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一场意外带来的命运转折

2020-08-15

阅读与作文(英语高中版) 2020年8期
关键词:蒙特利尔威尔逊杰夫

Renee Montagne (Host): Time now for StoryCorps. Earlier this year, we aired a story about two families that came together after a car accident.

(Soundbite of Archived Broadcast)

Megiddeh Goldston: Raphael, you could easily be still in that hospital bed, angry, like, screaming at the world.

Raphael Hameed: Nah, we love; thats how we roll.

Montagne: That story of forgiveness led to another StoryCorps interview. A listener named Jeff Wilson heard that conversation and was reminded of something that happened to him in high school in 1984. He was driving to school when the sun got in his eyes and he hit another student as she was crossing the street. Jeff shared his story in an online comment, and StoryCorps suggested they do an interview together. So Jeff and the woman he hit with his car 30 years ago, Tammie Baird, came to StoryCorps in San Francisco. They had exchanged e-mails, but this was the first time theyd seen each other since high school.

Jeff Wilson: I saw something fly over the hood of my car. And then I saw you lying there, and I pulled over and, you know, got out, and you were unconscious. I was absolutely sure that I had killed you. And then for a few days after that I really did not want to live. I just felt like dirt. But I called to find out how you were, and I remember speaking with your dad. And he couldve just been irate and angry—and I was prepared for that because I felt thats what I deserved—but I told him how sorry I was, and he said I know what youre going through because I went through that same thing when he was about my age. Hed hit a child that had run into the street after a ball and got really hurt. He said that he forgave me, and Im forever grateful for that.

Tammie Baird: Im glad that that day he answered the phone because he was just so kind, and he didnt hold grudges. Im surprised, honestly, he didnt make you come over for dinner.

Wilson: No, I didnt know you when I hit you.

Baird: Right.

Wilson: If I saw you, Id be like, oh, God, thats the person I hit. I dont want to deal with this.

Baird: So did you think it was crazy when 20-something years later, out of the blue, I just send you this e-mail?

Wilson: Yeah. I opened it up, and the first thing you said is, you may have been the first person to hit me with your car, but you werent the last.

Baird: Yeah. I became a stunt woman. And now what Im known for in my industry is car hits. I just really felt like I had to let you know that.

Wilson: Im so glad you did.

Baird: You know, people will say things like wow, you do car hits. How did you get so good at it? Oh, well, this guy hit me my freshman year walking to school.

Wilson: The fact that you made something good out of it, it just amazes me. It really does. And its just kind of this beautiful symmetry because Im a surgical technician and I do a lot of orthopedic surgery, so I see a lot of people that come in from car accidents. And it gives me a great deal of satisfaction feeling like Im helping people, Im putting people back together.

Baird: Thats awesome.

Wilson: But Im, you know, forever sorry.

Baird: But I hope now you wont be.

Wilson: Its spectacular to be able to, to make this connection after so many years. It really blows me away.(Soundbite of Music)

蕾妮·蒙塔(主持人):又到了“故事團”的时间。今年早些时候,我们播出了一则因一场交通意外而让两个家庭走到一起的故事。

(存档广播片段)

玛吉德·高德斯通:拉斐尔,你原本很可能仍躺在医院的病床上生着气,对着这世界尖叫。

拉斐尔·哈米德:不,结果我们相爱了;我们就是这样的。

蒙塔:这则关于谅解的故事为我们引出了另外一个“故事团”的访谈。一位名为杰夫·威尔逊的听众听到了这一对话,想起了他在1984年上高中的时候发生在自己身上的事情。当时他正开着车去学校,因阳光刺眼,他撞到了一位正在穿过马路的女学生。杰夫把他的故事分享到了在线评论网上,“故事团”建议他们聚到一起做一次访谈。因此,杰夫和那个30年前被自己的车撞倒的女人,塔米·贝尔德,来到了旧金山的“故事团”。他们之前有通过电子邮件联系,但这是他们自高中以来的第一次见面。

杰夫·威尔逊:当时我看到有什么东西从我汽车的引擎盖上飞过。接着我见到你躺在那里,我靠边停车,你知道的,接着下车,然后发现你已经不省人事。我当时十分肯定我已经撞死了你。在那之后的几天,我简直不想活了。我觉得自己是个混蛋。但当我致电你家想知道你的情况的时候,我记得和我通话的是你爸爸。他当时完全可以大动肝火——我做好了准备,因为我觉得那是我罪有应得——但当我告诉他我有多么自责和抱歉的时候,他说他明白我正在经历什么,因为当他大约在我这个年纪的时候他也经历了同样的事情。他曾经撞到一个追着球跑到大街上的小孩子,撞得很严重。他说他原谅我,而我永远感激于此。

