VOA标准英语2010年-Seeing Life through Cat's Eyes Yields

Faiza Elmasry | Washington, DC 28 January 2010

In his debut¹ novel, The Incarnation of Catman Billy, author Will Jordan writes about the adventures of a man reborn as a cat. Billy finds he now must look at life from a different perspective, and in so doing, he discovers some important truths.  Jordan hopes his book inspires readers to re-examine their own lives and pursue goals that bring them meaning and fulfillment.

"The Incarnation of CatMan Billy" follows the adventures of a human reborn as a cat

Jordan describes his motivation for writing the book.

"My wife got sick and died and transformed my life," he recalls.  "And then, I thought, 'How do I make something that's informative², serious but entertaining?' We didn't need another self-help book. So, a novel seemed to be a good way to allow people to have fun and perhaps see a different view of life at the same time."

CatMan Billy sees the world in a new way

That's how The Incarnation of CatMan Billy was conceived. It's a series of adventures undertaken by an unlikely circle of friends that include a gang of barn cats, a pair of dogs, a deer and a bunny led by a white and black kitten named Billy.

A new year and a new start for a better life

"Billy is a human coming back as a cat to learn to be a better person," he explains. "The whole idea of a human coming back as a cat runs against traditional beliefs of a number of cultures. But it was a fun vehicle for looking at problems that everybody in every culture understands; things like bigotry³ and injustice," Jordan says.

In the following passage from the novel, the leader of the barn cats teaches Billy how to see a new world, or perhaps the same world, in new ways.

"Listen to me Bill-boy. Cats are direct. If you like something, you purr. If it's dangerous, you attack or run. If isn't your business, you walk by and ignore it. As a human, you felt you had to comment on every little thing, whether it concerned you or not. You proved your 'superiority' by judging everything around you, and with sarcastic⁴ comments  – and all it ever did was make you full of judgment⁵. Man, people are soooo funny."

Having a vision of what you want is important

To start a life transforming journey, Will Jordan says to look at the positive side and have a vision of the life you want to live

To embark⁶ on a life transforming journey, Jordan says you need to keep a vision of the life you want to live in front of you.

"In The Incarnation of CatMan Billy, it's called dream space, but it's really about what vision do you have? If all you do is get up and say, 'Well, I have to go to work and spend 8 hours sitting,' then that's all what you're going to do. If you get up and say, 'What can I create today? What do I want at the end of the day that's bigger?' Do you have a notion of what you want? Then you set your space differently. And once you do, it's much easier to get that," he says.

Keep a positive outlook

Author Will Jordan hopes that in 2010, people emerge from personal isolation⁷, connect with others and create a better life

Jordan adds that looking at positives rather than focusing only on negatives will also enhance relationships. "We are united as a world, if we look at the common instead of all those little differences. Let's look at accord and see where we actually work together. Let's look at the glass being [half]full instead of being [half] empty. That's really at a personal level as well as a national or cultural level. If you want to be in a relationship with your husband or wife, you look at where you grow together, 'How can I help you?,' not 'Where you are wrong and what's bad?' It falls apart if you do that."

As we begin a new year and a new decade, Jordan says this is the right moment for us to re-examine our lives.  And like CatMan Billy, he says we all can get out of our personal isolation, connect with others and create a better life.
 

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 informative   

adj.提供资料的，增进知识的

参考例句：

• The adverts are not very informative.这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。
• This intriguing book is both thoughtful and informative.这本引人入胜的书既有思想性又富知识性。

3 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

4 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

7 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。