现在分词)
So I yelled, "Who the hell's out there? What's going on?" 于是我喊道, “谁他妈在那儿?搞什么鬼?”
Just then, over my shout, 就在那时,高过我的喊声,
I heard something else, a familiar rattle . 我听到一阵熟悉的悉悉唆唆声。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友; rattle:v.格格作响;使紧张;使恐惧;n.拨浪鼓;咔嗒声;响板;
It sounded familiar, and I quickly considered another possibility, and I reached out with my left hand, as my fingers brushed against something fuzzy , and I came across an ear, the ear of a dog, perhaps a golden retriever . 這声音听起来好熟, 我灵机一动,想到了另一个可能性, 于是伸出我的左手, 我的手指穿过毛茸茸的什么东西, 接着是一只耳朵, 一只狗耳朵——可能是一只黃金猎犬。
fuzzy:adj.模糊的;失真的;有绒毛的; golden retriever:n.金毛拾獚;
Its leash had been tied to the chair as her master went in for coffee, and she was just persistent in her efforts to greet me, perhaps get a scratch behind the ear. 她的主人进去买咖啡的时候, 把她的狗链拴到那个椅子上, 它正努力不懈地試著来 跟我打招呼,也许想要我挠挠它的耳根,
leash:n.皮带;束缚;v.束缚;用皮带绑住; persistent:adj.固执的,坚持的;持久稳固的; scratch:n.擦伤; adj.打草稿用的; v.抓;
Who knows, maybe she was volunteering for service. 天知道,没准它正想帮我带路呢。
volunteering:v.自愿做;义务做;无偿做;当志愿兵(volunteer的现在分词)
(Laughter) (笑声)
But that little story is really about the fears and misconceptions that come along with the idea of moving through the city without sight, seemingly oblivious to the environment and the people around you. 这个小故事在描述的是 那种伴随着 瞎眼闯都市而來的 恐惧和误解, 你对周围的环境似乎一无所知 对周围的人亦然无知。
misconceptions:n.迷思概念;错误的想法; seemingly:adv.看来似乎;表面上看来; oblivious:adj.遗忘的;健忘的;不注意的;不知道的;
So let me step back and set the stage a little bit. 让我们还是稍稍倒带。
On St. Patrick's Day of 2008, 回到2008年的圣帕特里克节。
I reported to the hospital for surgery to remove a brain tumor . 我在医院登记开刀 切除一颗脑瘤。
surgery:n.外科;外科手术;手术室;诊疗室; tumor:n.肿瘤;肿块;赘生物;
The surgery was successful. 手术很成功。
Two days later, my sight started to fail. 两天后,我的视力开始减退。
On the third day, it was gone. 第三天我就完全失明了。
Immediately, I was struck by an incredible sense of fear, of confusion , of vulnerability , like anybody would. 一瞬间,我被一阵难以言喻的 恐惧、迷茫及无助所击倒, 相信这事儿发生在谁身上谁都会这样。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; confusion:n.困惑;混淆;混同;困窘; vulnerability:n.易损性;弱点;
But as I had time to stop and think, 然而当我慢慢停下来思考,
I actually started to realize 其实我逐渐意识到
I had a lot to be grateful for. 我依然拥有很多值得我去感恩的東西。
In particular , I thought about my dad, who had passed away from complications from brain surgery. 尤其是我想起我的父亲, 他逝世于 脑部手术的并发症。
In particular:尤其,特别;
He was 36. I was seven at the time. 享年36岁,而我当年才七岁。
So although I had every reason to be fearful of what was ahead, and had no clue quite what was going to happen, 所以说,即使我有理由 对未来感到害怕, 对未来感到迷茫,
fearful:adj.可怕的;担心的;严重的; clue:n.提示;迹象;(纵横填字谜、游戏或问题的)提示词语;v.提示;为…提供线索;
I was alive. 至少我还活著。
My son still had his dad. 我儿子还有爸爸。
And besides , it's not like I was the first person ever to lose their sight. 而且我又不是世界上第一个 失明的人。
besides:adv.此外;而且;prep.除…之外;
I knew there had to be all sorts of systems and techniques and training to have to live a full and meaningful , active life without sight. 我知道這世上一定有各种系统 和技术以及训练 能让我即使失去了视力, 也能过有意义且积极的生活。
techniques:n.技巧;技艺;工艺;技术;(technique的复数) meaningful:adj.严肃的;重要的;重大的;意味深长的;
So by the time I was discharged from the hospital a few days later, I left with a mission , a mission to get out and get the best training as quickly as I could and get on to rebuilding my life. 所以几天之后当我出院时, 我给自己下了一个任务, 那就是一定要尽可能找到最好的训练 尽快重新建构我的人生。
