中英对照有声书《相约星期二》

The Audiovisual, Part Three视听教学 第三部分The "Nightline" crew came back for its third and final visit.“晚间专线”团队又找回来想做第三次也是最后一次采访。The whole tenor of the thing was different now.这次采访的整个主旨已经完全不一样了。Less like an interview, more like a sad farewell.更不像是一次采访，更像是一次悲伤的永别。Ted Koppel had called several times before coming up, and he had asked Morrie, "Do you think you can handle it?”来之前泰德·科佩尔打了好几次电话问莫瑞，“你感觉还能应付得了这次的采访吗？”Morrie wasn't sure he could.莫瑞并没有把握能够应付。"I'm tired all the time now, Ted. And I'm choking a lot If I can't say something, will you say it for me?"“我现在一直很疲倦，泰德。而且总是会窒息，如果我没法说出话来，你能帮我说吗？”Koppel said sure.科佩尔回答那当然。And then the normally stoic anchor added this: "If you don't want to do it, Morrie, it's okay. I'll come up and say good­bye anyhow."然后这个平常很能忍耐困难的主持人加了这么一句话：“莫瑞，如果你不想采访了也没关系的。无论如何我会出来跟观众说再见的。”Later, Morrie would grin mischievously and say, "I'm getting to him." And he was.过了一会儿，莫瑞调皮的咧嘴一笑说，“我在慢慢地接近他了。” 而且也确实如此。Koppel now referred to Morrie as "a friend."科佩尔现在称呼莫瑞为朋友。My old professor had even coaxed compassion out of the television business.我的老教授甚至能从电视行业“骗”到同理心。For the interview, which took place on a Friday afternoon, Morrie wore the same shirt he'd had on the day before.这次采访发生于一个周五的下午，莫瑞穿着前一天穿过的同一件衬衫。He changed shirts only every other day at this point, and this was not the other day, so why break routine?在这个节点上他隔天会换一次衬衫，这天恰巧不是隔天，所以为什么打破习惯呢？Unlike the previous two Koppel-Schwartz sessions, this one was conducted entirely within Morrie's study, where Morrie had become a prisoner of his chair.不像前两次科佩尔——施瓦茨（莫瑞）的会晤，这次采访完全在莫瑞的书房中进行，莫瑞已经在这里变成了轮椅上的囚徒。Koppel, who kissed my old professor when he first saw him, now had to squeeze in alongside the bookcase in order to be seen in the camera's lens.见到莫瑞就亲了他一下的科佩尔，现在不得不挤在书架旁边，为了能够在摄影机镜头里能被看见。Before they started, Koppel asked about the disease's progression.在他们开始采访前，科佩尔问起了疾病的进展。"How bad is it, Morrie?"“有多糟糕？莫瑞？”Morrie weakly lifted a hand, halfway up his belly.莫瑞虚弱地抬起手，不到腹部中间一半的地方。This was as far as he could go.这已经是他能举起的最高位置了。Koppel had his answer.科佩尔得到了他问题的答案。The camera rolled, the third and final interview.摄影师开始拍摄，这是第三次也是最后一次采访。Koppel asked if Morrie was more afraid now that death was near.科佩尔问莫瑞现在会不会因为离死亡更近所以更加害怕了。Morrie said no; to tell the truth, he was less afraid.莫瑞说并没有；说实话，他更不害怕了。He said he was letting go of some of the outside world, not having the newspaper read to him as much, not paying as much attention to mail, instead listening more to music and watching the leaves change color through his window.他说他已经放弃了一部分的外部世界，不用读那么多的报纸给他来听，不那么多的在意收到的信件，反而更多的倾听音乐或者透过窗户看着树叶变黄。There were other people who suffered from ALS, Morrie knew, some of them famous, such as Stephen Hawking, the brilliant physicist and author of A Brief History of Time.也有其他人承受渐冻症的痛苦，莫瑞知道，一些人还很出名，比如史蒂芬·霍金，那个天才的物理学家，也是《时间简史》的作者。He lived with a hole in his throat, spoke through a computer synthesizer, typed words by batting his eyes as a sensor picked up the movement.他喉咙里带着一个洞活着，通过电脑语音合成器说话，在传感器捕捉动作时通过眨眼来打字。This was admirable, but it was not the way Morrie wanted to live.这真的非常令人钦佩，但是那不是莫瑞想要活着的方式。He told Koppel he knew when it would be time to say good-bye.他告诉科佩尔他知道什么时候该告别。"For me, Ted, living means I can be responsive to the other person. It means I can show my emotions and my feelings. Talk to them. Feel with them..."“对我来说，泰德，活着意味着对他人有回应。就是说我能够表达我的情绪和感受。能跟别人聊天。和他们一起去感受...”He exhaled. "When that is gone, Morrie is gone."他呼了一口气。“如果这些都没有了，那么莫瑞也就死了。”They talked like friends.他们如同朋友一般地对话。As he had in the previous two interviews, Koppel asked about the "old ass wipe test"-hoping, perhaps, for a humorous response.就像之前的两次采访一样，科佩尔问起了那个“经典的擦屁股测试”的问题——可能是希望得到一些幽默的回应吧。But Morrie was too tired even to grin.可是莫瑞已经太累了，累到没法咧嘴。He shook his head. "When I sit on the commode, I can no longer sit up straight. I'm listing all the time, so they have to hold me. When I'm done they have to wipe me. That is how far it's gotten."他摇摇头。“当我坐到马桶上的时候，我再也没法坐直了。我一直都是倾斜着的，所以他们得扶着我。我上完厕所他们得帮我擦拭。这个病已经发展到了这个程度。”He told Koppel he wanted to die with serenity.莫瑞告诉科佩尔他想要宁静的死去。He shared his latest aphorism: "Don't let go too soon, but don't hang on too long."他分享了他最新的格言：“不要太早放弃，但也不要苦苦挣扎太久。”Koppel nodded painfully.科佩尔艰难地点点头。Only six months had passed between the first "Nightline" show and this one, but Morrie Schwartz was clearly a collapsed form.第一次夜间专线的采访与这次仅仅相隔六个月，莫瑞·施瓦茨却明显处于崩溃的状态。He had decayed before a national TV audience, a miniseries of a death.他在全国的电视观众面前衰亡，像演绎了一部死亡的迷你剧。But as his body rotted, his character shone even more brightly.但随着他肉体的腐败，他的人格魅力却愈加闪耀。Toward the end of the interview, the camera zoomed in on Morrie- Koppel was not even in the picture, only his voice was heard from outside it-and the anchor asked if my old professor had anything he wanted to say to the millions of people he had touched.在采访即将进入尾声的时候，摄影机对准莫瑞拉近放大——科佩尔甚至已经不在电视画面里，只有他的声音可以从画外音中听到——然后这位主持人问我的老教授是否对这些为他所感动的千万观众有什么话想说。Although he did not mean it this way, I couldn't help but think of a condemned man being asked for his final words.尽管他并不是这个意思，我却不禁想到死刑犯被问临终遗言。"Be compassionate," Morrie whispered.“要有激情，”莫瑞低语道。"And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place."“而且要对彼此负责任。如果我们能够学会这些教训，这个世界会是一个要好得多的地方。”He took a breath, then added his mantra: "Love each other or die."他喘了口气，然后加上了他的至理名言：“要么相爱，要么死亡。”The interview was ended.采访结束了。But for some reason, the cameraman left the film rolling, and a final scene was caught on tape.但不知为什么，摄影师仍然让摄影机继续录制，然后那最后的一幕被记录在了磁带上。"You did a good job," Koppel said.“你做得很好，”科佩尔说。Morrie smiled weakly.莫瑞虚弱地笑了笑。"I gave you what I had," he whispered.“我已经给你我所能做到的全部了，”他低语道。"You always do."“你一直都是如此”"Ted, this disease is knocking at my spirit. But it will not get my spirit. It'll get my body. It will not get my spirit"“泰德，这个疾病正在打击我的精神。但是它不会战胜我的精神。它能战胜我的肉体。它将永远也无法战胜我的精神。”Koppel was near tears. "You done good."科佩尔几欲落泪。“你做得已经很棒了。”"You think so?" Morrie rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "I'm bargaining with Him up there now. "“你这么觉得吗？”莫瑞朝着天花板翻了翻眼睛。“正巧我现在在跟天上那位讨价还价呢。”" I'm asking Him, 'Do I get to be one of the angels?' "“我在问他，‘我能够资格成为天使中的一员吗？’”It was the first time Morrie admitted talking to God.这是莫瑞第一次承认和上帝说话。原著：Mitch Albom

The Eleventh Tuesday第十一个星期二We Talk About Our Culture我们聊了聊我们的文化I asked Morrie why he hadn't moved somewhere else when he was younger.我问莫瑞为什么他年轻的时候没有搬到其他地方生活。"Where?"“搬去哪里？”I don't know. South America. New Guinea. Someplace not as selfish as America.我不知道。南美洲？新几内亚之类的。一些不像美国那么自私的国家。"Every society has its own problems,” Morrie said, lifting his eyebrows, the closest he could come to a shrug.“每个社会都有自己的问题，”莫瑞说着，抬起眉毛，他所能做出的最接近耸肩的动作。"The way to do it, I think, isn't to run away. You have to work at creating your own culture.”“办法我认为，并不是去逃避。你得致力于去创造你自己的文化。”"Look, no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don’t see what we could be. We should be looking at our potential, stretching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you're surrounded by people who say 'I want mine now,' you end up with a few people with every¬thing and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it."“听着，不管你在哪里生活，我们人所共有的最大缺陷就是短视。我们看不到我们能成为什么样的人。我们应该关注自己的潜力，向着我们可能成为的一切去延伸自己。但是如果你身边都被那些总说‘现在我就要我那份’的人围绕，那结果就是少数人拥有一切以及一支防止穷人起义夺走他们这一切的军队。”Morrie looked over my shoulder to the far window.莫瑞越过我的肩膀看向远处的窗外。Sometimes you could hear a passing truck or a whip of the wind.有时你能听到经过的卡车和鞭打般的风声。He gazed for a moment at his neighbors' houses, then continued.他凝视着邻居的房子好一会儿，然后继续说。"The problem, Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks. Catholics and Protestant, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own.”“问题就是，米契，我们不相信我们之间有多么相似。白人与黑人。天主教徒与新教教徒，男人与女人。如果我们能更加相似地去看待彼此，我们可能会非常热切的加入这个世界上的同一个人类大家庭，并且像我们在乎自己的小家一样去在乎这个人类大家庭。”"But believe me, when you are dying, you see it is true. We all have the same beginning—birth—and we all have the same end——death. So how different can we be?”“但是相信我，当你快要死的时候，你会看到确实是这样的。我们都有着相同的开始——出生——而且我们都有相同的结局——死亡。所以我们又会怎么不同呢？“"Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you."“投入到人类家庭当中去。投入到人群中去。为你爱和爱你的人建立一个小社区。“He squeezed my hand gently.他轻轻地捏了捏我的手。I squeezed back harder.我用力地的握了握他的手。And like that carnival contest where you bang a hammer and watch the disk rise up the pole, I could almost see my body heat rise up Morrie's chest and neck into his cheeks and eyes.就像狂欢节比赛你挥动大锤猛敲然后看到磁盘推高指示杆一样，我几乎可以看到我的体温仿佛流动到莫瑞的胸膛和脖子，向他的脸颊和眼睛延伸过去。He smiled.他微笑着。"In the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive, right?“在生命的最初，当我们还是婴儿的时候，我们依赖他人生存，对吧？“And at the end of life, when you get like me, you need others to survive, right?"在生命的终点，当你向我一样，你也需要依赖他人生存，对吧？His voice dropped to a whisper. "But here's the secret: in between, we need others as well."他的声音降低到几近低语。“但是这当中有个秘密：两者之间，我们仍然需要依赖他人。“Later that afternoon, Connie and I went into the bedroom to watch the O.J. Simpson verdict.那天下午晚些时候，康妮和我去卧室看O.J. 辛普森案的法庭判决。It was a tense scene as the principals all turned to face the jury, Simpson, in his blue suit, surrounded by his small army of lawyers, the prosecutors who wanted him behind bars just a few feet away.那是一个非常紧张的场景，全部的委托人都转过头去看向陪审团，辛普森则穿着蓝色西装，被他的小型律师军团围绕着，希望将他送进监狱关起来的公诉人就在几英尺之外。When the foreman read the verdict—"not guilty“—Connie shrieked.当陪审团主席宣布裁决——“无罪“——康妮忍不住尖叫起来。“Oh my God!”“我的天哪！“We watched as Simpson hugged his lawyers.我们看着辛普森拥抱他的律师们。We listened as the commentators tried to explain what it all meant我们听着评论员试图解释这意味着什么。We saw crowds of blacks celebrating in the streets outside the courthouse, and crowds of whites sitting stunned inside restaurants.我们看到聚集在法院外的黑人们欢呼庆祝，坐在餐馆里的白人们目瞪口呆。The decision was being hailed as momentous, even though murders take place every day.即使每天都有谋杀在发生，这个决定仍然被称赞是重大的。Connie went out in the hall.康妮起身去了门厅。She had seen enough.她看的够够的了。I heard the door to Morrie's study close.我听见了莫瑞书房的门关上了。I stared at the TV set.我盯着有线电视盒子。Everyone in the world is watching this thing, I told myself.世界上的每个人都在看这件事，我对自己说。Then, from the other room, I heard the ruffling of Morrie's being lifted from his chair and I smiled.然后，在另外一个房间，我听见了莫瑞被从他的椅子上抬起的忙乱声，我笑了。As "The Trial of the Century" reached its dramatic conclusion, my old professor was sitting on the toilet.就在“世纪大审判“来到它戏剧性的结局之时，我的老教授正坐在马桶上拉屎。It is 1979, a basketball game in the Brandeis gym.那是1979年，布兰迪斯大学的体育馆正在举办篮球比赛。The team is doing well, and the student section begins a chant, ''We're number one! We're number one!"队伍打的很好，围观的学生们开始呼喊加油口号，“我们第一！我们第一！“Morrie is sitting nearby.莫瑞也正在附近坐着。He is puzzled by the cheer.他对欢呼声感到很困惑。At one point, in the midst of “We're number one!” he rises and yells, “What's wrong with being number two?”趁着某个时刻，在“我们第一！”当中的间隙，莫瑞站起来大喊道，当第二名又咋啦？！The students look at him.学生们都看着他。They stop chanting.他们停止了欢呼。He sits down, smiling and triumphant.他坐下来，胜利的微笑着。原著：Mitch Albom

The Eleventh Tuesday第十一个星期二We Talk About Our Culture我们聊了聊我们的文化"Hit him harder."“击打再用力一点。”I slapped Morrie's back.我拍打着莫瑞的后背。"Harder."“再用力一点。”I slapped him again.我再次拍打莫瑞。"Near his shoulders ... now down lower."“靠近他的肩膀…现在再往下移一点。”Morrie, dressed in pajama bottoms, lay in bed on his side, his head flush against the pillow, his mouth open.莫瑞穿着睡裤，侧躺在床上，他的头正对着枕头，嘴巴张开着。The physical therapist was showing me how to bang loose the poison in his lungs—which he needed done regularly now, to keep it from solidifying, to keep him breathing.理疗师正在向我演示怎样通过击打来疏解莫瑞肺部的毒素——他现在需要定期做这项理疗来防止肺部硬化，从而使他能够呼吸。"I... always knew... you wanted... to hit me ..." Morrie gasped.“我…就知道…你一直想…揍我…” 莫瑞喘息道。Yeah, I joked as I rapped my fist against the alabaster skin of his back.对是，我一边开着玩笑一边用拳头捶在莫瑞如雪花石膏一样的后背皮肤上。This is for that B you gave me sophomore year! Whack!让你大二的时候给我打B（B指大学生课程期末成绩的等级）！我打！We all laughed, a nervous laughter that comes when the devil is within earshot.我们都笑了起来，那种魔鬼近在咫尺之时的紧张的大笑。It would have been cute, this little scene, were it not what we all knew it was, the final calisthenics before death.如果不是我们都明白这意味着什么，是死亡来临前最后的拉拉操表演的话，这个小小的场景也许会很可爱。Morrie's disease was now dangerously close to his surrender spot, his lungs.莫瑞的疾病现在已经及其危险的接近于让他投降的临界点了，他的肺部。He had been predicting he would die from choking, and I could not imagine a more terrible way to go.他以前就预测过说他会死于窒息，我真的是想不出比这更糟糕的死法了。Sometimes he would close his eyes and try to draw the air up into his mouth and nostrils, and it seemed as if he were trying to lift an anchor.有时他会闭上眼睛试着用嘴巴和鼻孔吸气，看起来他仿佛是在努力举起锚一样。Outside, it was jacket weather, early October, the leaves clumped in piles on the lawns around West Newton.外面是穿夹克衫的天气，十月初，落叶围绕着西牛顿区成堆的聚集在草坪上。Morrie's physical therapist had come earlier in the day, and I usually excused myself when nurses or specialists had business with him.莫瑞的理疗师早早地就来了，在护士或者专家有事来找莫瑞的时候我一般会回避。But as the weeks passed and our time ran down, I was increasingly less self-conscious about the physical embarrassment.但随着几周的时间过去，我们的时间所剩无几，我逐渐对这些理疗的尴尬场景变得不那么自我敏感了。I wanted to be there.我想在那陪着莫瑞。I wanted to observe everything.我想要观察一切。This was not like me, but then, neither were a lot of things that had happened these last few months in Morrie’s house.这并不太像我的风格，不过话说回来，过去这几个月在莫瑞的房子里发生的太多事情也不像。So I watched the therapist work on Morrie in the bed, pounding the back of his ribs, asking if he could feel the congestion loosening within him.所以我就看着理疗师给床上的莫瑞理疗，敲打着他的肋骨背面，一边询问莫瑞是否能感受到身体里的淤堵在疏解。And when she took a break, she asked if I wanted to try it.在理疗师休息的时候，她问我想不想尝试一下。I said yes.我回答想。Morrie, his face on the pillow, gave a little smile.莫瑞脸朝下埋在枕头里，笑了一下。"Not too hard," he said. "I'm an old man."“你可别打的太重哈，”他说，“我可是一个老人家。”I drummed on his back and sides, moving around, as she instructed.我敲打着他的后背和身体侧面，按照理疗师的指示来回游走。I hated the idea of Morrie's lying in bed under any circumstances (his last aphorism, "When you're in bed, you're dead," rang in my ears), and curled on his side, he was so small, so withered, it was more a boy's body than a man's.我讨厌莫瑞无论何种情形都只能躺着的印象（他最后的格言，“当你躺在床上的时候，你就死了。”不断在我耳边回响），而且蜷缩侧躺着的莫瑞是如此瘦小，如此消瘦，相比于一个男人的体型更像是一个小男孩的体型。I saw the paleness of his skin, the stray white hairs, the way his arms hung limp and helpless.我看着他苍白的皮肤，飘零的白发，他的胳膊无力的垂下的样子。I thought about how much time we spend trying to shape our bodies, lifting weights, crunching sit-ups, and in the end, nature takes it away from us anyhow.我想着我们花了那么多的时间去努力锻炼塑形，去举铁，去做仰卧起坐，可是到最终，自然规律无论如何都会夺走这一切。Beneath my fingers, I felt the loose flesh around Morrie's bones, and I thumped him hard, as instructed.指尖之下，我能够感受到附着在莫瑞筋骨周围松垮的皮肉，并且依照指示用力敲打着他。The truth is, I was pounding on his back when I wanted to be hitting the walls.真相其实是，在我特别想到狠狠捶墙的时候，我正在捶打莫瑞。"Mitch?" Morrie gasped, his voice jumpy as a jackhammer as I pounded on him.“米契？“莫瑞气喘吁吁的，他说话的声音也随着我的敲打像气锤一样一下一下起伏蹦跳着。Uh-huh?怎么了？"When did ... I... give you ... a B?"“我什么…时候…给你打过B呀”Morrie believed in the inherent good of people.莫瑞相信人性本善。But he also saw what they could become.但他同时也能看到人们会变成什么样子。"People are only mean when they're threatened,” he said later that day, "and that's what our culture does. That's what our economy does. Even people who have jobs in our economy are threatened, because they worry about losing them. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself. You start making money a god. It is all part of this culture."“人只有在受到威胁的时候才会变得低劣，”那天晚些时候他说道。“这就是我们的文化对人们所做的事情。这就是我们的经济对人们做的事情。在我们的经济中即便有工作的人也会感到被威胁，因为他们担心失去他们的工作。那么当你受到威胁的时候，你会开始只去照顾自己。你会开始奉金钱为上帝。这些都是我们这个文化所包含的部分。”He exhaled. "Which is why I don't buy into it"他吐出一口气。“这就是为什么我压根不买账的原因。”I nodded at him and squeezed his hand.我向莫瑞点点头，按压他的手。We held hands regularly now.我们现在时常会握着手。This was another change for me.这是我的另一个变化。Things that before would have made me embarrassed or squeamish were now routinely handled.那些之前会让我感到尴尬或者恶心的事情现在已经是司空见惯。The catheter bag, connected to the tube inside him and filled with greenish waste fluid, lay by my foot near the leg of his chair.连接着莫瑞身体里的管子的导管袋，并且里面装满了泛着绿色的身体废液就放在他椅子腿周围，靠在我的脚边。A few months earlier, it might have disgusted me; it was inconsequential now.几个月以前，这个东西能恶心死我，现在已经是毫无影响了。So was the smell of the room after Morrie had used the commode.还有莫瑞用完便器后房间里的味道也是。He did not have the luxury of moving from place to place, of closing a bathroom door behind him, spraying some air freshener when he left.他没有那个从一个地方移动到另一个地方去的奢侈条件，也没有关上身后卫生间的门，在离开的时候喷一些空气清新剂的奢侈条件。There was his bed, there was his chair, and that was his life.那是他的床，那也是他的椅子，那也是他全部的生活。If my life were squeezed into such a thimble, I doubt I could make it smell any better.如果我的生活被挤压到如此之狭小，我怀疑自己是否也能让这样的生存变的好闻一点。"Here's what I mean by building your own little sub-culture," Morrie said.“我说的建立你自己的亚文化是这个意思，”莫瑞说。"I don't mean you disregard every rule of your community. I don't go around naked, for example. I don't run through red lights. The little things, I can obey. But the big things—how we think, what we value—those you must choose yourself. You can't let anyone—or any society—determine those for you.“我的意思并不是让你去无视周边社群的每一个规则。例如我从来不出去裸奔。我也不闯红灯。这些小事，我都可以遵从。但是大事——我们如何思考，我们珍视什么东西——这些你必须自己选择。你不能让任何人——或者任何社会——来为你决定这些东西。”"Take my condition. The things I am supposed to be embarrassed about now—not being able to walk, not being able to wipe my ass, waking up some mornings wanting to cry—there is nothing innately embarrassing or shaming about them.“以我的情况为例。那些我现在应该感觉难为情的事情——没法走路，没法给自己擦屁股，不少清晨睁眼醒来就想哭泣——真没什么天生就该为这些事情感到尴尬的。”"It's the same for women not being thin enough, or men not being rich enough. It's just what our culture would have you believe. Don't believe it"“对于女性身材不够纤细，或者男性不够富有就难为情也是一样。这只是我们的文化试图让我们去相信的。但不要去相信这些。”原著：Mitch Albom

