Unit-9-How-I-Found-My-Voice课文翻译综合教程四.pdf

Unit 9 How I Found My Voice James Earl Jones 1 Today I am known for my voice as much as for my acting.It has been my good fortune to receive jobs such as the speaking role of Darth Vader in George Lucass Star Wars trilogy and the voice-over announcer for CNN cable television.I also narrated Aaron Coplands Lincoln Portrait on a compact disc I recorded with the Seattle Symphony.Perhaps my greatest honor came when I was asked to read the New Testament on tape.2 But it took a long time to believe such good things could happen to me.When I was a youngster I stuttered so badly I was completely unable to speak in public.3 Since I was eight Id had trouble speaking.It was so bad that whenever I stood up in class to read,the other kids snickered and laughed.I always sat down,my face burning with shame.4 Im not sure what caused my stuttering.Perhaps it was an emotional problem.I was born in Arkabutla,Mississippi,and when I was about five,I moved to live with my grandparents on their farm near Dublin in northern Michigan.It was traumatic moving from the warm,easy ways of catfish country to the harsh climate of the north,where people seemed so different.5 Fortunately,my granddaddy was a gentleman,a farmer who taught me to love the land.He was short and he had a prodigious amount of energy.He even built a church to please grandmother,a fervent worshiper of the Lord.All sorts of people were invited to our little church;white,black and American Indian came together in a nondenominational fellowship.Granddads Irish heritage came out in his love for language;during the week he used“everyday talk”,but on Sunday he spoke only the finest English.6 As much as I admired his fluency,I couldnt come close to it.I finally quit Sunday school and church,not wanting to be humiliated any more.All through my grade school years,the only way the teacher could assess my progress was for me to write down everything I had learned.7 Oh,I could talk,all right.Our farm animals knew that.I found it easy to call the pigs,tell the dogs to round up the cows,and vent my feelings to Fanny,the horse whose big brown eyes and lifted ears seemed to express interest in all I said.But when visitors came and I was asked to say hello,I could only stand,pound my feet,and grit my teeth.That awful feeling of my voice being trapped got worse as I grew older.8 Then when I was 14,Professor Donald Crouch came to our school.He was a retired college professor who had settled in nearby Brethren,a Mennonite community.When he heard that our agricultural high was teaching Chaucer,Shakespeare and other classics,he couldnt stand not being a part of our school.So he left his retreat to teach us English,history and Latin.9 Donald Crouch was a tall,lean man with gray hair;English was his favorite subject,poetry was his deepest love.Hes been an associate of Robert Frost.He held a book of poems as if it were a diamond necklace,turning pages as if uncovering treasures.He memorized a poem every day,explaining that if he ever lost his eyesight he would still be able to savor all that beauty.10 When he learned that I not only loved poetry but was writing it,we found a kinship.There was,however,one difficulty between us.Professor Crouch(we always called him that)could not stand the fact I refused to read my poems to the class.11“Jim,poetry is meant to be read aloud,just like sermons,”he pressed.