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JamesRandi_2007-_詹姆斯_兰迪激烈抨击心理骗局_
Good morning. 上午好。
Happy to see so many fine folks out here and so many smiling faces. 能见到这么多名流在座真开心。 看来大家心情也不错。
I have a very peculiar background, attitude and approach to the real world because I am a conjurer . 面对真实的世界, 我的背景,态度和方法 都别具一格, 因为我是魔术师。
peculiar:adj.特殊的;独特的;奇怪的;罕见的;n.特权;特有财产; attitude:n.态度;看法;意见;姿势; approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理; conjurer:n.魔术师;巫师;
Now, I prefer that term over magician, because if I were a magician, that would mean that I use spells and incantations and weird gestures in order to accomplish real magic. 我可不是什么变戏法的, 若是变戏法的, 就得采用咒语符文, 古里古怪的手势, 那样才能变出戏法。
prefer:v.更喜欢;宁愿;提出;提升; incantations:n.咒语; weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; gestures:n.手势; v.做手势; (gesture的第三人称单数和复数) accomplish:v.完成;实现;达到;
No, I don't do that; I'm a conjurer, who is someone who pretends to be a real magician. (Laughter) 我可不来那一套;我是魔术师, 假扮成 货真价实的术士。
Now, how do we go about that sort of thing? 那么,那种把戏是怎么弄的呢？
We depend on the fact that audiences, such as yourselves, will make assumptions . 有个前提是 像你们一样的观众 都会对所闻所见进行假设。
assumptions:n.假定;假设;承担;获得;(assumption的复数)
For example, when I walked up here and I took the microphone from the stand and switched it on, you assumed this was a microphone, which it is not. 举个例子,我走上台来, 我从讲台上取下麦克风 把它拧开, 你们就认定这是个麦克风了,其实错了。
microphone:n.麦克风;传声器;话筒; 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)
(Laughter) （笑声）
As a matter of fact , this is something that about half of you, more than half of you will not be familiar with. 事实上,这件东西是你们当中 至少一半人所不熟悉的。
As a matter of fact:事实上; familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
It's a beard trimmer , you see? 这是把剃须刀,看到了吧。
trimmer:n.整理者;装饰者;机会主义者;
And it makes a very bad microphone; 当麦克风用它一点儿都不好使。
I've tried it many times. (Laughter) 我试用多次了。
The other assumption that you made -- and this little lesson is to show you that you will make assumptions. 你们的另一个假定是-- 这只是告诉大家 你们都会假设--
Not only that you can, but that you will when they are properly suggested to you. 可能并且即将进行种种假设-- 当你们受到一定的暗示。
only that:只是;要不是;
You believe I'm looking at you. 你们相信我正在看着你们。
Wrong. I'm not looking at you. I can't see you. 错。我没在看你们。我看不到你们。
I know you're out there, they told me backstage , it's a full house and such. 我知道你们就座在大厅里 ,上台之前他们已经说了,观众座无虚席。
backstage:adv.在后台;向后台; full house:n.客满;
I know you're there because I can hear you, but I can't see you because I normally wear glasses. 我知道你们在座是因为我听见你们了, 但我看不到,原因是我通常戴眼镜才看得见。
normally:adv.正常地;通常地,一般地;
These are not glasses, these are empty frames . (Laughter) 我现在戴的只是没镜片的空镜框,
frames:n.[计][电子][通信]帧,[电影]画面;[建][计]框架;眼镜架(frame的复数);
Quite empty frames. 的确是空镜框。
Now why would a grown man appear before you wearing empty frames on his face? 为什么一个上了年纪的人 戴着个空镜框出现在你们眼前？
To fool you, ladies and gentlemen, to deceive you, to show that you, too, can make assumptions. 是来骗你们的,先生们女士们 勾引你们上当, 让大家明白你们也会做出假设,
deceive:v.欺骗;蒙骗;诓骗;欺骗(自己);
Don't you ever forget that. 这一点千万别忘记。
Now, I have to do something -- first of all , switch to real glasses so I can actually see you, which would probably be a convenience . I don't know. 现在,我得先把眼镜戴上, 这样才能看见你们, 或许能方便我看清楚,也不一定。
first of all:adv.首先; convenience:n.方便;便利;适宜;便利的事物(或设施);
