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MeganWashington_2014X-_为什么我活在对公共演讲的致命恐惧中_
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I didn't know when I agreed to do this whether I was expected to talk or to sing. |
当我答应来到这个舞台时我不知道 他们是想让我演讲还是演唱。 |
But when I was told that the topic was language, |
但是当他们告诉我今天的主题是关于语言时, |
I felt that I had to speak about something for a moment. |
我觉得必须说点什么。 |
I have a problem. |
我有一个小毛病。 |
It's not the worst thing in the world. |
但这不是世界上最糟糕的事情。 |
I'm fine. |
我很好。 |
I'm not on fire. |
我没有身陷火海。 |
I know that other people in the world have far worse things to deal with, but for me, language and music are inextricably linked through this one thing. |
我知道世界上的其他人 还有更糟糕的事情要去应付, 但是对我来说,语言和音乐 通过这件事变得密不可分。 |
inextricably:adv.逃不掉地;解不开地;解决不了地;
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And the thing is that I have a stutter . |
这件事就是我有口吃。 |
stutter:v.结结巴巴地说话;n.口吃,结巴;
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It might seem curious given that I spend a lot of my life on the stage . |
考虑到我生命中的许多时光都花在了舞台上, 口吃这件事似乎有点奇怪。 |
curious:adj.好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的; on the stage:在舞台上;现阶段;当演员;
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One would assume that I'm comfortable in the public sphere and comfortable here, speaking to you guys. |
有人可能会认为呆在公共空间会使 我感到很舒适,在这里与你们谈话 会使我感觉很自在。 |
assume:v.承担;假定;采取;呈现; 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;
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But the truth is that I've spent my life up until this point and including this point, living in mortal dread of public speaking. |
但事实是,在我的生命中直到此刻, 甚至包括此刻,我都一直生活在 |
mortal:adj.凡人的;致死的;终有一死的;不共戴天的;n.人类,凡人; dread:n.恐惧;可怕的人(或物);vi.惧怕;担心;vt.惧怕;担心;adj.可怕的;
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Public singing, whole different thing. (Laughter) |
但公开演唱,又完全是另外一回事。(笑声) |
But we'll get to that in a moment . |
但是我们很快就会进入那种状态。 |
in a moment:立刻;
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I've never really talked about it before so explicitly . |
以前我从来没有真正这么坦率地谈论我的口吃问题。 |
explicitly:adv.明确地;明白地;
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I think that that's because I've always lived in hope that when I was a grown-up, |
我觉得那是因为我一直生活在那种 当我长大了就不会再口吃了 |
I wouldn't have one. |
的希望中。 |
I sort of lived with this idea that when I'm grown, |
我曾经梦想过,当我长大了 |
I'll have learned to speak French, and when I'm grown, I'll learn how to manage my money, and when I'm grown, I won't have a stutter, and then I'll be able to public speak and maybe be the prime minister and anything's possible and, you know. |
我会学会法语; 当我长大了,我会学会管理我的钱财; 以及当我长大了,我不会再有口吃, 然后我能公开地演讲,也可能成为总理, 并且一切皆有可能,你知道的。 |
prime minister:n.首相;总理;
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(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
So I can talk about it now because I've reached this point, where — |
因此我现在能够谈论它 是因为我已经到了这个阶段—— |
I mean, I'm 28. |
我的意思是,我28岁了。 |
I'm pretty sure that I'm grown now. |
我非常肯定我已经长大了。 |
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
And I'm an adult woman who spends her life as a performer, with a speech impediment . |
我现在一个成年女性, 一个有言语障碍 的歌手。 |
impediment:n.口吃;妨碍;阻止;
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So, I might as well come clean about it. |
所以,我应该最好将它全盘托出。 |
might as well:不妨,何妨;还是…的好; come clean about:说出某事的真相;
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There are some interesting angles to having a stutter. |
其实可以从几个有趣的角度去看待口吃。 |
For me, the worst thing that can happen is meeting another stutterer . |
对我来说,最糟糕的事 就是碰见另一个口吃者。 |
stutterer:n.口吃;说话结巴者;
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(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
This happened to me in Hamburg, when this guy, we met and he said, "Hello, m-m-m-my name is Joe," |
这种事情在汉堡发生过, 当我见到那个人后他说 :“你好,我……我……我……叫Joe,” |
and I said, "Oh, hello, m-m-m-my name is Meg." |
然后我说: 你好,我……我……我叫Meg。“ |
Imagine my horror when I realized he thought I was making fun of him. |
想像一下当我意识到他认为我在取笑他时 我是多么恐惧。 |
horror:n.恐惧;厌恶;震惊;对某事物的强烈畏惧(或憎恨);
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(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