discharged:v.准许(某人)离开;解雇;释放;排出;(discharge的过去分词和过去式) mission:n.使命,任务;代表团;布道;v.派遣;向…传教; get on to:转至(另一话题或活动);同…联系;意识到,知道;
Within six months, I had returned to work. 不到六个月,我就回到了原来的工作岗位。
My training had started. 我的恢复训练开始了。
I even started riding a tandem bike with my old cycling buddies , and was commuting to work on my own, walking through town and taking the bus. 我甚至开始和我之前的骑友一起 骑双人自行车, 而且自己一个人步行穿街, 搭乘公交。
tandem:n.串联;串座双人自行车;adj.串联的;adv.一前一后地;纵排地; buddies:n.伙伴,好朋友;v.交朋友;(buddy的第三人称单数和复数) commuting:n.乘公交车上下班;经常往来;
It was a lot of hard work. 那费了不少功夫。
But what I didn't anticipate through that rapid transition was the incredible experience of the juxtaposition of my sighted experience up against my unsighted experience of the same places and the same people within such a short period of time. 但我始料未及的是 经过那场突如其来的变故 我得以在很短的时间内 比较失明前后 对同样的地方、同样的人 令人难以置信的(兴许截然不同的)体验
anticipate:v.预期,期望;占先,抢先;提前使用; transition:n.过渡;转变;变革;变迁;v.经历转变过程;过渡; juxtaposition:n.并置,并列;毗邻;
From that came a lot of insights , or outsights, as I called them, things that I learned since losing my sight. 由此让我增加了不少见解 或者说是盲解。 即失明后所学到的一些东西。
insights:n.洞察力;眼力;深刻见解(insight的复数);
These outsights ranged from the trival to the profound , from the mundane to the humorous . 这些“盲解”从琐碎 到深奥, 从平乏到幽默(皆有)。
profound:adj.深厚的;意义深远的;渊博的; mundane:adj.世俗的,平凡的;世界的,宇宙的; humorous:adj.诙谐的,幽默的;滑稽的,可笑的;
As an architect , that stark juxtaposition of my sighted and unsighted experience of the same places and the same cities within such a short period of time has given me all sorts of wonderful outsights of the city itself. 作为一个建筑师, 从我失明前后的 对同一个地方 对同一个城市 在如此短暂的时间内 截然不同的体验, 给了我很多 关于城市本身,美妙的盲解。
architect:n.建筑师;设计师;创造者;
Paramount amongst those was the realization that, actually, cities are fantastic places for the blind. 其中最重要的 是意识到,其实, 城市对盲人而言是个妙不可言的地方。
Paramount:adj.最重要的,主要的;至高无上的;n.最高统治者; amongst:prep.在…之中;在…当中(等于among); realization:n.实现;领悟; fantastic:奇异的,空想的
And then I was also surprised by the city's propensity for kindness and care as opposed to indifference or worse. 其次 我也惊叹于 城市善良和爱护的本性 而不是冷漠,甚至更糟。
propensity:n.倾向,习性;癖好,偏爱; opposed:adj.强烈反对; v.反对(计划、政策等); (oppose的过去分词和过去式) indifference:n.漠不关心;冷淡;不重视;中立;
And then I started to realize that it seemed like the blind seemed to have a positive influence on the city itself. 我进而意识到 好像盲人 对城市本身亦有积极的影响。
positive:adj.积极的;[数]正的,[医][化学]阳性的;确定的;n.正数;[摄]正片; influence:n.影响;势力;感化;有影响的人或事;v.影响;改变;
That was a little curious to me. 对我来说,这挺出奇的
curious:adj.好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的;
Let me step back and take a look at why the city is so good for the blind. 让我们回过头来想想 为什么城市对盲人来说是件这么好的事。
take a look at:看一看;检查;
Inherent with the training for recovery from sight loss is learning to rely on all your non-visual senses, things that you would otherwise maybe ignore . 在视力恢复训练这个过程中 不可避免的是学会依靠除了视觉以外的其他所有感官, ——这些可能平时你都忽视的东西。
Inherent:adj.固有的;内在的;与生俱来的,遗传的; recovery:n.恢复,复原;痊愈;重获; rely:vi.依靠;信赖; ignore:v.驳回诉讼;忽视;不理睬;
It's like a whole new world of sensory information opens up to you. 就仿佛一个全新的感知信息的世界 向你敞开大门。
sensory:adj.感觉的;知觉的;传递感觉的;
I was really struck by the symphony of subtle sounds all around me in the city that you can hear and work with to understand where you are, how you need to move, and where you need to go. 我被这个城市中,我身边的各种细微的声响 所组成的交响乐所深深震撼 借助听到的并学会利用这些声音 你方能明了你所处何方, 如何移步,向哪里走。
