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Unit 2
Text A Swimming through fear
游越恐惧
1 I was on a tour of France with my friends when our car pulled to a stop at the beach and we saw the Mediterranean Sea. Massive waves surged against large rocks that formed a waterproof jetty. People said this beach was known for its notorious rip currents. I shivered with fear. Nothing scared me as much as water.
当时我和朋友正在法国旅行，我们把汽车停在海滩，眼前就是地中海。巨浪翻滚击打着构筑起防波堤的偌大岩石。人们说这里的海滩以其可怕的裂流而著称。恐惧让我不寒而栗。没有什么比水让我更害怕了。
2 Just the sight of the sea made me sick to my stomach. 只是看到了海就已经让我觉得反胃。
3 I'd always loved water and been a good swimmer until last summer, when I'd decided to climb up to the highest diving board at the pool. I'd hopped from that height and hit the water with an incredible impact. The air was ousted from my lungs and I blacked out. The next thing I knew, my brother was pulling my feeble body out of the pool. From then on, my fear wouldn't recede; I was absolutely terrified of water.
我曾经一直都是喜欢水的，并且直到去年夏天我都还是一名游泳好手。那时，我决定爬上游泳池边上最高的跳板来跳水。我从那么高的地方跳下，重重地撞击到水面上。我肺里的空气一下子全被挤出去了，马上不省人事。醒来时发现哥哥正把我虚弱的身体从游泳池里拖出来。从那时起，我对水的恐惧就没有消退过，我怕极了水。
4 \“贾森，你要过来吗？”我的朋友马特朝我喊道。
5 \knew.
我说：“好，就是欣赏一下景色”，又在心里默默加了一句——在岸上欣赏。担心如果他们知道我害怕水而可怜我。
6 Suddenly I heard shouting in French. A mob of people were running into the sea, fully clothed. That's odd, I thought. 突然，我听到有人用法语喊叫。接着看见一群人没脱衣服，就冲到海里。我心想，这真是太奇怪了。
7 I glimpsed something moving up and down amid the waves, past the end of the jetty. I gasped, realizing the catastrophe with horror. That's a little boy out there! The would-be rescuers fought against the tide, but the situation was bleak. With the water's tow, they'd never get to him in time.
我瞥见防波堤尽头的海浪中有个东西在上下浮动。我惊恐地意识到大事不妙，倒吸了一口凉气，那居然是个小男孩！前去救落水男童的人们搏击着海浪，但情况却不乐观。由于水的拉拽，他们根本不可能及时游到小男孩身边。
8 I looked back at the boy. His head popped up, then a wave crashed over him and he disappeared for a moment; I had to intervene.
我扭头看看那小男孩。他的头刚露出水面，然后一个浪头打过来，好一阵不见踪影——我不得不做点什么了。
9 I appraised the situation and realized — the jetty! The boy was close to it; maybe I could help from there. I raced down the beach, out onto the jetty, and it hit me: Water! My palms got sweaty and my stomach felt sick, symptoms of my fear. I stopped short.
我估计了当下的情形后注意到了——对，那防波堤！小男孩靠近那个地方，也许我可以从那儿帮忙。我冲下海滩，跑上防波堤，但突然我想起了什么——水！顿时有了恐惧的症状：我手心冒汗，胃里感觉不适。我一下子停下来。
10 The people in the water had underestimated the waves and weren't making any progress. I was the only one who saw that going out on the jetty was the fastest way to reach the drowning boy. Yet in the midst of this tragedy, I was extremely
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terrified. I tried to remember the lifeguard training I'd had as a teenager.
水里的那些人低估了海浪的威力，救援工作没有任何进展。只有我注意到了跑到防波堤上是到达溺水男童的最快的路径。然而在此性命攸关之际，我极度恐慌。我努力去回想十几岁时所接受的救生员训练。
11 I was paralyzed with fear, but I forced myself to move forward with this impromptu rescue. I don't want this. Surely someone else can save him before I have to.
我因恐惧而全身瘫软，但我强迫自己向前移动，展开这场突发的救援行动。我不想做这些，在我施救之前肯定会有别人救他吧。
12 At the ridge of the jetty, I whirled around, convinced I'd see an athletic swimmer plowing through the rough water toward the boy. To my dismay, no one was there. I turned back out to the sea to see the boy battered by vicious waves about 25 yards away from me. Sucking in a deep breath, I threw myself into the water. As soon as I jumped in, I felt like I was back in that pool, breathless, struggling, terrified. Salt stung my eyes. Focus, I shouted in my head. Where is he?