The Tenth Tuesday第十个星期二We Talk About Marriage我们聊了聊婚姻Marriage.婚姻。Almost everyone I knew had a problem with it.几乎我所认识的每个人都在这件事上有麻烦。Some had problems getting into it, some had problems getting out.有些人对于进入婚姻有麻烦，而有些人则是走出婚姻有麻烦。My generation seemed to struggle with the commitment, as if it were an alligator from some murky swamp.我们这一代人似乎对许下承诺感到非常吃力，好像承诺是个来自什么昏暗沼泽的鳄鱼似的。I had gotten used to attending weddings, congratulating the couple, and feeling only mild surprise when I saw the groom a few years later sitting in arestaurant with a younger woman whom he introduced as a friend.我已经习惯了先是参加婚礼并祝福情侣，并在几年以后仅仅只是感到些许意外当在餐厅里看到当年的新郎和一位更年轻的女郎坐在一起并将其介绍为他的朋友。"You know, I'm separated from so-and-so ..." he would say.“你懂的，我和那谁谁谁分开了…” 新郎通常都会这么说。Why do we have such problems?为什么我们会有这些问题？I asked Morrie about this.我问莫瑞。Having waited seven years before I proposed to Janine, I wondered if people my age were being more careful than those who came before us, or simply more selfish?我在向珍妮求婚之前足足等了七年之久，我想知道是不是像我这个年代的人只是比前几代人更加谨慎，还是说我们仅仅就是更自私？"Well, I feel sorry for your generation," Morrie said.“好吧，对你们这代人我深感遗憾，”莫瑞说。"In this culture, it's so important to find a loving relationship with someone because so much of the culture does not give you that.“在当前的文化中，寻找并和某个人建立起一段忠诚有爱的关系是如此重要，因为社会文化当中的太多部分并不能给予你这些东西。”But the poor kids today, either they're too selfish to take part in a real loving relationship, or they rush into marriage and then six months later, they get divorced.但当今的可怜孩子们，要么是太过自私以致于无法参与进一段真正充满爱的关系，要么是着急着一头冲进婚姻然后过了6个月以后，他们就离婚了。They don't know what they want in a partner.他们并不清楚他们想从伴侣身上获得什么。They don't know who they are themselves——so how can they know who they're marrying?"他们也不了解他们自己——所以他们又怎么可能真的认识那个和他们结婚的人？He sighed.他叹了口气。Morrie had counseled so many unhappy lovers in his years as a professor.在当教授的岁月里他为很多相处不开心的情侣提供过咨询。"It's sad, because a loved one is so important. You realize that, especially when you're in a time like I am, when you're not doing so well. Friends are great, but friends are not going to be here on a night when you're coughing and can't sleep and someone has to sit up all night with you, comfort you, try to be helpful."“这的确令人难过，因为爱人是那么的重要。特别是在你处于像我这样的时期，当你过的不是很顺利的时候，你就能意识到这点。朋友固然也很棒，但是在那些你一边咳嗽一边无法入睡需要有人整夜醒着和你坐着的夜晚，朋友无法在你身边一直陪着你。”Charlotte and Morrie, who met as students, had been married forty- four years.夏洛特和莫瑞，相识于学生时代，已经结婚44年。I watched them together now, when she would remind him of his medication, or come in and stroke his neck, or talk about one of their sons.当下我也见证了他们在一起相濡以沫，在她提醒莫瑞吃药的时候，或者进来轻按他的脖颈，亦或和莫瑞聊着他们的某一个儿子的时候。They worked as a team, often needing no more than a silent glance to understand what the other was thinking.他们如同一个团队那样协作，通常都不需要多于一个静默的眼神就能明白对方在想什么。Charlotte was a private person, different from Morrie, but I knew how much he respected her, because sometimes when we spoke, he would say, "Charlotte might be uncomfortable with me revealing that," and he would end the conversation.夏洛特和莫瑞不同，是一个注重隐私的人，但是我知道莫瑞有多么尊重她，因为有时候他在说话时会说，“我揭露这个夏洛特可能会很不自在，”然后他就会结束话题。It was the only time Morrie held anything back.这是唯一莫瑞会有所隐藏的时候。"I've learned this much about marriage," he said now.“我学到了这些关于婚姻的事，”他现在开始说起话来。"You get tested. You find out who you are, who the other person is, and how you accommodate or don't."“在婚姻中你会被考验。你会明白你是什么样的人，另一半是什么样的人，以及你如何去适应或者无法适应。”Is there some kind of rule to know if a marriage is going to work?有没有什么规则能够知道婚姻是否能够成功呢？Morrie smiled.莫瑞笑了。"Things are not that simple, Mitch."“事情不是那么简单的，米契。”I know.我知道。"Still," he said, "there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike. "“不过，”莫瑞继续说道，“还是有几条关于爱与婚姻的规则我知道肯定是对的：如果你不尊重另一半，你会遇到很多麻烦。如果你不懂得如何妥协，你会遇到很多问题。如果你们不能畅通无阻的沟通你们俩之间发生的进展，那么你们会遇到很多问题。如果你们没有生活上共同的价值观，那么你们也会遇到很多麻烦。你们的价值观必须是相似的。”"And the biggest one of those values, Mitch?"’“而且在所有价值观中最重要的一条，米契？”Yes?是什么？"Your belief in the importance of your marriage."“你们都有对你们婚姻重要性的信念。”He sniffed, then closed his eyes for a moment.他吸了吸鼻子，然后闭上眼睛了一小会儿。"Personally," he sighed, his eyes still closed, "I think marriage is a very important thing to do, and you're missing a hell of a lot if you don't try it."“就我个人来说，”他叹了一口气，眼睛仍然闭着，“我认为婚姻是一件要去做的很重要的事，如果你不去尝试就会错过太多。”He ended the subject by quoting the poem he believed in like a prayer: "Love each other or perish."他引用一句他如同信徒般相信的诗句结束了这个话题：“要么相爱，要么灭亡。”Okay, question, I say to Morrie.好吧，我有问题要问，我对莫瑞说。His bony fingers hold his glasses across his chest, which rises and falls with each labored breath.他瘦骨嶙峋的手指拿着眼镜交叉放在胸前，随着每一次吃力的呼吸上下起伏着。"What's the question?" He says.“什么问题呀？”他说。Remember the Book of Job?你还记得约书亚记的故事吗？"From the Bible?"“圣经里那个？”Right. Job is a good man, but God makes him suffer. To test his faith.对的。约书亚是一个好人，但是上帝让他受苦。来考验他的信仰是否坚定。"I remember. "“我记得。”Takes away everything he has, his house, his money, his family . . .通过夺走他拥有的一切，他的房子，他的钱财，他的家人…"His health."“还有他的健康。”Makes him sick.让他生病。"To test his faith."“来考验他的信念。”Right. To test his faith. So, I'm wondering . . .是的。来考验他的信念。所以，我想知道…"What are you wondering?"“你想知道什么？”What (do) you think about that?你是怎么看待这个故事的？Morrie coughs violently.莫瑞剧烈的咳嗽着。His hands quiver as he drops them by his side.他的手在一侧垂下来的时候颤抖着。"I think, " he says, smiling, " God overdid it. "“我觉得，”他说到，微笑着，“上帝做的过分了。”原著：Mitch Albom

The Tenth Tuesday第十个星期二We Talk About Marriage我们聊了聊婚姻I brought a visitor to meet Morrie.我带了一个客人去见莫瑞。My wife.是我的妻子。He had been asking me since the first day I came.从我第一天来的时候莫瑞就一直在问这件事。"When do I meet Janine?"“什么时候能让我见见珍妮？”"When are you bringing her?"“你什么时候带她来？”I'd always had excuses until a few days earlier, when I called his house to see how he was doing.我都一直在找各种借口，直到几天前我打电话给莫瑞询问他最近怎么样了。It took a while for Morrie to get to the receiver.莫瑞花了不少时间才来到了听筒前。And when he did, I could hear the fumbling as someone held it to his ear.当他过来的时候，我能听到仿佛有人在把听筒举到他耳边的笨拙的摸索声。He could no longer lift a phone by himself.莫瑞已经无法自己拿起电话了。"Hiiiiii," he gasped.“嗨…” 莫瑞喘着气。You doing okay, Coach?你还好吧？教练？I heard him exhale. "Mitch . . . your coach . . . isn't having such a great day... "我听到他呼出一口气。“米契… 你的教练我…最近过的不太好…”His sleeping time was getting worse.他的睡眠变得更糟糕了。He needed oxygen almost nightly now, and his coughing spells had become frightening.他几乎每晚都需要吸氧，而且他的咳嗽也变得厉害得吓人。One cough could last an hour, and he never knew if he'd be able to stop.咳一下可能就会持续一小时，而且他永远也不知道他咳得还能不能停下来。He always said he would die when the disease got his lungs.他一直说当疾病占领他的肺部的时候他就会死。I shuddered when I thought how close death was.想到死亡离他如此之近我不禁浑身巨震。I'll see you on Tuesday, I said. You'll have a better day then.星期二我去看你，我对莫瑞说。到那会儿你会好起来的。"Mitch."“米契”Yeah?怎么啦？"Is your wife there with you?"“你的妻子在你身边吗？”She was sitting next to me.她正好在我身边坐着呢。"Put her on. I want to hear her voice."“让她接电话。我想听听她的声音。”Now, I am married to a woman blessed with far more intuitive kindness than I.现在，我已经和一个相比于我，有幸拥有更多天生善良的女人结了婚。Although she had never met Morrie, she took the phone — I would have shaken my head and whispered, " I'm not here! I'm not here! " — and in a minute, she was connecting with my old professor as if they'd known each other since college.尽管她从来没有见过莫瑞，她还是接过了电话 —— 要是我的话会一边摇着头一边悄悄低声说着，“就说我不在！就说我不在！” —— 然后也就一分钟不到，她已经和我的老教授熟络起来了，仿佛他们已经在大学里就认识了似的。I sensed this, even though all I heard on my end was "Uh-huh ... Mitch told me... oh, thank you ...即便我这边只能听到“是的…米契告诉我…哦，太谢谢您了…”但我依然能感觉到。When she hung up, she said, "I'm coming next trip.” And that was that.当我妻子挂了电话之后，她说，“下次我也要去看莫瑞。”就是这么干脆利落。Now we sat in his office, surrounding him in his recliner.转眼我们俩就一起坐在了莫瑞的办公室，围绕着莫瑞坐在他的躺椅上。Morrie, by his own admission, was a harmless flirt, and while he often had to stop for coughing, or to use the commode, he seemed to find new reserves of energy with Janine in the room.莫瑞，据他自己所承认，是一个会无伤大雅的调戏别人的人，在他常常不得不停下来咳嗽或者上厕所时，有珍妮在房间里，他似乎找到了“新储存的能量”。He looked at photos from our wedding, which Janine had brought along.他看着我们婚礼的照片，是珍妮一同带过去的。"You are from Detroit?" Morrie said.“你来自底特律吗？“莫瑞问。Yes, Janine said.是的，珍妮回答。"I taught in Detroit for one year, in the late forties. I remember a funny story about that."“我在底特律教过一年书，大约在我40多快50岁的时候。我还记得关于那会儿的一个有意思的小故事。”He stopped to blow his nose.他停下来擤鼻涕。When he fumbled with the tissue, I held it in place and he blew weakly into it.见他笨拙地弄着纸巾，我帮助他把纸巾拿到合适的位置，他虚弱地把鼻涕擤在里面。I squeezed it lightly against his nostrils, then pulled it off, like a mother does to a child in a car seat.我轻轻地挤压莫瑞的鼻孔，然后拉出纸巾，就像妈妈给车后座的孩子擦鼻涕一样。"Thank you, Mitch." He looked at Janine. "My helper, this one is."“谢谢你，米契。“莫瑞看向珍妮。”这位一向是我的好帮手。“Janine smiled.珍妮笑了。"Anyhow. My story. There were a bunch of sociologists at the university, and we used to play poker with other staff members, including this guy who was a surgeon.“不管怎么样。继续我的故事。那时候在大学里有一帮社会学教授，然后我们经常和其他教职工成员一起打扑克牌，其中包括这样一个家伙，他是个外科医生。”"One night, after the game, he said, 'Morrie, I want to come see you work.' I said fine. So he came to one of my classes and watched me teach."“有一天晚上，打完牌之后，他对我说，‘莫瑞，我想去看看你是怎么工作的。’我说好呀。所以他就上了我的一节课去看我是怎么教书的。”"After the class was over, he said, 'All right, now, how would you like to see me work? I have an operation tonight. I wanted to return the favor, so I said okay."“我的课上完之后，他过来说，‘那现在你想不想来看一下我是怎么工作的？我今晚刚好有一台手术。我希望能回报你这次帮我的忙，’ 所以我答应了。”"He took me up to the hospital. He said, 'Scrub down, put on a mask, and get into a gown. And next thing I knew, I was right next to him at the operating table. There was this woman, the patient, on the table, naked from the waist down. And he took a knife and went zip — just like that! Well... "“他带着我去了医院。他说，‘好好洗下手，戴好口罩，然后穿上防护衣。’紧接着等我知道的时候，我已经在他身边站在了手术台前。手术台上躺着一位女士，腰部以下是全裸的。然后他拿起手术刀就是一划拉 —— 好吧，我当时就这样了…”Morrie lifted a finger and spun it around.莫瑞举起一根手指绕着圈。"... I started to go like this. I'm about to faint. All the blood. Yech. The nurse next to me said, What's the matter, Doctor?’ and I said, ' I'm no damn doctor! Get me out of here!' "“…我开始整个人就这样了。我快晕倒了。全都是血。妈呀。我身边的护士赶忙问，‘出什么事啦？医生？' 然后我喊着，‘我才不是什么鬼的医生！赶紧让我离开这！’”We laughed, and Morrie laughed, too, as hard as he could, with his limited breathing.我们都笑了起来，然后莫瑞也笑了，用他有限的呼吸尽最大努力的笑着。It was the first time in weeks that I could recall him telling a story like this.这是几周以来我第一次能回想起来他像这样讲一个故事。How strange, I thought, that he nearly fainted once from watching someone else's illness, and now he was so able to endure his own.多么奇怪呀，我想着，莫瑞曾经看着别人生病都几乎晕倒，现在却能如此忍耐自己的疾病。Connie knocked on the door and said that Morrie's lunch was ready.康妮敲了敲门说莫瑞的午饭好了。It was not the carrot soup and vegetable cakes and Greek pasta I had brought that morning from Bread and Circus.他的午饭并不是我早上从‘面包和马戏团’带来的胡萝卜汤、蔬菜饼和希腊意面。Although I tried to buy the softest of foods now, they were still beyond Morrie's limited strength to chew and swallow.尽管我现在已经努力去买最软糯的食物，它们仍然还是超出了莫瑞有限的咀嚼和吞咽的能力。He was eating mostly liquid supplements, with perhaps a bran muffin tossed in until it was mushy and easily digested.他主要吃流食，可能再有一块粗粮饼扔在汤里等变软了易于消化再吃。Charlotte would puree almost everything in a blender now.夏洛特现在几乎会把所有食物扔进搅拌机打成糊状。He was taking food through a straw.莫瑞则通过一根吸管进食。I still shopped every week and walked in with bags to show him, but it was more for the look on his face than anything else.可我仍然还是每周都会停留一下然后带着装满食物的袋子给莫瑞看，不为别的，只是为了他脸上的神情。When I opened the refrigerator, I would see an overflow of containers.打开冰箱，我能看到食物盒子快要溢出来。I guess I was hoping that one day we would go back to eating a real lunch together and I could watch the sloppy way in which he talked while chewing, the food spilling happily out of his mouth.我想我依然在期待有一天我们能够回到一起吃一顿真正的午饭的状态，我还能看着莫瑞用非常邋遢的方式边嚼边说话，食物快乐的从他的嘴里喷出来。This was a foolish hope.多么愚蠢的期待。"So... Janine," Morrie said.“那么…珍妮，”莫瑞说。She smiled.她微笑着。"You are lovely. Give me your hand."“你真好。把你的手给我。”She did.珍妮照做了。"Mitch says that you're a professional singer."“米契说你是一个专业歌手。”Yes, Janine said.是的，珍妮回答。"He says you're great."“他还说你唱得很棒。”Oh, she laughed. No. He just says that.哦，珍妮笑起来。没有没有，他就是说说而已。Morrie raised his eyebrows. "Will you sing something for me?"莫瑞抬起了他的眉毛。“你能为我唱首歌吗？”Now, I have heard people ask this of Janine for almost as long as I have known her.就这么说，几乎从我认识珍妮的那一刻起就一直听到人们各种请求珍妮唱歌。When people find out you sing for a living, they always say, "Sing something for us."当人们知道你是以唱歌来谋生的时候，他们都会说，“那你给我们唱点什么吧。”Shy about her talent, and a perfectionist about conditions, Janine never did.出于对她自身天赋的腼腆以及对场合的完美性要求，珍妮从来不答应。She would politely decline.她会礼貌地拒绝这些请求。Which is what I expected now.这也是我现在所预料到的。Which is when she began to sing:也是此时她竟然开始唱歌了。"The very thought of you...想到你... and I forget to do...我竟忘记... the little ordinary things that everyone ought to do ... "每一个人都会做的平凡小事It was a 1930s standard, written by Ray Noble, and Janine sang it sweetly, looking straight at Morrie.这是一首标准的30年代的歌曲，是Ray Noble写的，珍妮轻柔的唱着，看着莫瑞。I was amazed, once again, at his ability to draw emotion from people who otherwise kept it locked away.再一次，我惊讶了，惊讶于莫瑞能够把感情从那些恰恰相反会把情感锁在心底的人们心中引发出来的能力。Morrie closed his eyes to absorb the notes.莫瑞闭上眼睛，吸收每一个音符。As my wife's loving voice filled the room, a crescent smile appeared on his face.随着我妻子美妙的声音充满房间，一抹微笑也渐渐出现在莫瑞脸上。And while his body was stiff as a sandbag, you could almost see him dancing inside it尽管他的身体僵硬的像个沙袋，你仍然几乎可以看到他在身体之中起舞。"I see your face in every flower,我在每一朵花中看见你的脸your eyes in stars above,星辰之上是你的眼it's just the thought of you,仅仅只是想到你the very thought of you,想到你my love..."我滴亲When she finished, Morrie opened his eyes and tears rolled down his cheeks.当她唱完的时候，莫瑞睁开眼睛，泪水划过他的脸颊。In all the years I have listened to my wife sing, I never heard her the way he did at that moment.这么多年我听我妻子唱歌，我从来没有像莫瑞在那个时候那样去听她唱歌。原著：Mitch Albom接下来请大家欣赏这首完整的The Very Thought Of You，各位晚安好梦~