symphony:n.交响乐;谐声,和声; subtle:adj.微妙的;精细的;敏感的;狡猾的;稀薄的;
Similarly , just through the grip of the cane , you can feel contrasting textures in the floor below, and over time you build a pattern of where you are and where you're headed. 同理,仅仅是通过握住的一根盲杖, 你能感受到脚下地面的不同纹理, 久而久之 你就能形成一个 “你在哪里, 你到哪里去的” 模式。
Similarly:adv.同样地;类似于; grip:n.紧握;柄;支配;握拍方式;拍柄绷带;vt.紧握;夹紧;vi.抓住; cane:n.手杖;藤条;细长的茎;v.以杖击;以藤编制; contrasting:adj.形成鲜明对比的; v.使对比; textures:n.纹理;材质(texture的复数);v.使具有某种结构(texture的三单形式);
Similarly, just the sun warming one side of your face or the wind at your neck gives you clues about your alignment and your progression through a block and your movement through time and space. 就好像,当阳光温暖你的半边脸颊 或者微风拂过你的脖颈 你就能知道你的所处, 你穿过街巷的过程, 你于时空的移动,
clues:n.(调查,研究等的)线索;迹象;(故事的)关键情节;(clue的复数) alignment:n.队列,成直线;校准;结盟; progression:n.前进;连续;
But also, the sense of smell. 喔还有——嗅觉。
Some districts and cities have their own smell, as do places and things around you, and if you're lucky, you can even follow your nose to that new bakery that you've been looking for. 有些城市有些城区有他们自己的味道, 就像你身边的地方和东西一样, 而且,幸运的话,你甚至可以跟着你的鼻子 去到那个你一直寻找的新开的面包店。
follow your nose:一直走;利用嗅觉找到什么东西; bakery:n.面包店;
All this really surprised me, because I started to realize that my unsighted experienced was so far more multi-sensory than my sighted experience ever was. 这一切都让我惊奇, 因为我慢慢意识到 我失明后的经历 相比于之前有视力时 是多么充满(不同)感官的感受
What struck me also was how much the city was changing around me. 也让我震惊的是,我身边的城市 有多大的变化。
When you're sighted, everybody kind of sticks to themselves, you mind your own business . 当你能看见的时候, 每个人都有点各自为阵, 不管别人的事儿。
mind your own business:管好你自己的事;少管闲事;别管闲事;
Lose your sight, though, and it's a whole other story. 然而,失明之后, 事情是大不同。
And I don't know who's watching who, but I have a suspicion that a lot of people are watching me. 我是不知道谁在看谁, 但我怀疑很多人看着我。
suspicion:n.怀疑;嫌疑;疑心;一点儿;v.怀疑;
And I'm not paranoid , but everywhere I go, 而我并不是个偏执狂, 但无论我去哪里,
paranoid:adj.类似妄想狂的;属于偏执狂的;n.患妄想狂的人;偏执狂患者;
I'm getting all sorts of advice: 我总接到各种建议:
Go here, move there, watch out for this. 来这边, 去那边, 小心这个。
watch out for:戒备;密切注意;留意;注意;
A lot of the information is good. 很多信息都是好的。
Some of it's helpful. A lot of it's kind of reversed . 其中不乏有用的。 也不乏扭曲的。
reversed:v.颠倒; (reverse的过去分词和过去式)
You've got to figure out what they actually meant. 你得自己搞清楚他们到底什么意思。
Some of it's kind of wrong and not helpful. 其中有些并不那么对且帮不上忙。
But it's all good in the grand scheme of things. 但总体而言是很好的。
scheme:n.计划;方案;体系;体制;阴谋;v.密谋;图谋;想;认为;
But one time I was in Oakland walking along Broadway , and came to a corner. 有一次我在奥克兰 沿着百老汇街走着, 走到一个街角。
Oakland:n.奥克兰(美国加州西部城市); Broadway:n.百老汇(美国纽约市戏院集中的一条大街);
I was waiting for an audible pedestrian signal, and as it went off, I was just about to step out into the street, when all of a sudden , my right hand was just gripped by this guy, 我正在等着过马路的信号音, 声音响起,我正准备过马路, 突然,我的右手 被人一把抓住,
all of a sudden:突然地,出乎意料地; gripped:vt.紧咬,夹住;紧握(grip过去时形式);
and he yanked my arm and pulled me out into the crosswalk and was dragging me out across the street, speaking to me in Mandarin . 他拽过着的胳膊,把我拉上斑马线 又拽着我过了马路, 对着我狂讲中文。
yanked:v.猛拉;猛拽;(yank的过去分词和过去式) crosswalk:n.人行横道; Mandarin:n.(中国)普通话;国语;官话;满清官吏;柑橘;adj.紧身马褂的;
(Laughter) (笑声)
It's like, there was no escape from this man's death grip, but he got me safely there. 从这个人死死抓住的手中,简直没有逃脱的可能, 但他把我安全带过了马路。
What could I do? 我能怎样呢?