我在防波堤的边上迅速转过身来，深信会看见某个游泳健将正向着小男孩劈波斩浪。但是让我沮丧的是，一个人也没有。我回身面向大海，看见25码开外恶浪击打着小男孩。我深吸一口气，纵身跃入水中。一跳进水里，我感觉仿佛又回到了当年的那个游泳池，我喘不过气，拼命挣扎，惊恐万分。咸水刺痛了我的双眼。“集中注意力，”我在心里喊道。“他在哪里？”
13 Then, with clarity, I saw a thin arm waving weakly a few yards away. I swam with all my strength, reaching the boy just as he sank below the surface. I grabbed his arm and pulled. He popped back up, eyes wide with terror, pawing and twisting against me. \both perish. \
然后我清楚地看到一只细小的手臂在离我几码处微弱地挥动着。我拼尽全力游过去，在他刚要没水之时赶到了。我抓住他的手臂拉他。他冒出水面，眼睛因恐惧瞪得很大，胡乱抓扯着我。我用法语命令他：“别慌！”他这样挣扎会阻碍救援，那我们俩就都死定了。我再次命令他：“别慌！”谢天谢地，这次他听话了，不动了。
14 When I turned back toward shore a wave pounded over us. The jetty was further away! The rip current! It was forcibly dragging us out to the sea. I fought to get us back to land, but made little progress. I knew I'd never be able to escort him back like this.
当我转身朝岸边游去的时候，一个浪劈头盖脸打来。我们离防波堤更远了！是裂流！它强行把我们拽往大海深处。我挣扎着想带他游回岸上，但进展甚微。我知道这种游法根本没法护着他返回岸边。
15 Desperate to survive, I remembered what I'd learned in my life saving class: Never, ever swim against the rip current! Swim sideways to the pull of the current and slowly make your way back toward shore. It was an odd-looking but practicable solution. Swim sideways and float to rest. Swim sideways and float to rest. We did that over and over. We slowly made our way to safety. \seven feet left to go.
强烈求生欲望之下，我想起了在救生课上所学到的知识：永远不要与裂流相对而游！要顺其方向朝侧边游，慢慢地靠向岸边。这个办法尽管看上去很荒谬，但却管用。朝侧边游，浮起休息。朝侧边游，浮起休息。我们重复着这个方法，慢慢地游到了安全区。“贾森，你能行的！”我听到站在防波堤上的马特对我说。我甚至没有注意到我们离防波堤这么的近，只剩下大约7英尺的距离了。
16 And, as we made our way to safety I realized something incredible: I was no longer afraid. That absence of fear was a moment of triumph!
后来我们到达安全水域时，我觉得有些不可思议：我不再怕水了。恐惧没了，这一刻我胜利了！
17 Matt jumped into the water. I tossed the boy to him. Just as I let go, a big wave picked him up and carried him all the way to Matt.
马特跳进水里。我把男孩抛给他。我刚一松手，一个大浪托起他直接把他送到了马特身边。
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18 On the brink of collapse, I stopped fighting, just letting myself go. My hand hit the jetty. It was like an electric shock that brought me back to my senses. Someone grabbed for me.
我全身都快虚脱了，我不再划水，就这样放松自己顺水而漂。我的手碰上了防波堤，仿佛触电一般，我重新恢复了神志。有人抓住了我。
19 I felt strong arms lift me. I ascended not only from the sea onto the secure rocks of the jetty — but also to my salvation, leaving behind the terrible fear that had gripped me for so long. I turned my head and saw the boy was hugged tightly by his mother. I looked out to the sea. Weary as I was, the water had never looked so beautiful.
我感觉到强壮有力的手臂将我托起。我不仅从海里爬上防波堤的磐石，而且完成了自我拯救，摆脱了困扰已久的恐惧。我扭过头看见小男孩被母亲紧紧拥入怀中。虽已疲惫不堪，但放眼大海，我感觉海水比任何时候看起来都更美。
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Unit 2
Text B When courage triumphed over fear
当勇气战胜恐惧
1 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。
2 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。
3 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。
4 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。
5 \that our landing system has failed, which necessitates that we abort the flight and return to New York. Because of the problems with the mechanism o, 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。”
6 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。
7 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
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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。
8 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。
9 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。
10 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。
11 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。
12 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, \
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？”
13 \“是的，妈咪，”小姑娘答道。
14 \remember, no matter what happens, that I love you always; and that you are a good 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。”
15 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。
16 Then, for no earthly reason, our landing gear held and we glided to a gentle stop. It was all over in seconds. Our
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