《火星救援》:我已经把火星变成了我的殖民地
The Martian: I Colonized Mars
大家有没有看最近热映的科幻影片《火星救援》(The Martian)?看过的话,有没有被马特·呆萌,哦不,马特·达蒙乐观向上的表演感染呢?据说,因为影片效果挺搞笑,这部影片甚至要被列入金球奖的喜剧影片提名名单。
T hey say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized①colonize ['kɑlənaɪz] vt. 将……开拓为殖民地;移于殖民地;从他地非法把选民移入vi. 开拓殖民地;移居于殖民地 Colonize mars 火星殖民The English and the Spanish were among the first to colonize North America.英国人和西班牙人是首先向北美洲开拓殖民地的it. So, technically, I colonized Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong!
他们说,你要是在一个地方种了庄稼,那里就算是你的殖民地了。所以,从这方面来讲,我已经把火星变成了我的殖民地。你牛什么啊,阿姆斯特朗!
Every human being has a basic instinct②instinct 英 ['ɪnstɪŋ(k)t] 美['ɪnstɪŋkt] n.本能,直觉;天性 adj.充满着的 instinct for有……的天分;生来就by instinct 出于本能 on instinct 本能,凭直觉killer instinct 杀生本能 maternal instinct n. 母性本能: to help each other out. If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally③fundamental 英 [fʌndə'ment(ə)l] 美 [,fʌndə'mɛntl] adj. 基本的,根本的 n. 基本原理;基本原则fundamental principle 基本原则 fundamental change 根本变化 fundamental research 基础研究human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered④outnumber 英 [aʊt'nʌmbə] 美 ['aʊt'nʌmbɚ] vt. 数目超过;比……多by the people who do.
人类都有本能,会互相帮助。有人爬山时迷路了,会有人组织搜救。火车出事故了,人们会排着队去献血。有城市被地震夷为平地,全世界的人都会输送应急物资。这是基本的人性,全球各地无一例外,都是这样。没错,是会有一些不顾他人死活的浑蛋,但是,关心他人的人要比这些浑蛋多得多。
It's space. It doesn't cooperate. I guarantee you that at some point, everything's going to go south on you. You're going to say, "This is it. This is how I end." Now you can either accept that, or you can get to work.
这里是太空。太空才不会主动配合你。我可以很肯定地告诉你,在某些时刻,发生在你身上的每件事都会很糟糕。你可能会说:“就这样了,我可能就这样完蛋了。”现在,你要么接受这个现实等死,要么就开始动手想办法。
No matter what happens, tell the world, tell my family that I never stopped fighting to make it home.
无论发生什么,告诉全世界,告诉我的家人,我一直在努力想办法回家。
If I want water, I'll have to make it from scratch. Fortunately, I know the recipe: Take hydrogen. Add oxygen. Burn.
如果我需要水,我就得自己造。幸好,我知道造水的配方:来点儿氢气,加点儿氧气,再把它们点燃。
It's a strange feeling. Everywhere I go, I'm the first. Step outside the rover? First guy ever to be there! Climb a hill? First guy to climb that hill! Kick a rock? That rock hadn't moved in a million years! I'm the first guy to drive long-distance on Mars. The first guy to spend more than thirty-one sols on Mars. The first guy to grow crops on Mars. First, first, first!
这感觉很奇特。无论我走到哪里,我都是第一个。踏出火星车?第一个涉足此地的家伙!爬上一座火星山?史上第一人!踢走一块石头?那块石头可能已经有100万年没有动过地方了!我是第一个在火星上开长途车的人。第一个在火星上待了超过31个太阳日的人。第一个在火星上种庄稼的人。什么都是第一,第一,第一!
*Language Tips*
In your face: 字面意思是当着某人的面,在这里其实就是跟第一个登上月球的阿姆斯特朗说:“我都登上火星了,你登上月球算什么啊!”有点挑战的意思。
Go south: 如果说某件事go south,意思就是事情发展得不顺利,出了岔子。比如,影片中的Mark想要自己用氢气和氧气造水,结果发生了爆炸。
Make something from scratch: 从无到有,自己制造某样东西。From scratch是“从零开始”的意思,在描述一些人的创业历程时,我们经常会说某人created the company from scratch,其实就是“白手起家”的意思。