国家地理 移植的脸如何改变了一名女子的生活(11)

That day Alesia was telling me about her extremely conservative Christian¹ upbringing. Her church didn't allow drinking, and in middle age Alesia discovered she loves wine and a good cocktail². "Can you believe it?" she said. "I didn't have my first drink until I was 43!"

那天，阿莱西亚向我讲述了她极端保守的基督教教育。她所在的教堂不允许饮酒，在中年时，阿莱西亚发现自己喜欢葡萄酒和鸡尾酒。她说：“你能相信吗？直到43岁我才第一次喝酒！”

Katie perked³ up. "I had my first drink when I was 14," she said. This was news to Alesia and Robb, who laughed in the way of parents who figure, What can you do? "Oh, Katie," Alesia said fondly.

凯蒂活跃起来了，她说：“我第一次喝酒是在14岁的时候。”这对阿莱西亚和罗柏来说是个新闻，他们以父母的那种“你还能做什么”的方式大笑。阿莱西亚怜爱地说：“哦，凯蒂。”

One evening Alesia told me their situation still felt unreal. She had never worried about Katie getting into trouble. Katie was sensitive and had a melancholy⁴ streak⁵, yes, but she also had a snarky sense of humor. The night before she shot herself, she'd jokingly refused to clean up after dinner, picking up a lamb puppet and saying in a cartoonish voice, "This is ba-a-a-a-a-d."

一天晚上，阿莱西亚告诉我，他们仍有不真实的感觉。她从不担心凯蒂会惹上麻烦，这个孩子很敏感，有一种忧郁的气质，但她也有一种尖刻的幽默感。在她开枪自杀的前一晚，她开玩笑地拒绝在晚饭后收拾东西，拿起一个羔羊木偶，用卡通化的声音说：“很糟糕。”

What clues had she missed? Alesia often descended⁶ into spirals of guilt⁷ and grief, feeling that she'd failed her daughter. She clung to one thing that Kathy Coffman, a clinic psychiatrist⁸, had told her. The suicide attempt -- Alesia almost always called it "the accident" -- was an impulsive⁹ act. Five minutes later, or five minutes earlier, and Katie might not have grabbed the rifle.

她漏掉了什么线索？阿莱利亚常常陷入内疚和悲伤的漩涡中，觉得自己对不起女儿。她紧紧记住临床精神病学家凯西·科夫曼告诉她的一件事。自杀未遂--阿莱西亚几乎总是称其为“意外”是一种冲动行为。五分钟后，凯蒂可能都不会抓起来复枪。

"It was one moment," Alesia told me. "One moment, 20 seconds, changed our lives."

阿莱西亚说：“那是一瞬间，或许只有20秒，但却彻底改变了我们的生活。”

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 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。

3 perked   

（使）活跃( perk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣

参考例句：

• The recent demand for houses has perked up the prices. 最近对住房的需求使房价上涨了。
• You've perked up since this morning. 你今天上午精神就好多了。

4 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

6 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

7 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

8 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

9 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。