The Hardest Choices - 艰难的抉择
更新：2015-11-20 13:23:51 | 分享：Candy ( V364 ) | 来源：转载 | 阅读：61
标签：艰难抉择
The Hardest Choices
By Tom Walsh
最艰难的抉择总是出乎意料地降临到我们身上。突然之间，我们发现之间要在两三个选择中做出决定，而且每一项都令人不快。但是哪一个抉择最好？拿到的内心会告诉你真理。听信真理，坚持真理。By Tom Walsh
I went for a long run on Saturday morning ,and it was a glorious early-fall day.The air was cool and clear,there was almost no traffic,and the trees were just beginning to turn. I had found a new route that went almost entirely through wooded areas, and the beauty of the area was amazing. It would have been a perfect run if it hadn’t been for the chipmunk1 that I found on the road.
It seemed that it had been hit by a car because it couldn’t move anything behind its midsection2. It was clawing at the road with its front legs and looking around itself, but it simply couldn’t move.
All of a sudden, I was faced with a dilemma3 that I didn’t even want to consider. I could do one of two things— I could continue running and leave the animal there on the road to suffer a great deal until it either starved to death, got run over by another car, or got eaten by some predator, or I could do the humane4 thing and kill ti and put it out of its misery. I didn’t want to do either,of course, but I had to choose.
And the worst option for me was the best thing for the chipmunk.
Now, if I were a farmer or a rancher5, this decision would have been very simple. People who live and work with animals tend to have a very realistic vision of life and death, and they know that sometimes death is absolutely necessary sometimes.
But I haven’t lived with animals my whole life— in fact, I’ve had very few pets.So I was out there alone on the road with a small animal that needed me to make a decision, one that I never before had had to make.And while I try my hardest to respect all life and let living creatures be, I knew in my heart that the only thing to do was to kill the chipmunk. So I did, in the way that I though would be the least painful to the animal that already was in a lot of pain (I won’t go into the details).
As I ran away, I started to think of how suddenly the need to make a choice had come upon me, and how often such things happen. If we find out that a friend is doing something illegal,do we tell his or her family, or the police? If we know that a spouse6 has stolen from his or her workplace, do we report it? Life is full of decisions that come upon us because of someone else’s actions or inaction , and we have to be able to make those decisions that will allow us to live with clear consciences7, if we’re to continue to be the people we’re meant to be.
Not all of the decisions easy ,especially when both of the options available to us are unpleasant. I could have asked someone driving by to run over the animal, but I know if I had, I would have passed on a responsibility that I knew was mine, and mine alone. While I found the experience of killing a poor little animal to be extremely unpleasant, I knew all the time that I was doing something kind, not harmful, and that it was the best of all possible choices. Running away from the dilemma would have left me with a great deal of regret,knowing that I had left it there to suffer for who knows how long.
Now I kind of wonder if the chipmunk is going to visit me in a nightmare but I don’t think it will. I believe its suffering ended long before it would have otherwise, and I’m pretty sure that I did the right thing. The hardest choices usually aren’t as clear-cut8 as this one was ,and if the choice involves other people, they often will try to make you live to regret doing the right thing. But if your conscience is clear, you can stand strong in the face of all criticism, knowing that you’ve done what you know to be right.