But believe me, there are more polite ways to offer assistance. 但是说真的,要帮忙 还真有更客气点的方式。
We don't know you're there, so it's kind of nice to say "Hello" first. 我都还不知道你在旁边呢, 所以如果能开始先说句“你好”可能会比较好。
'"Would you like some help?" 如“你需要帮忙么?”
But while in Oakland, I've really been struck by how much the city of Oakland changed as I lost my sight. 但是在奥克兰,我真的被 自我失明之后,这座城市 所经历的改变所震撼。
I liked it sighted. It was fine. 我当然喜欢能看到它时样子,那不错
It's a perfectly great city. 这是个非常好的城市。
But once I lost my sight and was walking along Broadway, 但是当我失明之后, 当我走过百老汇,
I was blessed every block of the way. 在每个街区都能得到别人的祝福。
blessed:adj.神圣的; v.求上帝降福于; (bless的过去分词和过去式)
'"Bless you, man." “祝福你, 伙计”
'" Go for it , brother." “加油,老弟”
Go for it:努力争取;加油;
'"God bless you." “老天保佑你”
I didn't get that sighted. 我失明前可没得到过那么多祝福。
(Laughter) (笑声)
And even without sight, I don't get that in San Francisco. 而且即使是失明之后,我在旧金山也没有得到那样的祝福。
And I know it bothers some of my blind friends, it's not just me. 而且我知道,这有时惹得我的一些盲人朋友很烦, 不仅仅是我。
bothers:n.麻烦; v.给(某人)造成麻烦(或痛苦); (bother的第三人称单数和复数)
Often it's thought that that's an emotion that comes up out of pity. 通常我们认为 那些祝福是出于怜悯。
emotion:n.强烈的感情;激情;情感;
I tend to think that it comes out of our shared humanity , out of our togetherness , and I think it's pretty cool. 而我更倾向于觉得那是出于我们共同的人性, 出于一种大家在一起的感觉,而且我觉得这还挺酷的。
humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科; togetherness:n.相聚,家庭聚会;团结精神;归属感;
In fact, if I'm feeling down, 事实上,如果我心情不好,
I just go to Broadway in downtown Oakland, 我就去奥克兰市中心的百老汇,
downtown:n.市区;闹市区;adv.在市区;在热闹街上;到闹市区;adj.闹市区的;
I go for a walk, and I feel better like that, in no time at all . 我去散个步,立马就感觉好多了, 简直就是立刻见效。
in no time at all:立刻;太快了;
But also that it illustrates how disability and blindness sort of cuts across ethnic , social, racial , economic lines. 但这也正说明, 残障和失明 跨越了民族、社会阶层、 人种、经济状况的界限
illustrates:v.阐明;举例说明(illustrate的三单形式);给…加插图; disability:n.残疾;无能;无资格;不利条件; ethnic:adj.种族的;人种的; racial:adj.种族的;人种的; economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的;
Disability is an equal-opportunity provider . 残疾简直是平权的提供者。
provider:n.供应者;养家者;
Everybody's welcome. 人人皆可有份。
In fact, I've heard it said in the disability community that there are really only two types of people: 其实,我听说残疾人这个群体间有句话说 世上其实只有两种人:
community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
There are those with disabilities , and there are those that haven't quite found theirs yet. 一种有残疾的, 另一种是还没发现他们自身的残疾的。
disabilities:n.残疾(disability的复数);身心障碍者;
It's a different way of thinking about it, but I think it's kind of beautiful, because it is certainly far more inclusive than the us-versus-them or the abled-versus-the-disabled, and it's a lot more honest and respectful of the fragility of life. 这是看问题的另一个角度, 但我觉得这还挺美的, 因为这相比 “我们/他们”, 或者“健全人/残疾人” 的说法 显然要更包容, 而且也更加诚实,并尊重 生命的脆弱。