I haven't had a good look. Well, it's not that great a convenience. 我还没好好看一看呢。哦,马马虎虎,跟不戴差不多。
(Laughter) （笑声）
I have to do something now, which seems a little bit strange for a magician. 现在我得做的事情,对魔术师来说, 看着有点儿怪异。
But I'm going to take some medication . 我要吃些药。
medication:n.药;药物;
This is a full bottle of 这儿是满满一瓶的
Calms Forte . 安睡药片。
Forte:n.长处;特长;adj.强音的;响的;adv.响亮地;
I'll explain that in just a moment. 待会儿我再解释。
Ignore the instructions, that's what the government has to put in there to confuse you, I'm sure. 不看服用说明。 说明书都是按政府要求写的, 肯定是让你看着糊涂的。
Ignore:v.驳回诉讼;忽视;不理睬; confuse:v.混同;使迷惑;使糊涂;使更难于理解;
I will take enough of these. Mm. 我吃足够量的药片。
Indeed, the whole container. 其实是一整瓶的量。
Thirty-two tablets of Calms Forte. 32片安睡药。
tablets:n.药片;片剂;(固定于墙上作纪念的)牌,碑,匾;(tablet的第三人称单数和复数)
Now that I've done that -- I'll explain it in a moment -- 既然已经服下去了--我过一会跟大家解释--
in a moment:立刻;
I must tell you that 我必须告诉你们,
I am an actor. 我是个演员。
I'm an actor who plays a specific part. 我扮演某一特定的角色。
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;
I play the part of a magician, a wizard , if you will, a real wizard. 我演个术士, 男巫,或者干脆叫神汉。
wizard:n.男巫;术士;奇才;adj.男巫的;巫术的;
If someone were to appear on this stage in front of me and actually claim to be an ancient prince of Denmark named Hamlet , you would be insulted and rightly so. 要是有谁到台上来出现在我跟前, 他又号称是 哈姆雷特,一位古代丹麦的王子, 你们肯定觉着被侮辱了, 的确如此。
claim:v.要求;声称;需要;认领;n.要求;声称;索赔;断言;值得; Hamlet:n.小村庄; insulted:v.辱骂;侮辱;冒犯;(insult的过去分词和过去式) rightly:adv.正确地;恰当地;公正地;合适地;
Why would a man assume that you would believe something bizarre like this? 怎么会有谁可以假定你们就相信 这类稀奇古怪的事情呢？
bizarre:adj.奇异的(指态度,容貌,款式等);
But there exists out there a very large population of people who will tell you that they have psychic , magical powers that they can predict the future, that they can make contact with the deceased . 还真大有人在, 他们明目张胆地 告诉众生 他们具备灵异的、魔幻的力量, 他们能预知未来, 他们能与亡人接触。
psychic:adj.精神的;心灵的;灵魂的;超自然的;n.灵媒;巫师; predict:v.预报;预言;预告; contact:n.接触,联系;v.使接触,联系; deceased:adj.死去了的;已死的;n.死者;
Oh, they also say they will sell you astrology or other fortunetelling methods. 啊,他们还说, 可以把占星术以及 其它占卜用的方法卖给你们。
astrology:n.占星术;占星学;星座; fortunetelling:n.算命;占卜;adj.算命的;
Oh, they gladly sell you that, yes. 哦,他们可真是巴不得卖给你们呢。
gladly:adv.乐意地;高兴地;欢喜地;
And they also say that they can give you perpetual motion machines and free energy systems. 他们还说 能给你永动机 和什么不耗能的玩意儿。
perpetual motion:n.永动;
They claim to be psychics , or sensitives , whatever they can. 他们自称灵媒师, 或者有特异功能什么的。
psychics:n.[心理]心理学;心灵研究;
But the one thing that has made a big comeback just recently is this business of speaking with the dead. 但是有一点让他们现了原形, 就在近期发生的, 竟有这样的事儿, 跟死人说话。
comeback:n.恢复;复原; recently:adv.最近;新近;
Now, to my innocent mind, dead implies incapable of communicating. (Laughter) 恕我孤陋寡闻了, 我以为死亡即 不能与人交流。
innocent:adj.无辜的;无罪的;无知的;n.天真的人;笨蛋; implies:v.意味着(imply的第三人称单数);蕴含;暗指; incapable:adj.不能的;无能力的;不能胜任的;
You might agree with me on that. 你们也这么想吧。
But these people, they tend to tell you that not only can they communicate with the dead -- "Hi, there" -- but they can hear the dead as well, and they can relay this information back to the living. 可这帮人,他们要跟你们说的是, 他们不但能跟死人交流-- 你好哇-- 还能听见死人说的话呢, 再把他们听到的讯息回传给生者。
relay:n.接力赛; v.转发(信息、消息等);
I wonder if that's true. 我怀疑其真实性。
I wonder if:我不知道是否…？;
