unit3(翻譯下載完后就有).doc

Years ago in America, it was customary for families to leave their doors unlocked, day and night. In this essay, Greene regrets that people can no longer trust each other and have to resort to elaborate security systems to protect themselves and their possessions. 許多年前，在美國(guó)，家家戶戶白天黑夜不鎖門是司空見(jiàn)慣的。在本文中，格林嘆惜人們不再相互信任，不得不憑借精密的安全設(shè)備來(lái)保護(hù)自己和財(cái)產(chǎn)。 The Land of the Lock Bob Greene 1 In the house where I grew up, it was our custom to leave the front door on the latch at night. I dont know if that was a local term or if it is universal; on the latch meant the door was closed but not locked. None of us carried keys; the last one in for the evening would close up, and that was it. 鎖之國(guó)鮑伯格林 小時(shí)候在家里，我們的前門總是夜不落鎖。我不知道這是當(dāng)?shù)氐囊环N說(shuō)法還是大家都這么說(shuō)；不落鎖的意思是掩上門，但不鎖住。我們誰(shuí)都不帶鑰匙；晚上最后一個(gè)回家的人把門關(guān)上，這就行了。 2 Those days are over. In rural areas as well as in cities, doors do not stay unlocked, even for part of an evening. 那樣的日子已經(jīng)一去不復(fù)返了。在鄉(xiāng)下，在城里，門不再關(guān)著不鎖上，哪怕是傍晚一段時(shí)間也不例外。 3 Suburbs and country areas are, in many ways, even more vulnerable than well-patroled urban streets. Statistics show the crime rate rising more dramatically in those allegedly tranquil areas than in cities. At any rate, the era of leaving the front door on the latch is over. 在許多方面，郊區(qū)和農(nóng)村甚至比巡查嚴(yán)密的城市街道更易受到攻擊。統(tǒng)計(jì)顯示，那些據(jù)稱是安寧的地區(qū)的犯罪率上升得比城鎮(zhèn)更為顯著。不管怎么說(shuō)，前門虛掩不落鎖的時(shí)代是一去不復(fù)返了。 4 It has been replaced by dead-bolt locks, security chains, electronic alarm systems and trip wires hooked up to a police station or private guard firm. Many suburban families have sliding glass doors on their patios, with steel bars elegantly built in so no one can pry the doors open. 取而代之的是防盜鎖、防護(hù)鏈、電子報(bào)警系統(tǒng)，以及連接警署或私人保安公司的報(bào)警裝置。郊區(qū)的許多人家在露臺(tái)上安裝了玻璃滑門，內(nèi)側(cè)有裝得很講究的鋼條，這樣就沒(méi)人能把門撬開(kāi)。 5 It is not uncommon, in the most pleasant of homes, to see pasted on the windows small notices announcing that the premises are under surveillance by this security force or that guard company. 在最溫馨的居家，也常常看得到窗上貼著小小的告示，稱本宅由某家安全機(jī)構(gòu)或某個(gè)保安公司負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)管。 6 The lock is the new symbol of America. Indeed, a recent public-service advertisement by a large insurance company featured not charts showing how much at risk we are, but a picture of a childs bicycle with the now-usual padlock attached to it. 鎖成了美國(guó)的新的象征。的確，一家大保險(xiǎn)公司最近的一則公益廣告沒(méi)有用圖表表明我們所處的危險(xiǎn)有多大，而是用了一幅童車的圖片，車身上懸著如今無(wú)所不在的掛鎖。 7 The ad pointed out that, yes, it is the insurance companies that pay for stolen goods, but who is going to pay for what the new atmosphere of distrust and fear is doing to our way of life? Who is going to make the psychic payment for the transformation of America from the Land of the Free to the Land of the Lock? 