The Ninth Tuesday第九个星期二We Talk About How Love Goes On我们聊了聊爱如何继续I came to love the way Morrie lit up when I entered the room.我喜欢当我走进房间时莫瑞面露喜色的方式。He did this for many people, I know, but it was his special talent to make each visitor feel that the smile was unique.他对很多人都这样，我知道，但是他有他独特的才能能够让每一个来访者觉得他的微笑是独属于他们的。" Ahhh, it's my buddy," he would say when he saw me, in that foggy, high- pitched voice.“哎呀呀，是我的小老弟来了呀，”当他看见我时他会用那含混的高音对我这么说。And it didn't stop with the greeting.即使是在问候的时候也不会停止。When Morrie was with you, he was really with you.当莫瑞和你在一起的时候，他是真正的全身心地和你在一起。He looked you straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world.他会直视你的眼睛，而且他会仿若你是世界上唯一一个人一样来倾听你。How much better would people get along if their first encounter each day were like this ——instead of a grumble from a waitress or a bus driver or a boss?要是人们每天的第一次见面都能像这样的话那人们之间的相处该要好上多少啊——而不是因为服务员或者公交车司机或者上司而抱怨？" I believe in being fully present," Morrie said.“我相信全身心地在场，”莫瑞说道。" That means you should be with the person you're with. When I'm talking to you now, Mitch, I try to keep focused only on what is going on between us. I am not thinking about something we said last week. I am not thinking of what's coming up this Friday. I am not thinking about doing another Koppel show, or about what medications I'm taking."“意思是你应该和跟你同在的人在一起。当我现在正在和你说话的时候，米契，我会努力集中精力在仅仅发生于我们之间的事情上。我不会想着我们上周说过的事情。我不会想着这周五会发生什么。我更不会想着和科佩尔再做一期节目的事情，或者我正在做的什么治疗。”" I am talking to you, I am thinking about you,"“当我在跟你说话的时候，我就在想着你。”I remembered how he used to teach this idea in the Group Process class back at Brandeis.我记得还在布兰迪斯大学的时候，他以前在群体治疗课上是如何教授这个理念的。I had scoffed back then, thinking this was hardly a lesson plan for a university course.我那时却嘲讽了回去，觉得这简直不应该是大学课程该有的课程计划。Learning to pay attention?学习去集中注意力？How important could that be?以及集中注意力有多重要？I now know it is more important than almost everything they taught us in college.我现在明白了这几乎要比他们在大学教我们的任何课程都更加重要。Morrie motioned for my hand, and as l gave it to him, I felt a surge of guilt.莫瑞说到我的手，我在把手递给他时，感到一阵羞愧。Here was a man who, if he wanted, could spend every waking moment in self-pity, feeling his body for decay, counting his breaths.这里坐着的可是一个如果他愿意，可以把每一分每一秒清醒的时间花在自怨自艾，感受身体的逐渐衰败，数着每一个呼吸的男人呀。So many people with far smaller problems are so self-absorbed, their eyes glaze over if you speak for more than thirty seconds.太多有着相似问题的人们会非常自我内耗，如果你跟他们说话超过30秒钟恐怕他们的眼神已经呆滞转移了。They already have something else in mind ——a friend to call, a fax to send, a lover they're daydreaming about.他们的脑子里已经有别的事情了——想打电话的朋友，想发的电报，日思夜想的爱人。They only snap back to full attention when you finish talking, at which point they say "Uh-huh" or " Yeah, really" and fake their way back to the moment.他们只有在当你说完话的时候会瞬间回神，那时他们会说“对对”或者“是的，没错”然后假装回到当下。" Part of the problem, Mitch, is that everyone is in such a hurry," Morrie said.“部分问题在于，米契，每一个人都如此匆忙，”莫瑞说道。" People haven't found meaning in their lives, so they're running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running."“人们尚未找到生活的意义，所以他们一直奔忙着去寻找。他们想着下一辆车，下一栋房子，下一份工作。然后他们发现这些事情也都是无意义的，却还是持续奔忙着。”Once you start running, I said, it's hard to slow yourself down.一旦你开始忙起来，我说，就很难让自己慢下来了。" Not so hard," he said, shaking his head,“也没那么难吧，”他说着，摇了摇头。" Do you know what I do? When someone wants to get ahead of me in traffic ——when I used to be able to drive —— I would raise my hand..."“你知道我会做什么吗？当有人试图在车流中超我的车时——那时我还能开车——我会举起手。。。”He tried to do this now, but the hand lifted weakly, only six inches.他现在在试着举起手来，可是只能无力地抬起六英寸高。"... I would raise my hand, as if I was going to make a negative gesture, and then I would wave and smile. Instead of giving them the finger, you let them go, and you smile."“我会抬起手，好像我要做一个很不好的手势一样，然后我会挥挥手并且微笑。不是给他们竖中指，而是让他们过去，然后微笑。”" You know what? A lot of times they smiled back."“你知道吗？很多时候他们会回过来一个微笑。”" The truth is, I don't have to be in that much of a hurry with my car. I would rather put my energies into people."“事实上，我在车里压根不必多么着急。我更愿意把精力投入到人身上。”He did this better than anyone l'd ever known.这点上他比我认识的任何人都要做得好。Those who sat with him saw his eyes go moist when they spoke about something horrible, or crinkle in delight when they told him a really bad joke.当那些来跟莫瑞一起坐坐的人们说到一些可怕的事情时，会看到莫瑞的眼睛湿润了，或者当他们讲了一个不太好笑的笑话时，也会看到莫瑞愉悦的皱起脸。He was always ready to openly display the emotion so often missing from my baby boomer generation.莫瑞总是时刻准备着去展现我们婴儿潮（大概和90后的父母是同一代人）这代人身上常常缺失的情感。We are great at small talk: "What do you do?" "Where do you live?" But really listening to someone——without trying to sell them something, pick them up, recruit them, or get some kind of status in return——how often do we get this anymore? I believe many visitors in the last few months of Morrie's life were drawn not because of the attention they wanted to pay to him but because of the attention he paid to them.虽然我们很擅长闲聊：“你是做什么的？”“你住哪？”但是真正的去倾听他人——且不是为了努力给他们卖东西，接送他们，招募他们，或者为了去获得某些情况的进展——有多久才能有一次呢？我相信在莫瑞生命过去几个月里的很多拜访者被他吸引并不是因为他们想给莫瑞关注而是莫瑞给他们的关注。Despite his personal pain and decay, this little old man listened the way they always wanted someone to listen.抛却莫瑞个人的痛苦和衰亡，这个小老头总是会以他们希望的方式去倾听这些人们。I told him he was the father everyone wishes they had.我告诉莫瑞他是每个人都希望能有的父亲。" Well," he said, closing his eyes, " I have some experience in that area..."“确实，”莫瑞一边说着，一边闭上眼睛，“我在当爸爸的领域确实有一些经验。。。”The last time Morrie saw his own father was in a city morgue.莫瑞最后一次见到他的父亲是在停尸间。Charlie Schwartz was a quiet man who liked to read his newspaper, alone, under a streetlamp on Tremont Avenue in the Bronx.查理•施瓦茨是一个安静的男人，他喜欢读着他的报纸，一个人，驻足在布朗克斯的特雷蒙大街的路灯下。Every night, when Morrie was little, Charlie would go for a walk after dinner.每个晚上，那时莫瑞还小，查理在晚饭之后会出去散步。He was a small Russian man, with a ruddy complexion and a full head of grayish hair.查理是一个矮个子的俄罗斯男人，有着红润的面色和满头类似浅灰色的头发。Morrie and his brother, David, would look out the window and see him leaning against the lamppost, and Morrie wished he would come inside and talk to them, but he rarely did.莫瑞和他的弟弟，大卫，会从窗户往外面看，看着他倚靠在灯柱上，并且希望他能回家里来跟他说说话，可是查理几乎从来不这么做。Nor did he tuck them in, nor kiss them good-night.查理也不会给他们去掖掖被角，或者晚安亲亲。Morrie always swore he would do these things for his own children if he ever had any.莫瑞一直暗暗发誓如果他能有孩子他一定会为他们做这些。And years later, when he had them, he did.经年以后，当莫瑞有了孩子，他确实这么做了。Meanwhile, as Morrie raised his own children, Charlie was still living in the Bronx.与此同时，在莫瑞抚养他自己的孩子的时候，查理仍然住在布朗克斯。He still took that walk.他仍然出去散步。He still read the paper.他仍然读报纸。One night, he went outside after dinner.一天晚上，他晚饭后出去散步。A few blocks from home, he was accosted by two robbers.离家几个街区外，他被两个劫匪拦住搭话。" Give us your money," one said, pulling a gun.“把你的钱给我，”一个劫匪说着，一边掏出了枪。Frightened, Charlie threw down his wallet and began to run.查理吓坏了，把钱包扔远就开始逃跑。He ran through the streets, and kept running until he reached the steps of a relative's house, where he collapsed on the porch.他沿街跑着，一直跑，直到他跑到了一个亲戚家房子的台阶旁，倒在了门廊上。Heart attack.心脏病发作。He died that night.那天晚上他死了。Morrie was called to identify the body.莫瑞接到电话去辨认尸体。He flew to New York and went to the morgue.他飞到纽约去到了停尸间。He was taken down-stairs, to the cold room where the corpses were kept.他被带领着走下楼体，走向存放尸体的冰冷房间。" Is this your father?" the attendant asked.“这是你的父亲吗？”看护问道。Morrie looked at the body behind the glass, the body of the man who had scolded him and molded him and taught him to work, who had been quiet when Morrie wanted him to speak, who had told Morrie to swallow his memories of his mother when he wanted to share them with the world.莫瑞看着玻璃后面的遗体，那个曾责骂他，塑造他，教他去工作，那个在莫瑞希望他说话时却沉默，那个在莫瑞想要跟全世界分享时却告诉他要吞下关于母亲所有记忆的男人的遗体。He nodded and he walked away.莫瑞点了点头转身走了。The horror of the room, he would later say, sucked all other functions out of him.那个房间的恐怖，莫瑞后来说，几乎吸干了他全身的运转机能。He did not cry until days later.直到数天之后他才哭了出来。Still, his father's death helped prepare Morrie for his own.虽然如此，父亲的死亡也还是帮助莫瑞做好了迎接自己死亡的准备。This much he knew: there would be lots of holding and kissing and talking and laughter and no good-byes left unsaid, all the things he missed with his father and his mother.他至少知道这么多：他的死亡要有很多很多的拥抱，亲吻，交谈，笑声而且不会留下没说的告别，所有这些他与父母错过的告别。When the final moment came, Morrie wanted his loved ones around him, knowing what was happening.当最后一刻来临的时候，莫瑞希望他的亲人围绕身边，知晓发生了什么。No one would get a phone call, or a telegram, or have to look through a glass window in some cold and foreign basement.不会有人接到报丧的电话，或者电报，或者得向一堵冰冷陌生地下室的玻璃墙看过去。In the South American rainforest, there is a tribe called the Desana, who see the world as a fixed quantity of energy that flows between all creatures.在南美洲的热带雨林里，有一个叫做德萨那的部落，他们将整个世界看作在所有生物之间流动的总体恒定的能量。Every birth must therefore engender a death, and every death bring forth another birth.每一个出生必定相应引发死亡，而每一次死亡也会催生出另一个出生。This way, the energy of the world remains complete.如此，世界上的能量就会保持完整。When they hunt for food, the Desana know that the animals they kill will leave a hole in the spiritual well.在他们猎取食物的时候，德萨那人知道那些他们杀死的动物会在灵魂之井里留下空洞。But that hole will be filled, they believe, by the souls of the Desana hunters when they die.但是他们相信，这个空洞会被填满，在德萨那的猎人们死亡的时候会被他们的灵魂填上。Were there no men dying, there would be no birds or fish being born.如果没有人类死亡，也就不会有鸟或者鱼新生。I like this idea.我很喜欢这个说法。Morrie likes it, too.莫瑞也很喜欢。The closer he gets to good-bye, the more he seems to feel we are all creatures in the same forest.越是接近于说再见的时刻，他越是感到我们都是生活在同一片森林的生物。What we take, we must replenish.我们拿走的东西，也必定要补充回来。" It's only fair," he says.“唯有如此，才算公平。”他说。原著：Mitch Albom

The Ninth Tuesday第九个星期二We Talk About How Love Goes On我们聊了聊爱如何继续The leaves had begun to change color, turning the ride through West Newton into a portrait of gold and rust.树叶开始变色，把通往西牛顿的路变成一条金棕色的大道。Back in Detroit, the labor war had stagnated, with each side accusing the other of failing to communicate.说回底特律，伴随着双方互相指责对方的无效沟通，罢工大战陷入停滞。The stories on the TV news were just as depressing.电视新闻上的事情也同样令人沮丧。In rural Kentucky, three men threw pieces of a tombstone off a bridge, smashing the windshield of a passing car, killing a teenage girl who was traveling with her family on a religious pilgrimage.在肯塔基州的某个郊区，三个男人把墓碑碎片扔到了桥下，砸碎了一辆路过汽车的挡风玻璃，砸死了车里的一个少女，而她正在和家人去往朝圣的路上。In California, the O. J. Simpson trial was heading toward a conclusion, and the whole country seemed to be obsessed.在加利福尼亚州，O.J. 辛普森一案的审判正走向结尾，全国上下都对这一案件痴迷了。Even in airports, there were hanging TV sets tuned to CNN so that you could get an O.J. update as you made your way to a gate.甚至在机场，吊顶电视也被设置到CNN电视台以便于你在走出机场大门的那几步都能看到O.J.辛普森案的最新进展。I had tried calling my brother in Spain several times.我试着给我在西班牙的弟弟打了好几次电话。I left messages saying that I really wanted to talk to him, that I had been doing a lot of thinking about us.我给他留言说我真的很想跟他聊聊，因为思考了很多关于我们的事情。A few weeks later, I got back a short message saying everything was okay, but he was sorry, he really didn't feel like talking about being sick.几个星期以后，我收到了一条简短的消息说他一切都好，但是很抱歉他真的感觉不想聊他生病的事情。For my old professor, it was not the talk of being sick but the being sick itself that was sinking him.对于我那老教授来说，倒不是谈论生病这件事让他颓丧，而是生病这件事本身。Since my last visit, a nurse had inserted a catheter into his penis, which drew the urine out through a tube and into a bag that sat at the foot of his chair.在我上次拜访之后，护士给莫瑞的生殖器插了导尿管，把尿液通过一个导管引流到放在莫瑞轮椅脚边的一个袋子里。His legs needed constant tending (he could still feel pain, even though he could not move them, another one of ALS's cruel little ironies), and unless his feet dangled just the right number of inches off the foam pads, it felt as if someone were poking him with a fork.他的腿也需要不断的照料（即便双腿无法动弹，他却仍然能感觉到疼痛，又一个渐冻症残酷的小小嘲讽），并且除非他的腿正确的垂放在泡沫垫旁边刚好那几英寸的位置，否则就会感觉像是有人在拿餐叉戳他一样。In the middle of conversations, Morrie would have to ask visitors to lift his foot and move it just an inch, or to adjust his head so that it fit more easily into the palm of the colored pillows.在谈话中途，莫瑞得时不时请求来访者把他的腿抬起来挪动那刚刚好的一英寸，或者把他的头调整一下使他能更容易嵌进彩色枕头的中心。Can you imagine being unable to move your own head?你能想象连头都无法动弹吗？With each visit, Morrie seemed to be melting into his chair, his spine taking on its shape.每次拜访，莫瑞都似乎在融化进他的椅子里，只剩脊椎支撑着他的身形。Still, every morning he insisted on being lifted from his bed and wheeled to his study, deposited there among his books and papers and the hibiscus plant on the windowsill.不过仍然，每天早上他都坚持要被从床上抬起来然后要被推进书房，要被放在他的书、文件和窗沿上的木槿花之间。In typical fashion, he found something philosophical in this.以一贯的方式，他从中发现了一些有哲学意味的事情。" I sum it up in my newest aphorism," he said.“我总结成了我最新的格言警句，”他说Let me hear it.说来听听。" When you're in bed, you're dead."“当你卧床的时候，你就死了。”He smiled.他笑了。Only Morrie could smile at something like that.也只有莫瑞能对这种事情笑得出来。He had been getting calls from the "Nightline" people and from Ted Koppel himself.他一直接到来自“晚间热线”节目组那边的人的电话以及主持人泰德•科佩尔本人的电话。" They want to come and do another show with me," he said.“他们想过来和我再做一期节目，”莫瑞说。" But they say they want to wait."“但是他们又说想先等等。”Until what? You're on your last breath?等到什么时候？等到你只剩最后一口气吗？" Maybe. Anyhow, I'm not so far away."“可能吧。不管怎么样，我离只剩最后一口气也不远了。”Don't say that.别这么说。" I'm sorry."“抱歉。”That bugs me, that they want to wait until you wither.节目组要等着直到你衰弱下去，这让我很心烦。" It bugs you because you look out for me."“这会让你心烦是因为你关心我。”He smiled.他微笑着。" Mitch, maybe they are using me for a little drama. That's okay. Maybe I'm using them, too. They help me get my message to millions of people. I couldn't do that without them, right? So it's a compromise."“米契，或许他们为了一点戏剧性在利用我。但没有关系。或许我也在利用他们。他们帮助我向千百万人传达了我的信息。没有他们我也做不到这点，不是吗？所以这是双方的相互妥协。”He coughed, which turned into a long-drawn-out gargle, ending with another glob into a crushed tissue.他咳嗽起来，然后长长的漱口，最终吐了一口在破烂的纸巾里。" Anyhow," Morrie said, "I told them they better not wait too long, because my voice won't be there. Once this thing hits my lungs, talking may become impossible. I can't speak for too long without needing a rest now. I have already canceled a lot of the people who want to see me. Mitch, there are so many. But I'm too fatigued. If I can't give them the right attention, I can't help them."“不管怎样，”莫瑞接着说，“我告诉他们最好不要等太久，因为太久之后我可能发不出声音了。一旦这个疾病袭击了我的肺，可能连讲话都不可能了。现在如果没有休息我也不能说话太久。我已经和很多想见我的人取消了约定。米契，太多人想见我了。可是我太疲惫了。如果我不能给这些人应有的关注，那我也帮不了他们。”I looked at the tape recorder, feeling guilty, as if l were stealing what was left of his precious speaking time.我看着录音机，感到很愧疚，好像我在偷走他仅剩的宝贵的能够说话的时间。" Should we skip it? I asked.“要不我们今天的会面就跳过吧？”我询问。" Will it make you too tired?"“这会不会让你太累了？”Morrie shut his eyes and shook his head.莫瑞闭上了眼睛摇了摇头。He seemed to be waiting for some silent pain to pass.他似乎是在等待无声的疼痛过去。" No," he finally said.“不用取消，”他最终说道。" You and I have to go on."“我和你还是得继续。”" This is our last thesis together, you know."“这是我们在一起做的最后一个论文了，你明白的。”Our last thesis.我们最后一个论文。" We want to get it right."“我们希望能把这篇论文做好。”I thought about our first thesis together, in college.我想起了在大学里我们一起做的第一篇论文。It was Morrie's idea, of course.当然那次主要也是莫瑞的想法。He told me I was good enough to write an honors project —— something I had never considered.他告诉我我已经足够好可以去写荣誉论文了——一件我从来没考虑过的事。Now here we were, doing the same thing once more.而现在我们在这里再一次做着相同的事。Starting with an idea.从一个想法开始做起。Dying man talks to living man, tells him what he should know.濒死之人对话生存之人，告诉他一些他应该知道的东西。This time, I was in less of a hurry to finish.只不过这次，我并不急着完成。" Someone asked me an interesting question yesterday," Morrie said now, looking over my shoulder at the wallhanging behind me, a quilt of hopeful messages that friends had stitched for him on his seventieth birthday.“昨天有个人问我了一个有意思的问题，”莫瑞现在说着话，一边越过我的肩膀看着我身后的壁挂毯，那是在他70岁生日时一个朋友缝的写满祝福消息的毯子。Each patch on the quilt had a different message: STAY THE COURSE, THE BEST IS YET TO BE, MORRIE —— ALWAYS NO. 1 IN MENTAL HEALTH!壁挂毯的每一块都有一个不同的信息：坚持到底，最好的还没来，莫瑞——精神健康领域永远的第一！What was the question? I asked.昨天那人的问题是什么？我问道。" If I worried about being forgotten after I died?"“我是否担忧死后被忘记？”Well? Do you?那么，你会担忧吗？" I don't think I will be. l've got so many people who have been involved with me in close, intimate ways. And love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone."“不会。已经有这么多人曾和我有密切关联。而且爱是你如何保持生生不息，即便你已经离开人世。”Sounds like a song lyric —— "love is how you stay alive."听起来像一首歌的歌词——“爱是你如何生生不息”Morrie chuckled.莫瑞低声笑了。"Maybe. But, Mitch, all this talk that we're doing? Do you ever hear my voice sometimes when you're back home? When you're all alone? Maybe on the plane? Maybe in your car?"“或许吧。不过米契，所有这些我们正在进行的谈话，当你回家的时候有没有偶尔听到我的声音？在你独自一人的时候？或者在飞机上？或者在你的车里？”Yes, I admitted.是的，会听到，我承认。" Then you will not forget me after I'm gone. Think of my voice and I'll be there."“那么在我死后你一定不会忘记我。想到我的声音我即在场。”Think of your voice.想起你的声音。" And if you want to cry a little, it's okay."“而且假如你还有点想哭，也没啥问题。”Morrie. He had wanted to make me cry since I was a freshman.莫瑞。在我还是大一新生的时候他就希望把我弄哭。" One of these days, I'm gonna get to you," he would say.“总有一天，我会成功让你哭泣的，”他会这么说。Yeah, yeah, I would answer.行吧，行吧，你会，我会这样回答。" I decided what I wanted on my tombstone," he said.“我决定好了想在我的墓碑上写什么，”他说。I don't want to hear about tombstones.我不想听到关于墓碑的事情。" Why? They make you nervous?"“为什么？墓碑会让你紧张吗？”I shrugged.我耸了耸肩。" We can forget it."“那我们就不聊这事了。”No, go ahead. What did you decide?不，还是聊吧。你决定好写什么了？Morrie popped his lips.莫瑞啧的抿了一下嘴唇。"I was thinking of this: A Teacher to the Last."“我在想的是这句话：一日为师，终生为师。”He waited while I absorbed it.他等待着我消化这些信息。A Teacher to the Last.一日为师，终生为师。" Good?" he said.“这句好吗？”他说。Yes, I said. Very good.是的，我回答。非常好。原著：Mitch Albom

