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HeatherLanier_2017S-_好或坏不是整个故事_
There's an ancient parable about a farmer who lost his horse. 有一則古老的寓言「塞翁失馬」, 講的是一個農夫失掉一匹馬。
parable:n.寓言,比喻;隐晦或谜般的格言;
And neighbors came over to say, "Oh, that's too bad." 他的鄰居說:「唉,太糟了。」
And the farmer said, "Good or bad, hard to say." 農夫說:「是好是壞很難講。」
Days later, the horse returns and brings with it seven wild horses. 幾天後,那匹馬帶回七匹野馬。
And neighbors come over to say, "Oh, that's so good!" 鄰居又說了:「啊,太好了。」
And the farmer just shrugs and says, "Good or bad, hard to say." 農夫只是聳聳肩, 說:「好壞很難說。」
shrugs:n.耸肩(shrug的复数);v.耸肩(shrug的第三人称单数);
The next day, the farmer's son rides one of the wild horses, is thrown off and breaks his leg. 過了一天,農夫的兒子 騎乘其中的一匹野馬, 摔了下來,斷了一條腿。
And the neighbors say, "Oh, that's terrible luck." 鄰居說:「啊,運氣真差。」
And the farmer says, "Good or bad, hard to say." 農夫說:「好壞難講。」
Eventually , officers come knocking on people's doors, looking for men to draft for an army, and they see the farmer's son and his leg and they pass him by. 後來軍官敲家家戶戶的門, 要拉夫從軍; 看到農夫的兒子腿斷了, 就放過了他。
Eventually:adv.最后,终于; draft:n.草案; v.起草; adj.供役使的;
And neighbors say, "Ooh, that's great luck!" 鄰居說:「哦,運氣真好！」
And the farmer says, "Good or bad, hard to say." 農夫說:「好或壞,很難說。」
I first heard this story 20 years ago, and I have since applied it 100 times. 二十年前我第一次聽到這個故事, 從那時起,用了一百次。
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)
Didn't get the job I wanted: good or bad, hard to say. 沒有得到我想要的工作: 好壞很難說。
Got the job I wanted: good or bad, hard to say. 得到我想要的工作: 好壞很難說。
To me, the story is not about looking on the bright side or waiting to see how things turn out. 對我而言,這故事無關樂觀看待, 也不是等著情況好轉;
on the bright side:从好方面想;
It's about how eager we can be to label a situation, to put concrete around it by judging it. 而是不論我們有多麼迫切 想要把情況貼個標籤, 想要蓋棺論定,
label:n.标签;标记;谓;唱片公司;v.贴标签于;用标签标明; concrete:n.混凝土;adj.混凝土制的;确实的,具体的;vt.用混凝土覆盖
But reality is much more fluid , and good and bad are often incomplete stories that we tell ourselves. 實情卻是不定型的, 我們說的好或壞常常是片面的。
fluid:adj.流动的;流畅的;不固定的;n.流体;液体; incomplete:n.未完成;adj.不完整的;不完全的;不完善的;
The parable has been my warning that by gripping tightly to the story of good or bad, 這寓言一直讓我自我警惕, 緊抓著是好事或是壞事不放,
gripping:adj.激动人心的; v.紧抓; (grip的现在分词) tightly:adv.紧紧地;坚固地;
I close down my ability to truly see a situation. 使我關上了能夠看見實情的那扇門。
close down:关闭;停止播音;
I learn more when I proceed and loosen my grip and proceed openly with curiosity and wonder. 如果鬆開手,我會學到更多, 能以開放和好奇的心態前進。
proceed:n.收入;卖得金额;收益;v.继续;接着做;行进;前往; loosen:v.松开;解开;松散;变松; curiosity:n.好奇,好奇心;珍品,古董,古玩;
But seven years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, 但是七年前, 我懷著頭一胎,
pregnant:adj.怀孕的;富有意义的;
I completely forgot this lesson. 完全忘了這一課。
I believed I knew wholeheartedly what was good. 我以為自己全然了解什麼是好的。
wholeheartedly:adv.全心全意地,全神贯注地;
When it came to having kids, 想到養育小孩,
