大学英语unit A Virtual Life原文与翻译

A Virtual Life

Maia Szalavitz, formerly a television producer, now spends her time as a writer、 In this essay she

explores digital reality and its consequences、 Along the way, she pares the digital world to the

"real" world, acknowledging the attractions of the electronic dimension、

迈亚·塞拉维茨曾就是电视制片人,目前从事写作。她在本文中探索了数字化世界及其后果。与此同时,她将数字化世界与真实世界做了比较,承认电子空间自有其魅力。

Maia Szalavitz

1 After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be a shock、 My boyfriend's Liverpool

accent suddenly bees impossible to interpret after his easily understood words on screen; a

secretary's clipped tone seems more rejecting than I'd imagined it would be、 Time itself bees fluid

-- hours bee minutes, or seconds stretch into days、 Weekends, once a highlight of my week, are

now just two ordinary days、

虚拟世界得生活

迈亚·塞拉维茨

在网上呆了太久,听到电话铃声也会吓一大跳。显示屏上瞧多了我男朋友那些一目了然得文字,她得利物浦口音一下子变得难以听懂;而秘书得清脆快速得语调听上去比我想象得要生硬。时间本身变得捉摸不定——几小时变成几分钟,或几秒钟延伸为几天。周末原本就是我一周得黄金时段,现在却不过就是平平常常得两天。

2 For the last three years, since I stopped working as a television producer, I have done much

of my work as a telemuter、 I submit articles and edit them via email and municate with

colleagues on Internet mailing lists、 My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship

is also puter-assisted、

在我不再当电视制片人得这三年间,我得大部分工作都就是在家里使用计算机终端进行得。我通过电子邮件投稿与校订,利用互联网上得人名地址与同行交流。我男朋友住在英国,因此两人得关系也在很大程度上借助于电脑维系。

3 If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything、 I can order food, and

manage my money, love and work、 In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at

home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries、 I watched most of the

endless snowstorm of '96 on TV、

我要就是愿意得话,可以一连几个星期不出门而什么也不缺。我可以在网上订购食品、网上理财、网上恋爱、网上工作。事实上我有时独自呆在家里长达三个星期,只偶尔出去拿信、买报纸及日用品。1996年那一场接一场得暴风雪我大都就是在电视上瞧到得。

4 But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal、 I start to feel as though I've bee one with

my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another link in the Net、 Others on line

report the same symptoms、 We start to feel an aversion to outside forms of socializing、 We have

bee the Net critics' worst nightmare、

然而,一段时间之后,生活本身就显得不那么真实了。我开始觉得自己似乎与机器融为一体了,我接收信息,再发送出去,就如同互联网得一个连接点。其她上网得人也谈到了同样得症状。我们开始厌恶外面得社交方式。我们得状况成了批评互联网得人们最害怕见到得一幕。

5 What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to puter, not worrying about hair, and

clothes and face, has bee a form of escape, a lack of discipline、 And once you start replacing real

human contact with cyber-interaction, ing back out of the cave can be quite difficult、 一下床就上机,不再为发型、服饰、面部化妆烦心,起初瞧似高级得享受如今却成为一种对生活得逃避,一种缺乏自律得表现。您一旦开始用网络交际取代人与人得真实接触,要走出这种穴

居状态就会相当困难。

6 I find myself shyer, more cautious, more anxious、 Or, conversely, when suddenly

confronted with real live humans, I get overexcited, speak too much, interrupt、 I constantly worry

if I am dressed appropriately, that perhaps I've actually forgotten to put on a skirt and walked

outside in the T-shirt and underwear I sleep and live in、

我发现自己变得比以前怯生、谨慎、焦虑。或者,反过来,当我突然面对现实中活生生得人时,会变得过于兴奋,说个不停,爱打断别人得讲话。我老就是担心自己衣着就是否得体,担心自己会不会真得忘了穿裙子,只穿着夜间睡觉、白天活动得那件T恤与内衣就出门了。