The hardest choices so often come upon us out of the blue9,as the result of no actions of our own.All of a sudden we find ourselves having to decide between two or three alternatives, all of which are unpleasant. But which choice is the best one? Which choice will bring the most legitimate10 benefits to most people which choice is truly right? Your mind can rationalize11 all it wants, but your heart and spirit will tell you teh truth. Listen to the truth, and live by it. The choices have to be made, one way or another.
译笔生花 TRANSLATION
艰难的选择
¨汤姆·沃尔什
周六清晨我出去长跑，初秋景色美丽宜人，空气凉爽、清新，路上几乎没有什么车辆，树叶刚刚开始变换颜色。我发现了一条新的路线，几乎可以穿过整个树林，其美景令人惊羡不已。要不是路上发现金花鼠，本来会是一次完美的长跑。¨汤姆·沃尔什
看来这只金花鼠被车撞过，上腹部以下动弹不了，它用前腿拼命地在路上扒，环顾四周，但还是一动都动不了。
突然之间，我面临着一个甚至不想考虑的艰难抉择。两条路我得选一条：要么继续跑步，让金花鼠躺在路上忍受巨大的痛苦，或是最终饿死，或是被汽车碾死，或是被其它动物吃掉；要么做做善事，结束它的生命，让它从痛苦中解脱出来。当然，这两样我都不想做，可是又别无选择。
对我来说是最坏的选择，对金花鼠来说可是最好的结果。
如果我是农夫或者牧场主，做这个决定就很容易。与动物一起生活和工作的人往往对生死的看法很现实，他们认为有时候死亡是完全必要的。
但是我一生都不曾与动物生活在一起，实际上我也几乎没养过宠物。那时路上只有我和一只小动物，我需要做出我以前从未做过的决定。虽然我尽最大努力去尊重一切生命，让所有的生物都能活下去，但我知道唯一能做的就是结束金花鼠的生命。因此我采取了一种自认为最小疼痛感的方式，结束了这只处于巨大痛苦之中的金花鼠的生命（我不想介绍详细情况）。
我跑远了，开始思考要我做出这样的抉择是多么突然，以及遇到这种事情的几率是多少。如果发现朋友正在做违法的事，我们会告诉其家人还是报警？如果我们知道配偶从单位偷了东西，会举报吗？由于其他人的行为或是不作为，生活中我们要经常做出各种决定。如果我们想继续成为心目中理想的人，我们就要做出那些问心无愧的决定。
并不是所有的决定都很容易做，特别有时两项选择都令人不愉快。我本来可以置之不理，等着汽车从它身上碾过去。但是我知道，如果这样做，我把本该由自己承担的责任推给了别人。尽管我发现结束一只可怜的小动物的生命让人非常难受，但是我自始至终都清楚自己是在做善事，并非在做恶事，而且这是最好的一种选择。如果我逃离困境，让金花鼠躺在路上忍受不知多长时间的痛苦，我会深感痛惜。
现在我有点儿好奇，不知道金花鼠会不会到噩梦里找我，但是我想不会，我相信这种方式让金花鼠更早摆脱了痛苦，否则它会忍受更多的痛苦，我确信我的做法是对的。最艰难的抉择通常不会如此的清晰。如果还涉及其他人，虽然你做了正确的决定，但他们会让你生活在悔恨之中。只要你问心无愧，在各种批评面前就能够傲然相对，因为你知道自己的行为是正确的。
最艰难的抉择总是出乎意料地降临，因为与我们之前的行为没有任何因果关系。突然之间，我们发现自己要在两三个选择中做出决定，而且每一项都令人不快。但是哪一个抉择最好？哪一个抉择会给绝大多数人带来最合情合理的好处？哪一个抉择确实是正确的？你的大脑会根据自身需要找各种借口，但是你的内心和心灵会告诉你真理。听信真理，坚持真理，总之，不管怎样都要做出抉择。
斟词酌字NOTES
1.chipmunk [英][ˈtʃɪpmʌŋk] [美][ˈtʃɪpˌmʌŋk] n.金花鼠
2.midsection [英]['mɪdˌsekʃən] [美]['mɪdˌsekʃən] n.上腹部
3.dilemma [英][dɪˈlemə] [美][dɪˈlɛmə] n.进退两难的局面，困难的选择，如： I am a dilemma whether to do mathematics or English. （我左右为难，不知是做数学还是写英语。）
4.humane [英][hju:ˈmeɪn] [美][hjuˈmen] adj.仁慈的，慈爱的，如： Is it humane to kill animals for food? （宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？）
5.rancher [英][ˈrɑ:ntʃə(r)] [美][ˈræntʃər] n.牧场主
6.spouse [英][spaʊs] [美][spaʊs, spaʊz] n.配偶，夫或妻
7.conscience [英][ˈkɒnʃəns] [美][ˈkɑ:nʃəns] n.良心，道德心，如： to have a clear conscience （问心无愧）
8.clear-cut adj.轮廓清楚的、鲜明的，如： a clear-cut objective（明确的目标）
9.out of the blue 出其不意，出乎意料，如：Her son, who left her more than thirty years ago, came out of the blue.(她三十多年前离开的儿子出乎意料地回来了。）
10.legitimate [英][lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət] [美][ləˈdʒɪtəmɪt] adj.合情合理的，合法的，如： a legitimate excuse for being late（正当的迟到理由）
11.rationalize [英][ˈræʃnəlaɪz] [美][ˈræʃənəˌlaɪz] v.寻借口，使合理化，其形容词形式为rational （理智的，合理的）
佳句有约 PATTERNS
1.So I did , in the way that I thought would be the least painful to the animal that already was in a lot of pain.
点拨：本句中did替代前句中的killed the chipmuk。 that I thought would be … 是定语从句，修饰the way ，此处的that 还可以用in which 替代；I thought 是插入语，that already was in a lot of pain 是定语从句，修饰the animal。
2.I could have asked someone driving by to run over the animal , but I know if I had , I would have passed on a responsibility that I knew was mine , and mine alone.
点拨： 本句中现在分词短语driving by 作定语，修饰someone, if i had 后面省略了asked someone driving by to run over the animal, if 引导的条件句，表示与过去事实相反的虚拟语气。 that I knew was mine , and mine alone 是定语从句，修饰responsibility， I knew 是插入语。
了解颜色词“blue”
绚丽多彩的颜色词不仅使世界变得色彩斑斓，而且还丰富了各民族的文化，使其具有深刻的文化内涵及思想底蕴。在英语中的“blue”是一个具有丰富文化内涵的颜色词，具有很多联想涵义。
“blue”常用来表达忧郁、悲伤、沮丧、闷闷不乐等感情。如：be in a blue mood/feel blue（垂头丧气，心情沮丧，郁闷），the blues（指伤感的美国黑人歌曲，汉译“布鲁斯”），be/fall in the blues（情绪低落，无精打采）。
“blue”表示下流的，淫猥的意思。如：blue movies/films（黄色电影），blue jokes（黄色笑话）。
“blue”表示社会地位高、有权势或出身名门望族等意思。“blue room”特指美国总统在白宫用来会见挚友亲朋的会客室。 “blue blood” 表示贵族血统，贵族出身。这个说法源于中世纪时期，上流社会的人们用银质盘子用餐并经常使用银质器皿。据说他们的皮肤因吸收了过多的银质而呈现微微的淡蓝色泽，所以“blue blood”就用来指贵族。另一种说法，古代西班牙北部有一个王国名叫卡斯提尔，卡斯提尔最古老的家族纷纷以拥有纯正的血统为荣，他们相信自己的血统从未被摩尔人、犹太人等异族血统 “扰乱”过，证据就是他们白皙的皮肤上凸显的微微发蓝的静脉血管。
“blue”还包含意外、难得、不可能之意，如：out of the blue （出乎意外地，突然地）， a bolt from the blue/ like a bolt out of the blue （晴天霹雳，意外事件），blue fit （指因意外事件或不幸消息而大为震惊），once in a blue moon（难得有一次，极为罕见）。
“blue”与经济也有着密切的关系。如：blue button（指有权进入股票交易的经纪人）、blue book （蓝皮书）、blue clip (蓝筹股）。
——摘自《温馨美文·记忆的深泉》一书
