双语美文之似水流年 （8）断弦的小提琴
On Nov.18,1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert.
1995年11月18日，小提琴家伊扎克·帕尔曼将要举办一场音乐会。
If you haveever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement forhim.
如果你曾经听过帕尔曼的音乐会，你就知道对他来说走上舞台可不是一件容易的事情。
He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he walks with the aid of two crutches.
他小的时候患过小儿麻痹症，所以他需要靠双拐走路。
The audience sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair and begins hisplay.
观众在静静地等待着他穿过舞台坐在椅子上开始表演。
But this time, something went wrong.
但是这一次出了点儿问题。
Just as he finished the first few bars, one of thestrings on his violin broke.
当他刚刚演奏完前面几小节的时候，一根琴弦断了。
We thought that he would have to stop the concert.
我们以为他不得不结束这场演奏会，
But hedidn’t. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to beginagain.
然而他没有。他停了一下，闭上眼睛，然后向指挥示意重新开始。
The orchestra began and he played with such passion and such power and such purity asthey had never heard before.
乐队再一次开始演奏，他用前所未有的激情、力量和内心的纯净演奏着。
Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a harmonious work with just threestrings.
当然，我们每个人都知道仅用三根琴弦是无法演奏出和谐的乐曲的。
I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.
你我都明白这一事实，但是那一晚伊扎克·帕尔曼就是拒绝承认。
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room.
当演奏结束的时候，大厅里一阵可怕的沉寂。
And then people rose and cheered.
接着，人们从座位上站起并欢呼起来，
There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of theauditorium.
从观众席的每一个角落都爆发出热烈的掌声。
He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow and then he said-not boastfully, but in aquiet, sacred tone-You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much musicyou can still make with what you have left.
他微笑着，檫去额头的汗珠，没有一点骄傲，他用平静的、虔诚的语气说道：有些时候音乐家要明白用不完整的乐器，你还能演奏出怎样的音乐。
This powerful line has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it.
从那天起，这句有力的话一直留在我的心里。
And who knows? Perhapsthat is the definition of life-not just for artists but for all of us.
要知道，也许这就是对生命的解释-不仅是对音乐家，而是对所有的人。
He has prepared all his life to make music on a violin of your strings, but all of a sudden, inthe middle of a concert, he finds himself with only three strings; so he makes music with threestrings,
伊扎克·帕尔曼一生都在做着用四弦的小提琴演奏音乐的准备，然而，突然间，就在音乐会上，他发现他只剩下三根琴弦，于是他用三根琴弦演奏。
and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful, moresacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings.
那一晚他用三根琴弦演奏的音乐比他以往用四根琴弦演奏的音乐更美妙，更神圣，更难忘。
So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is tomake music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to makemusic with what we have left.
我们要学会在这个动荡多变充满迷惑的世界里演奏音乐，也许开始的时候倾尽所有来演奏，当有些东西不再拥有的时候，就用我们所剩下的来演奏音乐。
1.signal n.信号，暗号
That signal may prompt greater wariness from neighbors.
这个信号可能会让邻国更加戒备。
Red appears to signal rank in virtually all cultures.
红色在几乎所有的文化中都有着等级的标志。
2.harmonious 和谐的，融洽的；协调的
It wants to keep syria secular and religiously harmonious.
他们是想让叙利亚社会、宗教两和谐。
This will re-establish their faith in the harmonious world we’re trying to build for our children.
他们会因此重建对这个和谐的世界的信心，这也正是我们努力为孩子营造的和谐世界。
3.outburst 爆发；破裂
See every opportunity for an outburst as a test.
把每次要爆发的机会看作是一个测试。
The outburst of pro-beijing sentiment among overseas chinese has been dominated by students, many of whom are living abroad only for a short time.
在海外华人中迸发的、支持中国政府的情绪，主要是集中在留学生当中，其中很多人只在海外生活了较短的时间。
4.shaky 摇晃的；虚弱的；不可靠的
For many, self-esteem is shaky at best.
往好了说，很多人的自尊心是不可靠的。
The shaky finances of some municipalities could put what’s left of the industry to another huge test.
一些市政府不稳固的财务状况可能使这个行业剩下的公司面临另一个巨大的考验。