英文自修138：威武莫屈（20140910）

本系列内容英文原文取自BBC Thought for the Day节目网站，朋友们也可以下载节目录音收听。

翻译、改写、出题：武太白

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另：应朋友们要求，本篇起“问题”的答案将于本篇最后部分公布，以方便朋友们的对照。

Thought for the Day 20140910 Rev Dr Jane Leach

问题

What does the speaker want to say by mentioning Auschwitz?

A.The terrible things happening there during World War II.

B.A brave doctor who still had the freedom to choose how to respond.

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改写

I have found the news in recent weeks to be even more heart-breaking and disheartening than usual: the situation in Israel-Palestine; the beheadings in Iraq; the continued violence in Syria and Ukraine. Perhaps I have been particularly sensitive this summer because in the space of a few weeks I have visited Hiroshima, Ypres and Auschwitz, for in the face of such absolute evidence of how bad humans can be in committing cruelty and destruction, it can be difficult not to despair and to want to escape, whether by switching off the radio, having a strong drink, or jumping into some diverting activity.

Despair is one reaction to terrible news, stepping back is another. A third possibility is to hear bad news as a call to responsibility and to action.

Whilst I was in Poland, visiting Auschwitz last weekend, I joined a walking tour of the city of Krakow, where, on the hour every hour, a member of the fire service sounds a stopped-at-half trumpet call from the church tower to the four corners of the city, it is said, in memory of the thirteenth century bugler who was killed in the middle of his playing whilst alerting the city to the approach of invading Mongol forces.

The bugle call has become a symbol of identity to Krakowians the world over, so much so that they can now hear the trumpeter, not only broadcast on national radio each day, but at any time by downloading the relevant app – its notes a call to freedom and responsibility for Poles, whose history bears the scars of many occupations and partitions.

Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist sent to Auschwitz in Poland while it was under German occupation, concluded the 1992 edition of his book, ‘Man’s search for Meaning’, with this sentence:

Let us be alert – alert in a double sense.

Since Auschwitz we know what evil man is capable of

Since Hiroshima we know what is the most important.

We are most likely to be alert, not only when we sense immediate danger to the things or people important to us, but when we see ourselves as responsible people with power to change a situation. It may seem to many of us that our small efforts to resist oppression or contain sadism or promote nuclear weapon reduction can make little difference to the events of the Middle East, or the becoming radical and extreme of young people in our own country, or the wide spread of nuclear weapons.

But Victor Frankl, even though he knew the Jews are totally powerless in the concentration camp, came to believe that though forces beyond our control can take away everything we possess, they cannot take away our freedom to choose how to respond, saying, ‘the world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best.’

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, also a great supporter of responsible action, put it more positively, ‘Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.’

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原文

I have found the news in recent weeks to be even more heart-breaking and disheartening than usual: the situation in Israel-Palestine; the beheadings in Iraq; the continued violence in Syria and Ukraine. Perhaps I have been particularly sensitive this summer because in the space of a few weeks I have visited Hiroshima, Ypres and Auschwitz, for in the face of such stark evidence of the human capacity for brutality and destruction, it can be difficult not to despair and tempting to want to escape, whether by switching off the radio, having a stiff drink, or plunging into some diverting activity.

Despair is one reaction to terrible news, resignation is another. A third possibility is to hear bad news as a call to responsibility and to action.

Whilst I was in Poland, visiting Auschwitz last weekend, I joined a walking tour of the city of Krakow, where, on the hour every hour, a member of the fire service sounds a truncated trumpet call from the cathedral tower to the four corners of the city, it is said, in commemoration of the thirteenth century bugler who was killed mid-tune whilst alerting the city to the approach of invading Mongol forces.

The bugle call has become a symbol of identity to Krakowians the world over, so much so that they can now hear the trumpeter, not only broadcast on national radio each day, but at any time by downloading the relevant app – its notes a call to freedom and responsibility for Poles, whose history bears the scars of many occupations and partitions.

Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist sent to Auschwitz in Poland whilst it was under German occupation, concluded the 1992 edition of his book, ‘Man’s search for Meaning’, with this sentence:

Let us be alert – alert in a twofold sense.

Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of

Since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.

We are most likely to be alert, not only when we perceive immediate danger to the things or people important to us, but when we see ourselves as responsible agents with power to affect a situation. It may seem to many of us that our small efforts to resist bigotry or contain sadism or promote nuclear disarmament can make little difference to the events of the Middle East, or the radicalisation of young people in our own country, or the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

But Victor Frankl, even though he knew the powerlessness of the concentration camp, came to believe that though forces beyond our control can take away everything we possess, they cannot take away our freedom to choose how to respond, saying, ‘the world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best.’

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, also a great advocate of responsible action, put it more positively, ‘Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.’

John Wesley

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译文

最近几周，我发现新闻比往常更加令人心碎、不安：巴以局势恶化；伊拉克发生斩首事件；叙利亚和乌克兰的暴力冲突仍在继续。也许今夏我特别敏感了些，因为在几周的时间里我访问了广岛、伊普尔和奥斯维辛。在如此铁证面前，人类的残暴和破坏力暴露无遗，很难让人不感到绝望，不感到要逃避，不管是关掉收音机，喝个酩酊大醉，还是做点别的分散注意力的什么事。

对可怕的新闻，绝望是一种反应，退缩也是一种反应。第三种可能性是听闻坏消息，受到责任的感召，起而采取行动。

上周末我在波兰访问奥斯维辛时，参加了一次徒步参观克拉科夫的活动，当地每个整点都会有消防队员吹响半截号角，从教堂的塔顶传向城市的四面八方。据说这是要纪念13世纪的一位号手，他吹响号角，要警告全市人民蒙古军队入侵在即，结果刚吹了半截就被杀害了。

不管克拉科夫人走到全球的那个角落，这个号角都是他们的身份象征。如今他们不但能够通过每天的全国广播听到号角，还能够不论何时都通过相关的应用下载听到号角声——它的声调是在号召波兰人起来承担责任，争取自由，因为波兰历史上已经遭受了太多占领和分割，留下了无数的伤疤。

维克多·弗兰克尔，一位在奥斯维辛仍在德军占领之下时被押往那里的犹太精神病医生，在他1992年版作品《人类对意义的追寻》中以下面的句子结尾：

让我们警觉——在两方面。

从奥斯维辛我们领略了人类极恶

从广岛我们知晓了何为紧要关头

我们最有可能警觉的时刻，不仅是察觉对我们重要的人或物遭遇迫在眉睫的危险之时，而且是我们认识到自己是有能力的、有责任感的人，能够对一事件施加影响的时候。对我们很多人来说，看起来可能我们人单力薄，无法抵抗顽固的力量，遏制不了虐待狂，也推动不了核裁军，对中东局势起不了什么作用，对我们本国青年的极端主义倾向或者核武器的扩散也无能为力。

但是维克多·弗兰克尔，尽管他知道人在集中营，完全无力反抗，却还是相信尽管超越我们控制的武力能够夺走我们所拥有的一切，却无法夺走我们选择如何回应的自由。他说：“世界一团糟，但除非我们每个人都竭尽全力，世界将会变得更糟。”

卫理公会创始人约翰·韦斯利也大力赞成行动起来、肩负责任，他的表述更加积极：“能做什么好事就去做。想尽办法，方方面面，随处随地随时，对任何人，只要你还能去做。”

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选择题答案： B