“You should be able to speak those beautiful words.”12 I shook my head and turned away.13 Then he tricked me.I labored long and hard on a poem,and after handing it in I waited expectantly for his critique.It didnt come.Instead,one day as the students assembled,he challenged me.“Jim,I dont think you wrote this.”14 I stared at him in disbelief.“Why,”I started,anger flooding me,“of course I did!”15“Well,then,”he said,“youve got to prove it by getting up and reciting it from memory.”16 By then the other students had settled at their desks.He looked at me meaningfully and nodded.With knees shaking,I walked up before my peers.17“Jim will recite his latest poem,”announced Professor Crouch.18 For a moment I stood breathless.I could see smirks and wry smiles on some faces.Then I began.And kept going.I recited my poem all the way through without hesitation or fault!I stood amazed and floated back to my desk in a daze,amid wild applause.19 Afterward,Professor Crouch congratulated me.“Aha,”he said.“Now we have something here.Not only will you have to write more poetry and read it aloud to know how good it feels,but Im sure that you will want to read other writers poetry before the class.”20 I was dubious about that,but said Id try.21 Soon I began to discover something other stutterers know.Most have no problem singing because the lyrics rhythmic pattern flows by itself.I found the same cadences in poetry,and before long my fellow students actually looked forward to hearing me recite.I loved the rolling beat of The Song of Hiawatha,especially since I had Indian blood in my veins.22 I discovered I did have a voice,a strong one.Under Professor Crouchs tutelage,I entered oratorical contests and debates.He never pushed anything at me again;he just wanted all his students to wake up.23 As my stuttering disappeared,I began dreaming of becoming an actor,like my father,who was then performing in New York City.No one in my family had ever gone to college.But encouraged by Professor Crouch,I took exams and won a scholarship to the University of Michigan.24 There I entered the drama department and after graduation fulfilled my ROTC responsibility by serving with the Armys Cold Weather Training Command on mountain maneuvers in Colorado.25 Later,on the GI Bill,I signed up with the American Theater Wing in New York and supported myself between roles by sweeping floors of off-Broadway stages.In 1962 I earned an Obie for my role in an off-Broadway production of Othello,and have been an actor ever since.26 Meanwhile,I always kept in touch with my old professor,by letter and telephone.Every time we talked it was always,“Hi,Jim.Read any good poetry lately?”He was losing his sight and I remembered his early explanation of why he had memorized poetry.In later years when I was doing Shakespeares Timon of Athens at the Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven,Connecticut,I phoned him.