精美英文欣赏:我们身处的谎言世界(2)

If you live in America there's a 41% chance you'll get cancer.

如果住在美国，你将有41%的几率患上癌症。

Heart disease will kill one out of three Americans.

每三个美国人中就有一人将死于心脏病。

We take prescription¹ drugs to deal with these problems, but medical care is the third leading cause of death behind cancer and heart disease.

我们以为吃处方药就可以解决问题，但医疗是仅次于癌症和心脏病的第三大死亡主因。

We're told everything can be solved by throwing money at scientists so they can discover a pill to make our problems go away.

我们被告知只要付钱给科学家就可以解决一切问题，这样他们就能研发药物赶走我们的病。

But the drug companies and cancer societies rely on our suffering to make a profit.

但医药公司和癌症协会正因为我们饱受疾病之苦才有利可图。

We think we're running for a cure, but really we're running away from the cause.

我们以为跑步就能远离疾病，但实际上我们却在逃离问题的根源。

Our body is a product of what we consume and the food we eat is designed purely² for profit.

吃什么样的东西就会有什么样的身体，而我们的食品不过是牟利的工具。

We fill ourselves with toxic³ chemicals.

我们把有毒化学添加剂塞入自己的身体。

The bodies of animals infested⁴ with drugs and diseases. But we don't see this.

我们吃的动物已经被药物和疾病感染，但是我们却什么都看不见。

The small group of corporations that own the media don't want us to.

那些掌控媒体的企业小集团不让我们看到。

Surrounding us with a fantasy we're told is reality.

我们活在一个被我们视为真实的幻象世界里。

It's funny to think humans once thought the earth was the center of the universe.

有趣的是，人类曾以为地球是宇宙的中心。

But then again, now we see ourselves as the center of the planet.

但现在我们又妄想自己是地球的中心。

We point to our technology and say we're the smartest.

我们指着我们的科技成果嚣张地宣布我们是最聪明的物种。

But do computers, cars, and factories really illustrate⁵ how intelligent we are?

但是电脑、汽车、机器人真的能够证明我们多聪明吗？

Or do they show how lazy we've become.

还是揭露了我们变得有多懒惰？

We put this “civilized” mask on. But when you strip that away what are we?

我们戴着这个美其名曰“文明”的面具，但当面具被摘下时我们是什么？

How quickly we forget only within past hundred years did we allow women to vote; allow blacks to live as equals.

这么快我们就忘了“允许女性参与投票”、“承认黑人和我们平等”这些转变也不过是近100年的事情。

We act as if we are all-knowing beings, yet there is much we fail to see.

我们表现的好像自己全知全能，但是我们没有看到的还有太多。

We walk down the street ignoring all the little things. The eyes who stare. The stories they share.

我们走在街上无视那些渺小的事物，那些看着你眼睛、急于分享的故事。

Seeing everything as a background to 'me'.

一切都是衬托自己的背景。

Perhaps we fear we're not alone. That we are a part of a much bigger picture.

可能是我们担心自己不再独一无二，担心自己只是沧海一粟。

But we fail to make the connection.

但我们没有同其他生命建立联系。

We're okay killing⁶ pigs, cows, chickens, strangers from foreign lands.

我们觉得杀猪、牛、鸡乃至其他国家的陌生人没有问题。

But not our neighbours, not our dogs, our cats, those we have come to love and understand.

却又不允许邻居，猫狗，那些我们理解和爱的人被伤害。

We call other creatures stupid yet we point to them to justify⁷ our actions.

我们声称其他生物很愚蠢，却又将枪口对准他们来为自己的行为辩护。

But does killing simply because we can, because we always have, make it right?

但仅因为杀戮在我们能力范围内、常常伴随我们就代表了杀戮是正当的吗？

Or does it show how little we've learned.

还是说它体现了我们有多无知？

That we continue to act out of primal⁸ aggression⁹ rather than thought and compassion¹⁰.

我们的行为总带着原始人般的侵略性，而不是文明人该有的理智和慈悲。

One day, this sensation we call life will leave us.

总有一天，这种被称作生命的感知能力将离开我们。

Our bodies will rot, our valuables recollected¹¹.

我们的躯体将会腐烂，我们的财物将变成记忆。

Yesterday's actions all that remain.

昨天的一切情节未曾改变。

Death constantly surrounds us, still it seems so distant from our everyday reality.

死亡虽然不断地围绕着我们，但又好像与我们的日常生活相去甚远。

We live in a world on the verge¹² of collapse¹³.

我们活在一个濒临崩溃的世界。

The wars of tomorrow will have no winners.

明天的战争将没有胜者。

For violence will never be the answer; it will destroy every possible solution.

因为暴力永远都不能成为答案。暴力只会毁灭每一个可能的答案。

If we all look at our innermost desire, we will see our dreams are not so different.

如果每个人都能静下心来审视自己内心最深处的渴望，就会发现我们的梦想并非那么天差地别。

We share a common goal. Happiness.

大家都有一个共同的目标——快乐。

We tear the world apart looking for joy, without ever looking within ourselves.

为了寻求享受，我们把这个世界折磨的支离破碎，却从未尝试审视自己的内心。

Many of the happiest people are those who own the least.

最快乐的人往往是拥有物质最少的人。

But are we really so happy with our iPhones, our big houses, our fancy cars?

但我们有了iphone、豪宅、靓车之后就真的会快乐吗？

1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

5 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

8 primal   

adj.原始的；最重要的

参考例句：

• Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
• Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们，钱是主要的需要。

9 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

10 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

11 recollected   

adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I recollected that she had red hair. 我记得她有一头红发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His efforts, the Duke recollected many years later, were distinctly half-hearted. 据公爵许多年之后的回忆，他当时明显只是敷衍了事。 来自辞典例句

12 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。