塔米·贝尔德:我很欣慰那天他接了电话,因为他是那么善良,他没有心怀怨恨。坦白讲,我很惊讶他当时没有邀请你来吃晚饭。

威尔逊:没有,我撞倒你时我还不认识你。

贝尔德:是的。

威尔逊:如果我看到你,我会想,噢,天哪,那是我撞倒的那个人。我可不想面对。

贝尔德:那我在二十几年后发邮件给你,你觉不觉得这样非常疯狂而且出乎你的意料?

威尔逊:是的,我打开邮件,你说的第一句话就是,“你可能是第一个开车撞到我的人,但其实你不是最后一个。”

贝尔德:没错,我成为了一名女特技演员。现在我在我的行业里以表演撞车而得名。我就是觉得我得让你知道这个。

威尔逊:我真为你感到高兴。

贝尔德:你知道吗,人们会说,“哇,你会表演撞车。你怎么这么擅长这个?”“噢,其实,这个家伙在我大一走路去上学的时候就撞到我了。”

威尔逊:你能把“祸”变成“福”,真让我感到惊讶。的确是。这可说是一种美好的对称,因为我现在是一名外科技师,会做很多整形手术,所以我遇到很多因汽车交通事故而来就医的人。这工作让我感觉我能帮助到别人,能帮助人们平安重聚,给了我很大的满足感。

贝尔德:这真是太棒了。

威尔逊:不过,你知道,我永远对你感到抱歉。

贝尔德:但我希望你从此不会了。

威尔逊:这么多年后还能重新与你进行这样的联系,真是太激动了。真的让我难以置信。

(音乐片段)

小链接

关于“故事团”(StoryCorps)

2003年,纽约曼哈顿的中央车站出现了第一个公共录音亭——这便是美国历史上最大规模口述史计划的开始,称之为“故事团”(StoryCorps)。

“故事团”是一个美国非营利组织,在全美的一些枢纽地段,像地铁站、购物中心等地,提供录音设施,邀请南来北往的人们进入录音亭或在流动录音车上,讲述他们自己的故事。

这些故事的录音,将被永远收藏在美国国会图书馆,成为美国最大的口述资料库,给后人留下美国普通人生活、经历、思想、情感的珍贵原始记录。我们可以想象,在50或100年后,这些个人生活的真实记录,将是多么难得的资料。

美国国家公共廣播电台(NPR)配合这个计划,每周五的清早都会选播一个录音故事。这些故事中有夫妻之情、有子女父辈关系、有新移民的打拼、有成果的经验、有失败的教训……他们具有不同年龄、种族、职业、阶层、出生地、家庭背景。录音多是夫妻、父女、祖孙、朋友等两个人的对话,深情流露,表达感恩之情和领悟到的人生哲理。故事感人肺腑,令人唏嘘,触动心灵。

这个计划的发起者称,“在美国,普通人的故事至关重要,这亦是‘故事团的初衷。”对参与者来说,他们所讲的故事,是他们“想给世人留下的记忆”,展示他们“生命中最重要的时刻”。这个计划就是要“人们把心里的话讲出来”,使全美国的人有机会进行心灵的交流。据报道,美国有上千万人收听这个节目。

Chaude and Cold 热与冷

A patron in Montreal cafe turned on a tap in the washroom and got scalded.

“This is an outrage,” he complained. “The faucet marked C gave me boiling water.”

“But, Monsieur, C stands for chaude - French for hot. You should know that if you live in Montreal.”

“Wait a minute,” roared the patron. “The other tap is also marked C.”

“Of course,” said the manager, “It stands for cold. After all, Montreal is a bilingual city.”

蒙特利尔咖啡馆的一位顾客拧开盥洗室的水龙头,结果被水烫伤了。“这太可恶了,”他抱怨道,“标着C的龙头流出的是开水。”

“可是,先生,C代表Chaude,在法语里代表'热'。如果您住在蒙特利尔的话就应该知道这一点。”

“等等,”那位顾客咆哮着,“另外一个龙头标的也是C。”

“那当然,”经理说道:“这个C代表冷。毕竟,蒙特利尔是个双语城市。”

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