欧美名人演讲 第57期:同性恋与道德的关系(4)

 　　When I say it makes some people happy, I don't just mean that they're pleasurable, although that's part of it.

　　我说它能让一部分人幸福，并不是仅指它令人愉悦的那部分。

　　But, there's more to it than that.

　　虽然愉悦这一点是幸福的组成部分，但还有更多的东西在里边。

　　A homosexual relationship, like a heterosexual relationship, can be an important avenue of meaning and long-term fulfillment in people's lives.

　　同性恋的情感关系和异性恋的情感关系一样，是人们沟通的管道，可以让长久的人生变得充实丰满。

　　This is the kind of thing that we celebrate when we talk about heterosexuality.

　　当我们谈到异性恋情感的时候，我们都会祝福赞美这一点。

　　We celebrate it everywhere from great literature to romance novels to trashy shows on MTV.

　　天南地北的人们都用文学艺术小说甚至电视肥皂剧来赞颂这种美好的事物。

　　You know these shows?

　　随便什么电视节目。

　　You can feel your brain cells dying as you watch some of these shows; you know the ones.

　　哪怕是让你死掉无数大脑细胞的烂节目。

　　But they have this point in common about finding a special someone, connecting with that person, expressing your feelings for that person in a way for which mere¹ words would be inadequate².

　　它们都在这一点上有相同的共识：在人海中找到某人，和他或她建立联系，用连语言都不足以表达的各种方式，传递你对他或她的情感。

　　This is a wonderful, beautiful part of the human experience.

　　这是多么美好的人生体验啊！

　　If we're going to deny this to a whole group of people by saying, "You can't have that. That's wrong," we better have a darn good reason.

　　如果我们队整整一群人说："错，你们不配拥有这些。"然后否定他们，禁止他们拥有这样的情感...见鬼，我们真有那么充分的理由吗？

　　So, let's look at what some of those reasons might be.

　　好吧，我们就说说这些"理由"都是些什么样的。

　　And the first reason that I'm going to look at, the first argument is the argument that homosexuality is wrong because the Bible condemns³ it.

　　先说第一个理由，第一个反对同性恋的论点说，同性恋之所以有错，是因为圣经谴责它。

　　Now, when I say "the Bible," I could be talking about a lot of different things.

　　当我说到圣经的时候，广义上其实指的可能是一系列不同的东西。

　　There are many different scriptural texts that different groups of people recognize as authoritative⁴.

　　圣经有非常多不同版本的教义文本，不同的信仰人群会选择奉不同的版本为圭臬。

　　Even if we focus on the Judeo-Christian tradition, which is actually a melding of different traditions, there are arguments about which books should be included, which translations are authoritative, and so on.

　　我们暂且只提所谓的"犹太--基督教"传统（犹太教和基督教共有的）。它也是有很多种不同的传统组成，而且对于不同的篇章是否会被奉为圣经的真义，哪些译本更有权威也有许多争论。

　　We could go through all of that, but let's put that aside.

　　这些问题我们统统放在一边，不去管它。

　　So as you know what I'm talking about when I talk about the Bible.

　　我先假设当我提到圣经的时候，你们懂得我的所指。

　　And when we look to that Judeo-Christian Bible, we find some things that actually sound pretty negative with respect to same-sex relationships.

　　那么当我们翻阅犹太--基督教的圣经时，我们会发现里边有一些对同性关系颇为负面的言语。

　　The book of Leviticus says, "Man shall now lie with man, as with woman. It is an abomination unto God."

　　比如利未记中："不可与男人苟合，像与女人一样，这本是可憎恶的。"

　　Of course, the book of Leviticus calls a number of other things abominations that we don't tend to pay attention to quite as often.

　　当然，利未记中也把其他的一些行为叫做"可憎恶的"，而这些人们却常常视若不见。

　　The book of Leviticus says that eating shellfish is an abomination unto God.

　　比如利未记中说到食用甲壳类海鲜是"可憎恶的"（利未记第11章10-11节）。

　　Shrimp⁵ cocktail⁶? Not if you follow Leviticus.

　　虾肉大餐吗？按利未记的说法那是不能吃的。

　　The book of Leviticus says that wearing clothing of mixed fiber⁷ is an abomination unto God.

　　利未记里说穿不同布料缝成的衣服是上帝憎恶的。

　　Cotton-polyester blends? Not if you follow Leviticus.

　　绦纶混纺？按利未记的说法那是不能穿的。

　　The book of Leviticus says that touching⁸ the carcass of a dead pig is an abomination unto God.

　　利未记甚至说，触碰死去的猪的遗骸是上帝憎恶的。

　　Football? Not if you follow Leviticus.

　　橄榄球？按利未记的说法那是不能玩的。

　　They used to be made of pigskin. Stay with me.

　　橄榄球是用猪皮做的。瞧瞧这逻辑。

　　And it's not just the book of Leviticus, and it's not just the Old Testament⁹.

　　说这些的不止利未记一篇，也不只是旧约里的篇章。

　　As we look through the Bible, we find a number of things that seem, at best, morally problematic.

　　我们翻阅整个圣经，会发现一大堆东西都存在伦理道德问题。

　　St. Paul says, "Women must remain silent in the churches."

　　圣保罗说过："在教堂里让你们的妇人保持沉默。"

　　Doesn't seem to me like good moral advice.

　　对我来说可不像是什么好的道德建议。（那圣咏合唱需要高音怎么办？小男孩呗。小男孩变声了怎么办？切掉呗。于是阉人歌手登场。多么道德啊！）

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

3 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

5 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

6 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

9 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。