美文欣赏：焦点之外 Beyond the Spotlight

“这是个最好的时代，也是最坏的时代，”英国大文豪狄更斯的这句名言曾在各个时代被引用过千百次，特别是变动的时代，正处于战争、灾难、艰苦的时刻。但仔细想来，在步入世人引颈企盼的千禧年之际，这句话却是特别的贴切。

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This quote from Dickens has been used on countless occasions to describe periods in history, especially those of rapid change,war, or disaster. It seems particularly apt now as we enter the next millennium.

想想看，我们这一代人是多么的幸运，能生活在这百年一次的世纪之交，并且正逢几十代才躬逢一回的千禧年。虽然说这也不过是人类文明计时计年的某种方法罢了，但全世界的人能一块儿期待、欢庆同一个时刻的来临，仍然令人想来就觉得不可思议、兴奋莫名。

Just think how really lucky our generation is: we experience not only the arrival of a new century, but also a new millennium, which comes only once in dozens of generations. You may scoff that this is nothing but an arbitrary point determined by an artificial calculation of time. It is nonetheless amazing and exciting that everyone is celebrating this moment together.

当然，千禧年能带来如此大的意义与震撼，还是因为这个资讯时代已经不知不觉地将地球凝聚成村，天涯若比邻而这也不过是这半世纪以来，通讯快速发展的结果。不要说二十世纪初期的百年前想象不到，现在就连让我们回头想想几年前的事，都觉得恍如隔世。

Of course this excitement and significance is due in large part to the fact that the information age has turned our world into a global village, yet this has really only occurred inthe last half century. No one could have imagined such things at the beginning of the century, and even just a few years ago this would all have been unthinkable. Looking back now, those days truly seem to belong to a different world.

是不是，除了圣诞卡之外，你多久没拿出笔来、选择浅蓝、鹅黄的信笺写一封给朋友的信了？"你又收藏了儿封朋友的信，或者情书作纪念？你有多久和人谈话的主题不是当前最热门的新闻？广告？电影？股票？你有多久不曾坐下来，想想自己的生活方式，和家人、朋友的关系，对未来的憧憬和惶惑？我们是不是已经活生生地被人类自身的文明所吞噬，每天在广播、电视、电脑网路的声光讯息中流转，忘记了生命本身的喜悦与悲怆？

After all, just think, besides afew Christmas cards, when was the last time you put pen to paper and wrote aletter, after carefully choosing between pale blue and cream paper?  How many notes or love letters have you saved as souvenirs? Or, when was the last time your conversation with a friend didn'trevolve around the latest breaking story, advertisement, movie, or stock market news? When was the last time you just sat quietly by yourself and thought about your life, your family, your friends, and your hopes and fears for the future?Have we been devoured by our civilization, drowned by the constant flow of bright and loud information pouring over us from radio, television, and the Internet? Have we forgotten the true meaning of life's joys and sadness?

不是说我们应该抛下文明的便利、资讯的滋养，只是想提醒，资讯的丰沛给予我们的应该是更深入的观察与思考，而不是人云亦云，随着新闻事件的韵律起舞，在荧光幕的闪烁间，情绪波涛汹涌，又在下一波的讯息里完全忘却了几天前才似淹没整个感官世界的大事。

Of course, I am not saying we should give up the conveniences of civilization. I just want to remind people that information should lead us to observe and think more profoundly, notsimply to dance to the tune of the latest news. Yet, as the screen flickers withsome scintillating new story, we have already forgotten the equally captivating tale that we heard just a few days before.

节选自台湾《光华》杂志2000年25卷第2期

Adapted from a translation in Taiwan’s Sinorama, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2000 Notes