01 A LETTER TO THE YEAR 2100

 

Dear you,

    Are you wearing 1)pajamas? I do not mean to begin this letter by getting personal. I was just wondering if you people leave the house anymore-something that seems to be increasingly unnecessary these days, a hundred years ago.

     Are you six-feet-six? Are you fly-fishing on Mars? Are you talking on a cell phone? We are, usually.

     As lovers leaving lovers say, By the time you read this, I'll be gone. Or possibly I won't. Given the way life is being prolonged these days, I - with my pig's liver, 2)titanium hips¹ and knees, artificialheart, transplanted kidney and reconstructed DNA² - could write this letter in my century and pick it up in yours.

     I write you in the dead of winter from a summer village by the Atlantic Ocean. The last of the houseflies beats its body against the window, through which I watch the 3)tremors of a 4)berry bush and the shorn stoic³ trees. Afternoon lowers on evening; the sky is the color of 5)unpolished silver. A Cole Porter song, In the Still of the Night, goes through my head. I do not know why.

     We are generally content, generally atpeace, generally optimistic, and with good reason. We are generally rich; more people have homes of their own. We are generally healthy, thanks largely to remarkable⁴ advances in medicine. People who died of certain diseases even 30 years ago are routinely saved today.

     In short, we are generally OK in spite of notable low spots and areas of significant concern. Our movies are mostly silly. Our books? Mostly small. The quality of our cultural criticism is generally so low that one cannot tell how good or bad any artist is, but in literature, at least, it is highly unlikely that any writer touted⁵ as a heavyweight in our era will make it to the ring in yours. Movies that once were judged by normal artistic⁶ criteria⁷ are now valued by the amount of money they make over a weekend. For your horrified⁸ amusement, see if you can dig up a print of something called 6)Screamor The Blair Witch Project.

     We enlarge and expand. We have recently found out that the entire universe is expanding more than we had 7)initially believed. We build, invent and discover at a pace that is 8)dizzying for us, perhaps turtle footed for you.

     I wonder how far you have progressed. I wonder if you have figured out how to make the best use of the past. I see you looking back at us. You see us looking out at you. Because we can imagine one another, we constitute each other's dreams.

     Outside, the air is cold and deep. The moon hangs in a fingernail of light. The clouds conspire⁹ and retreat to reveal your stars and ours. Come. Walk with me in the 9)chill still of the night.

 

                                                                                            Yours,

                                                                            Roger Rosenblat

 

一封致2100年的信

 

亲爱的你：

你已经穿上睡衣了吗？我无意把信的开头写得过于私人化。我只是想知道，一百年后你们是否还到户外去-今天，那已经变得越来越没有必要了。

你们是否身高六尺六？是否在火星上钓鱼？是否用手机谈话？我们通常如此。

正如情侣在分离时说的一样：当你读到这时，我已经不在了。我也有可能还在。凭着如今延长寿命的方式-换猪肝、钛制臀部和膝盖、人工心脏、移植肾脏、重建DNA-我也就能够在你的世纪里收到这封在我的世纪写下的信了。

我身处大西洋岸边的避暑山庄，给你写这信时，正值隆冬季节。最后的家蝇撞击着窗户，透过窗我看到摇曳的果树与修剪过的忍冬树。 下午渐去，薄暮来临 ；天空是暗银色。不知何故，我的脑海中浮想起了科尔·波特的歌《静夜》。

我们通常是满足的，通常是平和的，通常是乐观的，我们这样做有着很好的理由。我们通常是富裕的；更多的人拥有了自己的家。非常感谢医药的巨大进步，令我们保持身体的健康。30年前的一些不治之症如今都找到了治疗方法。

简言之，我们总的来说还好，除了在一些重大地方有明显不足以外。许多电影拍得傻里傻气。书？多是小本的。文化评论的质量一般都很低劣，令人分不清哪些艺术家好哪些艺术家不好，不过在文学方面，至少我们的时代里似乎还没有能称为泰斗的哪位作家，可以到你们那时依然享有盛名。过去电影是通过正常的艺术水准来加以评判，如今却以一个周末所赚到的金钱作为衡量。如果你想自我惊吓娱乐一番，试试能否挖到《尖声惊叫》或《噩夜丛林》的电影拷贝吧。

我们扩大并扩展着。最近我们发现，整个宇宙比起初时我们所知道的膨胀得还要多。我们以令自己惊讶的速度建设着、发明着、发现着，也许对于你来说那只是一小步。

我想知道你们发展到了什么程度。我想知道你们是否已经知道怎样去充分利用历史经验。我看到你们在朝我们回顾。你们看到我们在向你们展望。我们相互想像着，编织彼此的梦。

屋外寒气正起，暮色深重。月光迷离。云朵缭绕过你我的群星。来吧，和我一起走进这夜晚冷冷的寂静中去。

                       此致

敬礼

罗杰·罗森布拉特

 

1) pajamas   n. 睡衣，宽长裤      

2) titanium   n. （化学）钛注释：

3) tremor  n. 震动，颤动                       

4) berry   n. 浆果      

5) unpolished   a. 无光泽的

6) Scream和The Blair Witch Project是美国近年最卖座的恐怖影片。注释：

7) initially   adv. 最初，开头    

8) dizzying   a. 令人昏乱的9) chill   a. 寒冷的，扫兴的

1 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

3 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

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 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

6 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

7 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

8 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

9 conspire   

v.密谋，（事件等）巧合，共同导致

参考例句：

• They'd conspired to overthrow the government.他们曾经密谋推翻政府。
• History and geography have conspired to bring Greece to a moment of decision.历史和地理因素共同将希腊推至作出抉择的紧要关头。