The Eighth Tuesday第八个星期二We Talk About Money我们聊了聊金钱I held up the newspaper so that Morrie could see it:我举起报纸以便于莫瑞能够阅读：I DON'T WANT MY TOMBSTONE TO READ " I NEVER OWNED A NETWORK."我不希望我的墓碑上读起来会写着“我从未拥有过广播电视网”Morrie laughed, then shook his head.莫瑞笑了，然后摇了摇头。The morning sun was coming through the window behind him, falling on the pink flowers of the hibiscus plant that sat on the sill.清晨的阳光透过窗户照在莫瑞的身后，落在窗台上放着的木槿花盆栽粉色的花朵上。The quote was from Ted Turner, the billionaire media mogul, founder of CNN, who had been lamenting his inability to snatch up the CBS network in a corporate megadeal.报纸上引用的那句话来自于泰德•特纳，一个亿万巨富的传媒大亨，CNN电视台的创始人，他曾对没能够通过特大交易夺取CBS电视网络而感到万分失望。I had brought the story to Morrie this morning because I wondered if Turner ever found himself in my old professor's position, his breath disappearing, his body turning to stone, his days being crossed off the calendar one by one —— would he really be crying over owning a network?今天早上我把泰德的故事讲给了莫瑞，因为我想知道如果泰德发现自己处在我的老教授如今所处的情景下，呼吸能力逐渐消失，身体逐渐石化，余生一天天的从日历上被划掉——那么他还真的会因为没拥有广播电视网而哭泣吗？" lt's all part of the same problem, Mitch," Morrie said.“这些都是同一个问题的一部分，米契，”莫瑞说道。" We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives. I think we should talk about that."“我们将自身价值寄托于错误的事情上了。那就会引发幻想破灭的生活。我想我们应该聊聊这件事。”Morrie was focused.莫瑞开始集中精神。There were good days and bad days now.现在莫瑞开始时好时坏。He was having a good day.今天他的状态还不错。The night before, he had been entertained by a local acappella group that had come to the house to perform, and he relayed the story excitedly, as if the Ink Spots themselves had dropped by for a visit.前一天晚上，当地的一只阿卡贝拉人声组合来到莫瑞家表演，莫瑞感到非常开心，兴冲冲的转告这个故事给我，仿佛当年有名的墨水点乐队（30, 40年代著名的乐队）亲临拜访了似的。Morrie's love for music was strong even before he got sick, but now it was so intense, it moved him to tears.在生病之前，莫瑞就对音乐有着强烈的喜爱，但是现在这种喜爱因为太过激烈，反而会促使他流泪。He would listen to opera sometimes at night, closing his eyes, riding along with the magnificent voices as they dipped and soared.他有时会在晚上听一会儿歌剧，闭上眼睛，跟随着那宏伟声音的起落而心绪起伏。" You should have heard this group last night, Mitch. Such a sound!"“你也应该听一下昨晚那个组合的演唱，米契。多么棒的声音！”Morrie had always been taken with simple pleasures, singing, laughing, dancing.莫瑞总是会被一些简单的快乐吸引，诸如歌声，笑声，舞蹈。Now, more than ever, material things held little or no significance.现在，超出以前任何时候，物质的东西几乎很少有甚至没有了任何意义。When people die, you always hear the expression "You can't take it with you."当人们死亡的时候，你经常会听到这样的表达“生不带来，死不带去。”Morrie seemed to know that a long time ago.莫瑞似乎很早之前就懂得了这个道理。" We've got a form of brainwashing going on in our country," Morrie sighed.“在这个国家，在我们身上正发生着某种形式的洗脑，”莫瑞叹息道。" Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that's what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it —— and have it repeated to us —— over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this, he has no perspective on what's really important anymore."“你知道他们怎么给人们洗脑吗？他们一遍又一遍没完没了重复某件事情。这就是我们这个国家做的事情。拥有物质是好的。更多钱是好的。更多财产是好的。更多商业主义是好的。多就是好。多就是好。我们不断重复着——并且是在对自己重复——一遍又一遍直到没有人愿意费心去思考别的事情。普通人被所有这一切如此蒙蔽，以至于他们再也不会对什么是真正重要的事情有任何自己的看法。”" Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble up a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. 'Guess what I got? Guess what l got?'"“不管我走到哪，我都会遇到想要迫不及待拥有最新东西的人们。迫不及待地买新款车。迫不及待地买一块新房产。迫不及待地买新玩具。然后他们还想要迫不及待地告诉你。‘猜猜我有了什么？猜猜我有了什么？’”" You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship."“你知道我一直是怎么解读这种现象的吗？这都是人们太过渴望爱所以在接受爱的替代品。他们拥抱物质主义以期待得到某种形式的回应。但这样从来都不奏效。你不可能用物质代替真正的爱，关心，柔情或者仅仅是某种同胞情谊。”" Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I'm sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have."“钱不是柔情的代替品，权力也不是柔情的代替品。我可以告诉你，像我这样在这里坐着等死的时候，在最需要的时候，钱和权力都不能给你带来那些你在寻找的感受，不论你拥有何等之多的钱和权。”I glanced around Morrie's study.我瞅了一眼莫瑞的书房。It was the same today as it had been the first day I arrived.今天和我来这里的第一天看起来毫无二致。The books held their same places on the shelves.书仍然待在书架上原来的地方。The papers cluttered the same old desk.各种纸质文件依然杂乱地堆在同一张旧桌子上。The outside rooms had not been improved or upgraded.外侧的房间也没有修缮或者翻新。In fact, Morrie really hadn't bought anything new —— except medical equipment ——in a long, long time, maybe years.事实上，莫瑞在很长很长的时间里真的几乎没有买过什么新东西——除了医疗设备——可能有很多年了。The day he learned that he was terminally ill was the day he lost interest in his purchasing power.知晓他得了致命疾病的那天就是他彻底失去追逐物质能力的那天。So the TV was the same old model, the car that Charlotte drove was the same old model, the dishes and the silverware and the towels —— all the same.所以电视是同样的老旧型号，夏洛特开的车是同样的老旧款式，哪怕盘子，银餐具和毛巾——都是以前的同一个。And yet the house had changed so drastically.然而这座房子还是发生了如此剧烈的变化。It had filled with love and teaching and communication.它充满爱，讲授与交流。It had filled with friendship and family and honesty and tears.它充满友情与家人，真诚与泪水。It had filled with colleagues and students and mediation teachers and therapists and nurses and acappella groups.它充满同事与学生，冥想老师与治疗师，护士与阿卡贝拉演唱组合。It had become, in a very real way, a wealthy home, even though Morrie's bank account was rapidly depleting.这座房子，通过一种非常真切的方式，变成了一座富有的房子，即便莫瑞的银行账户正在快速地枯竭。" There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need," Morrie said.“这个国家对于我们想要什么和我们需要什么有种巨大的混淆。”莫瑞说道。" You need food, you want a chocolate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car, you don't need the biggest house."“你需要的是食物，而你想要的是巧克力圣代冰激凌。你得对自己坦诚一点。你并不需要最新的跑车，你也并不需要最大的房子。”" The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction?"“真相就是，你根本无法从这些东西中感到满足。你知道什么能够真的给你满足吗？”What?什么？" Offering others what you have to give."“给予别人你必定要给予的东西”You sound like a Boy Scout.你听起来像个美国童子军。（此处是个小幽默，就是美国童子军训练营经常会有一个挨家挨户卖饼干锻炼孩子独立能力的任务，通常出于“给予别人”的善心大家都会买一点，此处莫瑞说的话和劝说买饼干的话无意间一致了，所以作者开玩笑说莫瑞听起来像个童子军。）" I don't mean money, Mitch. I mean your time. Your concern. Your storytelling. It's not so hard. There's a senior center that opened near here. Dozens of elderly people come there every day. If you're a young man or young woman and you have a skill, you are asked to come and teach it. Say you know computers. You come there and teach them computers. You are very welcome there. And they are very grateful. This is how you start to get respect, by offering something that you have."“我说的不是钱，米契。我是说你的时间。你的关心。你要怎么讲述你的故事。给予这些并没那么难。这里附近开了一个老年活动中心。很多老年人每天都去那里消遣。如果你是一个年轻男性或者女性并且具有某种技能，你就会被邀请去那里教授老年人技能。假设你懂电脑。你去了那里然后教老年人学电脑。你在那会非常受欢迎。并且那里的人们会充满感激。这才是你如何开始获得尊重的方法，通过给予一些你所拥有的东西。”" There are plenty of places to do this. You don't need to have a big talent. There are lonely people in hospitals and shelters who only want some companionship. You play cards with a lonely older man and you find new respect for yourself, because you are needed."“有很多地方都可以做这些。你也不需要有多么出众的才能。医院和庇护所有不少孤独的人们只想要一些陪伴。和孤独的老年人玩一会儿纸牌然后你会发现自己获得了新的尊重，因为你是被需要的。”" Remember what I said about finding a meaningful life? I wrote it down, but now I can recite it: Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."“还记得我说过的关于发现人生意义的那些话吗？我把它写了下来，不过现在我要重新引用：投身于爱他人，投身于服务周边社区，还要投身于创造那些能够给予你目标和意义的事情。”" You notice," he added, grinning, "there's nothing in there about a salary."“你注意到了，”他补充道，一边嘿嘿笑着，“这里面可不关薪水的什么事。”I jotted some of the things Morrie was saying on a yellow pad.我匆匆把一些莫瑞正说着的话记录在一张黄色便签纸上。I did this mostly because I didn't want him to see my eyes, to know what I was thinking, that I had been, for much of my life since graduation, pursuing these very things he had been railing against —— bigger toys, nicer house.我这么做多半是因为不想让莫瑞看到我的眼睛，不想让他知道我在想什么，那就是自从毕业后我我绝大多数的生活就是在追求这些他所斥责的东西——更大的玩具，更好的房子。Because I worked among rich and famous athletes, I convinced myself that my needs were realistic, my greed inconsequential compared to theirs.因为我在很多富有且出名的运动员之中工作，所以我说服自己和他们比起来我的需求很现实，我那点贪婪也微不足道。This was a smokescreen.这无非是个掩耳盗铃的烟雾弹。Morrie made that obvious.莫瑞让这个事实更明显了。" Mitch, if you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone."“米契，如果你试图在最顶端的人们面前显摆，实在大可不必。他们无论如何都会鄙视你。而如果你又试图在最底层的人们面前显摆，也更没有必要。他们只会嫉妒你。身份地位无法带你走向任何地方。唯有一颗开放的心能够让你在任何人之中平等的流动。”He paused, then looked at me.他停下来，看着我。" I'm dying, right?"“我快要死了，对吗？”Yes.是的。" Why do you think it's so important for me to hear other people's problems? Don't I have enough pain and suffering of my own?"“不然你觉得为什么对我来说倾听他人的问题是这么的重要？难道我承受我自己的苦难还不够多吗？”" Of course I do. But giving to other people is what makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I give my time, when I can make someone smile after they were feeling sad, it's as close to healthy as I ever feel."“我当然吃尽了苦头。但为别人付出能够让我感到自己仍然还活着。不是我的车子或者房子。也不是我在镜子里看起来是什么样子。当我付出自己时间的时候，当我可以在别人伤心之后让他们再笑起来的时候，那才是我比以往任何时候都感觉自己最为接近健康的时候。”" Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back."“去做那些发自内心深处的事情吧。当你这么做的时候，你一定不会感到不满足的，你也不会感到嫉妒，你也不会渴望别人的东西。相反，你会被这么做带来的回馈感到应接不暇。”He coughed and reached for the small bell that lay on the chair.他咳嗽着，一边伸手去够那个放在椅子上的小铃铛。He had to poke a few times at it, and I finally picked it up and put it in his hand.他伸手够了几次，最终我还是拿起铃铛放在了莫瑞的手里。" Thank you," he

The Seventh TuesdayWe Talk About the Fear of Aging第七个星期二——我们聊了聊对衰老的恐惧Morrie lost his battle. 莫瑞还是输掉了这场与疾病的战斗。Someone was now wiping his behind.现在得有人来给莫瑞擦屁股了。He faced this with typically brave acceptance. 莫瑞用他经典的勇于接受的态度来面对这件事。No longer able to reach behind him when he used the commode, he informed Connie of his latest limitation.当他使用坐便器时再也没法够到身后的时候，他告知了康妮这个他所受到的最新限制。"Would you be embarrassed to do it for me?"“让你帮我擦屁股你会不会觉得很尴尬呀？”She said no.康妮回答不会。I found it typical that he asked her first.我发现莫瑞主动发问是他非常典型的一贯作风。It took some getting used to, Morrie admitted, because it was, in a way, complete surrender to the disease.可能得花点时间来适应我这么做，莫瑞自己也承认，因为擦不了屁股这件事在某种程度上，意味着对疾病彻底的投降。Themost personal and basic things had now been taken from him —— going to the bathroom, wiping his nose, washing his private parts. 这个最最私人和基本的自理能力现在也被从他身上剥夺了 —— 去上厕所，擦鼻涕，清理私处。With the exception of breathing and swallowing his food, he was dependent on others for nearly everything.除了呼吸和吞咽食物，莫瑞现在几乎做所有的事情都要依赖别人。I asked Morrie how he managed to stay positive through that.我问莫瑞他是如何对这种状态做到仍然保持积极态度的。" Mitch, it's funny," he said. “这事说来有趣，米契，”莫瑞说道。" l'm an independent person, so my inclination was to fight all of this —— being helped from the car, having someone else dress me. “我本来是一个很独立的人，所以我倾向于对抗这一切——从车上下来需要帮助啦，有别人来给我穿衣服啦。”" I felt a little ashamed, because our culture tells us we should be ashamed if we can't wipe our own behind."“我感觉有点羞耻，因为我们的文化告诉我们如果连自己的屁股都擦不了那我们就应该感到羞耻。”But then I figured, Forget what the culture says. 可是后来我发现，去他的文化吧。I have ignored the culture much of my life. 我这辈子可忽略了太多文化的墨守成规了。I am not going to be ashamed. 我再也不要感到羞耻了。What's the big deal?有什么大不了的？" And you know what? The strangest thing."“然后你知道吗？发生了最奇怪的事情。”What's that?什么事情？" I began to enjoy my dependency. Now I enjoy when they turn me over on my side and rub cream on my behind so I don't get sores. Or when they wipe my brow, or they massage my legs. I revel in it. I close my eyes and soak it up. And it seems very familiar to me."“我竟然开始享受依赖别人的感觉了。现在我很享受他们给我侧面翻身然后给我的屁股涂上乳膏避免我得上褥疮。或者是给我擦额头或者给我按摩腿。我乐在其中。我闭上眼睛沉浸其中。并且这种感觉非常熟悉似的。”" It's like going back to being a child again. Someone to bathe you. Someone to lift you. Someone to wipe you. We all know how to be a child. It's inside all of us. For me, it's just remembering how to enjoy it."“就像重新又做回了小孩。有人给你洗澡。有人给你抱抱。有人给你擦洗。我们都知道怎么当小孩。我们所有人都会当小孩。于我而言，这一切只是又让我记起来如何去享受这种当小孩的感觉。”" The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stroked our heads —— none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn in some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of —— unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn't get enough."“实话说，当我们的妈妈抱着我们，轻轻摇晃我们，轻抚我们头的时候——我们永远也感觉不到够。某种程度上说我们都渴望重回那些我们完全被别人照顾的日子——那种无条件的爱和无条件的关心。我们多数人对这些永远也不会嫌够。”" I know I didn't."“我知道反正我是不会嫌够。”I looked at Morrie and I suddenly knew why he so enjoyed my leaning over and adjusting his microphone, or fussing with the pillows, or wiping his eyes. 我看着莫瑞然后突然知道了为什么他那么喜欢我靠近去调整他的麦克风，或者给他摆弄枕头啦给他擦擦眼睛啦。Human touch. 这是人的触摸。At seventy-eight, he was giving as an adult and taking as a child.在78岁高龄，他已然成年却被当作孩童对待。Later that day, we talked about aging. 那天稍晚些，我们说起了衰老。Or maybe I should say the fear of aging ——another of the issues on my what's-bugging-my-generation list. 更准确的说应该是对衰老的恐惧——在我“困扰我们这代人的清单列表”上的另一个问题。On my ride from the Boston airport, I had counted the billboards that featured young and beautiful people. 在从波士顿机场开车来的路上，我数了数印着年轻美丽模特的广告牌。Therewas a handsome young man in a cowboy hat, smoking a cigarette, two beautiful young women smiling over a shampoo bottle, a sultry-looking teenager with her jeans unsnapped, and a sexy woman in a black velvet dress, next to a man in a tuxedo, the two of them snuggling a glass of scotch.有帅气年轻小伙子戴着牛仔帽，抽着烟，有两个年轻美女对着洗发水瓶子微笑，有性感的青少年牛仔裤没扣紧，也有穿着黑色丝绒裙的性感美女，站在穿着燕尾服的男士旁，两人和一杯威士忌依偎在一起。Not once did I see anyone who would pass for over thirty-five. 就没有一次有看到有一个模特超过35岁。I told Morrie I was already feeling over the hill, much as I tried desperately to stay on top of it. 我告诉莫瑞感觉自己已然过了巅峰期，也更加绝望的想要保持住那种巅峰状态。I worked out constantly. 我一直在保持锻炼。Watched what I ate. 注意我的饮食。Checked my hairline in the mirror. 对着镜子检查我的发际线。I had gone from being proud to say my age —— because of all I had done so young —— to not bringing it up, for fear I was getting too close to forty and, therefore, professional oblivion.我已经从骄傲的说出我的年龄——基于我如此年轻就有所作为——到了再也不提年龄这茬，因为担心我已经快要步入40岁，因此，开始有意忽略。Morrie had aging in better perspective.而莫瑞对于衰老有着更好的解读视角。" All this emphasis on youth —— I don't buy it," he said.“所有这些关于青春的刻意强调——我是不信的，”他说。" Listen, I know what a misery being young can be, so don't tell me it's so great. All these kids who came to me with their struggles, their strife, their feeling of inadequacy,theirsense that life was miserable, so bad they wanted to kill themselves . . ."“听着，我太知道作为一个年轻人可能会有多么痛苦了，所以不要告诉我青春是多么的伟大。有太多找到我的孩子带着他们的挣扎，他们的冲突，他们的匮乏感，他们感到人生是如此悲哀，这些痛苦的感觉太过强烈至于他们会想自杀。。。”" And, in addition to all the miseries, the young are not wise. They have very little understanding about life. Who wants to live every day when you don't know that's going on? When people are manipulating you, telling you to buy this perfume and you'll be beautiful, or this pair of jeans and you'll be sexy —— and you believe them! It's such nonsense."“并且，除了所有这些痛苦，年轻人也并不明智。他们对于生活几乎没什么理解。谁想要在对自己的生活发生了什么一无所知的情况下度过每一天呢？人们会操纵你，告诉你买这个香水你就会很美，或者买这条牛仔裤你就会很性感——并且你会去相信他们！这简直就是胡说八道嘛。”Weren't you ever afraid to grow old, I asked?那你难道从来不害怕变老吗？我问道。" Mitch, I embrace aging."“米契，我张开双手拥抱衰老这件事。”Embrace it?欢迎这件事？" It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."“很简单的道理。随着你变老，你也会习得更多的东西。如果你停留在22岁，你会一直像22岁那样无知。衰老不仅仅是腐朽，懂吗。它也可以是成长。衰老不只是你最终会死这样消极的事情，它也可以是你知道人固有一死并因此而去过更好生活的积极的事情。”Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, "Oh, if l were young again. " You never hear people say, " I wish I were sixty five."是的，我接着说，可是如果衰老这么有价值，为什么人们常说，“哎呀，要是我能再年轻一次就好了。”你从来不听人们会说，“要是我能65岁就好了。”He smiled. 莫瑞笑了起来。" You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can't wait until sixty-five.“你知道这反映出什么吗？不满意的生命。未满足的生命。没有寻找到意义的生命。因为如果你发现了你生命的意义，你是不会想要倒回去重来的。你只会想向前继续。你想看到更多，做更多事情。你会等不及65岁的到来。”" Listen. You should know something. All younger people should know something. If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow."“听着。你应该知道一点。所有的年轻人也应该知道一点。如果你总是与变老抗争，那你会一直不开心，因为无论如何衰老都会发生。”" And Mitch?"“还有米契”He lowered his voice.他放低声音。" The fact is, you are going to die eventually." I nodded.“事实就是，你也终将走向死亡。”我点点头。" It won't matter what you tell yourself." I know.“你对自己说什么其实无关紧要。”我知道。" But hopefully," he said, "not for a long, long time."“当然希望，”他说，“这很长很长时间内都不会发生。”He closed his eyes with a peaceful look, then asked me to adjust the pillows behind his head. 他带着安详的表情闭上了眼睛，然后让我调整一下他脑后的枕头。His body needed constant adjustment to stay comfortable. 他的身体需要不断地调整来保持舒适。It was propped in the chair with white pillows, yellow foam, and blue towels. 他的身体被椅子里的白色枕头，黄色泡沫块和蓝色毛巾支撑着。At a quick glance, it seemed as if Morrie were being packed for shipping.乍一看，莫瑞就像要被打包运走似的。" Thank you," he whispered as I moved the pillows. “谢谢，”在我挪动枕头的时候他一边轻声道谢。No problem, I said.没事，我回答。" Mitch. What are you thinking?"“米契。你在想什么？”I paused before answering. 回答之前我顿了顿。Okay, I said, I'm wondering how you don't envy younger, healthy people.好吧，我说道，我想知道你是怎么做到不去嫉妒那些更年轻健康的人们的。" Oh, I guess I do." He closed his eyes. “哦，我觉得我是嫉妒的。”他闭上眼睛。" I envy them being able to go to the health club, or go for a swim. Or dance. Mostly for dancing. But envy comes to me, I feel it, and then I let it go. Remember what I said about detachment? Let it go. Tell yourself, 'That's envy, l'm going to separate from it now.' And walk away."“我嫉妒他们能去健身房，或者能去游泳。或者去跳舞。主要是嫉妒他们可以跳舞。但是当嫉妒找上我时，我就体验这种情绪，然后就让它过去。还记得我是怎么说分离情绪的吗？让它去吧。告诉你自己。‘那是嫉妒，现在我要和这种情绪分离了。’然后就从这种情绪中离开。”He coughed —— a long, scratchy cough —— and he pushed a tissue to his mouth and spit weakly into it.他咳嗽了起来——那种长长的沙哑的咳嗽——他赶忙扯了一张纸巾捂住嘴虚弱的吐在里面。Sitting there, I felt so much stronger than he, ridiculously so, as if I could lift him and toss him over my shoulder like a sack of flour.在那坐着，我感觉自己比莫瑞强壮太多，毫无来由的这么觉得，仿佛我能把他拎起来像一袋面粉一样甩过肩膀。I was embarrassed by this superiority, because I did not feel superior to him in any other way.我对自己这种优越感感到难为情，因为我并没有在其他任何方面觉得自己比莫瑞优越。How do you keep from envying . . .你是怎样避免嫉妒。。。"What?"“嫉妒什么？”Me?我？He smiled.莫瑞笑了起来。" Mitch, it is impossible for the old not to envy the young. But the issue is to accept who you are and revel in that. This is your time to be in your thirties. I had my time to be in my thirties, and now is my time to be seventy-eight."“米契。老年人不嫉妒年轻人是不可能的。但问题在于去接纳你自己并乐于其中。现在是你正当30年华的时候。我也有过我自己正当30年华的时候，而现在是我正当78年华的时候。”" You have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue."“你得在当下去发现生活中美好，真实和美丽的事情。总回望过去会让你变得好胜。而年龄，并不是一个可以竞赛的问题。”He exhaled and lowered his eyes, as if to watch his breath scatter into the air.他呼了一口气垂下眼睛，仿佛是在看着他的呼吸消散在空气里。" The truth is, part of me is every age. l'm a three-year-old, I'm a five-year-old, I'm a thirty-seven-year-old.I'm a fifty-year-old. l've been through all of them, and I know what it's like. I delight in being a child when it's appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it's appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own. Do you understand?"“事实是，有一部分的我可以是任何年龄。我可以是3岁，我可以是5岁，我可以是37岁。我也可以50岁。我已经走过了所有这些年龄，而且我知道它们是什么样的。适合当小孩的时候我乐于去做一个小孩。适合当一个睿智老人的时候我乐于去当一个睿智老人。想想我可以成为的这一切！我可以是任何年龄，这完全取决于我自己。你明白吗？”I nodded.我点了点头。" How 

