译文及生词短语整理:朗读者小组
Translation
Can You Still Have Hope When Life Seems Hopeless
当生活看似无望时,你是否还能抱有希望?
By Ashley Western
Can all hope be lost?
希望可以完完全全地丢失吗?
I used to think not.
我曾经觉得不会。
I used to think that no matter how tough life gets for people, they always have hope to cling to – to get them through it.
我曾经认为,无论生活有多么艰难,人们总有希望可以依傍——来帮助人们走出困境。
Then I met some Rohingya refugees on a trip to Bangladesh last month. Reporter Michael Sullivan and I were there to report on the latest wave of the Muslim minority group to flee over the border from Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
然而上个月我在去孟加拉的时候,遇到了一些罗兴亚的难民。Michael Sullivan和我作为记者去采访最近一波穆斯林少数民族,他们越过边界,试图逃离以佛教为主流的缅甸。
We spoke with Rohingya living both inside and outside of the refugee camps that have taken root in southern Bangladesh. Working through interpreters, they told us the stories of how they'd fled from their homeland late last year during the latest Myanmar military crackdown against them. How their villages had been sacked and their homes burnt to the ground. How they'd faced a brutal military campaign of torture and mass rape. Tens of thousands of them had been displaced.
我们与这些扎根于孟加拉南部,现在住在难民营里外的罗兴亚人交谈。在口译人员的帮助下,他们讲述了在去年年末,他们是如何在最新缅甸武装力量的阻截下逃出祖国的故事。他们讲述了他们的村庄是如何被洗劫一空,他们的家园被夷为平地,他们又是如何面对着带来极大痛苦的残酷的军事战役和大规模强奸。数以万计的人在这个过程中离开了他们。
After hearing these distressing accounts, I wanted to know: Given all that they had been through, what were their hopes for the future?
在听到这些让人悲伤的描述之后,我真的很想知道:经历了所有这些苦难之后,他们对未来的希望是什么?
We asked about a dozen refugees. And I was shaken by their answers.
我们询问了十几个难民,他们的回答震惊到我了。
I asked one woman, Shajada — a name she chose for herself to protect her identity and her family back in Myanmar — what she hoped for her future. She responded via the interpreter: "Do you mean in terms of food?"
其中有一位妇女,她的名字叫Shajada,她选择这个名字是为了在缅甸的时候保护她的身份以及她的家庭,我问她对未来的希望是什么,通过翻译她回应我说:“你的意思是指食物?”
I tried to clarify and re-clarify the question through the interpreter. Shajada, who had suffered an injury to her legs and hips while fleeing the Myanmar army that's left her almost immobile, finally did answer: "I don't hope anything for me. I don't hope for me because I cannot even move from one place to another because if I move, I fall down."
在从缅甸军队的镇压中逃亡的时候,Shajada的腿和臀部受伤了,而这导致了她现在几乎丧失了移动能力。我通过翻译一遍遍地向Shajada澄清我的问题,最终当Shajada真正理解到我的问题之后回答道:“我对自己没有任何希望,而我没有任何希望的原因是,我甚至都不能移动,因为如果我移动的话就会跌倒。”
New words
1. hopeless 英 ['həʊpləs] 美 [ˈhoʊpləs]
adj. 绝望的
e.g. We tried to stop the flames from spreading, but we knew it was hopeless.
我们试图阻止火势蔓延,但我们知道这是不可能的。
2. Bangladesh 英 [,ba:ŋglə'deʃ] 美 [,ba:ŋglə'deʃ]
n. 孟加拉国(亚洲国家)
e.g. 你也知道,在孟加拉国流言蜚语传播很快。
As you know, in Bangladesh rumors go around so fast.
3. Muslim 英 [ˈmʊzlɪm;ˈmʌzlɪm;ˈmʊzləm;ˈmʌzləm] 美 [ˈmʊzlɪm;ˈmʌzlɪm;ˈmʊzləm;ˈmʌzləm]
n. 穆斯林
e.g. Friday is a holiday in Muslim countries.
在穆斯林[回教]国家星期五是假日。
4. Myanmar ['mjænmɑ:]
n. 缅甸
e.g. So, the ICRC was obviously still in contact with the prison authorities of Myanmar.
因此,国际红十字会显然还在同缅甸的监狱当局保持联系。
5. interpreter 英 [ɪn'tɜːprɪtə] 美 [ɪn'tɝprɪtɚ]
n. 口译者
e.g. Speaking through an interpreter (= using an interpreter ), Ahmed said, ‘I’m very worried about my wife and children.’
艾哈迈德通过口译者说:“我很担心我的妻子和孩子们。”
6. crackdown 英 ['krækdaʊn] 美 ['krækdaʊn]
n. 镇压
e.g. a military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations
对拥护民主的示威游行的军事镇压
7. sack 英 [sæk] 美 [sæk]
vt. 洗劫,劫掠
e.g. The Goths sacked Rome.
哥特人洗劫了罗马城。
8. displaced 美 [dɪs'ples]
adj. 无家可归的;
e.g. More than 600,000 people were displaced by the tsunami.
超过60万人被海啸搞得背井离乡。
9. distressing 英 [dɪ'stresɪŋ] 美 [dɪ'strɛsɪŋ]
adj. 使痛苦的;悲伤的
e.g. It is distressing to see food being wasted like this.
这样浪费粮食令人痛心。
10. account 英 [ə'kaʊnt] 美 [ə'kaʊnt]
n. 描述
e.g. He was too shocked to give an account of what had happened.
他因受惊过度而无法描述所发生的事情。
11. hip 英 [hɪp] 美 [hɪp]
n. 臀部
e.g. The old lady had fallen and broken her hip.
那老妇人摔了一跤,臀部骨折。
12. immobile [ɪ'məʊbaɪl] 美 [ɪ'mobl]
adj. 不能正常移动[行走]的
e.g. Kim’s illness had rendered her completely immobile.
金的病使她完全丧失了活动能力。
Phrases
1.cling to 坚持;依靠
2.minority group 少数群体,少数群(请自己想一下多数群体怎么说)
3.refugee camp 难民营;难民收容所
4.burn to the ground 全部焚毁,烧成平地
5.fall down 跌倒;失败
6.supplementary materials:
Rohingya 罗兴亚族( 罗兴亚人(Rohingya)是缅甸穆斯林少数族裔,他们在当地不受保护,毫无盼望。当地有基督徒帮助饥饿、流离失所的罗兴亚人,却因而受罚。)
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