I thought that good was some version of a superbaby, some ultrahealthy human who possessed not a single flaw and would practically wear a cape flying into her superhero future. 我認為:好就是有超棒的孩子, 特別健康,沒有一點缺陷, 就像以後會披著超人的披肩飛向未來。
possessed:adj.着了魔;v.有;拥有;具有(特质);控制;(possess的过去分词和过去式) flaw:n.瑕疵,缺点; v.使生裂缝,使有裂纹; vi.生裂缝; practically:adv.实际地;几乎;事实上; cape:n.披肩;披风;短斗篷;地角;
I took DHA pills to ensure that my baby had a super-high-functioning, supersmart brain, and I ate mostly organic food, and I trained for a medication-free labor, and I did many other things 懷孕時我服用 DHA 藥丸 以確保嬰兒以後的頭腦會超級聰明; 我多半食用有機食品, 訓練自己生產時不用藥, 還做了其他很多事,
pills:n.药丸; v.起球; (pill的第三人称单数和复数) ensure:vt.保证,确保;使安全; organic:adj.有机的;不使用化肥的;绿色的;有机物的;n.分子有机体;
because I thought these things would help me make not just a good baby, but the best baby possible. 因為我以為這樣做 不只能讓我生個好嬰兒, 而且是最棒的嬰兒。
When my daughter Fiona was born, she weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces , or 2.15 kilograms. 我的女兒菲右娜出生時 重 4 磅 12 盎司, 也就是 2.15 公斤。
ounces:n.[金融]盎司,英两;安士(ounce的复数);
The pediatrician said there were only two possible explanations for her tiny size. 小兒科醫生說只有兩種可能性 可以解釋她的個兒為何這麼嬌小。
pediatrician:n.儿科医师(等于pediatrist);
'"Either," he said, "it's bad seed," 他說:「要麼是種不好,
'"or it's bad soil." 要麼是土不好。」
And I wasn't so tired from labor to lose the thread of his logic : my newborn , according to the doctor, was a bad plant. 我沒精疲力盡到聽不出他的邏輯: 醫生認為我的新生兒是窳劣的。
thread:n.螺纹;线索;思路;脉络;v.穿过;穿(针);纫(针);(使)穿过; logic:n.逻辑;逻辑学;逻辑性;adj.逻辑的; newborn:adj.新生的;再生的;n.婴儿; according to:根据,据说;
Eventually, I learned that my daughter had an ultra-rare chromosomal condition called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome . 後來我得知女兒有 極為罕見的染色體狀況, 叫做「沃夫-賀許宏氏症候群」。
chromosomal:adj.染色体的; syndrome:n.[临床]综合征;综合症状;并发症状;校验子;并发位;
She was missing a chunk of her fourth chromosome . 她的第四組染色體少了一段。
chunk:n.大块;矮胖的人或物; chromosome:n.[遗][细胞][染料]染色体(形容词chromosomal,副词chromosomally);
And although my daughter was good -- she was alive, and she had brand new baby skin and the most aware onyx eyes -- 儘管我的女兒好好的, 她活著, 她有新生嬰兒的肌膚 和最清澈的瑪瑙色眼珠。
brand new:adj.崭新的;最近获得的; onyx:n.[矿物]缟玛瑙;[动]爪甲;
I also learned that people with her syndrome have significant developmental delays and disabilities . 我也得知像她這種症狀的人, 發育會顯著遲緩和有障礙。
significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; developmental:adj.发展的;启发的; disabilities:n.残疾(disability的复数);身心障碍者;
Some never learn to walk or talk. 有些永遠學不會走路或說話。
I did not have the equanimity of the farmer. 我不像農夫那樣平靜。
equanimity:n.平静;镇定;
The situation looked unequivocally bad to me. 在我看來,情況毫不含糊的糟糕。
unequivocally:明确地;
But here's where the parable is so useful, because for weeks after her diagnosis , I felt gripped by despair , locked in the story that all of this was tragic . 但是寓言正在這裡派上用場, 因為在診斷後的幾週, 全然困在悲慘的故事裡。
diagnosis:n.诊断; gripped:vt.紧咬,夹住;紧握(grip过去时形式); despair:v.绝望;失去希望;丧失信心;n.绝望; tragic:adj.悲剧的;悲痛的,不幸的;
Reality, though -- thankfully -- is much more fluid, and it has much more to teach. 幸好現實不是定型的, 有很多事要我學習。
thankfully:adv.感谢地;感激地;
