课文B

When courage triumphed over fear

当勇气战胜恐惧

I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now can I speak of it without tears filling my eyes at the memory.

我知道勇气是什么样子。我六年前在乘坐的一架航班上就见识了。只到现在，凭记忆述说这件事的时候，我才不致热泪盈眶。

When our plane left New York that Friday morning, we were a talkative, high-energy group. The early-morning transcontinental flight hosted mainly professional people going to San Francisco for a day or two of business. As I looked around, I saw lots of designer suites, CEO-level expensive haircuts, designer briefcases and all the trimmings of lofty business travelers. I settled back with my paperback novel for some light reading and the brief flight ahead.

那是星期五的早上，当我们的飞机从纽约起飞时，我们这帮人还高谈阔论、劲头十足。这趟横贯大陆的清晨航班主要搭载了一些前往旧金山出差一两天的职业人士。我向四周打量一下，看到的多是名贵西装、经理人式的考究发型、名牌公文包以及气宇轩昂的商务旅行者们的各种装束。我身子往后一靠，拿出一本简装小说准备轻松阅读一下，度过时下这短暂的飞行。

Immediately upon take-off, long before we had reached our cruising altitude, it was clear that something was wrong. The aircraft was bumping vertically up and down and tilting left to right. All the experienced travelers, including me, looked around with knowing grins. We had experienced minor problems and turbulence on prior flights. If you fly very much, you see these things and learn to act relaxed about them.

飞机刚一起飞，远未达到巡航高度时，我们就明显感到有什么不对劲。飞机直上直下颠簸、忽左忽右倾斜。我们这些有出门经验的人都四下环顾着，会心地笑了笑。在以前的飞行中，我们都经历过一些小问题和气流颠簸。如果你飞机坐多了，这类事情见多了，你也就学会泰然处之了。

It wasn't long before our relaxed attitudes began to evaporate. Minutes after we were in flight, our plane began dipping wildly and one wing plunged downward. The plane climbed higher but that didn't help our plight. The pilot soon provided some grave news regarding the flight.

没过多久我们放松的心情就开始消失了。飞行才几分钟，飞机就失控下坠，而且一只机翼向下倾斜。尽管飞机爬高了些，但于事无补。飞行员很快通报了这次飞行的严重事态。

\steering. Our indicators show that our landing system has failed, which necessitates that we abort the flight and return to New York. Because of the problems with the mechanisms, it's unlikely our landing gear will lock, so the flight attendants will prepare you for a bumpy landing. Also, if you look out the windows, you will see that we are dumping fuel from the airplane. We want to have as little on board as possible in the event of a rough touchdown.\

“我们现在遇到了一些麻烦，”他说。“目前看来前轮转向装置无法运转；指示器显示，我们的着陆系统失灵了。我们必须放弃飞行，返回纽约。由于机械装置出现了问题，我们的起落架可能无法锁住，因此乘务人员将帮助大家做好准备，预防着陆时的颠簸。还有，如果大家看一下窗外，就会看见我们正在倾倒飞机上的燃油。我们想尽量减轻飞机的负荷，以应对飞机硬着陆。”

In other words, we were about to crash. No sight has ever been so sobering as that fuel, hundreds of gallons of it, streaming past my window out of the plane's tanks. The flight

attendants scrambled to get people into position and comforted those who were instantaneously hysterical.

也就是说，我们要坠机了。从飞机油箱里倒出的成百上千加仑的汽油就从舷窗外飞流直下，没有什么比这种景象更能让人感到事态的严重。乘务人员急于让大家各归其位，还尽力安抚那些顷刻之间歇斯底里的乘客。

As I looked at the faces of my fellow business travelers, I was stunned by the changes I saw. Many looked visibly frightened now. Even the most sophisticated looked vulnerable and grim. Their faces actually looked panicked. There wasn't a single exception, and I realized that no one faces death without fear; no one is immune to its terror.

我看了看这些出门公干的旅伴们，惊讶地发现他们已经神色大变。此时许多人显然吓坏了。甚至那些饱经世故的人们也显得神经脆弱、神情严肃。他们其实已经慌神了。无一例外！由此，我意识到面对死神谁都害怕——无人能免俗。

Then, somewhere in my proximity, I overheard a still calm voice underlying the panic. It was a woman's voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational tone. Despite the circumstance, there was no angry emotion or tension, and this calm voice evoked a calm in me that quieted some of my initial fears. It became imperative that I find her.

