新視野大學英語第四冊 unit8A A meaningful life
A meaningful life（有意義的人生）
第壹部分
The death of an angel of animal rights activism does not rate with that of a drugged-out rock star.
So when Henry Spira died of cancer in September 1998, his death passed without notice, apart from a brief obituary in The New York Times.?
Yet Henry Spiral life tells us something important, not only about the modern animal movement, but about the possibility of an individual making a difference in the modern world.
壹位動物權利保護運動的天使的去世還比不上壹個沈溺於毒品的搖滾明星的死亡。
所以，亨利.斯皮拉在 1998 年 9 月因癌癥去世的消息根本沒有引起公眾的註意，只是《紐約時報》上刊登了壹則簡短的訃告。
但是亨利.斯皮拉的壹生讓我們懂得了壹些重要的東西，不僅關於現代動物權益保護運動，而且還有壹個人改變現代社會的可能性。
第二部分
I first met Henry when he turned up at an adult education seminar I was giving at New York University.?
I offered a course on "Animal Liberation" that attracted about 20 students. One student was an unusual specimen, outside the regular aesthetic of an "animal person".
His clothes were untidy, and his hair uncombed. His language was so blunt and earthy that at times I thought I was listening to an assassin from a violent mob.?
Yet, I couldn't help feeling intrigued with his direct way of speaking and his solemn, secular oath to help animals in need.
第壹次見到亨利，是我在紐約大學教壹個成人教育研修班時他前來聽課。
我開設了壹門關於“動物解放”的課程，吸引了大約 20 名學生。其中壹名學生很另類，完全和通常意義上“動物權利保護者”的形象背道而馳。
他的衣著邋遢，頭發也未曾梳理。他說話非常直率並且粗俗，有時我甚至認為，我好像是在聽壹個暴力團夥的殺手在講話。
但是，我情不自禁地被他那種直截了當的說話方式，還有他那莊重的、不是出於宗教目的要幫助處於困境中的動物的誓言吸引住了。
第三部分
I left New York soon after that, but one day got a call from Henry.
He talked with me about his work. I knew that for over a century, the animal rights movement had been putting out graphic brochures, leaflets, and audio propaganda, alerting people to the dreadful experiments on animals.?
But in all that time, the number of animals used in experiments had risen from a small batch of a few hundred to more than 30 million. No activist had managed to stop a single experiment or improve the lives of animals living in tiny, constricted enclosures.?
Henry changed that. One of his earliest campaigns permanently closed down a laboratory conducting experiments with toxic vapor on about 60 rabbits.
在那之後，我很快就離開了紐約。但是有壹天，我接到了亨利的電話。
他和我聊起了他的工作。我知道，壹個多世紀以來，動物權益運動的倡導者壹直通過散發帶圖畫的手冊、傳單以及音頻宣傳材料，來引起公眾對那些可怕的動物實驗的關註。
但與此同時，用於實驗的動物數量從原來區區幾百驟增到三千多萬。沒有哪位活動家曾成功阻止過壹項實驗或改善了蝸居在狹小困籠中的動物的生活。
亨利卻改變了這壹切。他早期的運動之壹就是使壹間用毒蒸汽在大約60只兔子身上做實驗的實驗室被永久關閉。
第四部分
Following that success Henry rapidly moved on to bigger targets.?
He laid siege to Revlon over their use of rabbits to test cosmetics for potential eye damage and exerted enough pressure to persuade them to put $750000 into the search for alternatives.
Having seen the boycott that Revlon had narrowly averted and being afraid of incurring similar wrath Avon Bristol-Myers and other major cosmetics corporations soon followed suit.?Though it took 10 years for the research to achieve results it was largely Henry's public and judicious watchdog efforts that brought so many cosmetics corporations to where they now truthfully state their products are not tested on animals.
取得上述成功之後，亨利馬上轉向更大的目標。
他譴責露華濃公司用兔子檢測化妝品對眼睛可能造成的傷害。他還給露華濃施加了強大的壓力，說服其投入75萬美元進行研究，以尋找替代方法。
雅芳、百時美及其他大型化妝品公司看到露華濃險些遭到抵制，擔心自己也會招致同樣的憤怒，所以很快也都紛紛效仿。雖然他們的研究歷經10年才取得成果‘
但是正是亨利所作出的這種公開而又明智的監督，才使得這麽多化妝品公司現在可以如實地說，他們的產品沒有在動物身上進行實驗。
第五部分
From decades spent working on the side of the weak and oppressed Henry became efficient at masterminding campaigns.
His victory over Revlon didn't require wealth legislators or the help of big governments.?He learned how to build public awareness campaigns how to shape malpractice lawsuits to successfully sue large companies and how to build committed groups of supporters for the cause.
經過幾十年為弱勢及受壓迫群體所做的抗爭，亨利變得非常善於策劃各種活動。
他在與露華濃的抗衡中獲勝，靠的不是財富、立法者或龐大的政府的幫助。
他學會了如何發起能夠喚醒公眾意識的活動，如何開展瀆職訴訟以便成功起訴大公司，以及如何為這壹事業建立忠實的支持者團隊。
第六部分
We often assume that society has become too big and too bureaucratic for individuals to make a difference.
