“It is time for us to depart, sir,” said the airline agent. It was the final departure of the day. It was timely as usual. It was a very dependable airline, especially under the circumstances.
“我們?cè)撈痫w了。”航空公司經(jīng)紀(jì)人說。這是當(dāng)天最后一次啟程了。和往常一樣準(zhǔn)時(shí)。這是一家可靠的航空公司,尤其在目前的情況下,更是如此。
I was thinking of the past few days and my dependence on luck, I think I have just about depleted my share of good fortune. In our profession, when you reach such a state of depletion, you should leave. Even a cat has limited number of lives.
我想起了前幾天發(fā)生的事以及我一切靠運(yùn)氣的經(jīng)歷。我想我差不多耗盡了我全部的好運(yùn)氣。干我們這一行,當(dāng)?shù)搅撕眠\(yùn)氣被消耗殆盡的地步,就該離開了。連一只貓也只有屈指可數(shù)的幾條命,何況人乎?
“Fasten your seat belts,” said the flight attendant. From the airplane window, I could see the military deploying its troops at the airport. The country has been unstable ever since the military deposed the president. They deported all of the diplomats yesterday. The embassy building is now a depot for the military’s weapons and supplies. This morning, the army raided the country’s bank deposits. No doubt, this will cause their currency to depreciate. A significant percentage of depreciation could put the entire country into a state of depression.
“系好安全帶。”空中服務(wù)員提醒說。從飛機(jī)的窗口我們能看到機(jī)場(chǎng)上軍事當(dāng)局部署部隊(duì)。自從政變軍隊(duì)罷免總統(tǒng)以來,整個(gè)國(guó)家一直處于動(dòng)亂之中。昨天我們又驅(qū)逐了所有的外交官。使館大樓現(xiàn)在也變成了軍隊(duì)武器裝備和物資供應(yīng)的倉庫。今天早晨,政變軍隊(duì)突然襲擊了國(guó)家銀行保險(xiǎn)庫。毫無疑問,這將引起貨幣貶值。大幅度貨幣貶值會(huì)使整個(gè)國(guó)家陷入蕭條期。
Absolute military power tends to deprave those who are in control. Brutal acts of depredation are not uncommon. Soldiers in this country often use their power to embarrass and deprecate the scholars. It depressed me to think about the millions of people who will suffer from deprivation.
軍事專權(quán)往往會(huì)使掌權(quán)的人道德敗壞。殘酷的劫掠行為并非罕見。士兵們常常用武力來刁難或迫害學(xué)者。想起成百萬的人將被剝奪自由的權(quán)利我就感到壓抑消沉。
However, I know that the depressed but resilient citizens of this country will survive and will someday thrive again. You can deprive them of many things, but you can never rob them of their spirit.
但是,我想那些雖被壓抑但堅(jiān)韌不屈的人會(huì)幸存下來,而且終有一天會(huì)發(fā)展壯大起來。你可以剝奪他們?cè)S多東西,但你永遠(yuǎn)奪不走他們的精神。
Words:
depart vi. 離開,出發(fā)
departure n. 啟程,出發(fā),離開
dependable adj. 可靠的,可信賴的
deplete vt. 耗盡,使衰竭
depletion n. 消耗,用盡
deploy v. 部署,調(diào)度
deport v. 驅(qū)逐
depose v. 免職,廢黜;作證
deposit n. 堆積物,沉淀;寄存物,委托保管物品;vt. 沉淀,堆積;放置,存儲(chǔ);產(chǎn)卵
depot n. 貨棧,倉庫
deprave vt. 使墮落,使道德敗壞
deprecate v. 不贊成,反對(duì),抨擊
depreciate v 貶值,貶低,輕視
depreciation n. 貶值
depredation n. 劫掠,蹂躪
depress vt. 壓下去,壓低;使沮喪,使消沉
depressed adj. 沮喪的
depression n. 不景氣,蕭條期;凹陷處,坑;沮喪,消沉
deprivation n. 缺乏,剝奪
deprive vt. 剝奪,使失去