就在此时，在我附近某个地方，我听到一个淹没在恐慌之中的依旧从容的声音。这是一位女性的声音，说话语调完全就像普通聊天一样正常。尽管形势危急，这个平静的声音既没有愤怒之情也没有紧张，唤醒了我内心的镇静，抚平了我最初的恐惧。我急需找到她。

All around the cabin, people cried. Many moaned and screamed. A few of the men maintained their appearance of calm by bracing against their armrests and grinding their teeth, but their fear was written all over them.

整个机舱都是人们的哭喊声。许多人呻吟着、尖叫着。几个男人死死撑住座位扶手，咬紧牙关，竭力保持镇静，但是浑身上下都透出惶恐。

Try as I might, I could not have spoken so calmly, so sweetly at that moment as the fabulous voice I heard. Finally, I saw her.

尽管我竭尽全力，但此刻我怎么也不可能像我听到的那个美妙的声音那样，讲话如此镇定、如此动听。终于，我看到了她。

In the midst of all the chaos, a mother was talking, just talking to her child. The woman, in her mid-30's and unremarkable looking in any other way, was staring full into the face of her daughter, who looked about four years old. The child listened closely, sensing that her mother's words were invaluable. The mother's gaze held the child so fixed and intent that the child seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and fear all around her.

混乱之中，一位母亲正在讲话，她就只对着自己的孩子讲。这名妇女 35 岁左右，无论怎么看都相貌平平。她正目不转睛地盯着女儿的脸，女儿看起来大约四岁。孩子仔细聆听，意识到母亲的话语的分量。母亲凝视的目光让孩子听得聚精会神，似乎一点也不为周围人们哀伤和惊恐的声音所动。

I strained to hear what this mother was telling her child. I relished the sound of calm confidence amongst the terror. Finally, I hovered nearby and by some miracle could hear her soft, sure, confident voice say in a calming tone over and over again, \for sure that I love you more than anything?

我竭力想听清这位母亲在跟孩子讲些什么。我喜欢这恐惧中的淡定之声。最后，我凑得近了些。幸运的是，我听清了这温柔、沉着而自信的声音。她用平静的语调一遍遍地说：“我十分爱你。你相信我爱你胜过一切么？”

“Yes, Mommy,” the little girl said. “是的，妈咪，”小姑娘答道。

\girl. Sometimes things happen that are not your fault. You are my beloved, good girl and my love will always be with you.\

“不管发生什么事情，都要记住我永远爱你，你是个好孩子。有些事情的发生并不是你的错。你是我的乖女儿，我的爱将永远伴随着你。”

As her first concern was for her daughter's well-being, the mother then put her body over her daughter’s, strapping the seat belt over both of them to save her daughter from a possible wreckage.

母亲首先心系女儿的安危，她俯身挡在女儿身上，用安全带系住她们俩人，以免女儿被可能的失事残片所伤。

Then, for no earthly reason, our landing gear held and we glided to a gentle stop. It was all over in seconds. Our touchdown was smooth and easy; the tragedy we had feared was not our destiny.

而后，天知道什么原因，我们的起落架居然锁住了，飞机滑行，平稳停下。几秒钟后一切都过去了。我们着地顺利、轻松；我们所恐惧的悲剧并没有成为我们的宿运。

The voice I heard that day never hesitated, never acknowledged dread, and maintained an evenness that seemed emotionally and physically impossible. During that descent, not one of the hardened business people could have spoken without a hint of fear in their voice. Only the greatest courage, with a foundation of even greater love, had brought that mother up and lifted her above the chaos around her.

那天我听到的那个声音没有丝毫的动摇，没有流露出半点惧怕，保持了一份平和。那份平和无论从感情上还是从生理上来讲都令人难以置信。在飞机下坠的过程中，见惯世事的商人们当时说话声中无不流露出恐惧。只有最伟大的勇气，以更伟大的爱为根基，才支撑起这位母亲，使她超然于周围的混乱之上。

That mom showed me the amazing power of love. And for those few minutes, I heard the voice of true courage.

那位母亲给我展现了爱的惊人力量。在那短短几分钟里，我听到了真正勇气的声音。

Unit 3 Life Stories

课文A

Audrey Hepburn- A true angel in this world 奥黛丽·赫本——人间天使

Audrey Hepburn thrilled audiences with starring roles in noteworthy films like Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, War and Peace, and Always.