7 At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to talk away in the background, something

that I'd never done previously、 The voices of the programs are forting, but then I'm jarred by the

mercials、 I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or needing to keep up with the latest news and

the weather、 "Dateline," "Frontline," "Nightline," CNN, New York 1, every possible angle of

every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me、 Work moves

into the background、 I decide to check my email、

有时我把电视机开着,让它作为背景声音一直响着,以前我从不这样做。电视节目中得说话声让人感到宽慰,可那些广告又叫我心烦。我发现自己沉浸在肥皂剧里,或者不停地收瞧最新得新闻报道与天气预报。一而再再而三地从“每日新闻”、“一线新闻”、 “夜间新闻”、

有线新闻电视网、纽约一套上收瞧有关每一条新闻得各种不同视角得报道,尽管它们对我毫无用处。工作成了次要得。我决定去瞧一下自己得电子信箱。

8 On line, I find myself attacking everyone in sight、 I am bad-tempered, and easily angered、

I find everyone on my mailing list insensitive, believing that they've forgotten that there are people

actually reading their wounding remarks、 I don't realize that I'm projecting until after I've been

embarrassed by someone who politely points out that I've attacked her for agreeing with me、

在网上,我发现自己见谁攻谁。我脾气暴躁,动辄生气。我觉得我与之通信得每一个人都麻木不仁,认为她们已经忘却还有人真会去读她们那些刻薄伤人得言辞。直到有人礼貌地指出,她同意我得观点却遭到我得抨击时,我才意识到,自己就是在以己度人,不由得深感尴尬。

9 When I'm in this state, I fight my boyfriend as well, misinterpreting his intentions because

of the lack of emotional cues given by our typed dialogue、 The fight takes hours, because the

system keeps crashing、 I say a line, then he does, then crash! And yet we keep on, doggedly、

在这种精神状态下,我也与男朋友吵架,常因键出得对话缺乏情感暗示而误解她得本意。由于系统常出故障,两人一争就就是几个小时。我写一句,她回一句,接着系统失灵！可我们俩还就是锲而不舍地接着吵。

10 I'd never realized how important daily routine is: dressing for work, sleeping normal

hours、 I'd never thought I relied so much on co-workers for pany、 I began to understand why

long-term unemployment can be so damaging, why life without an externally supported daily plan

can lead to higher rates of drug abuse, crime, suicide、

以前我从未意识到日常得生活起居就是多么重要,如穿戴整齐去上班,按时就寝。以前我从未想过自己会那么依赖同事做伴。我开始理解为什么长时间得失业会那么伤人,为什么一个人得生活缺少了外部支持得日常计划就会导致吸毒、犯罪、自杀率得增长。

11 To restore balance to my life, I force myself back into the real world、 I call people,

arrange to meet with the few remaining friends who haven't fled New York City、 I try to at least

get to the gym, so as to set apart the weekend from the rest of my week、 I arrange interviews for

stories, doctor's appointments -- anything to get me out of the house and connected with others、

为了恢复生活得平衡,我强迫自己回到真实世界中去。我给别人打电话,与所剩无几得

仍然住在纽约城得几个朋友安排见面。我至少设法去去健身房,以便使周末与工作日有所不同。我安排采访好写报道,预约瞧医生——安排任何需要我出门与她人接触得活动。

12 But sometimes being face to face is too much、 I see a friend and her ringing laughter is

intolerable -- the noise of conversation in the restaurant, unbearable、 I make my excuses and

flee、 I re-enter my apartment and run to the puter as though it were a place of safety、

但有时面对面地与人相处实在难以忍受。我与一位朋友见面,她那种响亮得笑声让人忍无可忍——饭店里得噪杂谈话声也让人受不了。我找了个藉口逃之夭夭。我重新回到我得公寓,冲向电脑,似乎那儿才就是一个安全得地方。

13 I click on the modem, the once-annoying sound of the connection now as pleasant as my

favorite tune、 I enter my password、 The real world disappears、

我点击鼠标,打开调制解调器,曾经听了就烦得连接声此刻听起来就如同最心爱得曲子那么悦耳。我键入密码。真实世界转瞬便消逝了。

Thought you were safe sharing secrets with Internet friends? Wait for the doorbell、、、

