TED演讲:怀疑乃信仰之关键(3)

 　　At worst, possession -- that he'd been seized by an evil jinn, 往坏处想，他被邪恶的神怪附身了

　　a spirit out to deceive him, even to crush the life out of him. 要来欺骗他，甚至来取他的性命

　　In fact, he was so sure that he could only be majnun, possessed¹ by a jinn, 事实上，他非常肯定他只是恶魔附身，被神怪占有

　　that when he found himself still alive, his first impulse was to finish the job himself, 所以当他发现还活着时，心里的念头就是了结生命

　　to leap off the highest cliff  从最高的悬崖跳下

　　and escape the terror of what he'd experienced by putting an end to all experience. 了结所有一切，来脱离恐怖的亲身经历

　　So the man who fled down the mountain that night  那夜他从山上摔下来

　　trembled not with joy but with a stark², primordial³ fear. 不是因为喜悦而颤抖，而是赤裸裸的原始恐惧

　　He was overwhelmed not with conviction, but by doubt.  他心中没有坚定的信念，只有疑惑

　　And that panicked disorientation, that sundering⁴ of everything familiar, 正是那种起于恐慌的迷失，离开一切熟悉的事物

　　that daunting⁵ awareness⁶ of something beyond human comprehension, can only be called a terrible awe⁷. 对超越人类理解范围的事物令人怯步的觉察，才可令人敬畏三分

　　This might be somewhat difficult to grasp  这可能有点难理解

　　now that we use the word "awesome⁸" to describe a new app or a viral video. 现在我们常用“真棒”来评价一款新应用程式，或一段热门影片

　　With the exception perhaps of a massive earthquake, we're protected from real awe. 大地震的影片也许除外，我们免于受到真正的畏惧

　　We close the doors and hunker down, convinced that we're in control, or, at least, hoping for control. 我们关上门，蹲下来，相信一切都在掌控之中，或者至少希望受到控制。

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 primordial   

adj.原始的；最初的

参考例句：

• It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。
• The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.

4 sundering   

v.隔开，分开( sunder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Where were now her discreet plans for sundering their lives for ever? 现在，她那个考虑周到的永远斩断他们之间生活联系的计划哪里去了呢？ 来自辞典例句

5 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.