The Professor, Part Two (30)关于教授（下）I used to tease Morrie that he was stuck in the sixties.我以前常常会开玩笑说莫瑞整个人都停留在了60年代。He would answer that the sixties weren't so bad, compared to the times we lived in now.他就会回应说相较于我们现在生活的时代，60年代可是很美好的。He came to Brandeis after his work in the mental health field, just before the sixties began.就在60年代即将拉开序幕的前夜，莫瑞结束精神疾病领域的工作之后来到了布兰迪斯大学。Within a few years, the campus became a hotbed for cultural revolution. 就在短短几年之内，校园变成了文化革命的温床。Drugs, sex, race, Vietnam protests. 毒品泛滥，性解放，种族问题，反越战。Abbie Hoffman attended Brandeis. 艾比·霍夫曼进入了布兰迪斯大学学习。So did Jerry Rubin and Angela Davis.杰里·鲁宾和安吉拉·戴维斯也进入了布兰迪斯大学学习。Morrie had many of the "radical" students in his classes.莫瑞在他的课堂上有过不少堪称“激进分子”的学生。That was partly because, instead of simply teaching, the sociology faculty got involved. 其中有一部分的原因是布兰迪斯整个社会学系的教职工不仅仅只是埋头教学，而是实际参与进了这场文化改革运动中。It was fiercely antiwar, for example. 以激烈的反战行动为例。When the professors learned that students who did not maintain a certain grade point average could lose their deferments and be drafted, they decided not to give any grades.当社会学系的教授们了解到那些学习成绩平均绩点没有达到一定水平的学生会失去他们推迟服兵役的资格而立刻被征召入伍的时候，他们决定不给学生判成绩。When the administration said, "If you don't give these students grades, they will all fail, "Morrie had a solution: "Let's give them all A's."当学校的行政管理者威胁说，“如果你们不给学生判成绩，那他们就全部都算作挂科，”的时候，莫瑞又想出了解决方案：“那我们就给所有学生都打A。”And they did.而且他们也确实这么做了。Just as the sixties opened up the campus, it also opened up the staff in Morrie's department, from the jeans and sandals they now wore when working to their view of the classroom as a living, breathing place.就在轰轰烈烈的60年代解放了校园之时，它也同时解放了莫瑞部门的同事们，从现在才开始会在工作时穿的牛仔裤和凉鞋这种着装解放到开始将课堂视为一种生活、呼吸之地的观念的解放。They chose discussions over lectures, experience over theory.他们选择用讨论教学代替讲课灌输，提倡在经验中学习而不是只学习理论知识。They sent students to the Deep South for civil rights projects and to the inner city for fieldwork. 他们会送学生深入美国南方参与民权运动，会让学生深入城市内部去进行田野调查。They went to Washington for protest marches, and Morrie often rode the busses with his students.学生们会到首都华盛顿去参加抗议游行，而莫瑞则常常会陪同学生一起乘公交车。On one trip, he watched with gentle amusement as women in flowing skirts and love beads put flowers in soldiers' guns, then sat on the lawn, holding hands, trying to levitate the Pentagon.在一次旅途中，他带着温和的幽默态度看着一群穿着翩翩衣裙，戴着念珠项链的女士们将花朵插进士兵们的枪口中，然后坐在草坪上，手拉着手，试图用精神意念让五角大楼漂浮起来。"They did not move it," he later recalled, "but it was a nice try."“他们确实没能让楼动起来，”莫瑞事后回忆说，“但至少是挺不错的一种尝试。”One time, a group of black students took over Ford Hall on the Brandeis campus, draping it in a banner that read MALCOLM X UNIVERSITY. 有一次，一群黑人学生占领了布兰迪斯大学的福德大楼，用写着“马尔科姆X大学”的巨幅标语挂在大楼上。（意思就是要把布兰迪斯大学重新命名为马尔科姆X大学，大家百度一下这个名字就明白为什么，MALCOLM X 是当时著名的黑人民权运动领袖之一）Ford Hall had chemistry labs, and some administration officials worried that these radicals were making bombs in the basement.福德大楼里有化学实验室，一些学校的行政管理官员担心楼里的这些激进分子会在地下室里制造炸弹。Morrie knew better. 但莫瑞看得更明白。He saw right to the core of the problem, which was human beings wanting to feel that they mattered.他直接看到了问题核心，那就是所有人都希望被当回事。The standoff lasted for weeks. 占领运动僵持不下了几个星期之久。And it might have gone on even longer if Morrie hadn't been walking by the building when one of the protesters recognized him as a favorite teacher and yelled for him to come in through the window.如果不是当时其中一个抗议者在莫瑞路过大楼的时候认出这是他最喜欢的老师并且出声喊住了他并邀请莫瑞翻窗户进入大楼的话，这场抗议恐怕会持续更久。An hour later, Morrie crawled out through the window with a list of what the protesters wanted. 一个小时以后，莫瑞又从窗户里爬出来，并带来一份写满了抗议者诉求的清单。He took the list to the university president, and the situation was diffused.他将清单带给了学校校长，自此抗议的紧张形势也就解除了。Morrie always made good peace.莫瑞总是能够带来和解。At Brandeis, he taught classes about social psychology, mental illness and health, group process. 在布兰迪斯大学，莫瑞教授社会心理学，精神疾病和健康以及群体治疗方法。They were light on what you'd now call "career skills" and heavy on "personal development."他们不注重那些你现在称作“事业发展技巧”的内容而是着重于培养“个人发展能力”。And because of this, business and law students today might look at Morrie as foolishly naive about his contributions.而且就因为这点，那些学商科、学法律的学生如今可能会把莫瑞的教学贡献看作一种愚蠢的天真。How much money did his students go on to make? 莫瑞的学生能赚几个钱呀？How many big-time cases did they win?莫瑞的学生能打赢几个官司呀？Then again, how many business or law students ever visit their old professors once they leave? 但话说回来，一旦离开校园又有几个商科学生或者法律学生会回来看望曾经的老教授呢？Morrie's students did that all the time. 莫瑞的学生可是一直都会回来看他。And in his final months, they came back to him, hundreds of them, from Boston, New York, California, London, and Switzerland; from corporate offices and inner city school programs. 在莫瑞生命的最后几个月里，他的学生们，数以百计，有从波士顿来的，有从纽约来的，从加利福尼亚，从伦敦，甚至从瑞士赶回来，从公司的办公室里回来，从城市内部的学校项目中赶回来。They called. They wrote. They drove hundreds of miles for a visit, a word, a smile.他们络绎不绝地打来电话。他们开车几百里路就为了回来见一面，说句话，送出一个微笑。" I've never had another teacher like you," they all said.“后来我再也没有遇见过像你一样的老师，”这是他们都会说的一句话。As my visits with Morrie go on, I begin to read about death, how different cultures view the final passage.随着我对莫瑞拜访的继续，我开始阅读一些关于死亡的书籍，了解那些不同文化是如何看待死亡这一人生最终篇章的。There is a tribe in the North American Arctic, for example, who believe that all things on earth have a soul that exists in a miniature form of the body that holds it—so that a deer has a tiny deer inside it, and a man has a tiny man inside him. 例如，在北美大陆北极圈以内有这样一个部落，他们相信地球上的世间万物都有以迷你形式存在于其外部躯体之中的灵魂，好比一头鹿在其躯体之中拥有一个迷你版的鹿灵，那么人在躯体之中也存在迷你版的他自己。When the large being dies, that tiny form lives on.  当外部躯体死亡的时候，那个迷你版的存在会继续活下去。It can slide into something being born nearby, or it can go to a temporary resting place in the sky, in the belly of a great feminine spirit, where it waits until the moon can send it back to earth.这个迷你存在会飘荡到附近任何新生事物之中，或者他们会暂时的栖居于天空的某处，或者去到美丽雌性的腹中，然后他们会等待着月亮将它们重新送返尘世。Sometimes, they say, the moon is so busy with the new souls of the world that it disappears from the sky.  部落的人们说，有时候世界上等待月亮送的新灵魂实在太多月亮都忙不过来了，就会从天空中消失。That is why we have moonless nights. 这就是为什么我们会有几天天上见不到月亮。But in the end, the moon always returns, as do we all.但最终，月亮一定会重返人间，就像我们所有人一样。That is what they believe.那里的人们笃信如此。原著：Mitch Albom多啰嗦几句重要的话——我犹豫了好久该怎么去向我的听众们展示这篇故事的同时又不会给你们造成某种潜在的导向和鼓励。要避免什么潜在的导向和鼓励呢？就是这篇故事中提到的美国上个世纪60年代的种种民权运动，在这篇故事里都统一囊括进一个词组“cultural revolution”。任何高中毕业的人看到这两个单词应该都会下意识地把这组词翻译成“文化革命”。当我看到这两个词出现的时候，暗暗心惊。你们知道这个词在这里意味着什么，某种禁忌。如果有心之人丝毫不加以区别的把这篇故事中的这组词和我国历史上某一特殊时期联系在一起，从而引起无限遐想连篇和某种狂热想法的话，我在这里必须澄清：请收起狂人之思，只在这篇故事的范围内用故事所指的内容来理解这组词，任何对这组词意范畴的扩大和发散都毫无必要，请勿与中国历史混为一谈，完全不是一回事，所以也无需借此发挥胸中块垒或者抒发个人的政治立场。这是一个美国作家通过采访生活在当时见证过这个历史时期的老师然后在书中转而描写给读者看的关于美国60年代种种如火如荼的社会运动的历史场景，也是一种出自个人观察角度的主观性的个人历史书写，你可以相信这是发生在莫瑞这个人身上的历史，但你不能全信这是客观的社会史实，我们并非美国历史那个年代的参与者，所以不要把自己强行代入进去。从作者以及书中提到的主人公莫瑞这类开明左派知识分子所持有的政治立场出发，你可以感觉到这篇故事对于美国60年代的社会运动抱有支持甚至非常推崇的态度。对于60年代的美国民权解放运动到底如何评价，好或不好，大家去看看专业历史评论，对于这场运动的批评亦或赞扬其实也基本都有盖棺定论，无非是屁股坐在不同的椅子上，必然就有各种维护自身立场的褒扬或贬损，80年后的今人实在没有必要多做发挥。所以作为一个看书的人，不要偏听偏信，被这篇故事中的溢美之词所迷惑进而把别人的主张塞进自己的头脑，站进本不需要你站的立场和圈子，给生活增添没必要的思想上的烦恼。以看热闹的心态来看待这篇故事描写的莫瑞的经历就足够。回到当下的现实生活中，我相信大部分人在内心深处对于自己支持的和否定的其实都有很清晰的判断力，不会被轻易混淆和误导，对吗？

The Professor, Part Two (29)关于教授（下）The Morrie I knew, the Morrie so many others knew, would not have been the man he was without the years he spent working at a mental hospital just outside Washington, D.C., a place with the deceptively peaceful name of Chestnut Lodge.我所认识的那个莫瑞，也是诸多其他人所认识的莫瑞，如果没有那段在华盛顿郊区一所精神病院数年的工作经历就不会成为他现在所成为的那个人，而那所精神病院还有一个极具迷惑性的安宁美称叫做栗树疗养院。It was one of Morrie's first jobs after plowing through a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.那是莫瑞在芝加哥大学苦苦耕耘数年获得了硕士和博士学位之后的第一份工作之一。Having rejected medicine, law, and business, Morrie had decided the research world would be a place where he could contribute without exploiting others.在拒绝医药，法律以及商科等等学科后，莫瑞决定他的研究领域一定要是一个无需剥削他人劳动力而能够有所贡献的领域。Morrie was given a grant to observe mental patients and record their treatments.莫瑞获准去观察精神病人并记录他们的治疗方案。While the idea seems common today, it was groundbreaking in the early fifties.尽管在今天这是一个司空见惯的方式，但在上个世纪50年代早期的时候这可是一种开创性的方法。Morrie saw patients who would scream all day.莫瑞见到过会尖叫一整天的病人。Patients who would cry all night.见到过会整夜哭泣的病人。Patients soiling their underwear.见到过尿裤子的病人。Patients refusing to eat, having to be held down, medicated, fed intravenously.见到过拒绝进食，必须要绑起来打镇静剂用静脉注射营养剂维生的病人。One of the patients, a middle-aged woman, came out of her room every day and lay facedown on the tile floor, stayed there for hours, as doctors and nurses stepped around her.有一个病人，是一个中年女士，每天从她的房间里走出来，脸朝下躺在瓷砖地面上，一动不动的呆上几个小时，医生和护士们就那样在她周围经过。Morrie watched in horror.莫瑞恐惧地看着这一切。He took notes, which is what he was there to do.他记下很多笔记，这也是他来这里的目的。Every day, she did the same thing: came out in the morning, lay on the floor, stayed there until the evening, talking to no one, ignored by everyone.每天那位中年女士都做着一样的事情：早上从房间里出来，躺在地板上，一动不动直到夜晚，不和任何人讲一句话，也被所有人所无视。It saddened Morrie.这让莫瑞发自内心同情她。He began to sit on the floor with her, even lay down alongside her, trying to draw her out of her misery.他开始陪着那个女士一起坐在地板上，甚至一起躺在她身边，努力想要把她从自己的痛苦中拽出来。Eventually, he got her to sit up, and even to return to her room.最终，莫瑞成功地让那个女士坐起来了，甚至起身走回了她的房间。What she mostly wanted, he learned, was the same thing many people want—someone to notice she was there.莫瑞自此认识到，那位女士所渴望的一切不过和所有其他人想要的一样——至少有人能够注意到她在那里存在着。Morrie worked at Chestnut Lodge for five years.莫瑞在栗树疗养院整整工作了五年。Although it wasn't encouraged, he befriended some of the patients, including a woman who joked with him about how lucky she was to be there "because my husband is rich so he can afford it. Can you imagine if I had to be in one of those cheap mental hospitals?"尽管这种行为是不被鼓励的，但是莫瑞还是和一些病人成为了朋友，甚至包括一位女士，和莫瑞开玩笑讲她能进来这个疗养院简直是祖坟冒了青烟，“因为我老公足够有钱才负担得起让我住进这里。你敢想象让我住进一所便宜精神病院会是什么样吗？Another woman—who would spit at everyone else—took to Morrie and called him her friend.还有另外一位女士——一个见了谁就往谁脸上吐口水的人——也愿意亲近莫瑞还称呼他为朋友。They talked each day, and the staff was at least encouraged that someone had gotten through to her.他们每天都会聊一会儿天，终于也算有人能够接近这个病人让院里的职工也挺受鼓舞的。But one day she ran away, and Morrie was asked to help bring her back.可是有一天这个病人逃走了，大家请求莫瑞去把她带回来。They tracked her down in a nearby store, hiding in the back, and when Morrie went in, she burned an angry look at him.人们在附近的一个商店里追踪到这个病人，躲在房间深处，等莫瑞进去以后，她瞬间满脸怒容地看着莫瑞。"So you're one of them, too," she snarled.所以你也跟他们是一伙的，是吧，”她咆哮着。"One of who?"“跟谁们一伙？”"My jailers."“跟这帮囚禁我的狱卒们一伙。”Morrie observed that most of the patients there had been rejected and ignored in their lives, made to feel that they didn't exist.莫瑞观察到多数住在那里的病人都被生活边缘化和忽视，让他们感觉不到自己的存在。They also missed compassion—something the staff ran out of quickly.他们也缺乏生活的热情——这哪怕是院里的职工们也会很快消耗殆尽的东西。And many of these patients were well-off, from rich families, so their wealth did not buy them happiness or contentment.甚至其中不少病人其实生活过得比较优裕，他们来自富裕的家庭，但他们的财富并不能买来幸福和满足。It was a lesson he never forgot.这是让莫瑞永远难忘的一课。原著：Mitch Albom

The Sixth Tuesday第六个星期二We Talk About Emotions我们聊了聊情绪"Ah. You're thinking, Mitch. But detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it."“啊，米契，你在思考了。不过超脱并不意味着你不去充分体验自己的经历。而是相反，你要更充分地去体验。这样才足以让你最终能够离开情绪。”I'm lost.我不明白。"Take any emotion - love for a woman, or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness. If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails.“就拿任何情绪来说——对一个女人的爱，或者对旧爱的缅怀，亦或我现在正在经历的，对来自致命疾病的恐惧和痛苦。如果你隐瞒自己的情绪，如果你不允许自己完全充分的去经历情绪，那你其实永远也不能真正做到超脱，你只顾着畏惧了，你畏惧受伤，你畏惧哀痛，你畏惧真爱所必然包含的脆弱。”"But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'"“但是通过让自己完全沉浸在这些情绪中，通过允许你自己去深入情绪，完完全全的沉浸其中，甚至沉溺到无法自拔，来让你完全充分的体验情绪。由此你才能知道痛苦是什么样的。你才能知道爱是什么样的。你才能知道哀伤是什么样的。到那时你才能说，‘好了，我已经充分体验过情绪了。我能够识别出这些情绪。但是现在我得要从这些情绪里面抽离出来一会儿了。’”Morrie stopped and looked me over, perhaps to make sure I was getting this right.莫瑞停下来看着我，可能是想确信我理解了他说的这段话。"I know you think this is just about dying," he said, "but it's like I keep telling you. When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."“我知道你会觉得我说的这些仅仅是指牵涉生死的那些情绪，”他继续说道，“但就像我一直告诉你的。当你学会了如何死亡，也就学会了如何活着。”Morrie talked about his most fearful moments, when he felt his chest locked in heaving surges or when he wasn't sure where his next breath would come from. These were horrifying times, he said, and his first emotions were horror, fear, anxiety. But once he recognized the feel of those emotions, their texture, their moisture, the shiver down the back, the quick flash of heat that crosses your brain - then he was able to say, "Okay. This is fear. Step away from it. Step away."莫瑞聊起了他最恐惧的时刻，当他感到胸腔剧烈起伏无法平复的时候，或者当他不确定下一口气还喘不喘的上来的时候。‘那真是令人极其恐惧的时刻’，莫瑞说道，而且那时他的第一感受就是惊恐，害怕，紧张。可是一旦他认识到了这些情绪带来的感觉，这些情绪的“质感”，他们的气息，后背脊梁骨上的那股战栗，脑中快速闪过的灼热——然后他终于能够说“好吧，这就是恐惧，现在从这种感觉中离开，离开这种情绪。”I thought about how often this was needed in everyday life.我想着我们的日常生活是多么的需要这样啊。How we feel lonely, sometimes to the point of tears, but we don't let those tears come because we are not supposed to cry.我们是多么的感到孤独以至于到暗自流泪的程度，但是我们却并不哭出来因为我们不被允许哭泣。Or how we feel a surge of love for a partner but we don't say anything because we're frozen with the fear of what those words might do to the relationship.又或者在某个瞬间我们对伴侣是多么的感到一阵突如其来的深爱但是我们却什么也不说因为我们被担心一但说了什么话就会对关系产生影响的恐惧感吓住了。Morrie's approach was exactly the opposite.而莫瑞的方法却截然相反。Turn on the faucet.打开水龙头。Wash yourself with the emotion.让自己尽情地沉浸在流淌的情绪之中。It won't hurt you.这样是不会伤害到你的。It will only help.这只会帮到你。If you let the fear inside, if you pull it on like a familiar shirt, then you can say to yourself, "All right, it's just fear, I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is."如果你能允许内心接纳恐惧，如果你愿意像穿一件常穿的T恤那样感受恐惧，那么接下来你就可以对自己说，“好了，这只是恐惧而已，我不会让它完全控制我了。我已经认识到它的本质了。”Same for loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completely - but eventually be able to say, "All right, that was my moment with loneliness. I'm not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I'm going to put that loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I'm going to experience them as well."对于孤独也是一样的：你彻底放飞自己，让泪水横流，完完全全的去感受这种情绪——但最终要能够对自己说，“好了，那就是我在孤独那一瞬间的感受。我不再害怕感到孤独了，可是现在我得把这种孤独感放在一边，我明白这个世界上还有很多其他的情绪，同样的我也得去体验体验那些情绪了。”"Detach," Morrie said again.“要学会从情绪中超脱出来，”莫瑞再次说道。He closed his eyes, then coughed.他闭上眼，咳嗽了一声。Then he coughed again.接着又咳嗽了一声。Then he coughed again, more loudly.接着他止不住地咳嗽起来，而且咳的声音更大了。Suddenly, he was half - choking, the congestion in his lungs seemingly teasing him, jumping halfway up, then dropping back down, stealing his breath.突然，他被半噎住了，他肺里的瘀血像是在故意捉弄他，半路跳起来再落下去，让莫瑞无法好好的喘气。He was gagging, then hacking violently, and he shook his hands in front of him - with his eyes closed, shaking his hands, he appeared almost possessed - and I felt my forehead break into a sweat.他捂住嘴，然后剧烈的干咳着，伸手向前方晃动着，同时闭上了眼睛，手臂也不住的抖动，他表现的几乎像是被恶魔附身了一样，我顿时感到前额渗出一层汗水。l instinctively pulled him forward and slapped the back of his shoulders, and he pushed a tissue to his mouth and spit out a wad of phlegm.我本能的扶着莫瑞向前倾并且拍打着他的后肩背部帮他顺气，他拉出一张纸巾捂住嘴吐出一团浓痰。The coughing stopped, and Morrie dropped back into the foam pillows and sucked in air.莫瑞终于停止咳嗽了，他向后倒在泡沫枕头上大口地呼吸着空气。"You okay? You all right?" I said, trying to hide my fear.“你还好吗？你没事吧？”我试着掩饰自己的恐惧。"I'm......okay," Morrie whispered, raising a shaky finger.“我...没事，”莫瑞低语着，抬起一根颤抖的手指。"Just......wait a minute."“就...给我几分钟缓缓就好。”We sat there quietly until his breathing returned to normal.然后我们俩就静静地坐在那里直到莫瑞的呼吸恢复正常。I felt the perspiration on my scalp.此时我才感到我全身都是冷汗。He asked me to close the window, the breeze was making him cold.莫瑞要我帮关一下窗户，窗外的微风让他感觉有点冷。I didn't mention that it was eighty degrees outside.我知趣地没有说当时外面的温度有华氏80℃（26摄氏度）。Finally, in a whisper, he said, "I know how I want to die."最后，几乎是低语一般，莫瑞说道，“我知道我想要什么样的死亡。”I waited in silence.我静静地听着。"I want to die serenely. Peacefully. Not like what just happened."“我想要宁静的死亡。安详的。而不是像刚刚那样。”"And this is where detachment comes in. If I die in the middle of a coughing spell like I just had, I need to be able to detach from the horror, I need to say, 'This is my moment.'"“而且这就是需要我能够做到超脱的地方。如果我在像刚刚那样的剧烈咳嗽中死亡，那我真的需要能够从恐惧中超脱出来，我得能够坦然的对自己说，‘好吧，这就是你大限将至的时候了。’”"I don't want to leave the world in a state of fright. I want to know what's happening, accept it, get to a peaceful place, and let go. Do you understand?"“我不想在处于恐惧的状态下离开世界。我想知道发生了什么，并且接受它，然后到达一个平静之地，最终让一切随风。你明白吗？”I nodded.我点点头。Don't let go yet, I added quickly.但不要现在就放弃，好吗，我急忙请求到。Morrie forced a smile. "No. Not yet. We still have work to do."莫瑞勉强地挤出一丝微笑。“不会的，那怎么可能。我们还有很多工作要做呢。”Do you believe in reincarnation? I ask.你相信来世吗？我问莫瑞。"Perhaps."“相信一些吧。”What would you come back as?那你来世的时候想当什么？"If I had my choice, a gazelle."“如果有选择的话，我想当一只羚羊。”A gazelle?羚羊？"Yes. So graceful. So fast."“是啊。羚羊是如此的优雅矫健。跑起来是那么快。”A gazelle?你确定你来世想当一只羚羊？Morrie smiles at me. "You think that's strange?"莫瑞对着我笑起来。“怎么你觉得很奇怪吗？”I study his shrunken frame, the loose clothes, the socks-wrapped feet that rest stiffly on foam rubber cushions, unable to move, like a prisoner in leg irons.我端详着着他完全缩水的身形，宽松的衣服，缩在塑胶泡沫垫子里裹着厚袜子僵硬的腿脚，完全动不了，就像一个被腿困住的监狱里的囚徒。I picture a gazelle racing across the desert.我又在脑海里想象着一只羚羊闪电一般奔跑着穿越荒漠。No, I say. I don't think that's strange at all.不，我回答道，我认为一点也不奇怪。原著：Mitch Albom