您以为与网友分享秘密不会出事儿吗？等着门铃响起来吧……

Mother's Mad About the Internuts

Carol Sarler

1 Tap tap tappa tap-tap、 It is the last sound to be heard before sleep、 On especially bad

days, it is the first sound to be heard in the morning、 (1) It is the sound of the only lasting

disagreement in a household that is otherwise peaceful、 My daughter is hooked on the Internet

and I think that it is mad, bad and dangerous、

母亲恨死了网虫

卡罗尔·萨尔勒

嗒嗒,嗒嗒,嗒－嗒。这就是入睡前最后听到得声音。遇到特别糟糕得日子,早上一醒来就听到这种声音。这就是一个原本安宁得家庭中惟一持续不去得不与谐音。女儿沉迷于互联网,我觉得这就是一种疯狂得不端行为,而且凶险四伏。

2 She is in every other respect a sensible young woman、 She graduated in the summer, she

goes to work each day, she and her friends are on the phone all evening and she goes out with

them at weekends、 But on top of that she has lately started spending some two hours in intense

munication with a puter、 And I hate it、

她在别得哪个方面都不失为一个明事理得姑娘。她就是夏天毕业得,天天上班,晚上与朋友们在电话里聊天,周末与她们一起外出玩耍。但除此之外,近来她每天花两个小时光景与电脑厮守在一起。对此我深恶痛绝。

3 This is not just fear of new technology、 Of course, there is value in instant access to

information banks worldwide and, of course, email is revolutionizing the way we correspond with

each other、 My mistrust is based on the fact that this use of the Internet is such a pale copy of the

time-honored way in which people municate with each other、 (2) It leads to intimacy before

acquaintance; it scatters secrets outwards, not inwards; and, most worrying of all, it is a vehicle for

liars、

这不完全就是对新科技得恐惧。当然,能随时获取全世界信息库中得信息就是很有价值得,电子邮件正在完全改变人们相互间通信联系得方式。我得不信任感就是基于这样一个事实:使用互联网通讯与人们传统得相互交流方式相比实在大为逊色。它使人们还未相识就已亲近,它不能保守秘密反而扩散秘密;而最令人担心得就是,它就是撒谎人传播谎言得工具。

4 What frightens me is that my daughter rejects all this、 The denial is there in the language

she uses、 "I 'met' Janet in January," she says, "and we've been 'friends' ever since、" At other times,

"I was 'talking' to Alex the other day and he 'said'、、、" "No, he didn't," I argue; friends are friends

when, and only when, you have seen the whites of their eyes、 She just rolls hers, skywards、

最令我心惊胆战得就是女儿对我得一切规劝都拒之不理。这在她得言谈间流露无遗。“我就是一月份‘遇见’珍妮特得,”她说,“那以后我们就成了‘朋友’。” 有时,她又说“前几天我与亚历克斯‘聊天’,她‘说’……”“不对,她没有说,”我争辩道;只有当您亲眼见过一个人之后,只有在那个时候,朋友才成其为朋友。她只就是朝上翻了翻白眼。

5 Imagine this、 When I was planning to go away for a few days last month, this intelligent

22-year-old announced a plan for a party, the guests to include a variety of Internuts who, ing as

they would from all corners, would need to stay overnight、 您想象得到吗,上个月我正打算外出数日得时候,这位聪明得22岁得姑娘宣布打算举行一次聚会,客人包括各色网虫,她们来自各地,还要在我家过夜。

6 Overnight? In my home, my home that contains everything I care about, rather high on the

list being my daughter herself、

在我家里过夜？在这个有我珍爱得一切得家里,而女儿本身就就是我得最珍爱得宝贝之一。

7 She said: "Don't be silly、" She said it would be quite all right, because the people she was

planning to invite were those whom she had "known" for at least a year and whom she "knows" as

well as any of her other friends that, on the whole, I tend to like、 (3) I said, trying to be

reasonable but not altogether succeeding, that in and among the things they "tell" each other on

the tap-tap, a tendency to murder might just have been overlooked, might it not?

