TED演讲 :生命中最惨痛的时刻如何造就我们(5)

 And they went on and on,  他们滔滔不绝地说着，

and the soldier watched,  而那名士兵看着他们，

and then he sat there for a full minute  知道他们说完了之后，

after they were finished  他坐在那里待了整整一分钟，

and looked at us so bedraggled in the rain,  看着我们这群落汤鸡，

and said, "What you have said is true,  然后说，“你们说的是事实，

and we must bow to the will of the people.  而我们必须听从民意。

If you'll clear enough space for us to turn around,  如果你们让出足够的位置让我们掉头，

we'll go back the way we came."  我们会原路返回。”

And that's what they did.  而他们果真这样做了。

Sometimes, forging meaning  有时，铸造意义

can give you the vocabulary you need  能给你所需要的辞藻

to fight for your ultimate freedom.  来争取你最终的自由。

Russia awakened¹ me to the lemonade notion  俄罗斯让我意识到逆境求生的概念：

that oppression breeds the power to oppose it,  剥削会繁衍抵抗剥削的力量，

and I gradually understood that as the cornerstone  而我逐渐明白了这是

of identity.  身份的基石。

It took identity to rescue me from sadness.  身份从伤痛中拯救了我。

The gay rights movement posits² a world  同性恋权利运动憧憬一个

in which my aberrances are a victory.  我的畸形是一种胜利。

Identity politics always works on two fronts:  身份的政治总是从两方面出发：

to give pride to people who have a given condition  给有特殊情况或特征的人

or characteristic,  应有的自豪；

and to cause the outside world  和让外在的世界

to treat such people more gently and more kindly³.  温柔地善待这些人。

Those are two totally separate enterprises,  这是两种不同的途径，

but progress in each sphere  但不管哪个方面的进展

reverberates⁴ in the other.  都会在另一方面造成回响。

Identity politics can be narcissistic⁵.  身份的政治可以变成自恋的。

People extol⁶ a difference only because it's theirs.  人们称赞不同只是应为那是他们自身的。

People narrow the world and function  人们把世界窄化，

in discrete⁷ groups without empathy for one another.  形成个体，对他人毫无同情。

But properly understood  但如果它得以正确的理解

and wisely practiced,  和理智的运用，

identity politics should expand  身份的政治应该

our idea of what it is to be human.  扩充我们对人性的概念。

Identity itself  身份自身

should be not a smug label  不应是让人自满的标签

or a gold medal  或是一枚金牌

but a revolution.  但应是一个革命。

I would have had an easier life if I were straight,  如果我是异性恋，我的生活会轻松很多，

but I would not be me,  但我不会是我，

and I now like being myself better  我现在比较喜欢做我自己

than the idea of being someone else,  而不想成为另一个人，

someone who, to be honest,  说实话，

I have neither the option of being  我无法成为,

nor the ability fully⁸ to imagine.  也无法想象其他人。

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 posits   

v.假定，设想，假设( posit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• If a book is hard going, it ought to be good. If it posits a complex moral situation, it ought to be even better. 如果一本书很难读，那么它应该是一本好书；如果它提出了一个复杂的道德状况，那么它就更应该是本好书了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ray posits that this miracle is an object lesson for the disciples. 雷把这个奇事当作教训信徒们的事件。 来自互联网

3 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

4 reverberates   

回响，回荡( reverberate的第三人称单数 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• His voice reverberates from the high ceiling. 他的声音自天花板顶处反射回来。
• No single phrase of his reverberates or penetrates as so many of La Bruyere's do. 他没有一个句子能象拉布吕耶尔的许多句子那样余音回荡，入木三分。

5 narcissistic   

adj.自我陶醉的，自恋的，自我崇拜的

参考例句：

• In the modern vocabulary, it was narcissistic. 用时髦话说，这是一种自我陶醉狂。 来自辞典例句
• This is our Nielaoshi, a dwarf has also grown narcissistic teachers. 这就是我们的倪老师，一个长得又矮又自恋的老师。 来自互联网

6 extol   

v.赞美，颂扬

参考例句：

• We of the younger generation extol the wisdom of the great leader and educator.我们年轻一代崇拜那位伟大的引路人和教育家的智慧。
• Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 我要天天称颂你，也要永永远远赞美你的名。

7 discrete   

adj.个别的，分离的，不连续的

参考例句：

• The picture consists of a lot of discrete spots of colour.这幅画由许多不相连的色点组成。
• Most staple fibers are discrete,individual entities.大多数短纤维是不联系的单独实体。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。