廣告指出，沒(méi)錯(cuò)，確是保險(xiǎn)公司理賠失竊物品，但誰(shuí)來(lái)賠償互不信任、擔(dān)心害怕這種新氛圍對(duì)我們的生活方式所造成的影響呢？誰(shuí)來(lái)對(duì)美國(guó)從自由之國(guó)到鎖之國(guó)這一蛻變作出精神賠償呢？ 8 For that is what has happened. We have become so used to defending ourselves against the new atmosphere of American life, so used to putting up barriers, that we have not had time to think about what it may mean. 因?yàn)槟蔷褪乾F(xiàn)狀。我們已經(jīng)變得如此習(xí)慣于保護(hù)自己不受美國(guó)生活新氛圍的影響，如此習(xí)慣于設(shè)置障礙，因而無(wú)暇考慮這一切意味著什么。 9 For some reason we are satisfied when we think we are well-protected; it does not occur to us to ask ourselves: Why has this happened? Why are we having to barricade ourselves against our neighbors and fellow citizens, and when, exactly, did this start to take over our lives? 出于某種原因，當(dāng)我們覺(jué)得防范周密時(shí)就感到心滿意足；我們沒(méi)有問(wèn)過(guò)自己：為什么會(huì)出現(xiàn)這種情況？為什么非得把自己與鄰居和同住一城的居民相隔絕，這一切究竟是從什么時(shí)候開(kāi)始主宰我們生活的？ 10 And it has taken over. If you work for a medium- to large-size company, chances are that you dont just wander in and out of work. You probably carry some kind of access card, electronic or otherwise, that allows you in and out of your place of work. Maybe the security guard at the front desk knows your face and will wave you in most days, but the fact remains that the business you work for feels threatened enough to keep outsiders away via these keys. 這一切確是主宰了我們的生活。如果你在一家大中型公司上班，你上下班很可能不好隨意進(jìn)出。你可能隨身帶著某種出入卡，電子的或別的什么的，因?yàn)檫@卡能讓你進(jìn)出工作場(chǎng)所。也許前臺(tái)的保安認(rèn)識(shí)你這張臉，平日一揮手讓你進(jìn)去，但事實(shí)明擺著，你所任職的公司深感面臨威脅，因此要借助這些“鑰匙”不讓外人靠近。 11 It wasnt always like this. Even a decade ago, most private businesses had a policy of free access. It simply didnt occur to managers that the proper thing to do was to distrust people. 這一現(xiàn)象并非向來(lái)有之。即使在十年前，大多數(shù)私營(yíng)公司仍采取自由出入的做法。那時(shí)管理人員根本沒(méi)想到過(guò)恰當(dāng)?shù)氖侄问遣恍湃嗡恕?12 Look at the airports. Parents used to take children out to departure gates to watch planes land and take off. Thats all gone. Airports are no longer a place of education and fun; they are the most sophisticated of security sites. 且看各地機(jī)場(chǎng)。過(guò)去家長(zhǎng)常常帶孩子去登機(jī)口看飛機(jī)起飛降落。這種事再也沒(méi)有了。機(jī)場(chǎng)不再是一個(gè)有趣的學(xué)習(xí)場(chǎng)所；它們成了擁有最精密的安全檢查系統(tǒng)的場(chǎng)所。 13 With electronic X-ray equipment, we seem finally to have figured out a way to hold the terrorists, real and imagined, at bay; it was such a relief to solve this problem that we did not think much about what such a state of affairs says about the quality of our lives. We now pass through these electronic friskers without so much as a sideways glance; the machines, and what they stand for, have won. 憑借著電子透視裝置，我們似乎終于想出妙計(jì)讓恐怖分子無(wú)法近身，無(wú)論是真的恐怖分子還是憑空臆想的。