I don't think so, because this subculture of people use exactly the same gimmicks that we magicians do, exactly the same -- the same physical methods, the same psychological methods -- and they effectively and profoundly deceive millions of people around the earth, to their detriment . 我不以为然是因为 处于非主流文化中的这帮人 用的手法跟我们魔术师一模照样, 完全一样, 同样的物质方法,同样的心理手段。 迄今他们有效地、深刻地 欺骗了全球上百万众生 令人深受其害。
subculture:n.亚文化群;vt.作再次培养; gimmicks:n.花招,把戏,噱头;(gimmick的复数) physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查; psychological:adj.心理的;心理学的;精神上的; profoundly:adv.深刻地;深深地;极度地; detriment:n.损害;伤害;损害物;
They deceive these people, costs them a lot of money, cost them a lot of emotional anguish . 他们向老百姓行骗。 骗取大量钱财。 令众生陷入感情的痛苦之中。
emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的; anguish:n.痛苦;苦恼;v.使极度痛苦;感到极度的痛苦;
Billions of dollars are spent every year, all over the globe, on these charlatans . 上亿美元都被骗走 年年如此,随处可见, 这类自吹自擂的骗子。
charlatans:n.江湖骗子(charlatan的复数);
Now, I have two questions 我有两个问题
I would like to ask these people if I had the opportunity to do so. 我要向这类人发问 如果我有这个机会。
First question: If I want to ask them to call up -- because they do hear them through the ear. 第一个问题:如果我要他们召唤谁--- 因为他们用耳朵听到那些讯息。
They listen to the spirits like this -- 他们像这样听灵魂说些什么。
I'm going to ask you to call up the ghost of my grandmother because, when she died, she had the family will, and she secreted it someplace. We don't know where it is, so we ask Granny, "Where is the will, Granny?" 我要你召唤我奶奶的灵魂, 她去世的时候有一份家庭遗嘱, 她给藏在什么地方了,我们都不知道。 所以我们得问问奶奶,“遗嘱放在哪儿,奶奶？”
ghost:n.鬼,幽灵;v.作祟于;替…捉刀;为人代笔; secreted:v.分泌;隐藏,藏匿(小物件);(secrete的过去分词和过去式)
What does Granny say? She says, "I'm in heaven and it's wonderful. 奶奶怎么说的？她说,“我在天堂,这儿真美。
I'm here with all my old friends, my deceased friends, and my family and all the puppy dogs and the kittens that I used to have when I was a little girl. 我在这儿跟所有的老朋友一起,那些故去的朋友, 以及我的家人, 还有我小时候养过的宠物阿猫阿狗。
puppy:n.小狗;幼犬;傲慢小子;自负无礼的青年
And I love you, and I'll always be with you. 我爱你们,永远和你们在一起。
Good bye." 再见。
And she didn't answer the damn question! 她死活就没回答问题。
damn:v.谴责;该死;n.诅咒;adj.可恶的;
Where is the will? 遗嘱放在哪儿？
Now, she could easily have said, "Oh, it's in the library on the second shelf, behind the encyclopedia ," 其实她本来就该直接说, “哦,放在百科全书后面了,在阅览室的第二层架子上。”
encyclopedia:n.百科全书(亦是encyclopaedia);
but she doesn't say that. No, she doesn't. 但她就不说。她没说。
She doesn't bring any useful information to us. 她不把有用的信息带给我们。
We paid a lot of money for that information, be we didn't get it. 我们可是为获得信息付了大价钱的, 钱花了,信儿没问到。
The second question that I'd like to ask, rather simple: 我要问的第二个问题,相当简单。
Suppose I ask them to contact the spirit of my deceased father-in-law , as an example. 比方说,假设我请他们 跟我已经故去的岳父的灵魂取得联系。
Suppose:v.推断:假定:假设:设想: father-in-law:n.岳父;公公;继父;
Why do they insist on saying -- remember, they speak into this ear -- why do they say, "My name starts with J or M?" 为什么他们坚持说--- 记住,他们对着他的耳朵说--- 为什么要说,“我的名字是J打头还是M？”
Is this a hunting game? 这玩的是猎杀游戏吗？
Hunting and fishing? What is it? 打猎还是钓鱼？什么把戏？不就一个问题么？
Is it 20 questions? No, it's more like 120 questions. 难道问了20个问题？不,更像是120个问题。
But it is a cruel, vicious , absolutely conscienceless -- 太不幸,太邪恶了, 彻底丧失良心了---
vicious:adj.恶毒的;恶意的;堕落的;有错误的;品性不端的;剧烈的; absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
I'll be all right, keep your seats (Laughter) -- game that these people play. 我没事儿,你们别担心--- 这伙人搞什么鬼把戏。
