偶像勵志英語演講27:失敗的好處和想象的重要性(9)

Unlike any other creature on this planet, human beings can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's places.

與這個星球上任何其他的動物不同，人類可以學習和理解未曾經(jīng)歷過的事情。他們可以換位思考，能夠設(shè)身處地去體會他人的感受。

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathize.

當然，這種能力就像我在小說里虛構(gòu)的魔法一樣，沒有邪惡之分。有人可能會利用這種能力去操縱或控制別人，也有人選擇用它去了解和同情他人。

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

而很多人不愿去運用他們的想象力。他們選擇舒適地生活在自己經(jīng)驗所及的范圍內(nèi)，從來不愿費心去想想如果生在別處會怎樣。他們會拒絕去聽別人的尖叫，不愿看一眼囚禁的籠子;對于與自身無關(guān)的苦難，他們會封閉自己的內(nèi)心;他們會拒絕了解這一切。

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terror. I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid. What is more, those who choose not to empathize enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

我可能會受到誘惑，去嫉妒那樣生活的人。但我不認為他們做的噩夢會比我更少。選擇生活在狹窄的空間會導致不敢面對開闊的視野，那種生活同樣會有恐懼。我認為不愿展開想象的人會看到更多的怪獸，他們往往更會感到害怕。而且，那些沒有同情心的人會激活真正的怪獸。因為盡管他們自身沒有作惡，但他們對于罪惡無動于衷，這已足以使他們成為作惡者的共謀。

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

18歲時，為了追尋我當時還無法解釋的東西，我踏上了學習古典文學的征途并汲取了許多知識，其中一點便是希臘作家普魯塔克所說：我們的內(nèi)在修養(yǎng)將會改變外在的現(xiàn)實。

重點講解：

1. other than

(用于否定陳述后)除了…以外;

eg. She seldom appears other than happy.

她總是看起來很幸福。

eg. I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life and be free.

我沒有雄心大志，只求自由自在地過幸福生活。

2. be tempted to do sth.

想做…的;希望做某事;

eg. I'm very tempted to sell my house.

我很想把我的房子賣掉。

eg. He is often tempted to find steadier, more lucrative work.

他經(jīng)常想找到較穩(wěn)定，更賺錢的工作。

3. lead to

招致;致使;導致;

eg. It was an illegal act and will lead to your arrest.

這是非法行為，足以將你送入監(jiān)獄。

eg. Such a mistake would perhaps lead to disastrous consequences.

這樣一種錯誤可能導致災難性的后果。

4. collude with

共謀;勾結(jié);串通;

eg. Several local officials are in jail on charges of colluding with the Mafia.

幾位當?shù)毓賳T因被控勾結(jié)黑手黨而入獄。

eg. They two are people of the same ilk, who collude with one another.

他們倆臭味相投，相互勾結(jié)。

5. in search of

尋找;尋求;

eg. Miserable, and unexpectedly lonely, she went in search of Jean-Paul.

內(nèi)心痛苦、突感寂寞的她去尋找瓊-保羅。

eg. The law already denies entry to people in search of better economic opportunities.

法律已經(jīng)將那些逐尋更好商機的人們拒之門外。

名人簡介：

人物軼事

哈利·波特終結(jié)篇最后一章含淚書寫——J·K·羅琳披露寫作過程

羅琳在英國廣播公司(BBC)2007年7月6日播出的節(jié)目中說：“當我完成接近終結(jié)的一章時，我絕對是嚎啕大哭。”羅琳獨自在酒店房間中寫完《哈利·波特與死亡圣器》。她回憶說：“我發(fā)自內(nèi)心地在哭，我在酒店的小酒吧一口氣喝下半瓶香檳，回家時，我的臉上滿是淚水沖下的睫毛膏。那可真是太難了”。

女富豪：“魔法媽媽”喬安妮·凱瑟琳·羅琳

英國小說家“哈利·波特”的作者喬安妮·凱瑟琳·羅琳憑著哈利·波特的魔力新登入了福布斯的10億富翁排行榜。羅琳是“10億富豪俱樂部”中唯一的英國女性、唯一的作家，是世界上白手起家打入其中的僅有的5名女性之一，也是最年輕的成員之一。

與粉絲對簿法庭

J·K·羅琳于2008年4月14日出庭，與一名美國“哈利·波特”迷對簿公堂。這名被控訴的《哈利·波特》“頭號粉絲”是現(xiàn)年50歲的史蒂文·范德·阿克。當最后一部《哈利·波特》面世后，范德·阿克打算把網(wǎng)站上的內(nèi)容出版成書。新書名為《哈利·波特詞典》，是一本關(guān)于《哈利·波特》系列小說中人物、地點和咒語的指南讀物。然而，羅琳認為《哈利·波特詞典》侵犯了她的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)。羅琳聲稱，范德·阿克“剽竊”了她的文字，只不過按照從A到Z重新編排了一遍。4月17日，為期三天的審判落下帷幕。羅琳對法官說，如果這本書獲準出版，將為無數(shù)其他作品的抄襲之作鋪平道路。