能解決這一問(wèn)題真是如釋重負(fù)，于是我們不去多想這種狀況對(duì)我們的生活質(zhì)量意味著什么。如今我們走過(guò)這些電子搜查器時(shí)已經(jīng)看都不看一眼了，這些裝置，還有它們所代表的一切已經(jīng)獲勝。 14 Our neighborhoods are bathed in high-intensity light; we do not want to afford ourselves even so much a luxury as a shadow. 我們的居住區(qū)處在強(qiáng)光源的照射下；我們連哪怕像陰影這樣小小的享受也不想給自己。 15 Businessmen, in increasing numbers, are purchasing new machines that hook up to the telephone and analyze a callers voice. The machines are supposed to tell the businessman, with a small margin of error, whether his friend or client is telling lies. 越來(lái)越多的商人正購(gòu)置連接在電話機(jī)上、能剖析來(lái)電者聲音的新機(jī)器。據(jù)說(shuō)那種機(jī)器能讓商人知道他的朋友或客戶是否在撒謊，其出錯(cuò)概率很小。 16 All this is being done in the name of security; that is what we tell ourselves. We are fearful, and so we devise ways to lock the fear out, and that, we decide, is what security means. 所有這一切都是以“安全”的名義實(shí)施的：我們是這么跟自己說(shuō)的。我們害怕，于是我們?cè)O(shè)法把害怕鎖在外面，我們認(rèn)定，那就是安全的意義。 17 But no; with all this security, we are perhaps the most insecure nation in the history of civilized man. What better word to describe the way in which we have been forced to live? What sadder reflection on all that we have become in this new and puzzling time? 其實(shí)不然；我們雖然有了這一切安全措施，但我們或許是人類文明史上最不安全的國(guó)民。還有什么更好的字眼能用來(lái)描述我們被迫選擇的生活方式呢？還有什么更為可悲地表明我們?cè)谶@個(gè)令人困惑的新時(shí)代所感受到的惶恐之情呢？ 18 We trust no one. Suburban housewives wear rape whistles on their station wagon key chains. We have become so smart about self-protection that, in the end, we have all outsmarted ourselves. We may have locked the evils out, but in so doing we have locked ourselves in. 我們不信任任何人。郊區(qū)的家庭主婦在客貨兩用車鑰匙鏈上掛著防強(qiáng)暴口哨。我們?cè)谧晕曳佬l(wèi)方面變得如此聰明，最終聰明反被聰明誤。我們或許是把邪惡鎖在了門外，但在這么做的同時(shí)我們把自己鎖在里邊了。 19 That may be the legacy we remember best when we look back on this age: In dealing with the unseen horrors among us, we became prisoners of ourselves. All of us prisoners, in this time of our troubles. 那也許是我們將來(lái)回顧這一時(shí)代時(shí)記得最牢的精神遺產(chǎn)：在對(duì)付我們中間無(wú)形的恐懼之時(shí)，我們成了自己的囚徒。在我們這個(gè)問(wèn)題重重的時(shí)代，所有的人都是囚徒。 Many people in America own handguns. Some, like Gail Buchalter, buy a gun for self-defense. Others, like her friends, refuse to do so because they think that guns cause more problems than they solve. Gail used to share her friends views, but eventually changed her mind. Read what she has to say and decide whether she made the right choice. 在美國(guó)，許多人擁有手槍。有人為了自衛(wèi)買槍，如蓋爾巴卡爾特。另外一些人則拒絕這么做，比如她的許多朋友，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為，槍支引發(fā)的問(wèn)題比解決的更多。以前蓋爾與她的朋友們持有相同的觀點(diǎn)，但后來(lái)她改變了看法。讀一讀她所說(shuō)的一切，并判定她的選擇是否明智。 Why I Bought A Gun Gail Buchalter 1 I was raised in one of Manhattans more desirable neighborhoods. My upper-middle-class background never involved guns. If my parents felt threatened, they simply put another lock on the door. 