“Can I fly you in from Michigan to see it?”27“Jim,”he sighed,“Im blind now.Id hate not to be able to see you acting.It would hurt too much.”28“I understand,Professor,”I said,helped in part by the realization that though my mentor could no longer see,he was still living in a world vibrant with all of the beautiful treasures he had stored.29 About two years later I learned Donald Crouch had passed on.When I was asked to record the New Testament,I really did it for a tall,lean man with gray hair who had not only helped to guide me to the author of the Scriptures,but as the 1 father of my resurrected voice,had also helped me find abundant life.找回声音 詹姆斯厄尔琼斯 今天我在声音方面的名气一点都不逊色于我的表演。我在乔治 卢卡斯的星球大战 三部曲中担任达斯维达的配音演员，并在有线新闻 网担任旁白播音员，能够获得这些工作 机会我感到很幸运。我还与西雅图交响乐团合作录制 CD，在艾伦科普兰的林肯肖像 中担任朗诵。也许我最大的荣誉是应邀录制新约。2 我花了好长时间才相信这样的好事会落到我头上。我还是个小 孩子的时候口吃非常严 重，以至于不敢在公众面前说话。3 从 8 岁开始我说话就有困难。情况很严重。每次我在班上站起来朗读，其他小孩不是 窃笑就是大笑。于是我只好坐下来，双颊绯红，羞愤不已。4 我不知道怎么会口吃的。也许是情感问题。我出生在密西西比 州的阿卡布特拉。5 岁 的时候，搬到密歇根州北部都柏林附近我外祖父母的农场里，和他们生活在一起。从温暖 惬意的鲶鱼之乡搬到气候严峻的北部，风土人情看起来大不相 同，是一件令人痛苦的事。5 幸运的是，我外公是位农场主绅士，他教会我热爱土地。他个 头矮小，精力过人。为 了讨好外婆，他甚至建了一座教堂，因为外婆是上帝热诚的信 徒。我们的小教堂邀请了各 色人等参加活动；白人、黑人、印第安人，不分宗教派别，纷 至沓来，和睦友爱。外公的 爱尔兰传统表现在他对语言的热爱上。周一到周六他使用 日砈糜飻，但是到了礼拜天他只 讲最优雅的英语。6 尽管我佩服他语言流利，我却无法达到他的水平。最后我放弃 了到主日学校学习，也 不去教堂，再也不想受到羞辱。在我整个小学时代，老师考核 我进步的唯一方式是让我写 下我所学会的全部知识。7 哦，我会说话，是的。我们农场里的动物都知道这一点。我觉 得叫唤猪，告诉狗儿把 奶牛赶到一块儿都很容易，还可以对着凡妮倾诉衷肠。凡妮是 一匹马儿，她大大的棕色眼 睛和竖起的耳朵似乎都表示对我说的一切都很有兴趣。但凡来 了客人，大人们让我和他们 打招呼，我只能站起来，跺着脚，咬着牙。随着年龄的增长，我那种嗓音被卡在喉咙里的 可怕感觉变得更加糟糕了。8 于是到了我 14 岁的时候，唐纳德克劳奇教授来到了我们学校。他是个大学退休 教授，在附近的布雷瑟任定居，这是个门诺派教会社区。当他听说我 们这个农业中学讲授乔叟、莎士比亚和其他经典作家的作品，便迫不及待地加入到我们学 校来。于是他离开了自己的 静修所来给我们讲授英语、历史和拉丁语。9 唐纳德克劳奇又高又瘦，头发花白。他最喜英语，最爱诗歌。他曾是罗伯特弗罗斯 特的同事。他抓着一本诗集，仿佛那是一串钻石项链，翻动这 本诗集就像探寻珍宝一般。他每天背一首诗，解释说万一失明，他仍然能够回味诗歌的一 切美丽。10 他听说我不仅热爱诗歌还自己动手创作，我们找到了共同的爱 好。然而我们之间存在 着一个难题。克劳奇教授(我们总这样称呼他)不能忍受的一点是我拒绝向 全班朗诵自己的 诗歌。11“吉姆，诗歌就是用来大声朗诵的，就像布道词一样，”他 催促我。“你 应该能够读出那些 美丽的词句。”12 13 我摇摇头，转身离开。于是他耍了个招数。我花费苦功和很多时间写了一首诗，把这 首诗歌交给他以后我非 常期待他的评论。然而评论姗姗来迟。有一天，当同学们聚集 在一起时，他先发制人：吉 姆，我不相信这是你写的。14 我瞪眼看着他，不敢相信自己的耳朵。“不，”我 憋不住了，怒火中烧：“当然是我写的!”15“那么，好吧，”他 说，“你 得站起来，给我们背诵一下。16 到了这会儿，其他同学都已纷纷就座。他意味深长地看着我，点了点头。我两腿不住 发抖，但还是站到了同学们面前。17“吉姆将为大家朗诵他最新的诗歌作品。”克 劳奇教授宣布道。18 一时间我几乎要窒息了。我可以看到某些人的窃笑与怪脸。于 是我开始朗诵。一直不 停地朗诵。我从头到尾流畅准确地背诵了出来!我惊讶地站着，然后在一片激烈的掌声中恍 恍惚惚地飘回到我的座位上。19 之后，克劳奇教授向我表示祝贺。“啊 哈，”他 说道，“现 在我们有料了。你不仅要写更多 的诗歌，还要大声朗诵，体验很棒的感觉，我还肯定你愿意在 班里朗诵其他作家的诗歌。”20 21 我对此表示怀疑，但还是说愿意尝试一下。很快我就发现了其他口吃者都知道的一些情况。他们中的大多 数人唱歌没有问题，因 为歌词的节奏韵律是自然流动的。我在诗歌中也找到了同样的 节奏。事实上，不久以后我 的同学们都很期待听我朗诵诗歌。我喜爱海华沙之歌中跌 宕起伏的节拍，尤其是因为 自己的血管里流淌着印第安人的血液。22 我发现自己的嗓音真的不错，铿锵有力。在克劳奇教授的指导 下，我参加了演讲比赛 和辩论活动。他再也没有强迫我做什么，他要的就是所有学生 都能振奋起来。23 我不再口吃了，我开始梦想成为一名演员，就像当时正在纽约 市演出的父亲那样。我 们家里没有任何人上过大学。但在克劳奇教授的鼓励下，我参 加考试上了密歇根大学，并 且获得了奖学金。24 我在那里上了戏剧系。毕业后来到科罗拉多，在寒冷天气训练 指挥部服役，参加了山 地演习，完成了我在后备军官训练队的使命。25 而后，受益于退伍军人权利法案，我与纽约的“美国剧院之翼”签约。演戏之余，我还 打扫外百老汇舞台的地板以维持生计。1962 年，我因为在外百老汇的奥赛罗中的表演 获得奥比奖，从此以后开始了演艺生涯。26 与此同时，我一直通过信件和电话与我的老教授保持联系。每 次通话总是如此：“嗨，吉姆。最近读了什么好诗没有？”他的视力不断下降，我于是回想起早年他说为啥要背 诵诗 歌的原因。后来几年，我在康涅狄格州纽黑文的耶鲁保留剧目 轮演剧团的专用剧场出演莎 士比亚的雅典的泰门，给 他打了电话。我问道：“我能请您从密歇根乘飞机过来观看演 出吗？”27“吉姆，”他 叹息道，“现 在我眼睛看不见了。我真难过不能看你演出。这真令人难 过。”28“我明白，教授，”我 答道。聊以自慰的是尽管我的导师再出看不见了，但他仍然生活 在 一个生机盎然的世界里，和他储藏的美丽珍宝相依相伴。29 大概两年后，我得知克劳奇教授已经去世了。当我应邀录制 新约，我真的是为一 位又高又瘦、头发花白的老人在做这件事。他不仅引导我觐见 了圣经的作者，并且使 我的声音重获新生，帮助我发现了丰富多彩的人生。