The Sixth Tuesday第六个星期二We Talk About Emotions我们聊了聊情绪I walked past the mountain laurels and the Japanese maple, up the bluestone steps of Morrie’s house.我穿过山桂树和日本槭树，登上莫瑞家门前的青石台阶。The white rain gutter hung like a lid over the doorway.白色的排水沟像一个盖子一样从门廊上垂下来。I rang the bell and was greeted not by Connie but by Morrie’s wife, Charlotte, a beautiful gray-haired woman who spoke in a lilting voice.我按响了门铃，但迎来的不是康妮的问候而是莫瑞的妻子，夏洛特，她是一个银发的漂亮女士，说话有着轻快的声音。She was not often at home when I came by - she continued working at MIT, as Morrie wished - and I was surprised this morning to see her.我来拜访的时候她并不是经常在家 - 就如莫瑞所希望的那样，她一直在麻省理工学院工作，所以今天早上见到她让我很惊讶。“Morrie’s having a bit of a hard time today,” she said.“莫瑞今天有点不好过，”她告诉我。She stared over my shoulder for a moment, then moved toward the kitchen.她的目光越过我的肩膀向前方注视了几秒，又很快转向厨房。I'm sorry, I said.很抱歉打扰了，我回答。“No, no, he’ll be happy to see you,” she said quickly. “I’m sure... ”“哪里哪里，他会很高兴见到你的，”她急促的回答。“这个我很肯定......”She stopped in the middle of the sentence, turning her head slightly, listening for something.话说了一半她又停下来，微微转了转头，听着什么声音。Then she continued. “I’m sure . . . he’ll feel better when he knows you’re here.”接着她又继续说。“我很肯定......知道你来了他会感觉好一些的。”I lifted up the bags from the market - my normal food supply, I said jokingly - and she seemed to smile and fret at the same time.我举起超市的袋子 - 我的日常食物供应又来啦，我开玩笑的说着 - 而夏洛特似乎微笑的同时皱了一下眉头。“There’s already so much food. He hasn’t eaten any from last time.”“这里已经有很多食物了。上次的他都没吃。”This took me by surprise.这出乎我的意料。He hasn’t eaten any? I asked.他一点都没吃？我不禁问道。She opened the refrigerator and I saw familiar containers of chicken salad, vermicelli, vegetables, stuffed squash, all things I had brought for Morrie.她打开冰箱，我看到了那个熟悉的装着鸡肉沙拉、意大利面、蔬菜、南瓜填饭的盒子，都是以前我给莫瑞带来的。She opened the freezer and there was even more.她打开了冷冻室，里面还有更多吃的没吃。“Morrie can’t eat most of this food. It’s too hard for him to swallow. He has to eat soft things and liquid drinks now.”“大部分食物莫瑞没法吃。这些对莫瑞来说已经硬得咽不下去了。他现在只能吃软的东西和流食。”But he never said anything, I said.可是他从来没告诉我这些呀，我说道。Charlotte smiled. “He doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.”夏洛特微笑道。“他不想伤害你的感情。”It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings.这不会伤害我的感情的。I just wanted to help in some way.我只是想要在某些方面能多少有所帮助。I mean, I just wanted to bring him something...我意思是，我只是想能够给他带来点什么......“You are bringing him something. He looks forward to your visits. He talks about having to do this project with you, how he has to concentrate and put the time aside. I think it’s giving him a good sense of purpose... ”“你当然有给他带来一些东西。他盼着你的来访。他总会说起跟你一起做记录生命最后一课这件事，以及他得如何如何为此集中精神而暂且把对时间的担心放在一旁。我觉得这给了他一种很好的使命感......”Again, she gave that faraway look, the turning - in - something - from - somewhere - else.又一次，她脸上出现了那种恍惚的神情，那种仿佛从什么地方看向别的什么东西的表情。I knew Morrie’s nights were becoming difficult, that he didn’t sleep through them, and that meant Charlotte often did not sleep through them either.我知道莫瑞的夜晚开始变得难熬了，他没办法彻夜安睡，也同时意味着夏洛特也没法睡上整夜觉。Sometimes Morrie would lie awake coughing for hours - it would take that long to get the phlegm from his throat.有时莫瑞会醒着躺在床上连续咳上几小时——就是需要那么长的时间才能把痰从喉咙里咳出来。There were health care workers now staying through the night and all those visitors during the day, former students, fellow professors, meditation teachers, tramping in and out of the house.现在也有住家医护整夜陪护莫瑞了，白天的时候会有那些来访者们，以前的学生啦，教授同事啦，冥想老师啦，来回出入这间房子。On some days, Morrie had a half a dozen visitors,and they were often there when Charlotte returned from work.有的时候，莫瑞会同时有六七个来访者来看望，夏洛特下班回家的时候他们仍然还在。She handled it with patience, even though all these outsiders were soaking up her precious minutes with Morrie.尽管这些外人把夏洛特能与莫瑞共度的宝贵时间都消耗殆尽，但夏洛特还是很有耐心的接待着这些来访者。“... a sense of purpose,” she continued. “Yes. That’s good, you know.”“... 使命感，”她继续喃喃自语。“是的。有使命感是件好事，你明白的。”“I hope so,” I said.“希望是这样，”我回答到。I helped put the new food inside the refrigerator.我帮忙把新带来的食物放进冰箱。The kitchen counter had all kinds of notes, messages, information, medical instructions.厨房操作台上放着各种备忘录啦，信纸啦，消息啦，药物说明等等的东西。The table held more pill bottles than ever - Selestone for his asthma, Ativan to help him sleep, naproxen for pain - along with a powdered milk mix and laxatives.桌子上放满了前所未有之多的药瓶子 - 治哮喘的赛斯酮，帮助睡眠的劳拉西泮，止痛的萘普生 - 还有混合奶粉以及泻药放在一起。From down the hall, we heard the sound of a door open.从走廊里面，我们听到了门开的声音。“Maybe he’s available now... let me go check.”“估计莫瑞现在可以出来了... 我去看一下。”Charlotte glanced again at my food and I felt suddenly ashamed.夏洛特又无意地看了一眼我带来的食物，我突然感到很羞愧。All these reminders of things Morrie would never enjoy.所有这些东西都像在提示莫瑞有很多东西他再也享受不了了。The small horrors of his illness were growing, and when I finally sat down with Morrie, he was coughing more than usual, a dry, dusty cough that shook his chest and made his head jerk forward.那种发觉他的疾病愈发厉害的恐惧在我心中滋长，最后当我终于和莫瑞一起坐下来时，他比平时咳嗽的更厉害了，那种艰难用力的干咳猛烈的振动着他的胸腔，让他的头也一起猛地向前不停晃动着。After one violent surge, he stopped, closed his eyes, and took a breath.一阵急剧的咳嗽过后，他总算停了下来，闭上眼，喘息着。I sat quietly because I thought he was recovering from his exertion.我安静的坐着，因为我想他得需要一点时间从他刚刚用力咳嗽的劲头中缓过来。“Is the tape on?” he said suddenly, his eyes still closed.“录音机打开了吗？”他突然说道，只是眼睛还闭着。Yes, yes, I quickly said, pressing down the play and record buttons.是的是的，打开了，我赶忙回答，一边按下了开始录音的按钮。“What I’m doing now,” he continued, his eyes still closed, “is detaching myself from the experience.”“我现在在做的事情，”他继续说着，眼睛仍然闭着，“是将自己从刚刚的感受中分离出来。”Detaching yourself?从感受中分离出来？“Yes. Detaching myself. And this is important - not just for someone like me, who is dying, but for someone like you, who is perfectly healthy. Learn to detach.”“是的。把自己从感受中分离出来。而且这是很重要的 - 不止是对于像我这样快死的人，对于你这样完全健康的人也是。要学会把自己从感受中分离出来。”He opened his eyes.他睁开眼睛。He exhaled.他长长的呼出一口气。“You know what the Buddhists say? Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent.”“你知道佛教徒经常说什么吗？不要执着于物，放下我执，因为世间一切都是无法永恒的。”But wait, I said.可是等一下，我说道。Aren’t you always talking about experiencing life? All the good emotions, all the bad ones？您不是经常告诉人们要充分去体验生活吗？体验所有美好的情感，以及所有的不好的情感？“Yes.”“是的没错。”Well, how can you do that if you’re detached?那么，如果你都把自己从感受中分离出去了还怎么充分地体验情感呢？原著：Mitch Albom

The Fifth Tuesday第五个星期二We Talk About Family我们聊了聊家庭Me?我吗？“Your family. I know about your parents. I met them, years ago, at graduation. You have a sister, too, right?"“你的家庭。我知道你父母。很多年前在毕业典礼上我见过他们。你还有个姐妹，对吧？”Yes, I said.是的，我回答。"Older, yes?"“姐姐吗？”Older.是姐姐。"And one brother, right?"“还有一个兄弟，对吧？”I nodded.我只是点点头。"Younger?"“是弟弟？”Younger.是弟弟。"Like me," Morrie said.“你像我一样，”莫瑞说道。"I have a younger brother."“我也有个弟弟。”Like you, I said.确实挺像你，我回答。"He also came to your graduation, didn't he?"“他也参加了你的毕业典礼，不是吗？”I blinked, and in my mind I saw us all there, sixteen years earlier, the hot sun, the blue robes, squintng as we put our arms around each other and posed for Instamatic photos, someone saying, "One, two, three...”我眨了眨眼，在我的脑海里又浮现出了那时我们所有人都在的场景，十六年前，那炎热的太阳，蓝色的学士袍，我们一边眯着眼用胳膊环绕着彼此来为拍立得照片摆好姿势，而拍照的人一边喊着，“一，二，三...”"What is it?" Morrie said, noticing my sudden quiet.“你在想什么？”莫瑞问我，注意到了我突然的安静。"What's on your mind?"“你脑子里在想什么呀？”Nothing, I said, changing the subject.没啥，我答道，转换了话题。The truth is, I do indeed have a brother, a blond-haired, hazel-eyed, two-years-younger brother, who looks so unlike me or my dark-haired sister that we used to tease him by claiming strangers had left him as a baby on our doorstep.真相是这样的，我确实有个弟弟，一个有着一头金发、榛子一般的眼睛，比我小两岁的万人迷弟弟，他看起来跟我和我黑发的姐姐是那么的不像，以至于我们以前老是逗他，宣称他还是个宝宝的时候是被陌生人留在我们家门前台阶上的。"And one day," we'd say, "they're coming back to get you."“而且呀，总有一天，”我们会继续吓唬他，“他们就会回来把你带走哦。”He cried when we said this, but we said it just the same.我们这么说的时候他哭了起来，但我们仍然这么说。He grew up the way many youngest children grow up, pampered, adored, and inwardly tortured.他如同很多家里最小的孩子那样长大，养尊处优，全家溺爱，但也私下吃了不少苦头。He dreamed of being an actor or a singer; he reenacted TV shows at the dinner table, playing every part, his bright smile practically jumping through his lips.他梦想着成为一个演员或者歌手，他会在吃完饭的时候模仿重现电视节目，扮演每一个环节，那明亮的笑容几乎要溢出他的嘴角。I was the good student, he was the bad; I was obedient, he broke the rules; I stayed away from drugs and alcohol, he tried everything you could ingest.我是一个好学生，他则是混世魔王；我总是服从规则，他则打破规则；我远离毒品和酒精，他则会尝试一切他能拿到手的东西。He moved to Europe not long after high school, preferring the more casual lifestyle he found there.高中毕业不久他就移居去了欧洲，因为他发现更喜欢那里那种更随性的生活方式。Yet he remained the family favorite.但他仍然是全家最喜欢的一个孩子。When he visited home, in his wild and funny presence, I often felt stiff and conservative.当他回家拜访的时候，在他狂野又有趣的举止表现中，让我觉得自己又保守又不自然。As different as we were, I reasoned that our fates would shoot in opposite directions once we hit adulthood.鉴于我们如此不同，我理所当然地推测出成年后我们的命运必将会向着截然不同的方向发展。I was right in all ways but one.各个方面我都预测的分毫不差，除了一件事。From the day my uncle died, I believe that I would suffer a similar death, an untimely disease that would take me out.从我叔叔因癌症去世的那天起，我深信我也会承受相同的死亡，会有一种疾病过早的把我带走。So I worked as a feverish pace, and I braced myself for cancer.所以我以过激的节奏工作，并且身体上也为癌症做好了准备。I could feel its breath.我能感受到癌症的气息。I knew it was coming.我知道它要来了。I waited for it the way a condemned man waits for the executioner.我如同一个被判了死刑的人等待刽子手一样等待着癌症。And I was right. It came.而且我说对了。它的确来了。But it missed me.但它却错过了我。It struck my brother.降临到我弟弟身上。The same type of cancer as my uncle.是和我叔叔相同类型的癌症。The pancreas.胰腺癌。A rare form.而且是罕见类型。And so the youngest of our family, with the blond hair and the hazel eyes, had the chemotherapy and the radiation.所以全家最小的孩子，有着一头金发和榛子般的眼睛的孩子，接受了化疗和放射治疗。His hair fell out, his face went gaunt as a skeleton.他的头发全掉光了，他的脸颊干瘦得像个骷髅。It's supposed to be me, I thought.得病的本应该是我呀，我想着。But my brother was not me, and he was not my uncle.但我弟弟不是我，也不是我叔叔。He was a fighter, and had been since his youngest days, when we wrestled in the basement and he actually bit through my shoe until I screamed in pain and let him go.他是一个斗士，而且从他小时候就是，那时我们两个在地下室里摔跤，他会一直咬穿我的鞋子直到我尖叫着喊痛把他放开。And so he fought back.所以他向这场疾病展开了反击。He battled the disease in Spain, where he lived, with the aid of an experimental drug that was not—and still is not—available in the United States.他去了西班牙抗癌，在一种实验性疗法的帮助下在那里生活，而这种疗法不仅那时而且现在在美国仍然是不可采用的。He flew all over Europe for treatments.他为了寻找疗法飞遍了欧洲。After five years of treatment, the drug appeared to chase the cancer into remission.经过五年的治疗，药物似乎将癌症驱逐了不少。That was the good news.真是一个好消息。The bad news was, my brother did not want me around—not me, not anyone in the family.然而坏消息就是，我弟弟并不愿意让我陪伴他左右，不止是我，家里任何一个人都不行。Much as we tried to call and visit, he held us at bay, insisting this fight was something he needed to do by himself.尽管我们尝试打电话、去他家那么多次，他都让我们无功而返，一心坚持这是一场需要他自己来完成的战斗。Months would pass without a word from him.他会几个月都毫无音信。Messages on his answering machine would go without reply.给他电话留言的消息永远没有回音。I was ripped with guilt for what I felt I should be doing for him and fueled with anger for his denying us the right to do it.我既被那种觉得自己应该为弟弟做些什么的愧疚感，也被他连我们为他着想的权利都拒绝的满满的愤怒感而撕裂。So once again, I dove into work.所以再一次，我藏到工作中躲起来。I worked because I could control it.我工作是因为我能掌控工作。I worked because work was sensible and responsive.我工作是因为工作总在情理之中也总有所反馈。And each time I would call my brother's apartment in Spain and get the answering machine—him speaking in Spanish, another sign of how far apart we had drifted—I would hang up and work some more.而且每次我给我弟弟在西班牙的公寓打电话却只是收到他讲着西班牙语的自动应答时——这是又一个他跟我们之间隔阂之深的标志，我就会挂断电话再狠狠地多工作一会儿。Perhaps this is one reason I was drawn to Morrie.也许这就是我如此深受莫瑞吸引的原因之一。He let me be where my brother would not.他愿意让我来到我弟弟不愿意的位置上去照顾他。Looking back, perhaps Morrie knew this all along.回想起来，也许莫瑞一直都明白这个真相。It is a winter in my childhood, on a snow-packed hill in our suburban neighborhood.那是我童年时期的一个冬天，在我们郊外社区一个白雪覆盖的山丘上。My brother and I are on the sled, him on top, me on the bottom.我和弟弟坐在雪橇上，他坐上边，我坐下边。I feel his chin on my shoulder and his feet on the backs of my knees.我感到他的下巴磕在我的肩膀上，他的脚能踢到我膝盖后窝。The sled rumbles on icy patches beneath us.雪橇在我们下方的冰盖上隆隆轰鸣。We pick up speed as we descend the hill.在冲下山坡的时候我们又加了一把油门。"CAR!" someone yells.“有车！”突然旁边有人喊了一声。We see it coming, down the street to our left.我们看见一辆车从我们左边的街道疾驰而来。We scream and try to steer away, but the runners do not move.我们尖叫着试着扭转方向盘，但是雪橇架子无法扭转。The driver slams his horn and hits his brakes, and we do what all kids do: we jump off.司机拼命拍打着他的喇叭疯狂踩着刹车，然后我们做了所有孩子都会做的事：跳了下去。In our hooded parkas, we roll like logs down the cold, wet snow, thinking the next thing to touch us will be the hard rubber of a car tire.我俩穿着带帽子的派克大衣，像两根圆木头柱子一样从冰冷潮湿的雪坡上滚下来，一边想着下一个要触到我们的东西将会是汽车轮胎那坚硬的橡胶了。We are yelling "AHHHHHH” and we are tingling with fear, turning over and over, the world upside down, right side up, upside down.我们“啊——”的尖叫着，充满恐惧，感到浑身刺痛，不停的翻滚着，整个世界都上下颠倒，左右颠倒，再上下颠倒。And then, nothing.接着，一切都静止了。We stop rolling and catch our breath and wipe the dripping snow from our faces.我们总算停止翻滚，能喘口气，擦掉脸上滴滴嗒嗒的雪水。The driver turns down the street, wagging his finger.司机晃了晃手指，在街上转了个弯。We are safe.我们安全了。Our sled has thudded quietly into a snowbank, and our friends are slapping us now, saying"Cool'' and "You could have died.”我们的雪橇静静地撞进了一个大雪堆，朋友一边拍打着我们，一边说着“牛逼！” 或者 “你们差点就死了！”之类的的话。I grin at my brother, and we are united by childish pride.我冲弟弟咧嘴一笑，一种孩子气的骄傲感将我们俩紧紧联结在一起。That wasn't so hard, we think, and we are ready to take, on death again.对抗死亡也没那么难嘛，我们想着，而我们也已经做好准备来对抗，又一次死亡的来临。原著：Mitch Albom