我為什么買槍 蓋爾巴卡爾特 我在曼哈頓一個(gè)相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)的社區(qū)長(zhǎng)大。我的中上階級(jí)的社會(huì)背景從來(lái)與槍支無(wú)涉。我的父母要是覺(jué)得有威脅存在，他們僅僅是在門上再加把鎖。 2 By high school, I had traded in my cashmere sweaters for a black arm band. I marched for Civil Rights, shunned Civil Defense drills and protested the Vietnam war. It was easy being 18 and a peacenik. I wasnt raising an 11-year-old child then. 高中時(shí)，我用一件開(kāi)司米羊毛衫跟人換了個(gè)黑色的臂章。我參加人權(quán)游行，反對(duì)國(guó)防演習(xí)，抗議越南戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。作為妙齡18的少女，當(dāng)一名反戰(zhàn)分子，真是輕松自在。那時(shí)我還沒(méi)有一個(gè)11歲的孩子要撫養(yǎng)。 3 (1) Today, I am typical of the women whom gun manufactures have been aiming at as potential buyers - and one of the millions who have taken the plunge. 時(shí)至今日，我成了一個(gè)典型的被槍支制造商看重并視為其潛在買主的那種女人-成了成千上萬(wàn)個(gè)采取這種行動(dòng)的人中的一員。 4 I began questioning my pacifist beliefs one Halloween night in Phoenix, where I had moved when I married. I was almost home when another car nearly hit mine head-on. With the speed of a New York cabbie, I rolled down my window and screamed curses as the driver passed. He instantly made a U-turn, almost climbing on my back bumper. By now, he and his two friends were hanging out of the car windows, yelling that they were going to rape, cut and kill me. 一個(gè)萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的晚上，在我婚后移居的鳳凰城，我開(kāi)始懷疑自己的和平主義信條。一輛車與我的車差點(diǎn)迎頭相撞時(shí)，我?guī)缀醵嫉郊伊?。我以紐約城出租車司機(jī)的敏捷，快速搖下車窗高聲咒罵那位開(kāi)車的。他當(dāng)即掉轉(zhuǎn)車頭，幾乎撞上我的車后保險(xiǎn)杠。這時(shí)，他和兩個(gè)同伴從車窗伸出頭來(lái)，嚷嚷著要強(qiáng)奸我，砍我，殺了我。 5 I already had turned into our driveway when I realized my husband wasnt home. I was trapped. The car had pulled in behind me. I drove up to the back porch and got into the kitchen, where our dogs stood waiting for me. The three men spilled out of their car and into our yard. 我開(kāi)進(jìn)車道才想起丈夫不在家。這下我進(jìn)退兩難。那輛車尾隨著跟了進(jìn)來(lái)。我把車開(kāi)到后門廊停下，沖進(jìn)廚房，我家的那兩條狗站在那兒等我。那三個(gè)家伙從汽車?yán)镆粨矶?，進(jìn)了院子。 6 My heart was pumping. I grabbed the collars of Jack, our 200-pound Irish wolfhound, and his 140-pound malamute buddy, Slush. Then I kicked open the back door - I was so scared that I became aggressive - and actually dared the three creeps to keep coming. With the dogs, the odds had changed in my favor, and the men ran back to the safety of their car, yelling that theyd be back the next day to blow me away. Fortunately, they never returned. 我的心怦怦直跳。我抓起杰克和斯露西的頸圈一條是200磅重的愛(ài)爾蘭狼狗，另一條是它的伙伴，140磅重的北極犬。隨后我一腳踢開(kāi)后門我嚇壞了，變得暴躁好斗事實(shí)上我要激那三人過(guò)來(lái)。有狗相助，局勢(shì)變得對(duì)我有利，他們退回安全的車?yán)?，嚷嚷著說(shuō)要明天來(lái)宰了我?？偹阈疫\(yùn)，他們沒(méi)再露面。 