As I started to get to know this mysterious person who was my kid, my fixed, tight story of tragedy loosened . 我開始慢慢認識這個神秘的孩子, 我那定型、緊繃的悲劇故事鬆開了。
mysterious:adj.神秘的;不可思议的;难解的; tragedy:n.悲惨的事;不幸;灾难;悲剧作品; loosened:adj.松的;分散的,疏松的;v.放松,松开(loosen的过去时和过去分词);
It turned out my girl loved reggae , and she would smirk when my husband would bounce her tiny body up and down to the rhythm . 原來我的女兒喜歡雷鬼音樂, 我的丈夫隨著音樂旋律 上下輕搖她小小的身體時, 她會傻笑。
reggae:n.瑞格舞(西印度群岛的一种舞蹈及舞曲); smirk:v.傻笑;自鸣得意地笑;n.假笑;傻笑,得意的笑 bounce:v.反弹;反射;(使)弹起;n.弹跳;跳动;弹性; rhythm:n.节奏;韵律;
Her onyx eyes eventually turned the most stunning Lake Tahoe blue, and she loved using them to gaze intently into other people's eyes. 她的琥珀色眼珠後來變成 像太浩湖那樣令人驚艷的藍, 她喜歡定睛看著別人的雙眼。
stunning:adj.惊人的; v.使昏迷; (stun的现在分词) Tahoe:n.美国塔霍湖; gaze:v.凝视;注视;盯着;n.凝视;注视; intently:adv.专心地;一心一意地;心无旁骛地;
At five months old, she could not hold her head up like other babies, but she could hold this deep, intent eye contact . 雖然五個月大時 她不能像別的嬰兒那樣抬著頭, 但她能專注盯著看。
contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系;
One friend said, "She's the most aware baby I've ever seen." 一個朋友說:「她是我見過 最察覺的嬰兒。」
But where I saw the gift of her calm, attentive presence , an occupational therapist who came over to our house to work with Fiona saw a child who was neurologically dull . 雖然我看到的是 她平靜、專注存在的稟賦, 但是來我家替菲右娜復健的職業治療師 看到的卻是一個神經遲緩的孩子,
attentive:adj.留意的,注意的; presence:n.存在;出席;参加;风度;仪态; occupational therapist:n.职业治疗师(利用特定的技能训练帮助病患者或受伤者恢复健康); neurologically:adv.与神经方面有关地; dull:v.减轻; adj.枯燥无味的;
This therapist was especially disappointed that Fiona wasn't rolling over yet, and so she told me we needed to wake her neurology up. 這個治療師對於菲右娜 那時還沒辦法翻身尤其失望, 因此她說我們必須要喚醒她的神經。
especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; neurology:n.神经病学;神经学;
One day she leaned over my daughter's body, took her tiny shoulders, jostled her and said, "Wake up! Wake up!" 有天她俯在我女兒的身上, 抓住她小小的肩膀, 推擠著她,說:「醒過來！醒過來！」
leaned:v.前俯后仰;倾斜;倚靠;使斜靠;(lean的过去分词和过去式) jostled:vt.推挤,撞;争夺;vi.竞争,争夺;推挤;n.推撞,挤拥;
We had a few therapists visit our house that first year, and they usually focused on what they thought was bad about my kid. 頭一年有幾個治療師來我們家, 通常他們著重在他們認為 我孩子不好的地方。
therapists:n.治疗专家(therapist的复数);
I was really happy when Fiona started using her right hand to bully a dangling stuffed sheep, but the therapist was fixated on my child's left hand. 當菲右娜開始用她的右手時 我非常的高興, 她用手欺負一個懸掛的綿羊, 但是治療師卻緊盯著她的左手。
bully:vt.恐吓;伤害;胁迫;n.仗势欺人者;adj.快活的;盛气凌人的; dangling:v.悬垂;悬挂;提着;来回摆动着;(dangle的现在分词) stuffed:adj.饱;装满的;v.填满;装满;给…装馅;(stuff的过去分词和过去式) fixated:adj.念念不忘的;稳固关系的;v.使固定下来;注视(fixate的过去分词);
Fiona had a tendency not to use this hand very often, and she would cross the fingers on that hand. 菲右娜傾向於少用左手, 交叉著左手的手指。
tendency:n.倾向,趋势;癖好;
So the therapist said we should devise a splint , which would rob my kid of the ability to actually use those fingers, but it would at least force them into some position that looked normal. 因此治療師認為需要設計一個夾板, 致使我的孩子根本不能 使用那些手指頭, 僅為把那些手指頭 扳到看起來正常的位置。