How could one individual however humane and passionate possibly bring about change in the face of powerful global corporations ministerial indifference and complicated parliamentary rules?我們經常認為社會已經變得太大、太官僚，從而個體不可能改變它。
在面對強大的跨國公司、冷漠的執政部門和眾多復雜的議會規則時，單單壹個人，不管他多麽具有人道主義，多麽富有激情，又如何能促成改變呢？
第七部分
Henry's life was dedicated to the cause of preventing suffering of innocent helpless animals especially those used in research.?
He didn't stand on the sidelines or try to get revenge for the suffering he observed. Henry was practical.?
He acted. He appealed to the public and created publicity kits to help common people become activists.
亨利的壹生都致力於阻止無辜又無助的動物遭受痛苦，尤其是那些被用於研究的動物。
他沒有袖手旁觀，也沒有試圖為他所看到的苦難復仇。
亨利是個很實際的人。他采取了行動。他向公眾呼籲，並做了各種成套的宣傳材料來幫助普通人成為積極的參與者。
第八部分
On April 21 1996 I sent Henry a fax telling him I was thinking about writing a book to chronicle his life and work. I asked whether I could stay with him for a few days in June to talk about it.
1996年4月21日，我給亨利發了壹份傳真，告訴他我正在考慮寫壹本記錄其生平和事業的書。我問他我是否可以6月份過去和他待幾天，以討論這壹事宜。
第九部分
Henry called that evening. He said he'd really like me to write the book but he wasn't sure he was still going to be around in late June.?
He explained that he'd been diagnosed with cancer and asked whether I could come earlier.
當天晚上亨利就給我打了電話。他說他很願意由我來寫這本書，但是他不確定自己6月下旬是否還會活在世上。
他解釋說他已經被確診得了癌癥，所以問我能不能早點來。
第十部分
I was in New York six days later. Henry had lost a lot of weight and lacked the energy I was used to seeing in him.
His life expectancy was a matter of months. Death seemed to be stalking him.6天後我就到了紐約。亨利瘦了很多，而且也沒有了我以前在他身上看到的精力。
他的生命只剩幾個月了。死亡似乎正在向他逼近。
第十壹部分
The most remarkable thing about Henry though was the total absence of any sign of depression.?
Life had been good he said refusing to hear my sympathy and condolences. He said he'd done what he wanted to do and enjoyed it a lot. Why should he be depressed?
盡管如此，亨利最了不起的壹點就是，妳根本看不到他有壹絲壹毫的沮喪。
他說他壹直過得很好，因而拒絕聽我說同情和安慰的話。他說，他做了自己想做的事，而且很享受所做的壹切，為什麽要感到沮喪呢？
第十二部分
Henry's life did not terminate in the time his doctors predicted.
For the next two years he kept working helping develop the material I needed for the book through interviews and questionnaires. When I began writing I never thought Henry would see a completed draft but he lived to see the book on sale in a New York bookstore.?Then within a week wearing his favorite striped pajamas he died
亨利的生命並沒有像醫生預言的那麽快終止。
在接下來的兩年裏，他壹直堅持工作，通過采訪和問卷調查的方式，幫助我準備寫書需要的材料。
在我開始動筆的時候，我從來沒想到亨利能看到完整的初稿，但是他壹直活到親眼看到書在紐約的書店出售。
然後，不到壹個星期，他就去世了，當時身上穿著他最喜歡的條紋睡衣。
第十三部分
One essential mark of living well is to be satisfied with one's accomplishments when taking a retrospective look at life and to be able to accept death and face infinity calmly.?
Henry's life seemed to lack many of the things that most of us take for granted as essential to a good life. He never married or had a long-term live-in relationship.?
He had no children or successors. He never went to concerts to the theater or to fine restaurants.
He didn't bring antibiotics to the needy or vaccinate the poor. He was never called a hero like the caped crusaders of our comic books.?There is no fancy stone for him at the cemetery after his death. He just cared for the weakest creatures in his society.?
What gave Henry Spira's life depth and purpose? What did he? and others? find meaningful in the way he lived his life?
壹個人活得好的壹個根本標誌就是，在他回首自己人生的時候，他對自己的成就感到滿意，而且能夠冷靜地接受死亡、面對永恒。
亨利的人生似乎缺少了我們大多數人想當然地認為美好人生所必須具備的很多東西。
他壹生未婚，也從未經歷過長期的戀愛同居關系；他沒有孩子或別的繼承人；他從來不去音樂會、劇院或高級飯店；他也沒有給生活艱難者帶去抗生素或是給貧困者接種疫苗。
他從來沒有像我們的漫畫書中那些披著鬥篷的社會改革家那樣被稱為英雄。他死後墓地上也沒有什麽精致的墓碑。他只是關心社會中脆弱的生靈。
是什麽讓亨利·斯皮拉的生活富有深度、目標明確呢？在他的這種生活中，他，以及其他人，又發現了什麽有意義的東西呢？