7 A few years and one divorce later, I headed for Los Angeles with my 3-year-old son, Jordan (the dogs had since departed). When I put him in preschool a few weeks later, the headmistress noted that I was a single parent and immediately warned me that there was a rapist in my new neighborhood. 幾年后，我離了婚，帶著3歲的兒子喬丹前往洛杉磯（那兩條狗也死了）。幾個(gè)星期后我送他去幼兒園，老師發(fā)現(xiàn)我是個(gè)單身母親，馬上提醒我，我剛搬入的居住區(qū)里有個(gè)強(qiáng)奸犯。 8 I called the police, who confirmed this fact. The rapist followed no particular pattern. Sometimes he would be waiting in his victims house; other times he would break in while the person was asleep. Although it was summer, I would carefully lock my windows at night and then lie there and sweat in fear. Thankfully, the rapist was caught, but not before he had attacked two more women. 我給警察局打了個(gè)電話，他們證實(shí)了這一情況。那個(gè)強(qiáng)奸犯沒(méi)有什么特別的作案規(guī)律。有時(shí)他在受害者家里等候，有時(shí)他趁人入睡時(shí)潛入。當(dāng)時(shí)正是夏天，可夜間我還是謹(jǐn)慎地鎖住窗戶，然后躺在床上，嚇得渾身是汗。謝天謝地，那個(gè)強(qiáng)奸犯被逮捕了，可那是在他又強(qiáng)暴了兩名女子之后。 9 Soon the papers were telling yet another tale of senseless horror. Richard Bamirez, who became known as The Walk-In Killer, spent months crippling and killing before he was caught. (2) His alleged crimes were so brutal, his desire to inflict pain so intense, that I began to question my beliefs about not taking human life under any circumstances. The thought of taking a human life disgusts me, but the idea of being someones victim is worse. And how, I began to ask myself, do you talk pacifism to a murderer or a rapist? 不久，報(bào)紙上又報(bào)道起另一個(gè)喪心病狂的恐怖人物的事來(lái)。此人名叫理查德巴米里，人稱“入室殺手”，被抓獲前，一連幾個(gè)月殘害、殺死他人。據(jù)稱他的犯罪行為非常野蠻，他加害于人的欲望非常強(qiáng)烈，這使我開(kāi)始對(duì)自己在任何情況下決不殺人的信念產(chǎn)生了懷疑。取人性命的想法令我憎恨，但成為他人受害者的念頭更可怕。我開(kāi)始問(wèn)自己，你怎么跟一個(gè)殺人犯或強(qiáng)奸犯來(lái)談?wù)摵推侥兀?10 Finally, I decided that I would defend myself, even if it meant killing another person. (3) I realized that the one-sided pacifism I once so strongly had advocated could backfire on me and worse, on my son. Reluctantly, I concluded that I had to insure the best option for our survival. My choices: to count on a cop or to own a pistol. 最后，我決定要自我防衛(wèi)，哪怕這意味著殺死他人。我意識(shí)到，自己曾積極提倡的一廂情愿的和平主義會(huì)為害自身，更糟的是，會(huì)為害我的兒子。于是我極不情愿地決定：為了我們的生存，我必須確保有一個(gè)最佳選擇方案。我的選擇：依靠警察，或擁有一支槍。 11 I called a man I had met a while ago who, I remembered, owned several guns. He told me he had a Smith & Wesson 38 Special for sale and recommended it, since it was small enough for me to handle yet had the necessary stopping power. 我給不久前認(rèn)識(shí)的一個(gè)人打電話，我記得他有好幾支槍。他告訴我，他有一支史密斯韋森0.38口徑特種槍要出售，建議我買下，因?yàn)槟侵屝∏珊檬?，又有必要的威懾力?12 I bought the gun. That same day, I got six rounds of special ammunition with plastic tips that explode on impact. These are not for target practice; these are for protection. 我買下了槍。在同一天，我弄到了6發(fā)包著塑料頭、一撞擊就崩碎的特別的子彈。這些子彈不是打靶練習(xí)用的，是防身用的。 