devise:v.设计; n.[法]遗赠财产的遗嘱(或其中的条款); splint:n.夹板;薄木条;薄金属片;vt.用夹板固定;
In that first year, I was starting to realize a few things. 第一年,我開始認知了幾件事。
One: ancient parables aside, my kid had some bad therapists. 第一:古老的寓言先擺一邊, 我孩子有幾個差勁的治療師。
parables:n.比喻;预言(parable的复数形式);
(Laughter) （笑聲）
Two: I had a choice. 第二:我有選擇。
Like a person offered to swallow a red pill or a blue pill, 就像被供給紅藥丸或藍藥丸來服用,
swallow:v.吞下;咽下;吞没;相信;n.吞;咽;燕;一次吞咽的量;
I could choose to see my daughter's differences as bad; 我能選擇視女兒的不同為不好,
I could strive toward the goal that her therapists called, "You'd never know." 能選擇努力去實現 她的治療師聲稱的目標: 「妳永遠不會知道。」
strive:v.力求;斗争;反抗;(strive的第三人称单数)
They loved to pat themselves on the back when they could say about a kid, "You'd never know he was 'delayed' or 'autistic' or 'different.'" 他們認可自己對孩子的評論: 「你永遠不會知道他是 『遲緩』、『自閉』或是『不同』。」
I could believe that the good path was the path that erased as many differences as possible. 我能選擇認可
erased:v.清除;消除;消灭;擦掉,抹掉(erase的过去分词和过去式)
Of course, this would have been a disastrous pursuit , because at the cellular level, my daughter had rare blueprints . 當然那會導致慘痛的結果, 因為我女兒的細胞 有罕見的基因藍圖。
disastrous:adj.灾难性的;损失惨重的;悲伤的; pursuit:n.追求;追赶;追捕;跟踪; cellular:adj.细胞的;多孔的;由细胞组成的;n.移动电话;单元; blueprints:n.[印刷]蓝图; v.绘…的蓝图;
She wasn't designed to be like other people. 她被設計成異於常人。
She would lead a rare life. 她將會過著罕見的生活。
So, I had another choice: I could drop my story that neurological differences and developmental delays and disabilities were bad, which means I could also drop my story that a more able-bodied life was better. 因此,我有另一個選擇: 也就是棄捨原先認為
able-bodied:adj.强壮的,健全的;
I could release my cultural biases about what made a life good or bad and simply watch my daughter's life as it unfolded with openness and curiosity. 我可以放掉決定生命 是好是壞的文化偏見, 而只專注在我女兒正展開 開放和好奇的生命。
release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与; cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; biases:n.偏差,偏见(bias的复数形式);v.偏见(bias的三单形式); unfolded:v.(使)展开;打开;展示;透露;(unfold的过去分词和过去式) openness:n.公开;宽阔;率真;
One afternoon she was lying on her back, and she arched her back on the carpet stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth and managed to torque her body onto her belly . 有一天下午,她背躺著, 她在地毯上弓起了背, 舌頭伸出嘴側, 扭轉成腹部著地趴著的姿勢。
arched:adj.拱形的;有拱的;弓形结构的;v.成弓形弯曲;成弓形(arch的过去分词形式); carpet:n.地毯;v.用地毯铺(房间的)地板; torque:n.转矩,[力]扭矩;项圈,金属领圈; belly:n.腹部;胃;食欲;v.涨满;鼓起;
Then she tipped over and rolled back onto her back, and once there, she managed to do it all over again, rolling and wiggling her 12-pound self under a coffee table . 然後她又轉成背躺著, 躺好後,她又做了一次, 在咖啡桌下滾動和擺動 她 12 磅重的身軀。
tipped:v.倾斜;倒出;倾倒;轻触;轻碰;(tip的过去分词和过去式) wiggling:v.(使)扭动,摆动,起伏;(wiggle的现在分词) coffee table:[家具]咖啡桌;咖啡茶几;
At first, I thought she'd gotten stuck there, but then I saw her reaching for something that her eye had been on all along: a black electric cord. 起初,我以為她被困住了, 但後來我看到她伸手去拿 她的眼睛一直盯著的東西: 一條黑色的電源線。
electric:n.供电;adj.电的;用电的;电动的;发电的;
She was a year old. 當時她一歲。