And they take advantage of the innocent, the naive , the grieving , the needy people out there. 他们在沾别人的便宜,利用那些 天真、无知、悲伤和贫穷的人们。
take advantage of:利用; naive:adj.天真的,幼稚的; grieving:v.悲伤,悲痛,伤心;使悲伤;使伤心;(grieve的现在分词) needy:adj.贫困的;贫穷的;生活艰苦的;
Now, this is a process that is called cold reading. 其中有个过程, 所谓冷读术。
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;
There's one fellow out there, 有个知名知姓的男巫,
Van Praagh is his name, James Van Praagh. 他叫凡?普拉,全名是詹姆斯?凡?普拉。
He's one of the big practitioners of this sort of thing. 干这行的里面他算大佬。
practitioners:n.实践者;开业者;实习者(practitioner的复数);
John Edward, Sylvia Browne and Rosemary Altea, they are other operators. 还有约翰?爱德华,斯尔维亚?布朗, 罗斯玛丽?艾尔提,他们都是这行当里面数得着的。
Rosemary:n.[植]迷迭香;
There are hundreds of them all over the earth, but in this country, 全球有几百个专干这行的巫师巫婆,但在这个国家,
James Van Praagh is very big. 詹姆斯?凡?普拉就是老大了。
And what does he do? He likes to tell you how the deceased got deceased, the people he's talking to through his ear, you see? 知道他管用的伎俩吗？他通常会忽悠你 已经故去的人是怎么走的, 他用耳朵与逝者交谈。
So what he says is, very often, is like this: he says, "He tells me, he tells me, before he passed, that he had trouble breathing." 他惯用的专业术语是, 在他生前,他告诉我,他告诉我, 他呼吸困难。”
Folks, that's what dying is all about! 在座的各位,那不就是人死亡的过程么。
(Laughter) （笑声）
You stop breathing, and then you're dead. 停止呼吸,然后宣告死亡。
It's that simple. 多显而易见的事儿。
And that's the kind of information they're going to bring back to you? 那就是逝者要带回给人们的信息吗？
I don't think so. 我想不是。
Now, these people will make guesses, they'll say things like, "Why am I getting electricity ? 马上,这帮专业人士要进行猜测了,他们会说, “为什么我得到一个“电”字？
electricity:n.电力;电流;强烈的紧张情绪;
He's saying to me, 'Electricity.' 他在跟我说“电”。
Was he an electrician ?" "No." “他是个电工？”不是。
electrician:n.电工;电气技师;
'"Did he ever have an electric razor ?" "No." “他曾用过一个电动剃须刀？”没有。
electric razor:un.电动刮胡刀;
It was a game of hunting questions like this. 少来这种搜索问题的把戏。
This is what they go through. 他们无非就指着这套骗钱。
Now, folks often ask us at the James Randi Educational Foundation , they call me, they say, "Why are you so concerned about this, Mr. Randi? 人们经常致电 詹姆斯?兰迪教育基金会, 他们问:“兰迪先生,你为何对次如此关心？
Educational:adj.教育的;有关教育的;有教育意义的 Foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立; concerned:adj.有关的;关心的;v.关心;与…有关;(concern的过去时和过去分词)
Isn't it just a lot of fun?" 是不是其中大有乐趣？”
No, it is not fun. It is a cruel farce . 不,不是觉得有意思。真是令人痛苦的丑剧。
farce:n.闹剧;胡闹;笑剧;
Now, it may bring a certain amount of comfort, but that comfort lasts only about 20 minutes or so. 也许骗子给当事人带来一定的慰藉, 却也不过是短暂的 二十来分钟而已。
And then the people look in the mirror, and they say, 过后人们揽镜自照,方大梦初醒,
I just paid a lot of money for that reading. 我付了一大笔钱都换来什么了。
And what did she say to me? 'I love you!'" 她跟我说了些什么？“我爱你！”
They always say that. 骗子惯用的把戏。
They don't get any information, they don't get any value for what they spend. 人们什么信息也没得到, 上当了,钱白花了。
Now, Sylvia Browne is the big operator . 斯尔维亚?布朗就是目前的头号骗子。
operator:n.算子;接线员;操作人员;骗子;
We call her "The Talons ." 我们都叫她“大魔爪”。
Talons:n.爪;[建]爪饰;如爪的手;
Sylvia Browne -- thank you -- 斯尔维亚?布朗--谢谢你--
Sylvia Browne is the big operator in this field at this very moment. 现在这行当中, 斯尔维亚?布朗就算老大了。
Now, Sylvia Browne -- just to show you -- she actually gets 700 dollars for a 20 minute reading over the telephone, she doesn't even go there in person, and you have to wait up to two years because she's booked ahead that amount of time. 斯尔维亚?布朗--你听好了--我要揭穿你 如何打一通20分钟的电话, 就骗取了700美元。 她甚至都不必走一趟。 而你得等上两年的时间才约得到她, 因为她提前预定的时间就是两年。