13 For about $50, I also picked up a metal safety box. Its push-button lock opens with a touch if you know the proper combination, possibly taking only a second or two longer than it does to reach into a night-table drawer. Now I knew that my son, Jordan, couldnt get his hands on it while I still could. 花了大約50美元，我還買了個(gè)金屬安全盒。如果知道正確的暗碼，它的按鈕式鎖一碰就開(kāi)，大概比伸手去床頭柜抽屜取他只慢一兩秒鐘。我知道兒子喬丹拿不到它，但我拿得到。 14 When I brought the gun home, Jordan was fascinated by it. He kept picking it up, while I nervously watched. But knowledge, I believe, is still our greatest defense. And since Im in favor of education for sex, AIDS and learning to drive, I couldnt draw the line at teaching my son about guns. 我把槍拿回家，喬丹興奮得不得了。他不停地拿起來(lái)看，我緊張地瞧著。但我相信，知識(shí)仍是我們最有力的防范手段。由于我主張對(duì)孩子進(jìn)行性知識(shí)教育，艾滋病知識(shí)教育，以及讓孩子學(xué)會(huì)開(kāi)車，我不能不贊成教兒子關(guān)于槍的知識(shí)。 15 Next, I took the pistol and my son to the target range. I rented a 22-caliber pistol for Jordan. (A .38 was too much gun for him to handle.) I was relieved when he put it down after 10 minutes - he didnt like the feel of it. 隨后，我攜槍帶兒子去射擊場(chǎng)。我給喬丹租了一支0.22口徑的手槍。（0.38口徑的他擺弄不了。）10分鐘后他放下了槍，我不禁松了口氣他不喜歡握槍的感覺(jué)。 16 But that didnt prevent him from asking me if he should use the gun if someone broke into our house while I wasnt home. I shouted no! so loud, we both jumped. I explained that, if someone ever broke in, hes young and agile enough to leap out the window and run for his life. 但他并不因此不來(lái)問(wèn)我，如果我不在家時(shí)有人闖入，他能不能用槍。我大喝一聲“不行！”，喊聲響得把我們都嚇得跳了起來(lái)。我解釋說(shuō)，要是真有人闖入，他人小，又靈活，完全可以跳窗逃生。 17 Today he couldnt care less about the gun. Every so often, when were watching television in my room, I practice opening the safety box, and Jordan times me. Im down to three seconds. Ill ask him whats the first thing you do when you handle a gun, and he looks at me like Im stupid, saying: Make sure its unloaded. But Im not to touch it or tell my friends about it. Jordans already bored with it all. 如今他對(duì)那支槍早沒(méi)了興趣。兩人在我的臥室一起看電視時(shí)，我常常練習(xí)開(kāi)啟安全盒，喬丹替我計(jì)時(shí)。我已經(jīng)快到只需要3秒鐘了。我會(huì)問(wèn)他，拿槍時(shí)第一件要做的事是什么，他像看傻瓜似的看著我，說(shuō)：“要看看子彈是不是沒(méi)上膛。不過(guò)我是不會(huì)去碰它，也不會(huì)跟朋友們說(shuō)的?！眴痰?duì)槍已經(jīng)厭倦了。 18 I, on the other hand, look forward to Mondays - Ladies Night at the target range - when I get to shoot for free. I buy a box of bullets and some targets from the guy behind the counter, put on the protective eye and ear coverings and walk through the double doors to the firing lines. 而我則盼著每個(gè)星期一射擊場(chǎng)的“女士專場(chǎng)”我可以免費(fèi)練習(xí)射擊。我在柜臺(tái)上買一盒子彈，幾個(gè)靶子，戴上護(hù)眼罩和護(hù)耳罩，穿過(guò)雙層門，來(lái)到射擊區(qū)。 19 Once there, I load my gun, look down the sights of the barrel and adjust my aim. I fire six rounds into the chest of a life-sized target hanging 25 feet away. As each bullet rips a hole through the figure drawn there, I realize Im getting used to owning a gun