Unit 4 A View of Mountains课文翻译综合教程四.doc

Unit4AViewofMountainsJonathanSchell1.OnAugust9,1945,thedaytheatomicbombwasdroppedonNagasaki,YosukeYamahata,aphotographerservingintheJapanesearmy,wasdispatchedtothedestroyedcity.Thehundredorsopictureshetookthenextdayconstitutethefullestphotographicrecordofnucleardestructioninexistence.Hiroshima,destroyedthreedaysearlier,hadlargelyescapedthecamera'slensinthefirstdayafterthebombing.ItwasthereforelefttoYamahatatorecord,methodically－and,asithappens,withagreatandsimpleartistry–theeffectsonahumanpopulationofanuclearweapononlyhoursafterithadbeenused.SomeofYamahata'spicturesshowcorpsescharredinthepeculiarwayinwhichanuclearfireballcharsitsvictims.Theyhavebeenburnedbylight–technicallyspeaking,bythe“thermalpulse”－andtheirbodiesareoftenbrandedwiththepatternsoftheirclothes,whosecolorsabsorblightindifferentdegrees.Onephotographshowsahorsetwistedunderthecartithadbeenpulling.Anothershowsaheapofsomethingthatoncehadbeenahumanbeinghangingoveraledgeintoaditch.Athirdshowsagirlwhohassomehowsurvivedunwoundedstandingintheopenmouthofabombshelterandsmilinganunearthlysmile,shockinguswiththesightofordinarylife,whichotherwiseseemstohavebeenleftbehindforgoodinthesceneswearewitnessing.Stretchingintothedistanceonallsidesarefieldsofrubbledottedwithfires,and,inthebackground,aviewofmountains.Wecanseethemountainsbecausethecityisgone.Thatabsence,evenmorethanwreckage,containstheheartofthematter.Thetruemeasureoftheeventliesnotinwhatremainsbutinallthathasdisappeared.2.IttookafewsecondsfortheUnitedStatestodestroyNagasakiwiththeworld'ssecondatomicbomb,butittookfiftyyearsforYamahata'spicturesoftheeventtomakethejourneybackfromNagasakitotheUnitedStates.Theywereshownforthefirsttimeinthiscountryin1995,attheInternationalCenterforPhotographyinNewYork.Arrivingahalf-centurylate,theyarestillnews.Thephotographsdisplaythefateofasinglecity,buttheirmeaningisuniversal,since,inourageofnucleararms,whathappenedtoNagasakiNagasakiphotographs,theInworld.theincityanytohappenflash,aincan,comesintoitsown.NagasakihasalwaysbeenintheshadowofHiroshima,asifthehumanimaginationhadstumbledtoexhaustioninthewreckageofthefirstruinedcitywithoutreachingeventheoutskirtsofthe second. Yet the bombi ng of Nagasaki i s i n certai n respects the fi tter symbol of the nucl ear danger that sti l l hangs over us. It i s proof that, havi ng once used nucl ear weapons, we can use them agai n. It i nt roduces the i dea of a seri es － the seri es that, wi th tens of thousands of nucl ear weapons remai ni ng i n exi stence, cont i nues to threaten everyone. (The unpredi ctabl e, open-ended character of the seri es i s suggested by the fact that the second bomb ori gi nal l y was to be dropped on the ci ty of Kokura, whi ch was spared Nagasaki ' s fate onl y because bad weather protected i t from vi ew. ) Each pi cture therefore seemed not so much an i mage of somethi ng that happened a hal f -century ago as a wi ndow cut i nto the wal l of the photography center showi ng what soon coul d easi l y happen to New York. Wherever the exhi bi t mi ght t ravel , moreover, the vi ew of threatened future from these “wi ndows” woul d be roughl y accurate, si nce, al though every i ntact ci ty i s di fferent from every other, al l ci ti es that suffer nucl ear dest ruct i on wi l l l ook much the same. 3. Yamahata' s pi ctures afford a gl i mpse of the end of the worl d. Yet i n our day, when the chal l enge i s not j ust to apprehend the nucl ear peri l but to sei ze a God-gi ven opportuni ty to di spel i t once and for al l , we seem to need, i n addi t i on, some other pi cture to counterpoi se agai nst rui ned Nagasaki － one showi ng not what we woul d l ose through our fai l ure but what we woul d gai n by our success. What mi ght that pi cture be, though How do you show the opposi te of the end of the worl d Shoul d i t be Nagasaki , i ntact and al i ve, before the bomb was dropped － or perhaps the spared ci ty of Kokura Shoul d i t be a chi l d, or a mother and chi l d, or perhaps the Earth i tsel f None seems adequate, for how can we gi ve a defi ni te form to that whi ch can assume i nf i ni te forms, namel y, the l i ves of al l human bei ngs, now and i n the future Imagi nati on, faced wi th