People think I'm drunk all the time. |
人们总是以为我喝醉了。 |
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
People think that I've forgotten their name when I hesitate before saying it. |
当我在说出别人的名字之前犹豫一下时, 他们会认为我想不起来他们的名字了。 |
hesitate:v.(对某事)犹豫,迟疑不决;顾虑;疑虑;
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And it is a very weird thing, because proper nouns are the worst. |
这是一件非常奇怪的事,因为 专有名词对我来说是最难的。 |
weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; nouns:名词(noun的复数)
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If I'm going to use the word "Wednesday" in a sentence, and I'm coming up to the word, and I can feel that I'm going to stutter or something, |
如果我打算在一个句子中使用“星期三”这个词, 然后当我即将说到这个词时, 我预料到我将会结巴或者别的情况, |
I can change the word to "tomorrow," |
我可以将“星期三”替换成“明天”, |
or "the day after Tuesday," |
或者“星期二之后的一天” |
or something else. |
或其它诸如此类的。 |
It's clunky , but you can get away with it , because over time I've developed this loophole method of using speech where right at the last minute you change the thing and you trick your brain. |
这是一个笨拙的办法,但是却可以帮我摆脱口吃, 因为随着时间的推移,我已经进化出了那种 在最后关头 找到替换词语 并且骗过大脑的能力。 |
clunky:adj.沉重的;影响不好的; get away with it:na.侥幸成功;逃脱处罚; loophole:n.漏洞;枪眼;换气孔;射弹孔;
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But with people's names, you can't change them. |
但是对于人名,你不可能找到替换词。 |
(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
When I was singing a lot of jazz, |
当我唱爵士乐的时候 |
I worked a lot with a pianist whose name was Steve. |
我经常跟一个叫Steve的钢琴师一起工作。 |
As you can probably gather, |
正如你们可能注意到的那样, |
S's and T's, together or independently , are my kryptonite . |
S和T的发音,不管是分开的还是连在一起的, 都是我的克星。 |
independently:adv.独立地;自立地; kryptonite:n.氪星石;
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But I would have to introduce the band over this rolling vamp , and when I got around to Steve, |
但是在摇滚演奏的过程中 我不得不介绍乐队成员, 当介绍到Steve时, |
band:n.带;波段;频带;箍;v.加彩条(或嵌条等);(将价格、收入等)划分档次; vamp:vt.修补;拼凑;vi.即席伴奏;n.鞋面;荡妇;
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I'd often find myself stuck on the "St." |
我经常发现自己卡在了 St 的发音上。 |
And it was a bit awkward and uncomfortable and it totally kills the vibe . |
这会使我很尴尬很难受,并且气氛也被完全破坏掉了。 |
awkward:adj.尴尬的;笨拙的;棘手的;不合适的; vibe:n.气氛,氛围;
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So after a few instances of this, |
因此经过几次这样的事之后, |
instances:n.相依物体,例子; v.举例说明(instance的第三人称单数形式);
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Steve happily became "Seve," |
Steve愉快地变成了“Seve,” |
and we got through it that way. (Laughter) |
我们用这种方式解决了问题。(笑声) |
I've had a lot of therapy , and a common form of treatment is to use this technique that's called smooth speech, which is where you almost sing everything that you say. |
我接受过很多治疗, 最常见的是一种 叫做流畅说话的疗法, 即用几乎像唱歌一样的调子去说话。 |
therapy:n.治疗,疗法; treatment:n.治疗;疗法;对待;处理;讨论; technique:n.技巧,技术;手法;
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You kind of join everything together in this very singsong , kindergarten teacher way, and it makes you sound very serene , like you've had lots of Valium , and everything is calm. (Laughter) |
你相当于要将所有的事情与 这种单调的、幼儿园老师使用的方法结合, 然后它会使你的声音听起来很平静,就像吃了很多安定片一样, 一切听起来都是冰冷的。(笑声) |
singsong:n.单调的节奏; adj.单调的; vt.声调很平地说; vi.单调地唱; kindergarten:n.幼儿园; serene:adj.平静的;安详的;清澈的;晴朗的;n.平静;晴朗;vt.使平静; Valium:n.[药]安定(商标名称);
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That's not actually me. |
那不是真实的我。 |
And I do use that. I do. |
但我得这样做。我得。 |
I use it when I have to be on panel shows, or when I have to do radio interviews , when the economy of airtime is paramount . |
当我不得不参加电视讨论节目时我会使用这种方法, 或者当我不得不参加电台访谈时, 当说话时间的经济性至关重要时。 |
panel:n.镶板;仪表盘;钣金;(衣服上的)镶条;v.镶板(用木或玻璃板等镶嵌或装饰); interviews:n.面试; v.对(某人)进行面试(或面谈); economy:n.经济;节约;理财; airtime:n.电影或电视节目开始的时间; paramount:adj.最重要的,主要的;至高无上的;n.最高统治者;
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(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
I get through it that way for my job. |
我用这种方法搞定工作。 |
But as an artist who feels that their work is based solely on a platform of honesty and being real, that feels often like cheating. |
但是作为一个觉得自己的工作 是完全基于诚实和真实的平台上 的艺术家, 那种方法经常感觉像是欺骗。 |