The Fifth Tuesday第五个星期二We Talk About Family我们聊了聊家庭It was the first week in September, back-to-school week, and after thirty-five consecutive autumns, my old professor did not have a class waiting for him on a college campus.那是9月的第一周，也是返校周，在从没间断的35载秋天之后，在大学校园里再也没有任何课程等着我的老教授去上了。Boston was teeming with students, double-parked on side streets, unloading trunks.波士顿挤满了学生，小路上并排停着车，还有很多卸下的行李箱。And here was Morrie in his study.然而莫瑞只能呆在他的书房里。It seemed wrong, like those foot-ball players who finally retire and have to face that first Sunday at home, watching on TV, thinking, I could still do that.这一切像是搞错了，就像那些终于退休在家的橄榄球运动员不得不面对在家的第一个星期日，一边看着电视上的比赛，一边想着，我仍然可以重操旧业的。I have learned from dealing with those players that it is best to leave them alone when their old seasons come around.我从应对那些运动员所学到的经验就是在他们以前赛季快来的时候最好不要去打扰他们。Don't say anything.什么也不要说。But then, I didn't need to remind Morrie of his dwindling time.但话说回来，我并不需要提醒莫瑞他那日渐所剩无几的时光。For our taped conversations, we had switched from handheld microphones because it was too dificult now for Morrie to hold anything that long—to the lavaliere kind popular with TV newspeople.为了录下对话，我们从手持麦克风换到了那种颇受电视新闻工作者欢迎的领夹式麦克风，因为现在对于莫瑞来说用手拿任何长的东西都很困难了。You can clip these onto a collar or lapel.你可以把这种麦克风夹在领子或者西装翻领上。Of course, since Morrie only wore soft cotton shirts that hung loosely on his ever-shrinking frame, the microphone sagged and fopped, and l had to reach over and adjust it frequently.当然，因为莫瑞只穿那种宽松的挂在他那日渐消瘦的身形上的柔软棉衬衫，领夹式麦克风就会垂下来耷拉着，我就得常常伸手过去帮他调整。Morrie seemed to enjoy this because it brought me close to him, in hugging range, and his need for physical affection was stronger than ever.莫瑞看起来很喜欢我的这个动作，因为这会让我靠近他，近到拥抱的距离，他此时对于物理接触的渴望比任何时候都强烈。When I leaned in, I heard his wheezing breath and his weak coughing, and he smacked his lips softly before he swallowed.在我俯身靠近的时候，我能听到他的喘息声和微弱的咳嗽声，他还会在吞咽前轻轻拍打嘴唇。“Well, my friend, ” he said, “what are we talking about today?”“那么，我的老朋友，”他开口道，“今天我们聊点什么呀？”How about family?聊聊家庭怎么样？“Family.” “家庭。”He mulled it over for a moment.他深思了好一会儿。“Well, you see mine, all around me.”“好吧，我的家庭呢，你也都见到了，就在我周围。”He nodded to photos on his bookshelves, of Morrie as a child with his grandmother; Morrie as a young man with his brother, David; Morrie with his wife, Charlotte; Morrie with his two sons, Rob, a journalist in Tokyo, and Jon, a computer expert in Boston.他向着摆放在书架上的照片点了点头，有孩童时期的莫瑞和他祖母的；有青少年时期的莫瑞和他弟弟大卫的；有莫瑞和他妻子夏洛特的；也有莫瑞和他两个儿子，一个是在东京当记者的罗博和另一个在波士顿当电脑专家的乔恩的照片。“I think, in light of what we've been talking about all these weeks, family becomes even more important," he said.“我认为，鉴于我们这几个星期已经谈论到的东西，家庭显得更加重要，”他继续说。“The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family. It's become quite clear to me as I’ve been sick. If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all. Love is so supremely important. As our great poet Auden said, 'Love each other or perish.' "“事实就是，如果不是有家庭，那么世上也就没有所谓基石，没有所谓安全之地能够让人们立足至今。在我生病的时候这一点体现得更加清楚。如果没有从家庭中获得的支持、爱、在意与关心，那你恐怕一无所有。爱是如此极端的重要。就像伟大的诗人奥登说的那样，‘要么彼此相爱要么就此灭亡。’”"Love each other or perish." I wrote it down.“要么彼此相爱要么就此灭亡。”我赶紧记下来。Auden said that?这是奥登说的？"Love each other or perish," Morrie said.“要么彼此相爱要么就此灭亡，”莫瑞说着。"It's good, no? And it's so true. Without love, we are birds with broken wings."“说得很好吧。对不对？而且是如此的正确。没有爱，我们就是折翼的小鸟。”"Say I was divorced, or living alone, or had no children. This disease—what I'm going through—would be so much harder. I'm not sure I could do it. Sure, people would come visit, friends, associates, but it's not the same as having someone who will not leave. It's not the same as having someone whom you know has an eye on you, is watching you the whole time”.“假设我离婚了，或者独自生活，或者没有孩子。这个病——我正在经历的一切——将会艰难得多。我根本没把握去应对。的确，人们也会来拜访，朋友啊，熟人啊，但这些跟拥有那种不会离开的人不是一回事。这和拥有一些你知道会关注着你的人一直照料你不是一回事。”"This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there's someone who is watching out for them. It's what I missed so much when my mother died—what I call your 'spiritual security'—knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame."“这是家庭一部分的含义，不仅仅是爱，还有让别人知道永远会有那么一个人一直照顾着他们。这也是我妈妈去世的时候我特别想念的东西——一种我称之为‘精神安全感’的东西——那就是知道你的家人会一直在身边照顾你。没有任何其他东西能给得了你这个。钱给不了。名气给不了。”He shot me a look.莫瑞看了我一眼。"Not work," he added.“工作也给不了，”他补充道。Raising a family was one of those issues on my little list—things you want to get right before it's too late.成立家庭是列在我小清单上的诸多问题之一——一件你希望在太迟了之前做对的事情。I told Morrie about my generation's dilemma with having children, how we ofen saw them as tying us down, making us into these “parent” things that we did not want to be.我告诉了莫瑞我们这代人养育孩子的两难境地，我们如何常常视下一代为把人捆住的枷锁，强迫我们投入到我们并不愿意做的“父母”之事上去。I admitted to some of these emotions myself.我承认我有一些这样的抵触情绪。Yet when l looked at Morrie, I wondered if I were in his shoes, about to die, and I had no family, no children, would the emptiness be unbearable?然而当我看着莫瑞，我很想知道假如我带入他的角色，即将死亡，而且没有家人，没有孩子，那种空虚会不会让人无法承受？He had raised his two sons to be loving and caring, and like Morrie, they were not shy with their affection.莫瑞将他的孩子们养育的有爱而且关心他人，而且就如莫瑞，他们也不会羞于表达自身情感。Had he so desired, they would have stopped what they were doing to be with their father every minute of his final months.如果不是莫瑞的意愿，他的孩子们早就停止手头的事情赶回来争分夺秒和他们的父亲共度最后几个月的时光了。But that was not what he wanted.但这不是莫瑞想要的。“Do not stop your lives,” he told them.“不要停下你们的生活，”莫瑞告诉他的孩子们。"Otherwise, this disease will have ruined three of us instead of one.”“不然，这场疾病就会毁掉三个人而不只是我一个人了。”In this way, even as he was dying, he showed respect for his children’s worlds.就是用这样的方式，就算他要死了，莫瑞仍然对他孩子们的世界抱以尊重。Little wonder that when they sat with him, there was a waterfall of affection, lots of kisses and jokes and crouching by the side of the bed, holding hands.难怪每当孩子们和莫瑞坐在一起时，总是仿佛有着亲情的瀑布在流淌，有很多的亲吻和玩笑，还有床边双手紧握的俯身陪伴。“Whenever people ask me about having children or not having children, I never tell them what to do," Morrie said now, looking at a photo of his oldest son.“任何时候人们问我是该要孩子还是不要孩子，我从不告诉他们该怎么做，”莫瑞如此说着，一边看着一张他大儿子的照片。"I simply say, ‘There is no experience like having children.’ That's all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend. You cannot do it with a lover. If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children."“我只会说，‘养育小孩是一种无与伦比的体验。’仅此而已。天下没有任何事情能代替。你不能和朋友有这种体验。你不能和爱人有这种体验。如果你想要得到一种为另一个人负起全权责任的经历，并且学会如何用最为深刻的方式爱一个人并产生联结，那你应该养小孩。”So you would do it again? I asked.所以再选一次你仍然会选择养育孩子？我问道。I glanced at the photo.我撇了一眼他的照片。Rob was kissing Morrie on the forehead, and Morrie was laughing with his eyes closed.罗博在莫瑞的额头上亲了一口，莫瑞笑的眼睛都闭起来了。“Would l do it again?" he said to me, looking surprised.“我会再次这么做？”他看起来非常惊讶。“Mitch, I would not have missed that experience for anything. Even though... ” “米契，何止会再做，我不会为了任何事情错过这件事。就算...”He swallowed and put the picture in his lap.他吞咽了一下口水，把照片放在他膝盖上。"Even though there is a painful price to pay," he said.“就算为此要付出痛苦的代价，”他继续说道。Because you'll be leaving them.因为你终将离开他们。"Because I'll be leaving them soon."“因为我终将很快就离开他们。”He pulled his lips together, closed his eyes, and I watched the first teardrop fall down the side of his cheek.他抿着嘴，闭上眼，我第一次看到泪水从他的脸颊旁流了下来。"And now," he whispered, "you talk."“现在，”他柔声说着，“轮到你来说说看了。”（题外话，莫瑞在这里说的关于家庭的认识真的深深打动我，让我深感认同，然后每每想到自身经历过的或者看到身边一些人的种种家庭问题的时候，就会想到这段的论述，假如我们对家庭不是抱着到了年龄别人这么我也这么做的草率，对家人足够珍惜而不是总干出亲者痛仇者快的蠢事，也能认识到原本不相干的两个人组成家庭的造化与不易，对于另一半的认识足够清醒也能给予必须的包容，也许就不会有那么多来自家庭的伤害与控诉。有时候看到那些轻易获得了家庭的人不知珍惜在拼命消耗这种福分，而渴望家庭的人又因为种种原因不能如愿，总是感觉造化弄人。一句话，希望我们都能及时发现自身已经拥有的珍贵之物，不是指钱啊财产这种，也能及时对所拥有的东西珍惜与感激，从而获得内心更长久的幸福。）原著：Mitch Albom

The Fourth Tuesday第四个星期二We Talk About Death (24)我们聊了聊死亡"The things you spend so much time on—all this work you do—might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spiritual things."“那些你花了如此之多的时间所做的事情——你的所有工作——很可能看起来没那么重要。你可能需要为一些更加精神层面的东西腾出空间。”Spiritual things?精神层面的东西？"You hate that word, don't you? 'Spiritual.' You think it's touchy—feely stuff."“你讨厌那个字眼，对吧？‘精神的。’ 你觉得就是哭哭啼啼情绪化的东西。”Well, I said.好吧，其实... 我开口想说些什么。He tried to wink, a bad try, and I broke down and laughed.莫瑞试着对我挤了挤眼睛，但是没成功，我破功地笑了起来。"Mitch," he said, laughing along, "even I don't know what 'spiritual development' really means. But I do know we're deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don't satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted."“米契，”他继续讲话，但也跟着一起笑起来，“即便我不懂 ‘精神发展’ 真的是什么意思。但我仍然明白我们在某种程度上是有缺陷的。我们太过沉迷于物质，但那并不能满足我们。我们所拥有的友爱的人际关系，我们周遭的天地万物，我们都把这些东西太过当做理所当然。”He nodded toward the window with the sunshine streaming in.他向着阳光徐徐照耀进来的窗户点了点头。"You see that? You can go out there, outside, anytime. You can run up and down the block and go crazy. I can't do that. I can't go out. I can't run. I can't be out there without fear of getting sick. But you know what? I appreciate that window more than you do."“你看到了吗？你可以到外面去，任何时间都行。你可以在大街上来回奔跑疯玩。但我不能。我去不了外面。我也不能跑。我没法不带着会生病的担心出去外面撒欢。但是你知道吗？我比你更加感激那扇通向外面的窗户。”Appreciate it?这还感激？"Yes. I look out that window every day. I notice the change in the trees, how strong the wind is blowing. It's as if I can see time actually passing through that windowpane. Because I know my time is almost done, I am drawn to nature like I'm seeing it for the first time."“没错。我每天都能透过那扇窗户看向外面。我能感知到草木的变化，吹过的风有多强烈。仿佛透过那扇窗户玻璃我能真的 ‘看见’ 时间流逝。因为我知道我几乎要大限将至了，我被大自然深深吸引仿佛如同平生初见。”He stopped, and for a moment we both just looked out the window.他停下来，有那么好一会儿，我们俩都只是一起静静地看着窗外。I tried to see what he saw.我试图去看莫瑞看到的那些东西。I tried to see time and seasons, my life passing in slow motion.我试图去看时间与四季，那用慢镜头播放的我的生活。Morrie dropped his head slightly and curled it toward his shoulder.莫瑞低下头轻轻向他的肩膀看去。"Is it today, little bird?" he asked. "Is it today?"“今天就是我大限将至的那天吗？”他问道。“就是今天吗？”Letters from around the world kept coming to Morrie, thanks to the "Nightline" appearances.因为他在“晚间专线”的亮相，来自世界各地的信件还在持续地寄给莫瑞。He would sit, when he was up to it, and dictate the responses to friends and family who gathered for their letter—writing sessions.当他开始着手处理的时候，他会坐着，并向为这场“回信会议”齐聚在一起的家人朋友们口述回信。One Sunday when his sons, Rob and Jon, were home, they all gathered in the living room.一个星期天，他的两个儿子，罗博与乔恩都在家，他们都聚在客厅里。Morrie sat in his wheelchair, his skinny legs under a blanket.莫瑞坐在他的轮椅上，细瘦的双腿盖在毯子下面。When he got cold, one of his helpers draped a nylon jacket over his shoulders.在他感觉冷的时候，一个助手在他肩上盖上一件尼龙外套。"What's the first letter?" Morrie said.“第一封信说什么呀？”莫瑞问道。A colleague read a note from a woman named Nancy, who had lost her mother to ALS.他的一个同事读了这封来自南希女士的短信，她因为渐冻人症失去了母亲。She wrote to say how much she had suffered through the loss and how she knew that Morrie must be suffering, too.她在信中写到失去母亲有多么让她痛苦所以她明白莫瑞也一定承受着痛苦。"All right," Morrie said when the reading was complete.“好吧，”信读完的时候莫瑞只说了这么一句。He shut his eyes.就闭上了眼睛。"Let's start by saying, 'Dear Nancy, you touched me very much with your story about your mother. And I understand what you went through. There is sadness and suffering on both parts. Grieving has been good for me, and I hope it has been good for you also.'"“让我们从 ‘亲爱的南希，你妈妈的故事让我非常感动。并且我非常理解你所经历的一切。这对于双方来说都很悲伤痛苦。哀悼曾经让我感觉好一些，希望对你也有用。’ 这句话来开头吧。”"You might want to change that last line," Rob said.“你可能需要改改最后一句话，”罗博说道。Morrie thought for a second, then said,"You're right. How about 'I hope you can find the healing power in grieving.' Is that better?"莫瑞思考了几秒钟，接着说道，“你说得对。改成 ‘我希望你能从哀悼中寻找到治愈的力量。’  怎么样？这样是不是好些？”Rob nodded.罗博点点头。"Add 'thank you, Morrie, '" Morrie said.“再加上 ‘谢谢你的来信，莫瑞。’ ” 莫瑞接着说道。Another letter was read from a woman named Jane, who was thanking him for his inspiration on the "Nightline" program.大家读的另外一封信，来自一个叫做简的女士，她在信中感谢莫瑞在“晚间专线”节目给她的启迪。She referred to him as a prophet.这位女士称莫瑞为先知。"That's a very high compliment," said a colleague. "A prophet."“这可真是很高的称赞了，” 莫瑞一个同事说道。“先知。”Morrie made a face.莫瑞做了个鬼脸。He obviously didn't agree with the assessment.他显然不同意这个评价。"Let's thank her for her high praise. And tell her I'm glad my words meant something to her."“让我们先谢谢她的高度称赞吧。再告诉她我很高兴我的言语能对她有点意义。”"And don't forget to sign 'Thank you, Morrie.'"“别忘了署名 ‘谢谢您的来信，莫瑞。’ ”There was a leter from a man in England who had lost his mother and asked Morrie to help him contact her through the spiritual world.还有一个来自英格兰的男人，说他失去了母亲，请求莫瑞帮他通过精神世界与去世的母亲取得联系。There was a letter from a couple who wanted to drive to Boston to meet him.还有来自一对情侣的信，说想开车来波士顿见见莫瑞。There was a long letter from a former graduate student who wrote about her life after the university.还有一封长信，来自莫瑞一位已经毕业的研究生，讲述了她自大学毕业以后的生活。It told of a murder-suicide and three stillborn births.信中讲述了一场先谋杀后自杀还有三次死产的故事。It told of a mother who died from ALS.讲述了一个母亲死于渐冻人症。It expressed fear that she, the daughter, would also contract the disease.表达了她作为一个女儿，也会遗传这种疾病的恐惧。It went on and on.信中的讲述没完没了。Two pages. Three pages. Four pages.两页纸。三页纸。四页纸。Morrie sat through the long, grim tale.莫瑞一言不发地坐着一直听完这个又长又黑暗的故事。When it was finally finished, he said softly, "Well, what do we answer?"当信终于结束的时候，他轻轻说，“那么，我们现在该怎么回复呢？”The group was quiet.全部人都沉默了。Finally, Rob said, "How about, 'Thanks for your long letter?' "最终，罗博说道，“要不就写 ‘感谢您超长的来信？’ 如何？”Everyone laughed.大家都笑了。Morrie looked at his son and beamed.莫瑞看着他的儿子也开心地笑了起来。The newspaper near his chair has a photo of a Boston baseball player who is smiling after pitching a shutout.他椅子旁边的报纸上有一张波士顿队棒球手在投出一次安打而微笑的图片。Of all the diseases, I think to myself, Morrie gets one named after an athlete.那么多的疾病，我暗自心里想着，莫瑞偏偏得了一个以运动员命名的疾病。You remember Lou Gehrig, I ask?你还记得卢·格里格这个人吗?我问莫瑞。"I remember him in the stadium, saying good-bye." “我记得他在运动场告别的场景。”So you remember the famous line.所以你也记得他的那句名言。"Which one?"“哪一句啊？”Come on. Lou Gehrig.拜托。卢·格里格说的那句嘛。"Pride of the Yankees"? The speech that echoes over the loudspeakers?“扬基队的骄傲”那句？就是通过扩音器在体育场回响的那次演说呀？"Remind me," Morrie says. "Do the speech."“提醒我一下，”莫瑞说。“你讲一下那个演讲。”Through the open window I hear the sound of a garbage truck.透过窗户我听到了垃圾车的声音。Although it is hot, Morrie is wearing long sleeves, with a blanket over his legs, his skin pale.尽管天气很热，莫瑞仍然穿着长袖T恤衫，脸色苍白，腿上还盖着条毯子。The disease owns him.疾病还是打倒了他。I raise my voice and do the Gehrig imitation, where the words bounce off the stadium walls: "Too-dayyy . . . I feeel like . . . the luckiest maaaan . . . on the face of the earth . . ."  我提高声音模仿着卢· 格里格，他那会儿演说的时候话语在体育场馆墙面上来回回响：“今嗯嗯天...我感安安觉...我是全世界...最幸运的人嗯嗯嗯...”Morrie closes his eyes and nods slowly.莫瑞闭上眼缓缓地点着头。"Yeah. Well. I didn't say that."“行吧。那啥。我可从来没这么说过哈。”（作者是在善意的调笑莫瑞，前面章节里莫瑞是说过“我是最幸运的人”这句话的，在这里莫瑞被说的害羞了反口不承认。作者在这个小说里的文风是非常简洁优雅的，而且时不时会有幽默的很恰到好处的小笑话。）原著：Mitch Albom

The Fourth Tuesday第四个星期二We Talk About Death (23)我们聊了聊死亡"Let's begin with this idea," Morrie said.“让我们先来以这样一个构思为出发点，”莫瑞说道。"Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it."“每个人都知道人终有一死，但没人愿意真的相信这件事。”He was in a businesslike mood this Tuesday.莫瑞这周二处于一种高效且有条理的心情。The subject was death, the first item on my list.我们（对话）的主题是死亡，列在我名单上的首条。Before I arrived, Morrie had scribbled a few notes on small white pieces of paper so that he wouldn't forget.在我到他家之前，莫瑞在一些小白纸片上草草写下了不少笔记以防止忘记。His shaky handwriting was now indecipherable to everyone but him.他颤颤巍巍的笔迹现在除了他自己别人已经无法辨认了。It was almost Labor Day, and through the office window I could see the spinach-colored hedges of the backyard and hear the yells of children playing down the street, their last week of freedom before school began.那时已经快到劳工节（在美国和加拿大为九月的第一个星期一）了，透过办公室的窗户可以看到后院里菠菜色的树篱，听见孩子们在大街上玩耍的喊叫声，那是他们学校开学前的最后一周自由时光了。Back in Detroit, the newspaper strikers were gearing up for a huge holiday demonstration, to show the solidarity of unions against management.在底特律，报纸行业的罢工工人们风风火火地为大规模的节假日游行示威做准备，来展示工会对抗资方的团结决心。On the plane ride in, I had read about a woman who had shot her husband and two daughters  as they lay sleeping, claiming she was protecting them from “the bad people.” 坐飞机的途中，我读到一则报道，一个趁丈夫和两个女儿熟睡的时候把他们全部枪杀的女士声称她这么做是为了保护他们免遭“坏人”伤害。In California, the lawyers in the O.J.Simpson trial were becoming huge celebrities.在加利福尼亚州，O.J辛普森一案的律师们变成了红极一时的“网红名人”。Here in Morrie's office, life went on one precious day at a time.在这里，莫瑞的办公室，生活也同时继续着宝贵的又一天。Now we sat together, a few feet from the newest addition to the house: an oxygen machine.现在我们正在一起坐着，离房子里一件最新添加的东西几步之遥：一台氧气机。It was small and portable, about knee-high.这台氧气机是小型可移动的，大约到膝盖那么高。On some nights, when he couldn't get enough air to swallow, Morrie attached the long plastic tubing to his nose, clamping on his nostrils like a leech.有些夜晚，当他喘不上气的时候，莫瑞就得把长长的塑料管子连接在鼻子上，就像一条水蛭紧紧夹住鼻孔。I hated the idea of Morrie connected to a machine of any kind, and I tried not to look at it as Morrie spoke.我痛恨这种将莫瑞与任何类型的机器产生联系的印象，莫瑞说话的时候我努力不去看那台机器。"Everyone knows they're going to die," he said again, "but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently."“每个人都知道人终有一死，”莫瑞重复道，“但没人愿意真的相信这件事。假如我们相信的话，我们行事肯定会完全不同。”So we kid ourselves about death, I said.所以我们在死亡上是自欺欺人的，我回答。"Yes. But there's a better approach. To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you're living."“没错。但是有更好的方法。就是知道人终有一死，并且任何时候都为此做好准备。那样会更好。那样的话在你活着的时候你会对自己的生命有更加深度的参与。”How can you ever be prepared to die?你怎么可能随时为死亡做好准备呢？"Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?' "“像佛教徒那样做事吧。每一天，假装有一只小鸟站在你的肩膀上问你，‘今天就是大限将至的日子吗？我准备好了吗？我有没有在做我必须要做的事呢？我有没有在做我想要成为的人呢？’”He turned his head to his shoulder as if the bird were there now.他向肩膀转过头，仿佛那里真的站着一只小鸟。"ls today the day I die?" he said.“今天就是我大限将至之日吗？”他轻声问道。Morrie borrowed freely from all religions.莫瑞会很自如地从所有的宗教中借鉴学习。He was born Jewish, but became an agnostic when he was a teenager, partly because of all that had happened to him as a child.他生来是个犹太人，然后在他青少年的时候成为一个不可知论者，部分原因是童年时期发生在他身上的经历。He enjoyed some of the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he sill felt at home, culturally, in Judaism.他很欣赏佛教和基督教教义中的部分哲学思想，但他仍然感到在文化上，他更精通犹太教。He was a religious mutt, which made him even more open to the student he taught over the years.他是一个宗教上的“混血儿”，这让他多年来对待教过的学生们都能更加开放包容。And the things he was saying in his final months on earth seemed to transcend all religious differences.他在人间最后几个月所讲述的东西似乎超越了所有宗教间的差别。Death has a way of doing that.死亡自有其办法让人们跨越那种鸿沟。"The truth is, Mitch," he said, "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."“真相就是，米契，”他接着说，“一旦你学会了怎么去死亡，你也就学会了怎么去活着。”I nodded.我点点头。"I'm going to say it again," he said.“我要再说一遍，”他说道。"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."“一旦你学会了怎么去死亡，你就学会了怎么去活着。”He smiled, and I realized what he was doing.他一边微笑着，我意识到了他在做什么。He was making sure I absorbed this point, without embarrassing me by asking.他在确保我听取并吸收了这个观点，不会因为问我记住了没有而让我感到尴尬。It was part of what made him a good teacher.这也是让他成为一个好老师的部分原因。Did you think much about death before you got sick,I asked.你生病前会常常思考死亡吗，我问莫瑞。"No." Morrie smiled.“当然不是。”莫瑞微笑着。"I was like everyone else. I once told a friend of mine, in a moment of exuberance, ' I'm gonna be the healthiest old man you ever met!' "“我就像其他所有人一样。有一次在一个感觉生命勃发的时刻我还告诉我一个朋友，‘我肯定会是你这辈子见到过的最健康的老年人！’”How old were you?那时你多大了？"In my sixties."“60多岁。”So you were optimistic.所以你那时相当乐观。"Why not? Like l said, no one really believes they're going to die."“怎么会不乐观呢？就像我说的，没有人真的会相信他们终有一死。”But everyone knows someone who has died, I said.但每个人肯定都认识已经死亡的人，我补充道。Why is it so hard to think about dying?为什么思考死亡这么艰难呢？"Because," Morrie continued, "most of us all walk around as if we're sleepwalking. We really don't experience the world fully, because we're half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do."“因为，”莫瑞继续讲道，“我们多数人行走世间仿佛是在梦游。我们没有真正去充分体验世界，因为我们只是半梦半醒，做着我们天然认为必须要做的事。”And facing death changes all that?那么面对死亡就能够改变这种状况吗？"Oh, yes. You strip away all that stuff and you focus on the essentials. When you realize you are going to die, you see everything much differently."“哦，那当然啦。你会剥离这些所有的无用之事并且只关注于生命之必须。当你感知到你即将死亡，你看待一切会大有不同。”He sighed. "Learn how to die, and you learn how to live."他叹了口气。“学会怎么去死亡，那么你也就学会了怎么去活着。”I noticed that he quivered now when he moved his hands.我注意到现在莫瑞移动双手时会不断颤抖。His glasses hung around his neck, and when he lifted them to his eyes, they slid around his temples, as if he were trying to put them on someone else in the dark.他的眼镜挂在脖子上，当他拿起眼镜向眼睛上戴的时候，眼镜失手滑到了太阳穴的位置，就像他是在摸黑给别人戴眼镜似的。I reached over to help guide them onto his ears.我伸出手帮他把眼镜引到耳朵的位置。"Thank you," Morrie whispered.“谢谢，”莫瑞轻声说道。He smiled when my hand brushed up against his head.我的手轻轻碰到他的头时他微笑了一下。The slightest human contact was immediate joy.最轻柔的人际交流是一种即时的愉悦。"Mitch. Can I tell you something?"“米契。我能告诉你一些事情吗？”Of course, I said.当然啦，我回答。"You might not like it."“你可能会不喜欢我要说的。”Why not?为什么？"Well, the truth is, if you really listen to that bird on your shoulder, if you accept that you can die at any time—then you might not be as ambitious as you are."“好吧，事实就是，如果你真的聆听你肩膀上的小鸟，如果你接受你可能随时死亡的事实——那你可能就不会像现在这样雄心勃勃了。”I forced a small grin.我咧嘴勉强挤出一丝微笑。原著：Mitch Albom