You pay by credit card or whatever, and then she will call you sometime in the next two years. 可以用信用卡或别的方式付款, 接下来两年之内的某个时间, 她会给你打电话。
credit card:n.[经]信用卡;
You can tell it's her. "Hello, this is Sylvia Browne." 一听就知道是她本人。“你好,我是斯尔维亚?布朗。”
That's her, you can tell right away . 错不了。一听就是她。
right away:立刻;
Now, Montel Williams is an intelligent man. 蒙特尔·威廉姆斯智能过人。
intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的
We all know who he is on television. 这位美国著名电视节目主持人家喻户晓。
He's well educated, he's smart, he knows what Sylvia Browne is doing but he doesn't give a damn. 他修养高,又聪明。 他晓得斯尔维亚?布朗的勾当。 但他不去理会。
He just doesn't care. 事不关己,高高挂起。
Because, the bottom line is, the sponsors love it, and he will expose her to television publicity all the time. 因为只要赞助商们喜欢, 他就会随时向电视观众 推介她。
the bottom line:底线;本质内容;最底线; sponsors:n.赞助商;主办单位(sponsor的复数);v.赞助(sponsor的三单形式);主办;倡议; expose:v.揭露,揭发;使曝光;显示; publicity:n.宣传,宣扬;公开;广告;注意;
Now, what does Sylvia Browne give you for that 700 dollars? 而问题是斯尔维亚?布朗凭什么收了你700美元呢。
She gives you the names of your guardian angels, that's first. 首先,她会说出你的守护天使是谁。
guardian:n.[法]监护人,保护人;守护者;adj.守护的;
Now, without that, how could we possibly function? (Laughter) 没有那可怎么行呢？
She gives you the names of previous lives, who you were in previous lives. 她告诉你的前世叫什么名字, 上辈子你是谁。
previous:adj.以前的;早先的;过早的;adv.在先;在…以前;
Duh. 切--
It turns out that the women that she gives readings for were all Babylonian princesses , or something like that. 结果那些听她瞎掰扯的女人, 都成了古巴比伦的公主, 或者有类似的显赫身世。
Babylonian:adj.巴比伦的;邪恶的;奢华堕落的;n.巴比伦人;迦勒底人;占星家; princesses:n.公主(princess的复数形式);王妃;
And the men were all Grecian warriors fighting with Agamemnon . 男的都曾经是跟随阿伽门农 打仗的希腊斗士。
Grecian:adj.希腊的;希腊式的;n.希腊学家;希腊语; warriors:n.(尤指旧时的)武士,勇士,斗士(warrior的复数) Agamemnon:n.阿伽门农(特洛伊战争中希腊军队的统帅);
Nothing is ever said about a 14 year-old bootblack in the streets of London who died of consumption . 却从没有人提及 伦敦大街上擦皮鞋的孩童, 14岁就死于肺病。
bootblack:n.擦鞋童;以擦皮鞋为业的人; consumption:n.消费;消耗;肺痨;
He isn't worth bringing back, obviously. 显然,卑微的小生命死不足惜。
And the strange thing -- folks, you may have noticed this too. 可能你们也注意到了,有件事很奇怪---
You see these folks on television -- they never call anybody back from hell. (Laughter) 在电视上露面的这些家伙--- 从来不召回地狱的死人。
Everyone comes back from heaven, but never from hell. 他们找的都是天堂里的,从来不去敲地狱的门。
If they call back any of my friends, they're not going to... Well, you see the story. 若是把我故去的某个朋友叫回来, 他们也不会去叫......反正大家都明白。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now, Sylvia Browne is an exception , an exception in one way, because the James Randi Educational Foundation, my foundation, offers a one million dollar prize in negotiable bonds. 斯尔维亚?布朗 多少有点儿例外, 原因就是詹姆斯?兰迪教育基金,我本人的基金会, 提供一份价值一百万美元的可转让债券。
exception:n.例外;异议; negotiable:adj.可通过谈判解决的;可协商的;
Very simply won. 赢取的条件很简单。
All you have to do is prove any paranormal , occult or supernatural event or power of any kind under proper observing conditions. 只要你能证实超常玄妙的事情, 或者超自然事情的真实性, 而且是在正常的条件下可观察到的。
paranormal:adj.超常的;超过正常范围的; occult:adj.神秘的;超自然的;难以理解的;vt.掩蔽;n.神秘学;vi.被掩蔽; supernatural:adj.超自然的;神奇的,不可思议的;n.超自然现象;不可思议的事; observing:adj.观察的;注意的;观察力敏锐的;v.观察;遵守(observe的现在分词);
It's very easy, win the million dollars. 谁做到了,就能轻易赢得百万美元。