奥黛丽·赫本在《蒂凡尼的早餐》、《龙凤配》、《罗马假日》、《窈窕淑女》、《战争与和平》和《直到永远》等出色电影中主演的许多角色让观众为之陶醉。

Despite her success in the film domain, the roles she most preferred portraying were not in movies. She was an exemplary mother to her two sons and a UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) Ambassador of Goodwill serving victims in war-torn countries.

尽管在电影界获得成功，但她最愿意塑造的角色却并不在影片中，而是做两个儿子的模范母亲和联合国儿童基金会亲善大使，为饱受战争蹂躏的人们服务。

As a young girl during the Nazi occupation of her native Holland, Audrey Hepburn was aware of the brutality, death, and destruction of war. She was hungry and malnourished, as her family was bankrupted as a result of the invasion. Audrey's father abandoned the family, and two of her uncles were taken captive and killed. Audrey was grabbed off the street by Nazis and placed in line to be sent to a work camp. When the guards glanced away she darted off, barely escaping, and huddled in a cold, foul basement full of rats.

作为一名在纳粹占领下的祖国荷兰生活的小女孩，奥黛丽·赫本清楚战争所带来的野蛮、死亡和破坏。由于受到侵略，家庭破产，奥黛丽经常食不果腹，营养不良。她的父亲拋弃了家庭，两个舅舅也被俘，并且惨遭杀害。奥黛丽被纳粹分子从大街上抓走，与准备被押往劳役营的人放在一起。趁卫兵不注意，她飞快地跑开，惊险逃脱了，蜷缩着躲在一个满是耗子、又冷又脏的地下室里。

The little girl who would become the world's most magical actress began as an anonymous refugee confronting life's horrors and fragility firsthand. But she refused to allow her spirit to be afflicted by the desperate reality of her young life. Instead, she transcended those challenges but never forgot what it felt like to suffer, to be hungry, alone and helpless.

这个日后将成为世界上最具魅力女星的小女孩刚开始只是一个无名难民，直面生命中的恐惧和脆弱。不过她并没有让自己的精神受到幼年生活中残酷现实的影响。相反，她克服了种种挑战，而又从没忘记那种受苦挨饿、孤立无助的感觉。

After the war, Audrey and her mother left Holland, arriving in London as poor immigrants. Her dream of becoming a prime dancer drove her into a rigorous schedule at a famous ballet school. Later, she was spotted by a producer and eventually landed a role in the film Roman Holiday starring Gregory Peck, one of Hollywood's top leading men.

战后，奥黛丽和母亲离开荷兰，到达伦敦，成了贫穷的移民。奥黛丽梦想成为一名一流的舞蹈家，这驱使她去了一所著名的芭蕾舞学校，接受严苛的训练安排。后来，她被一位制片人发现，并最终得到机会，在好莱坞顶级男演员格列高利·派克主演的电影《罗马假日》中饰演一角。

Soon, Audrey was transformed from a malnourished immigrant to an internationally famous movie star. Director Billy Wilder complimented her, saying, \beautifully. Although she won many Academy Awards and other honors for acting, Audrey felt that her most significant work was humanitarian work with those in need, and as the mother to her two sons. She suffered through two divorces and from her memories of the war. Yet, Audrey never let her sadness overcome her or jeopardize her hope for a brighter future. Audrey finally met her soul mate, Robert Wolders, and spent the last 12 years of her life with him.

很快，奥黛丽就从营养不良的移民变成了国际知名的影星。导演比利·怀尔德称赞她说：“奥黛丽行姿优美，言谈优雅。”尽管她数度获得奥斯卡金像奖和其他演艺荣誉，奥黛丽觉得自己最重要的工作还是为那些需要帮助的人开展人道主义服务，以及当好两个儿子的母亲。她经历了两次离婚，并忍受着战争记忆带给她的悲伤，然而，奥黛丽从不让这些悲伤支配自己，或者影响自己对美好未来的向往。最后，奥黛丽遇到了她的灵魂伴侣，罗伯特·沃尔德斯，并和他一起度过了人生的最后 12 年。

Becoming famous never changed Audrey's generous and compassionate character. She felt a deep sense of responsibility to alleviate suffering of those in need, especially children. Friends said Audrey had a complete lack of ego and accepted and appreciated others as they were.