Other babies her age were for sure pulling up to stand and toddling around, some of them. 同齡的其他嬰兒肯定能 自己站起來、蹣跚前進, 有些能夠。
toddling:n.东倒西歪的走路;刚学走步的小孩;vi.蹒跚学步;东倒西歪地走;散步;
To some, my kid's situation looked bad: a one-year-old who could only roll. 有些人認為我孩子的情況很糟糕, 已經一歲了,只會翻身而已。
But screw that. 但是,管他的。
screw:v.旋,拧;压榨;强迫;n.螺旋;螺丝钉;吝啬鬼;
My kid was enjoying the new, limber freedom of mobility . 我的孩子正在享受新的、 肢體靈活的自由。
limber:adj.柔软的;敏捷的;vt.使柔软;将接在前车上;vi.做准备活动; mobility:n.移动性;机动性;[电子]迁移率;
I rejoiced . 我歡欣。
rejoiced:v.非常高兴;深感欣喜;(rejoice的过去分词和过去式)
Then again, what I watched that afternoon was a baby yanking on an electric cord, so you know, good or bad, hard to say. 然而那天下午我看到的 是個拉扯電線的嬰兒, 想當然爾, 是好或是壞,很難說。
yanking:猛地一拉;猛拉(yank的现在分词);
(Laughter) （笑聲）
I started seeing that when I released my grip about what made a life good or bad, 我開始看到,當我鬆開了手, 不再執著於生命怎麼樣是好、是壞,
released:v.释放;使免除;已发布;(release的过去分词和过去式)
I could watch my daughter's life unfold and see what it was. 我看見、了解女兒正在展開生命:
It was beautiful, it was complicated , joyful , hard -- in other words: just another expression of the human experience. 美麗、 複雜、 歡欣、 換言之,就是人類經驗的另一種表達。
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式) joyful:adj.欢喜的;令人高兴的; expression:n.表现,表示,表达;
Eventually, my family and I moved to a new state in America, and we got lucky with a brand-new batch of therapists. 後來我們搬到美國的另一州, 很幸運有了另一批嶄新的治療師。
brand-new:adj.崭新的;最近获得的; batch:n.一批;一炉;一次所制之量;v.分批处理;
They didn't focus on all that was wrong with my kid. 他們不再注重於我孩子不對勁的地方。
They didn't see her differences as problems to fix. 他們不把她的異常 視為應該修理的問題。
They acknowledged her limitations , but they also saw her strengths, and they celebrated her for who she was. 他們承認她的侷限, 也看到她的強項, 他們表揚原本的她。
limitations:n.局限性;(限制)因素;边界(limitation的复数形式);
Their goal wasn't to make Fiona as normal as possible; their goal was simply to help her be as independent as possible so that she could fulfill her potential , however that looked for her. 他們的目標並不是 使菲右娜變得更正常, 而是盡可能使她更獨立, 使她能夠落實她的潛能, 不論什麼樣的潛能。
independent:adj.独立的; n.无党派议员(或候选人等); fulfill:v.执行,贯彻;完成,实现;兑现;达到;起到; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的;
But the culture at large does not take this open attitude about disabilities. 但是一般文化並沒有 這種對殘疾的開放態度。
attitude:n.态度;看法;意见;姿势;
We call congenital differences "birth defects ," 我們把先天性的差異稱為 「先天的缺陷」,
congenital:adj.先天的,天生的;天赋的; defects:n.缺点;瑕疵;不合格品(defect的复数);v.叛变(defect的三单形式);
as though human beings were objects on a factory line. 彷彿人類是工廠生產線上的物品。
We might offer pitying expressions when we learn that a colleague had a baby with Down syndrome. 當我們聽說有個同事 生了個唐氏症的嬰兒, 我們或許會表示同情。
pitying:adj.同情的;怜悯的;v.同情(pity的ing形式); expressions:表达,表情(expression的复数) colleague:n.同事,同僚;
We hail a blockbuster film about a suicidal wheelchair user, despite the fact that actual wheelchair users tell us that stereotype is unfair and damaging. 我們吹捧關於坐輪椅的 自殺者的商業大片, 儘管真實坐輪椅的人告訴我們 刻板的印象不公平且有害。