Sylvia Browne is an exception in that she's the only professional psychic in the whole world that has accepted our challenge. 斯尔维亚?布朗多少有点儿例外, 她是全世界唯一的 接受我们挑战的 职业灵媒师。
professional:adj.专业的;职业的;职业性的;n.专业人员;职业运动员;
She did this on the "Larry King Live" show on CNN six and a half years ago. 六年前,她在拉里·金主持的CNN直播节目现场中 接受了我们的挑战。
And we haven't heard from her since. Strange. 奇怪的是,从此她就再没动静了。
She said that, first of all, that she didn't know how to contact me. 她自己讲,起初,她不知如何联系我。
Duh. (⊙o⊙)哦
A professional psychic who speaks to dead people, she can't reach me? 职业灵媒师,有本事跟死人联络的, 她能找不到我？
(Laughter) （笑声）
I'm alive, you may have noticed. 你们也能看出来吧,我还活着,
Well, pretty well anyway. 好生生地活人呀。
She couldn't reach me. Now she says she doesn't want to reach me because I'm a godless person. 她联系不上我。现在,她又讲她不想联系我, 因为我是个无神论者。
godless:adj.不信神的,无神论者的;不敬神的;
All the more reason to take the million dollars, wouldn't you think, Sylvia? 尽管如此,仍有更好的理由去赢取这百万美元, 塞尔维亚,你说呢？
All the more:更加;越发;
Now these people need to be stopped, seriously now. 该出来阻止这伙人了,刻不容缓。
They need to be stopped because this is a cruel farce. 必须阻止他们的丑陋闹剧。
We get people coming to the foundation all the time. 我们一直努力让人们到基金会来获得帮助。
They're ruined financially and emotionally because they've given their money and their faith to these people. 他们在金钱和情感上都受了伤害 他们把钱、信任都给了 这些人。
ruined:adj.毁灭的;荒废的;v.毁坏;破坏;糟蹋;(ruin的过去分词和过去式) financially:adv.财政上;金融上; emotionally:adv.感情上;情绪上;令人激动地;情绪冲动地; faith:n.信心;信任;宗教信仰;
Now, I popped some pills earlier. 开始我吞下了一些药片,
pills:n.药丸; v.起球; (pill的第三人称单数和复数)
I have to explain that to you. 我得解释一下。
Homeopathy , let's find out what that's all about. 同种疗法,我们看看这是什么疗法。
Homeopathy:n.[临床]顺势疗法;同种疗法;
Hmm. You've heard of it. 嗯,你们多少有所了解。
It's an alternative form of healing , right? 对,是另一种形式的疗法。
alternative:adj.供选择的;选择性的;交替的;n.二中择一;供替代的选择; healing:n.康复; adj.痊愈中的; v.(使)康复,复原; (heal的现在分词)
Homeopathy actually consists -- and that's what this is. 事实上同种疗法包括---仅此而已。
consists:v.由…构成;由…组成(consist的三单形式);
This is Calms Forte, 32 caplets of sleeping pills! I forgot to tell you that. 这是解压舒眠锭。 我忘了告诉大家---这是32片安眠药。
caplets:n.锭;(caplet的复数)
I just ingested six and a half days worth of sleeping pills. 我刚消化了 合六天半剂量的安眠药。
ingested:v.摄入;食入;咽下(ingest的过去分词和过去式)
(Laughter) （笑声）
Six and a half days, that certainly is a fatal dose . 六天半,当然是致命的剂量。
fatal:adj.致命的;灾难性的;毁灭性的;导致失败的; dose:n.剂量;一剂,一服;v.服药;给药;给…服药;
It says right on the back here, "In case of overdose , contact your poison control center immediately," 这背面的说明书写着。 万一吞服过量, 立即联系您附近的毒药控制中心。
overdose:n.(一次用药)过量;v.一次用药过量;
and it gives an 800 number. 后面写着个800的号码。
Keep your seats -- it's going to be okay. 都别担心。我没事儿。
I don't really need it because I've been doing this stunt for audiences all over the world for the last eight or 10 years, taking fatal doses of homeopathic sleeping pills. 我不需要急救, 因为我在过去八至十年间, 一直向全世界的观众 表演这项绝技, 服用过量的同种疗法安眠药。
stunt:n.特技;噱头;特技表演;危险举动;vt.妨碍发展;遏制 doses:v.服药(dose的三单形式);n.[药][核]剂量(dose的复数); homeopathic:adj.顺势疗法的;同种疗法的;
Why don't they affect me? 这些药对我怎麽不管用呀？
(Laughter) （笑声）
(Applause) （掌声）
The answer may surprise you. 答案你可能想不到。
What is homeopathy? 什么是同种疗法？
It's taking a medicine that really works and diluting it down well beyond Avogadro's limit. 其实是服用真正有效的药物, 进行稀释, 刚好在阿伏伽德罗界限之内。
diluting:adj.稀释的;v.稀释(dilute的ing形式);冲淡;
Diluting it down to the point where there's none of it left. (Laughter) 稀释到一定程度, 淡化为乌有。