solely:adv.单独地,唯一地; platform:n.平台; v.把…放在台上[放在高处;
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Which is why before I sing, I wanted to tell you what singing means to me. |
这就是为什么在我演唱之前,我想要告诉你们 歌唱对我来说意味着什么。 |
It's more than making nice sounds, and it's more than making nice songs. |
它不仅仅是发出动听的声音, 也不仅仅是唱出好听的歌。 |
It's more than feeling known, or understood. |
它不仅仅是感受已知,或理解。 |
It's more than making you feel the things that I feel. |
它不仅仅是使你感受到我的感受。 |
It's not about mythology , or mythologizing myself to you. |
它不是神话, 或者把我自己当作神话。 |
mythology:n.神话;神话学;神话集;
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Somehow , through some miraculous synaptic function of the human brain, it's impossible to stutter when you sing. |
不知为何,通过一些奇迹般的 人类大脑的突触功能, 当你歌唱的时候不可能口吃。 |
Somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地; miraculous:adj.不可思议的,奇迹的; synaptic:adj.突触的;(染色体)联合的;
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And when I was younger, that was a method of treatment that worked very well for me, singing, so I did it a lot. |
在我小时候,有种治疗方法 就对我很管用, 那就是唱歌,所以我经常唱。 |
And that's why I'm here today. |
这也是我今天在这里的原因。 |
(Applause) |
(掌声) |
Thank you. |
谢谢。 |
Singing for me is sweet relief . |
歌唱对我来说一种甜蜜的释放。 |
relief:n.救济;减轻,解除;安慰;浮雕;
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It is the only time when I feel fluent . |
那是我唯一能够流利表达的时候。 |
fluent:adj.流畅的,流利的;液态的;畅流的;
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It is the only time when what comes out of my mouth is comprehensively exactly what I intended . |
那是唯一的从我嘴里出来的东西 是完完全全我想要说的东西的时候。 |
comprehensively:adv.包括地;包括一切地; intended:adj.预定的;计划的;v.打算;计划;想要;(intend的过去分词和过去式)
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(Laughter) |
(笑声) |
So I know that this is a TED Talk, but now i'm going to TED sing. |
我知道这是TED演讲, 但是我将要进行TED演唱。 |
This is a song that I wrote last year. |
这是我去年写的一首歌。 |
Thank you very much. Thank you. |
非常感你们。谢谢。 |
(Applause) |
(掌声) |
(Piano) |
(钢琴) |
? I would be a beauty ? |
?我想成为美人? |
? but my nose ? |
?但是我的鼻子? |
? is slightly too big ? |
?对我的脸来说? |
slightly:adv.些微地,轻微地;纤细地;
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? for my face ? |
?稍微有点大? |
? And I would be a dreamer ? |
?我想成为梦想家? |
dreamer:n.梦想家;做梦的人;不切实际的人;
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? but my dream ? |
?但是我的梦想? |
? is slightly too big ? |
?对这个空间来说? |
? for this space ? |
?稍微有点大? |
? And I would be an angel ? |
?我想成为天使? |
? but my halo ? |
?但是我的光环? |
halo:n.光环;荣光;v.使有晕轮;围以光环;成晕轮;
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? it pales in the glow ? |
?在你的光芒下? |
glow:n.喜悦; v.发热;
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? of your grace ? |
?显得有点苍白? |
grace:n.优雅;恩惠;魅力;慈悲;v.使优美;
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? And I would be a joker ? |
?我想成为王牌? |
? but that card looks silly when you play ? |
?但是当你出A时? |
? your ace ? |
?这张牌会看起来有点傻? |
? I'd like to know ? |
?我想要知道? |
? Are there stars in hell? ? |
?地狱里是否有星星?? |
? And I'd like to know ? |
?我还想知道? |
? know if you can tell ? |
?知道你是否可以告诉我? |
? that you make me lose everything I know ? |
?你使我失去了一切 我知道? |
? That I cannot choose to or not let go ? |
?我无法选择或者放手? |
? And I'd stay forever ? |
?我想永远留下来? |
? but my home ? |
?但是我的家? |
? is slightly too far ? |
?离这里? |
? from this place ? |
?有点远? |
? And I swear I tried to ? |
?我发誓当我? |
? slow it down ? |
?踏着你的脚印前行时? |
? when I am walking at your pace ? |
?我试过放慢脚步? |
? But all I could think ? |
?但所有我能想到的是? |
? idling through the cities ? |
?在城市中闲逛? |
idling:n.[电]空载;空运转;
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? do I look pretty in the rain? ? |
?我在雨中看起来漂亮吗?? |
? And I don't know how someone ? |
?我不知道怎会有人? |
? quite so lovely ? |
?如此可爱? |
? makes me feel ugly ? |
?使我感到丑陋? |
ugly:adj.丑陋的;邪恶的;令人厌恶的;
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? So much shame ? |
?多么地羞愧? |
? And I'd like to know ? |
?我也想知道? |
? Are there stars in hell? ? |
?地狱里是否有星星?? |
? And I'd like to know ? |
?我还想知道? |
? know if you can tell ? |
?知道你是否可以告诉我? |
? that you make me lose everything I know ? |
?你使我失去了一切 我知道? |
? that I cannot choose to or not let go ? |
?我无法选择或者放手? |
Thank you very much. (Applause) |
非常感谢。(掌声) |