hail:n.冰雹; v.致敬; blockbuster:n.轰动;巨型炸弹;一鸣惊人者; suicidal:adj.自杀的,自杀性的;自我毁灭的;自取灭亡的; wheelchair:n.轮椅; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; stereotype:vt.使用铅版;套用老套,使一成不变;n.陈腔滥调,老套;铅版;
And sometimes our medical institutions decide what lives are not worth living. 有時我們的醫療機構 決定什麼生命值不值得活。
institutions:n.机构;慈善机构;风俗习惯,制度;(institution的复数)
Such is the case with Amelia Rivera, a girl with my daughter's same syndrome. 就像艾米莉雅 · 里維拉的例子, 她和我的女兒有同樣的症狀。
In 2012, a famous American children's hospital initially denied Amelia the right to a lifesaving kidney transplant because, according to their form, as it said, she was " mentally retarded ." 起初一所美國兒童醫院在 2012 年 拒絕為艾米莉雅移植救命的腎臟, 因為根據他們的病歷, 她是「智障」。
initially:adv.最初,首先;开头; denied:v.否认;拒绝;否定;不承认;(deny的过去分词和过去式) lifesaving:adj.救命的;救生用的;n.救生; kidney:n.[解剖]肾脏;腰子;个性; transplant:v.移植;迁移;使移居;n.移植;移居者; mentally:adv.精神上,智力上;心理上; retarded:adj.迟钝的;弱智的;v.阻碍;减缓(retard的过去分词和过去式)
This is the way that the story of disabilities as bad manifests in a culture. 這是文化對身心障礙者的 故事的糟糕體現。
manifests:vt.证明,表明; vi.显示,出现; n.载货单,货单; adj.显然的,明显的;
But there's a surprisingly insidious counterstory -- the story, especially, that people with intellectual disabilities are good because they are here to teach us something magical, or they are inherently angelic and always sweet. 令人驚訝的是也有陰險的反面說法, 尤其是美好的心智障礙者的故事, 像是:他們來到世間是為了 要教我們一些神奇的東西, 或者他們天生像天使,總是很甜美。
surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地 insidious:adj.阴险的;隐伏的;暗中为害的;狡猾的; intellectual:n.知识分子;脑力劳动者;adj.智力的;脑力的;理智的;有才智的; inherently:adv.内在地;固有地;天性地; angelic:adj.天使的;似天使的;天国的;
You have heard this ableist trope before: the boy with Down syndrome who's one of God's special children, or the girl with the walker and the communication device who is a precious little angel. 你以前聽過這健全主義者的比喻: 唐氏症的男童是神特別的孩子, 或說使用助行器和通信器材的女孩 是珍貴的小天使。
trope:n.比喻;修辞;转义; device:n.装置;策略;图案; precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的;
This story rears its head in my daughter's life around Christmastime , when certain people get positively giddy at the thought of seeing her in angel's wings and a halo at the pageant . 大約聖誕節前後,這個故事 又在我女兒的生命中出現, 有些人想像 看到她在盛會中頭戴光環、 身背天使的翅膀就會頭暈。
rears:n.排档; v.竖起; Christmastime:n.圣诞节期(等于Christmastide) positively:adv.肯定地;明确地;断然地; giddy:adj.头晕的; v.使晕眩; vi.眼花; halo:n.光环;荣光;v.使有晕轮;围以光环;成晕轮; pageant:n.盛会;游行;虚饰;露天表演;
The insinuation is that these people don't experience the sticky complexities of being human. 暗示的是他們未曾經歷過 或粘黏上人類的複雜。
insinuation:n.暗示;暗讽;间接的讽刺; sticky:adj.粘的;粘性的; complexities:n.复杂性(complexity的复数);错综复杂的事物;
And although at times, especially as a baby, my daughter has, in fact, looked angelic, she has grown into the type of kid who does the rascally things that any other kid does, such as when she, at age four, shoved her two-year-old sister. 儘管有時候,尤其在她嬰兒時期, 我的女兒的確看起來像個天使; 但她已長成像其他調皮搗蛋的孩子那樣, 做淘氣的事, 像是她六歲時猛推兩歲的妹妹。
rascally:adj.无赖的;卑鄙的;adv.无赖地;卑鄙地; shoved:v.猛推;乱挤;推撞;乱放;(shove的过去分词和过去式)
My girl deserves the right to annoy the hell out of you, like any other kid. 我女兒有權讓你惱怒, 就像其他的孩子一樣。