inclusive:adj.包括的,包含的; respectful:adj.恭敬的;有礼貌的; fragility:n.脆弱;[力]易碎性;虚弱;
So my final takeaway for you is that not only is the city good for the blind, but the city needs us. 所以我最后希望你们记住是 不仅仅是城市对盲人来说是好的, 城市也需要像我这样的盲人。
And I'm so sure of that that 而且我很确定
I want to propose to you today that the blind be taken as the prototypical city dwellers when imagining new and wonderful cities, and not the people that are thought about after the mold has already been cast. 我今天想要向大家倡议 当我们构想一个美妙的新城时 让我们采用盲人作为城市居民的原型, 而不是当模型已经定型之后 才想起的群体。
propose:v.建议;提议;求婚;打算; prototypical:adj.原型的;典型的; dwellers:n.居民(dweller的复数形式); mold:n.模具;模型;霉菌;类型;v.用可塑材料塑成;浇铸;发霉;
It's too late then. 那时就太迟了。
So if you design a city with the blind in mind, you'll have a rich, walkable network of sidewalks with a dense array of options and choices all available at the street level. 所以如果你在设计一座城市的时候,请心中有盲人 那你设计出来的,将是一座有着丰富的,充满可步行的便道的城市 有给行人充分多样的选择 且都在地平面上。
walkable:adj.适于步行的;可以走去的; sidewalks:n.人行道; dense:adj.稠密的;浓厚的;愚钝的; array:n.数组,阵列;排列,列阵;大批,一系列;衣服;v.排列,部署;打扮; options:n.选择; v.得到或获准进行选择; (option的三单形式)
If you design a city with the blind in mind, sidewalks will be predictable and will be generous . 如果你在设计一座城市的时候,心中有盲人, 人行道将会是可预测的,慷慨的。
predictable:adj.可预言的; generous:adj.慷慨的,大方的;宽宏大量的;有雅量的;
The space between buildings will be well-balanced between people and cars. 建筑之间的间隙将会是很好地平衡了 人与车的需求。
well-balanced:adj.匀称的;神智健全的;通情达理的;明智的;
In fact, cars, who needs them? 事实上, 车? 谁还需要车啊?
If you're blind, you don't drive. (Laughter) 如果你失明了,你也开不了车 (笑声)
They don't like it when you drive. (Laughter) 别人可不愿看到你开车 (笑声)
If you design a city with the blind in mind, you design a city with a robust , accessible , well-connected mass transit system that connects all parts of the city and the region all around. 如果你在设计一座城市的时候,心中有盲人 那你设计出来的城市将拥有健全的 无障碍的,四通八达的公共交通 联结城市的各个区域 甚至整个大区
robust:adj.强健的;健康的;粗野的;粗鲁的; accessible:adj.易接近的;可进入的;可理解的; well-connected:adj.有好亲戚的;出身名门的;血统关系好的;精心构思的; mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集; region:n.地区;范围;部位;
If you design a city with the blind in mind, there'll be jobs, lots of jobs. 如果你在设计一座城市的时候, 心中有盲人 那城市将能够提供大量工作机会。
Blind people want to work too. 盲人也想工作。
They want to earn a living . 他们也想自力更生。
earn a living:谋生;活命;
So, in designing a city for the blind, 所以,在设计一座予盲人方便的城市时,
I hope you start to realize that it actually would be a more inclusive, a more equitable , a more just city for all. 我希望你开始意识到 这座城市将会对所有人来说更加包容 更加公平, 更加公正。
equitable:adj.公平的,公正的;平衡法的;
And based on my prior sighted experience, it sounds like a pretty cool city, whether you're blind, whether you have a disability, or you haven't quite found yours yet. 而且据我失明前的经验来看, 这样的城市听上去挺酷的, ——无论你失明与否, 无论你是否有残疾 或者说无论你是否已经发现了自身的残疾。
prior:adj.先前的; n.(小隐修院)院长; v.居先;
So thank you. 谢谢大家。
(Applause) (鼓掌)