The Professor（22）关于教授But a saving embrace came into Morrie's life the following year: his new stepmother, Eva.但在第二年，莫瑞的新继母伊娃如同一个拯救的拥抱来到了莫瑞的生活。She was a short Romanian immigrant with plain features, curly brown hair, and the energy of two women.她是一个矮个子的罗马尼亚移民，有着扁平的身材、卷曲的头发和一身相当于两个女人的能量。She had a glow that warmed the otherwise murky atmosphere his father created.她浑身自带的光环温暖着莫瑞父亲带来的其余暗沉氛围。She talked when her new husband was silent, she sang songs to the children at night.当她的新婚老公沉默时她则会滔滔不绝，夜晚时她还会给孩子们唱歌。Morrie took comfort in her soothing voice, her school lessons, her strong character.莫瑞能够从她抚慰的声音，她的学校功课，她充满力量的人格中获得慰藉。When his brother returned from the medical home, still wearing leg braces from the polio, the two of them shared a rollaway bed in the kitchen of their apartment, and Eva would kiss them good-night.他弟弟从诊所回来以后，还带着小儿麻痹留下的腿部矫正器，他们俩兄弟会共享一张放在公寓厨房里的折叠床，伊娃会亲吻他们道晚安。Morrie waited on those kisses like a puppy waits on milk, and he felt, deep down, that he had a mother again.莫瑞像小狗狗等待牛奶一样期待着这些晚安吻，内心深处，他觉得他又有妈妈了。There was no escaping their poverty, however.然而，生活的贫穷让他们无处可逃。They lived now in the Bronx, in a one-bedroom apartment in a redbrick building on Tremont Avenue, next to an Italian beer garden where the old men played boccie on summer evenings.他们现在生活在纽约布朗克斯区，住在特雷蒙大街一栋红砖建筑的一室户里，隔壁是一个意大利啤酒馆，夏日的夜晚那里总有一些老男人们打保龄球。Because of the Depression, Morrie's father found even less work in the fur business.由于经济大萧条，莫瑞的父亲能在皮毛生意行业找到的工作机会更少了。Sometimes when the family sat at the dinner table, all Eva could put out was bread.有时候当一家人坐在餐桌旁，伊娃所能端出来的所有食物只有面包。"What else is there?" David would ask.“还有别的吃的吗？”大卫会问。"Nothing else," she would answer.“没有别的了，”她只能这么回答。When she tucked Morrie and David into bed, she would sing to them in Yiddish.晚上睡觉前伊娃给莫瑞和大卫掖好被角时，她会用意第绪语（犹太人的语言）给兄弟俩唱歌。Even the songs were sad and poor.连歌曲也是悲伤又可怜。There was one about a girl trying to sell her cigarettes:有一首唱卖香烟的小女孩的歌。Please buy my cigarettes.请买我的香烟吧。They are dry, not wet by rain.他们未经雨水淋湿，依然干燥完好。Take pity on me, take pity on me.可怜可怜我吧，请可怜可怜我。Still, despite their circumstances, Morrie was taught to love and to care.尽管他们的处境堪忧，莫瑞仍然被教导要去关爱他人。And to learn.还要学习。Eva would accept nothing less than excellence in school, because she saw education as the only antidote to their poverty.伊娃不接受低于优秀的学习成绩，因为她视教育为解决贫穷的唯一解药。She herself went to night school to improve her English.她自己也去夜校提升英语水平。Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms.莫瑞对教育的热爱从伊娃这里开始孵化。He studied at night, by the lamp at the kitchen table.他坐在厨房台灯边夜夜努力学习。And in the mornings he would go to synagogue to say Kaddish——the memorial prayer for the dead——for his mother.早上的时候他会去犹太教堂唱“卡第绪”——一种为死者而唱的纪念祝祷词——给他的妈妈He did this to keep her memory alive.他这么做是为了让自己对妈妈的记忆持续鲜活下去。Incredibly, Morrie had been told by his father never to talk about her.让人难以置信的是，莫瑞的父亲曾经让他永远不要再提起他去世的母亲。Charlie wanted young David to think Eva was his natural mother.查理想让年幼的大卫认为伊娃是他的亲生母亲。It was a terrible burden to Morrie.这对于莫瑞来说是一个巨大的心理负担。For years, the only evidence Morrie had of his mother was the telegram announcing her death.很多年里，莫瑞拥有的关于母亲存在过的唯一证据就是她的那张死亡通知电报。He had hidden it the day it arrived.从他收到这张电报开始，莫瑞就把它藏了起来。He would keep it the rest of his life.余生他都小心翼翼地保管着这张电报。When Morrie was a teenager, his father took him to a fur factory where he worked.在莫瑞长成青少年之时，他的父亲把他带到了他工作的皮毛工厂。This was during the Depression.那还是在经济大萧条时期。The idea was to get Morrie a job.原本的想法是给莫瑞找份工作。He entered the factory, and immediately felt as if the walls had closed in around him.莫瑞走进工厂，瞬间觉得仿佛四面围墙把他关在了里面。The room was dark and hot, the windows covered with filth, and the machines were packed tightly together, churning like train wheels.工厂的房间黑暗闷热，窗户上糊着脏污，机器紧紧的拥挤的排列在一起，像火车轮子一样汹涌的翻搅着。The fur hairs were flying, creating a thickened air, and the workers, sewing the pelts together, were bent over their needles as the boss marched up and down the rows, screaming for them to go faster.动物毛发到处乱飞，让空气都变得粘滞，正把皮料缝制在一起的工人，在老板一排排来回监视吼叫着快点做时，弄弯折了他们手里的针。Morrie could barely breathe.莫瑞几乎无法呼吸。He stood next to his father, frozen with fear, hoping the boss wouldn't scream at him, too.他站在父亲身边，害怕地僵住，希望老板不要也来冲他大喊大叫。During lunch break, his father took Morrie to the boss and pushed him in front of him, asking if there was any work for his son.午饭时间休息的时候，他的父亲带莫瑞去找老板，把他一把推向老板面前，询问是否能给他儿子找个活干。But there was barely enough work for the adult laborers, and no one was giving it up.可是成年劳动力都几乎没有足够的工作机会，况且根本没人会放弃工作。This, for Morrie, was a blessing.这，对莫瑞来说，简直是个天大的幸运。He hated the place.他讨厌死了这个地方。He made another vow that he kept to the end of his life: he would never do any work that exploited someone else, and he would never allow himself to make money off the sweat of others.他又立下了一个信守终身的誓言：他永远不会从事剥削他人的工作，他也永远不允许自己从他人的血汗中榨取钱财。"What will you do?" Eva would ask him.“你将来打算做什么呢？”伊娃询问莫瑞。"I don't know," he would say.“我不知道，”他如此回答。He ruled out law, because he didn't like lawyers, and he ruled out medicine, because he couldn't take the sight of blood.他排除了律师，因为他不喜欢律师，他也排除了医疗行业，因为他晕血。"What will you do?''“你将来打算做什么呢？”It was only through default that the best professor I ever had became a teacher.后来这位我所见过的最好的教授成为了一名老师，是一件本该如此、天经地义、命中注定的事。"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."“一个老师产生的影响是永久性的；而且他自己永远也说不清这种影响何时会停止。”—HENRY ADAMS亨利 · 亚当原著：Mitch Albom

The Professor（21）关于教授He was eight years old.他那时8岁。A telegram came from the hospital, and since his father, a Russian immigrant, could not read English, Morrie had to break the news, reading his mother's death notice like a student in front of the class.一封电报从医院发来，因为他的父亲，一个俄罗斯移民，不认得英文，莫瑞不得不代为告知这个消息，像一个站在全班同学面前朗读的学生阅读着他妈妈的死亡通知。"We regret to inform you... " he began.“我们很抱歉地通知您... ”他从头开始读着。On the morning of the funeral, Morrie's relatives came down the steps of his tenement building on the poor Lower East Side of Manhattan.葬礼的清晨，莫瑞的亲戚们从他家在穷困的曼哈顿下东区租住的公寓大楼台阶上陆陆续续走出来。The men wore dark suits, the women wore veils.男人们穿着黑西装，女人们戴着面纱。The kids in the neighborhood were going off to school, and as they passed, Morrie looked down, ashamed that his classmates would see him this way.邻居家的孩子们都开始出发上学了，在他们经过的时候，莫瑞头低低地看着地面，耻于让他的同学们看见他这副样子。One of his aunts, a heavyset woman, grabbed Morrie and began to wail: "What will you do without your mother? What will become of you?"他的一个姨妈，一个魁梧的胖大娘，抓住莫瑞大声哀嚎着：“没妈你可咋办哟？你将来可得长成啥样哟？”Morrie burst into tears.莫瑞也禁不住大哭了起来。His classmates ran away.他经过的同学们都纷纷跑开了。At the cemetery, Morrie watched as they shoveled dirt into his mother's grave.在墓地，莫瑞看着他们一铲子一铲子把土铲进了他妈妈的坟墓。He tried to recall the tender moments they had shared when she was alive.他努力回想着妈妈生前与他共同度过的温暖瞬间。She had operated a candy store until she got sick, after which she mostly slept or sat by the window, looking frail and weak.生病之前她一直经营着一家糖果店，生病之后她多数时间要么在窗前坐着或睡着，看起来特别脆弱无力。Sometimes she would yell out for her son to get her some medicine, and young Morrie, playing stickball in the street, would pretend he did not hear her.有时候她会冲她的儿子喊叫着给她拿些药来，而正在大街上玩棍球的小莫瑞，会假装听不见。In his mind he believed he could make the illness go away by ignoring it.那时候在他的观念里，他觉得通过视而不见就可以让疾病消失。How else can a child confront death?不然一个小孩又能有什么别的方式去面对死亡呢？Morrie's father, whom everyone called Charlie, had come to America to escape the Russian Army.莫瑞的父母，人人都称呼他为查理，逃避俄罗斯军队的追捕来到美国。He worked in the fur business, but was constantly out of a job.他在皮毛行业工作，但总是会失业。Uneducated and barely able to speak English, he was terribly poor, and the family was on public assistance much of the time.没受过教育也几乎不会讲英语，查理非常穷困，他们一家多数时间要靠公共援助过活。Their apartment was a dark, cramped, depressing place behind the candy store.他们的公寓位于糖果店后面一个阴暗、狭小、压抑的地方。They had no luxuries.他们没有任何奢侈的东西。No car.也没有车。Sometimes, to make money, Morrie and his younger brother, David, would wash porch steps together for a nickel.有时候，为了赚一点钱，莫瑞和他弟弟大卫，会一起去帮人清洗门廊地板赚个5美分。After their mother's death, the two boys were sent off to a small hotel in the Connecticut woods where several families shared a large cabin and a communal kitchen.他们的母亲去世后，两个男孩被送到位于康涅狄格州树林中的一家小旅店，那里还有其他几个家庭共住一间小木屋，公用一个一个厨房。The fresh air might be good for the children, the relatives thought.他的亲戚们想，乡下的新鲜空气也许对孩子是有好处的。Morrie and David had never seen so much greenery, and they ran and played in the fields.莫瑞和大卫从来没有见过这么多的草木，他们天天在田野里跑啊玩啊。One night after dinner, they went for a walk and it began to rain.有一天晚饭后，他们出去散步然后下起了雨。Rather than come inside, they splashed around for hours.没有进屋，他们反而哗啦哗啦地在雨中淋水玩了几个小时。The next morning, when they awoke, Morrie hopped out of bed.第二天早上，他们醒来，莫瑞一下子跳下床。"Come on," he said to his brother. "Get up."“拜托，”他催促弟弟。“起床啦。”"I can't,"“我起不了，”"What do you mean?"“什么意思？”David's face was panicked.大卫神色慌张。"I can't... move."“我动不了了。”He had polio.他得了小儿麻痹症。Of course, the rain did not cause this.当然，肯定不是下雨引起的这个病。But a child (at) Morrie's age could not understand that.但是莫瑞这个年纪的小孩并不懂这些。For a long time——as his brother was taken back and forth to a special medical home and was forced to wear braces on his legs, which left him limping——Morrie felt responsible.有很长一段时间——在弟弟被反复带去特殊诊所，被强制带上矫正器，并且给他遗留了瘸腿的毛病时——莫瑞觉得自己是有责任的。So in the mornings, he went to synagogue——by himself, because his father was not a religious man——and he stood among the swaying men in their long black coats and he asked God to take care of his dead mother and his sick brother.所以早晨的时候，他会跑去犹太教堂——独自一人，因为他的父亲不信教——他站在那些身穿黑长袍晃来晃去的人们当中，祈求上帝照顾他去世的母亲和生病的弟弟。And in the afternoons, he stood at the bottom of the subway steps and hawked magazines, turning whatever money he made over to his family to buy food.下午的时候，他站在地铁楼梯底下叫卖杂志，把他所能赚来的任何钱财上交到家里来买吃的。In the evenings, he watched his father eat in silence, hoping for——but never getting——a show of affection, communication, warmth.晚上的时候，他看着他的父亲默默吃饭，期待着——但从没能得到的——情感、交流或者温暖的表示。At nine years old, he felt as if the weight of a mountain were on his shoulders.9岁的时候，他感觉好像有一座大山的重量压在他的肩膀上。原著：Mitch Albom

The Audiovisual, Part Two视听教学，第二部分The "Nightline" show had done a follow-up story on Morrie—— partly because the reception for the first show had been so strong.部分是因为第一次节目获得非常热烈的反响，所以“晚间专线”节目对莫瑞进行了后续报道。This time, when the cameramen and producers came through the door, they already felt like family.这次，当摄影师们和制片人们走进莫瑞家的时候，他们已经感觉像家人一样。And Koppel himself was noticeably warmer.科佩尔本人明显地变得更加友好热心。There was no feeling-out process, no interview before the interview.这次不需要试探的过程，也不需要访谈前再来一个访谈。As warm-up, Koppel and Morrie exchanged stories about their childhood backgrounds: Koppel spoke of growing up in England, and Morrie spoke of growing up in the Bronx.作为开场热身，科佩尔和莫瑞互换分享了他们各自童年背景的故事：科佩尔讲了在英格兰长大的经历，莫瑞讲了在纽约布朗克斯区长大的故事。Morrie wore a long-sleeved blue shirt——he was almost always chilly, even when it was ninety degrees outside——but Koppel removed his jacket and did the interview in shirt and tie.莫瑞穿了一件蓝色长袖T恤衫——他现在几乎时时刻刻都觉得冷，就算外面有90华氏度（摄氏32度）——但是科佩尔得脱掉外套仅穿着衬衫和领带做访谈。It was as if Morrie were breaking him down, one layer at a time.让人惊叹的是莫瑞仿佛能够将科佩尔逐层瓦解，一次一层。"You look fine," Koppel said when the tape began to roll.“你看起来不错，”摄影机开始滚动起来的时候科佩尔发话了。"That's what everybody tells me," Morrie said.“每个人见了我都这么说，”莫瑞回答。"You sound fine."“你听起来也不错。”"That's what everybody tells me."“每个人见了我都这么说。”"So how do you know things are going down hill?"“既然如此，你怎么能确定你的病情在走下坡路呢？”Morrie sighed.莫瑞叹了口气。"Nobody can know it but me, Ted. But I know it."“除了我没人知道，泰德。但是我自己十分清楚。”And as he spoke, it became obvious.就在他说话的时候，日渐严重的病情已经很明显了。He was not waving his hands to make a point as freely as he had in their first conversation.他不再像第一次对话时自如地挥舞双手去说明自己的观点。He had trouble pronouncing certain words——the l sound seemed to get caught in his throat.他会在特定单词的发音上遇到问题——字母“L”的声音总是像是卡在了他的嗓子里。In a few more months, he might no longer speak at all.  用不了几个月，他可能再也说不了话了。"Here's how my emotions go," Morrie told Koppel.“我的坏情绪是这么消失的，”莫瑞告诉科佩尔。"When I have people and friends here, I'm very up. The loving relationships maintain me."“当有人和朋友在我身边的时候，我就很情绪高涨。充满爱的人际关系能够滋养我。”"But there are days when I am depressed. Let me not deceive you. I see certain things going and I feel a sense of dread. What am I going to do without my hands? What happens when I can't speak? Swallowing, I don't care so much about——so they feed me through a tube, so what? But my voice? My hands? They're such an essential part of me. I talk with my voice. I gesture with my hands. This is how I give to people."“但我也有情绪非常低落的日子。我不骗你。眼看着一些事情发生令我感到很恐惧。假如我的手不能用了该怎么办？假如我不能讲话了会发生什么？吞咽，倒是我并不怎么在乎的事情——就算他们只能用一根管子给我喂食，那又怎样？但我的声音？我的手？这是我身上如此必要的部分啊。我需要用声音去说话。我得用手去比划姿势。这是我向人们表达我自己的方式。”"How will you give when you can no longer speak?" Koppel asked.“如果你没法再说话了你会怎么向人们表达自己呢？”科佩尔问道。Morrie shrugged. "Maybe I'll have everyone ask me yes or no questions."莫瑞耸耸肩。“可能我会让人们问我只需用“是”或“否”回答的问题吧。”It was such a simple answer that Koppel had to smile.这个简单又机智地回答让科佩尔不得不露出了微笑。He asked Morrie about silence.他问起了莫瑞关于沉默的话题。He mentioned a dear friend Morrie had, Maurie Stein, who had first sent Morrie's aphorisms to the Boston Globe.他提到莫瑞一个很好的朋友，莫里·斯坦，就是第一个把莫瑞写的格言发给波士顿全球报的人。They had been together at Brandeis since the early sixties.他们自从60年代的时候就一起在布兰迪斯大学执教了。Now Stein was going deaf.现在斯坦已经聋了。Koppel imagined the two men together one day, one unable to speak, the other unable to hear.科佩尔想象着这两个男人某一天相遇，一个说不了话，另一个听不见声音。What would that be like?那会是一个什么样的场景？"We will hold hands," Morrie said.“那我们会手牵手紧紧拉在一起，”莫瑞回答道。"And there'll be a lot of love passing between us. Ted, we've had thirty-five years of friendship. You don't need speech or hearing to feel that."“并且我们之间肯定会充满爱的流动。泰德，我们有着35年的友谊。你不需要说话或者听见都能感觉得到。”Before the show ended, Morrie read Koppel one of the letters he'd received. Since the first "Nightline" program, there had been a great deal of mail. One particular letter came from a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania who taught a special class of nine children; every child in the class had suffered the death of a parent.在节目结束之前，莫瑞给科佩尔读了一封他收到的信。自从第一次“晚间专线”节目播出后，莫瑞就收到了大量的信件。这是一封来自宾夕法尼亚学校教师的信，她教授一个有9个孩子的特殊班级，班上每一个孩子都承受着有一位父母身亡的遭遇。"Here's what I sent her back," Morrie told Koppel, perching his glasses gingerly on his nose and ears.“这是我给她的回信，”莫瑞告诉科佩尔，轻轻的把眼镜架在耳朵和鼻梁上。" 'Dear Barbara... I was very moved by your letter. I feel the work you have done with the children who have lost a parent is very important. I also lost a parent at an early age...' "“‘亲爱的芭芭拉... 我对你的信很感动。我觉得你对那些丧失了一位父母的孩子们所做的工作非常重要。我也在很早的年纪失去了一个父母... ’”Suddenly, with the cameras still humming, Morrie adjusted the glasses.突然，就在摄影机仍发出嗡嗡声运转着的时候，莫瑞调整了一下眼镜。He stopped, bit his lip, and began to choke up.他停下来，咬着嘴唇，开始哽咽。Tears fell down his nose.眼泪从他的鼻子旁边流下来。" 'I lost my mother when I was a child... and it was quite a blow to me... I wish I'd had a group like yours where I would have been able to talk about my sorrows. I would have joined your group because... '"“‘在我还是小孩的时候失去了我的母亲... 这对我真的是个很大的打击... 我多希望也能有一个像你们这样的小组可以让我聊聊我的悲痛。我肯定会加入你们的小组因为...' ”His voice cracked.他的声音变得嘶哑。" ' ... because I was so lonely... '"“‘... 因为我那时是那么的孤单... ’”" Morrie," Koppel said, "that was seventy years ago your mother died. The pain still goes on?"“莫瑞，”科佩尔问道，“你的母亲去世那是70多年前的事了。那种伤痛还在继续吗？”"You bet," Morrie whispered.“当然了，”莫瑞轻声回答。原著：Mitch Albom