deserves:v.值得;应得;应受;(deserve的第三人称单数) annoy:v.骚扰;打扰;使恼怒;使生气;
When we label a person tragic or angelic, bad or good, we rob them of their humanity , along with not only the messiness and complexity that that title brings, but the rights and dignities as well. 當我們把人貼標為可憐或可愛, 壞或好, 我們就剝奪了他們的人性, 剝奪的不只是連同標籤的雜亂、複雜, 還有權利和尊嚴。
humanity:n.人类;人道;仁慈;人文学科; messiness:n.乱糟糟;混乱; complexity:n.复杂性;难以理解的局势 dignities:n.尊严;高贵;
My girl does not exist to teach me things or any of us things, but she has indeed taught me: number one, how many mozzarella cheese sticks a 22-pound human being can consume in one day -- which is five, for the record; 我的女兒不是生來教我, 也不是來教其他任何人功課, 但她的確教了我: 第一,一個 22 磅的人 一天能吃掉多少根莫扎里拉起司棒。 答案是五根。
mozzarella:n.马苏里拉奶酪; consume:v.消耗;吃;毁灭;烧毁;
and two, the gift of questioning my culture's beliefs about what makes a life good and what makes life bad. 第二,她讓我得以懷疑我的文化信仰, 什麼使生命美好, 什麼使生命不好。
If you had told me six years ago that my daughter would sometimes use and iPad app to communicate, 如果六年前你告訴我 我的女兒有時會用 iPad app 來溝通,
I might have thought that was sad. 我可能會認為那很可悲。
But now I recall the first day I handed Fiona her iPad, loaded with a thousand words, each represented by a tiny little icon or little square on her iPad app. 但現在回想我給菲右娜 iPad 的頭一天, iPad 裡面放了一千個字, 每個字用一個小小的圖標或方塊代表。
recall:v.记起;回想起;使想到;勾起;召回;n.记忆力;记性;回归请求;回收令; represented:v.代表; (represent的过去式和过去分词)
And I recall how bold and hopeful it felt, even as some of her therapists said that my expectations were way too high, that she would never be able to hit those tiny targets. 我猶記得當時覺得膽壯和有希望, 即使某些治療師認為我過於樂觀, 即使那些是微小的目標,她也達不到。
bold:adj.大胆的,英勇的;黑体的;厚颜无耻的;险峻的; expectations:n.预料;预期;期待;希望;指望;(expectation的复数)
And I recall watching in awe as she gradually learned to flex her little thumb and hit the buttons to say words she loved, like "reggae" and "cheese" 我回想讚嘆地看著她 慢慢地學會彎曲她的小拇指, 碰觸那個說出她喜愛字彙的按鈕, 像是「雷鬼」、「乳酪」,
awe:vt.使敬畏;使畏怯;n.敬畏; gradually:adv.渐渐地;逐步地; flex:vt.折曲;使收缩;vi.弯曲;收缩;n.屈曲;电线;松紧带;adj.弹性工作制的; thumb:v.翻阅;以拇指拨弄;作搭车手势;笨拙地摆弄;n.拇指;
and a hundred other words she loved that her mouth couldn't yet say. 以及其餘幾百個她喜愛, 但是仍然有口難言的字彙。
And then we had to teach her less-fun words, prepositions -- words like "of" and "on" and "in." 我們也得教她 不那麼有趣的字彙和介系詞, 像是 of 、 on 和 in 。
prepositions:n.[语]介词;系词(preposition的复数);
And we worked on this for a few weeks. 我們練習了幾個星期,
And then I recall sitting at a dining room table with many relatives , and, apropos of absolutely nothing, 然後我記得坐在餐桌旁, 有許多親戚在座, 毫無疑問地,
dining room:n.餐厅; relatives:n.亲戚;亲属;同类事物;(relative的复数) apropos:adj.恰好的;适当的;adv.恰好地;适当地;恰当地;prep.关于; absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
Fiona used her iPad app to say, " poop in toilet." 菲右娜用她的 iPad app 說出了: 「馬桶裡有大便。」
poop:n.船尾;傻子;内幕消息;v.使精疲力尽;使船尾受击;
(Laughter) （笑聲）
Good or bad, hard to say. 好或壞,很難講。
(Laughter) （笑聲）
My kid is human, that's all. 我的孩子是人,僅僅如此。
And that is a lot. 那就夠了。
Thank you. 謝謝。
(Applause) （掌聲）