TED演讲：单一故事的危险性(9)

 　　Of course, Africa is a continent full of catastrophes¹: 当然了，非洲大陆充满了灾难：

　　There are immense ones, such as the horrific rapes² in Congo and depressing ones, 有的灾难，比如刚果猖獗的强奸，是无比巨大的；

　　such as the fact that 5,000 people apply for one job vacancy³ in Nigeria. 而有的现实，比如尼日利亚5千人申请一个工作职位，则更让人无比的压抑。

　　But there are other stories that are not about catastrophe,  但与此同时，非洲大陆也有许多和灾难不相关的故事。

　　and it is very important, it is just as important, to talk about them. 谈论这些故事也是相当重要的，也是同等重要的。

　　I've always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person.  我一直都觉得，要想充分理解一个地区、一个民族，就必须充分理解和那个地区、那个民族相关的所有故事。

　　The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. 而单一故事的结果就是：它夺走了人们的尊严。

　　It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. 它使得我们难以意识到人与人之间的平等。

　　It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar. 它强调我们之间的不同，而不是我们之间的相同。

　　So what if before my Mexican trip, I had followed the immigration debate from both sides, the U.S. and the Mexican? 如果在我的墨西哥之行开始前，我去同时聆听移民辩论美墨两边的论点，结果会是怎样呢？

　　What if my mother had told us that Fide's family was poor and hardworking? 如果我的母亲告诉我们Fide一家虽然穷，但是很努力，结果会是怎样呢？

　　What if we had an African television network that broadcast diverse African stories all over the world? 如果我们有一个非洲电视台在全世界播报关于非洲的不同故事，结果会是怎样呢？

　　What the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe calls "a balance of stories." 播报尼日利亚作家奇努阿·阿契贝所谓的“平衡的故事”。

　　What if my roommate knew about my Nigerian publisher, Muhtar Bakare, 如果我的室友听说过尼日利亚出版商Mukta Bakaray，

　　a remarkable⁴ man who left his job in a bank to follow his dream and start a publishing house? 一个杰出的男人，他离弃了原本在银行的工作，去追逐自己的理想，成立了个出版社，结果又会是怎样呢？

　　Now, the conventional wisdom was that Nigerians don't read literature. He disagreed. 世俗告诉Mukta Bakaray：尼日利亚人是不读文学作品的。他不这样认为。

　　He felt that people who could read, would read, if you made literature affordable⁵ and available to them. 他觉得尼日利亚人会读书、想读书，但前提是这些书价格不能太昂贵，并且要普及到人民大众。

1 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

2 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

3 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。