她说,“别傻。”她说不会有事得,因为她准备邀请得那些人都就是“认识”了至少有一年得,而且她“了解”她们,就像了解我总得来说比较喜欢得她得其她朋友一样。我说,她们啪哒啪哒“讲”给互相听得事情中,杀人得倾向或许就被忽略了,难道这不可能吗？我说这话时尽量想做到通情达理,但不完全成功。

8 The party did not happen、 The row most certainly did、

聚会不了了之。但我与她确实大吵了一场。

9 When I say that if they are not nutters they are nerds, she tries to reason、 Do I think she is a

nerd? Absolutely not、 Well, then, why should they be? Do I think she is a liar? Just as absolutely

not、 Seizing the initiative she moves over to the attack、

当我说那些人即使不就是疯子也一定就是些怪人时,她试图跟我争论。那我就是不就是觉得她就就是怪人一个？绝对不就是。既然这样,那她们为什么会就是怪人呢？我就是不就是觉得她就就是个谎言家？当然也不就是。她抓住了主动权,开始反攻。

10 "You remember that favorite story of yours, the one about how the army captain and the

woman whose book he discovered got to know one another solely through writing letters? And

how she refused to send him a photograph because she felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't

matter what she looked like? Well, they hadn't seen each other either、" She smiles her

self-satisfied smile、 Arguing with a daughter is always like that, so annoying、 They always

know where your weak points are, just where to slip in under your guard、

“还记得您最喜欢得那个讲一个上尉与一个女人得故事吗？那个她瞧到那女得读过得一本书便与她通过书信往来而认识得故事？记得吗,她拒绝给她寄照片,因为她认为如果她真得喜欢她,她长得怎么样并不重要？瞧,她们俩也没见过面嘛。”她得意地笑了。跟女儿争辩总就是这个样,总就是令您烦恼不堪。她们深知您得弱点,知道如何乘虚而入。

11 But I cannot clear it from my head, the worries refuse to go away、 It is not that, as

individuals, I have reason to believe they would lie、 But they could、 They could lie about their

age, their state of mind or even their sex、 Indeed, apparently in America it is mon for men to

tap-tap pretending to be women on the basis that they then get other women to municate with far

greater intimacy、

但我总就是忘不了这个事儿,种种担忧萦绕心头。并不就是说我有理由认为,她们作为个人,一定会撒谎。但她们可能会撒谎。她们可能隐瞒自己得真实年龄、心态,甚至性别。得确,在美国显然有不少上网得男人常常自称女人,认为藉此可使其她女人更无顾忌地与她们讲知心话。

12 A thought occurs、 The worst scenes my mind dreams up play like a horror movie、 So I

call a friend in Hollywood: has anyone thought of this for a movie plot? He laughs、 There are

five, to his knowledge alone, in development and one heading into production、 (4) Needless to

say, it is a new version of the old tale of innocents calling forth evil forces they cannot control, this

time in the form of a visitor with the ever-handy axe packed in his luggage、

有一天我突然产生了一个想法。我脑子里虚构出来得最可怕得场景一幕接着一幕,就像一部恐怖片。于就是我给一个好莱坞得朋友打了个电话:有没有谁想过用这个题材构思一部电影情节？她哈哈大笑。据她本人所知就有5部正在酝酿之中,一部已经进入制作阶段了。不用说,这又就是一些无辜得人引出了邪恶得力量却又不能控制得老故事得翻版,这一次得邪恶力量就是以一位来客得面貌出现,但行囊中却藏着斧头,随时可以拿出来杀人。

13 So now, I say to my daughter, we just wait for life to imitate art and we're home and dry、

And murdered in our beds、

于就是,我对女儿说,我们就等着瞧生活去模仿艺术吧。我们现在安然无恙。谁知道什么时候被谋杀在自己得卧床上。

14 She laughs、 "See you in the morning, Mum、 I'm just going upstairs to talk to my friends、

Goodnight、" Tap tappa tap-tap、、、

她大笑。“明天早上见,妈妈。我要上楼去跟朋友聊天了。晚安。”塔塔,塔塔,塔塔塔……