Now folks, this is not just a metaphor I'm going to give you now, it's true. 朋友们,我可不是在打比方, 实际情况如此。
metaphor:n.暗喻,隐喻;比喻说法;
It's exactly equivalent to taking one 325 milligram aspirin tablet, throwing it into the middle of Lake Tahoe , and then stirring it up, obviously with a very big stick, and waiting two years or so until the solution is homogeneous . 这正相当于 将325毫克阿司匹林药片 投入塔霍湖里, 然后搅动一番,当然是用很大一根木棒, 等过了大约两年的时间, 直到溶解得均匀了。
equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物; milligram:n.毫克; aspirin:n.阿司匹林(解热镇痛药); Tahoe:n.美国塔霍湖; stirring:adj.激动人心的; n.开始,出现,酝酿; v.搅动; (stir的现在分词) solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答; homogeneous:adj.均匀的;[数]齐次的;同种的;
Then, when you get a headache, you take a sip of this water, and -- voila ! -- it is gone. 之后,一旦你犯了头疼病, 喝一口这湖里的水,哇塞！不疼了。
sip:v.小口喝;n.一小口(饮料); voila:int.(法)瞧;可不是;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now that is true. That is what homeopathy is all about. 事实上,同种疗法不过如此。
And another claim that they make -- you'll love this one -- the more dilute the medicine is, they say, the more powerful it is. 他们还说---你们一定觉得好玩--- 药物越稀释, 疗效越强。
dilute:adj.稀释的;淡的;vt.稀释;冲淡;削弱;vi.变稀薄;变淡;
Now wait a minute, we heard about a guy in Florida. 但是,我们听说佛罗里达的一个人,
The poor man, he was on homeopathic medicine. 可怜的家伙,服用了同种疗法的药。
He died of an overdose. 他死于服药过量。
He forgot to take his pill. 他忘了吃他的药。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Work on it. Work on it. 这是怎么说的。
It's a ridiculous thing. It is absolutely ridiculous. 荒唐,绝对荒唐。
ridiculous:adj.可笑的;荒谬的;
I don't know what we're doing, believing in all this nonsense over all these years. 真不知道我们在干什么。 多年来相信这些胡说八道。
nonsense:n.胡说;废话;adj.荒谬的;int.胡说;
Now, let me tell you, 现在,让我来告诉你们,
The James Randi Educational Foundation is waving this very big carrot, but I must say, the fact that nobody has taken us up on this offer doesn't mean that the powers don't exist. 詹姆斯?兰迪教育基金会 挥舞着这根大胡萝卜, 但是我必须说,事实上, 对我们的悬赏虽然无人问津, 并不是没有能人。
They might, some place out there. 他们可能不知在哪儿。
Maybe these people are just independently wealthy. 也许这些人单单有钱。
independently:adv.独立地;自立地;
Well, with Sylvia Browne I would think so. 我想他们跟塞尔维亚布朗尼一伙。
You know, 700 dollars for a 20 minute reading over the telephone -- that's more than lawyers make! 你们晓得,通个20分钟的电话, 就赚700美元, 比律师还能挣。
I mean that's a fabulous amount of money. 真是惊人的一大笔钱。
fabulous:adj.难以置信的;传说的,寓言中的;极好的;
These people don't need the million dollars perhaps, but wouldn't you think they'd like to take it just to make me look silly? 这些有钱人可能真不在乎几百万美元, 但你不觉得他们想趁机 让我难堪,
Just to get rid of this godless person out there that Sylvia Browne talks about all the time? 趁机干掉某个无神论者吗？ 那可是塞尔维亚布朗尼一直的心病呢。
I think that something needs to be done about this. 我想应该采取实际行动。
We really would love to have suggestions from you folks on how to contact federal , state and local authorities to get them to do something. 我们非常乐意听听在座各位的建议, 该如何联系上联邦政府 以及当地政府, 说服他们对此有所作为。
federal:adj.联邦的;同盟的;联邦政府的;联邦制的;adv.联邦政府地; authorities:n.权力;威权;职权;批准;(authority的复数)
If you find out -- now I understand. 如果你们查明真相,---我现在才明白---
We've seen people, even today, speaking to us about AIDS epidemics and starving kids around the world and impure water supplies that people have to suffer with. 始终有人向我们诉说 艾滋病的蔓延, 全世界挨饿的儿童, 供应水质不纯净的问题令人们深受其害。
epidemics:n.流行病;蔓延(epidemic的复数);时疫; impure:adj.不纯的;肮脏的;道德败坏的;
Those are very important, critically important to us. 都是重大的事情。 事关生存大计。
critically:adv.精密地;危急地;批评性地;用钻研眼光地;
And we must do something about those problems. 我们必须努力解决那些问题。
But at the same time , as Arthur C. Clarke said, 然而与此同时...... 正如阿瑟C克拉克所说,
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时;
The rotting of the human mind, the business of believing in the paranormal and the occult and the supernatural -- all of this total nonsense, this medieval thinking -- “人心大坏。” 相信什么超常、神秘、 超自然的事儿, 统统是胡说八道,专门骗人的, 令人发指的愚昧糟粕。
medieval:adj.中世纪的;原始的;仿中世纪的;老式的;
I think something should be done about that, and it all lies in education. 这也是亟待解决的问题, 关键在教育。
Largely , it's the media who are to blame for this sort of thing. 很大程度上,问题的产生 归咎于媒体。
Largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地; media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉;
They shamelessly promote all kinds of nonsense of this sort because it pleases the sponsors. 他们无耻地鼓吹 这类蒙昧无知的东西, 仅仅是为了取悦赞助商。
shamelessly:adv.不知羞耻地;厚着脸皮地; promote:v.促进;推动;促销;提升;晋升;
It's the bottom line, the dollar line. 其底线在于是否赚钱。
That's what they're looking at. 只要赚钱,其它的不管。
We really must do something about this. 我们实在不能袖手旁观。
I'm willing to take your suggestions, and I'm willing to have you tune in to our webpage . 对各位的建议我洗耳恭听, 我也希望各位 到访我们的网站:
webpage:n.网页;
It's www.randi.org. 网址是:www.randi.org
Go in there and look at the archives , and you will begin to understand much more of what I've been talking about today. 去浏览里面保存的资料, 你们就会更多地了解 今天我在这里所讲的内容。
archives:n.档案;档案馆;v.把…存档;(archive的第三人称单数和复数)
You will see the records that we have. 请去看我们保存的记录。
There's nothing like sitting in that library and having a family appear there and say that Mum gave away all the family fortune. 坐在图书馆里, 受访者是一家人, 诉说他们的母亲卖掉了全家所有的财产。
She cashed in the CDs, she gave away the stocks and the certificates . 收藏的唱片都被卖了, 以及股票和存根。
stocks:n.[金融]股票; v.采购; certificates:n.[管理]证书(certificate的复数); v.用证书证明(certificate的单数第三人称);
That's really sad to hear, and it hasn't helped them one bit, hasn't solved any of their problems. 真是没有比听这样的事情更叫人难过的了。 一点儿也帮不到他们, 也解决不了他们的任何实际问题。
Yes, there could be a rotting of the American mind, and of the minds all the way around the earth, if we don't start to think sensibly about these things. 正是印证了那句话,侵蚀了美国人的心灵, 也同样侵蚀了地球人的心灵。 该理智地思考这些现象了。
sensibly:adv.明显地;容易感知地;聪明地;
Now, we've offered this carrot, as I say, we've dangled the carrot. 至此,我们悬赏, 前面说过,我们很希望有人接受挑战。
dangled:adj.悬挂着的;v.挂;悬荡;吊着;(dangle的过去分词);
We're waiting for the psychics to come forth and snap at it. 我们拭目以待,诸多灵媒师前来应战。
snap:v.断裂;移到某位置;厉声说;n.啪嗒声;(尤指抢拍的)照片;adj.仓促的;
Oh, we get lots of them, hundreds of them every year come by. 哦,相当多, 每年都有几百号人来找我们。
These are dowsers and people who think that they can talk to the dead as well, but they're amateurs; they don't know how to evaluate their own so-called powers. 这些催眠师, 这些自认为能跟死人交谈的人, 但是他们太不专业了,竟不知道如何 对其所谓超能力进行定级。
evaluate:v.评价;评估;估计; so-called:adj.所谓的;号称的;
The professionals never come near us, except in that case of Sylvia Browne that I told you about a moment ago. 专业干这行的从来也不找我们, 除了塞尔维亚布朗尼的个案。 刚才我已经说过了。
professionals:n.[管理]专业人员(professional的复数);
She did accept and then backed away. 他确实接受挑战了,后来又退缩了。
Ladies and gentlemen, 女士们,先生们
I'm James Randi, and I'm waiting. 本人詹姆斯?兰迪 在此恭候。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）