59: Fire - This American Life
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00:00 00:00 Transcript Share This American Life Life Partners How to Listen Episodes Recommended About Overview Staff Announcements Fellowships Jobs Music Make Radio On The Road FAQ Submissions Merch Contact Us Our Other Shows Merch Follow Us Life Partners Subscribe to our newsletter Full episode Toggle Audio and Transcript Sync Transcript | Episode #59 | April 11, 1997 59: Fire Note: This American Life is produced for the ear and designed to be heard.
00:00 00:00 文字记录 分享此 美国生活 生活伙伴 如何收听 剧集 推荐 关于 概述 员工公告 奖学金 工作 音乐 在路上制作电台 常见问题解答 提交 商品 联系我们 我们的其他节目 商品 关注我们 生活伙伴 订阅我们的时事通讯 整集 切换音频和文字记录同步 文字记录 | 内容第 59 集 | 1997 年 4 月 11 日 59：Fire 注意：《This American Life》是为耳朵而制作的，旨在让人们听到。
If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page.
如果可以的话，我们强烈建议您收听音频，其中包括页面上没有的情感和重点。
Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors.
文字记录是使用语音识别软件和人工转录员结合生成的，可能包含错误。
Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.
请在印刷版引用前检查相应的音频。
Act One: Firestarter Ira Glass Like a lot of kids, he liked to play with fire.
第一幕：点火者 Ira Glass 像很多孩子一样，他喜欢玩火。
He'd snap off match heads from matches, pile them up and light them.
他会从火柴上折下火柴头，把它们堆起来然后点燃。
He'd make little paper boats, float them in the toilet and set fire to them.
他会制作小纸船，将它们漂浮在厕所里，然后将它们点燃。
You know, I was fascinated by watching fire.
你知道，我对看火很着迷。
It was silent.
一片寂静。
It was powerful.
它很强大。
And I just liked the idea of things being consumed, you know?
我只是喜欢消费东西的想法，你知道吗？
I liked to watch the paper turn brown and curl, and I liked to hear the crackle.
我喜欢看纸变成棕色并卷曲，也喜欢听到噼啪声。
I could watch it for hours, you know, nothing else in the world would matter.
我可以看几个小时，你知道，世界上没有其他事情重要。
Later on, at a job when I was bored, we would play with lighters, and Binanca, and fill up cans with lighter gas and like cause a flame jet to shoot out one of the holes and stuff.
后来，在一份工作中，当我无聊时，我们会玩打火机和比南卡，并用打火机气体填充罐子，就像使火焰喷射器射出其中一个孔和其他东西。
In her short story "Some Say the World," Susan Perabo has a character explain what's so thrilling to her about setting fires.
苏珊·佩拉博（Susan Perabo）在她的短篇小说《有人说世界》中，有一个角色解释了放火对她来说如此令人兴奋的原因。
"It's the moment when it may or may not go out of control," Susan Perabo writes.
“在这个时刻，事情可能会或可能不会失控，”苏珊·佩拉博写道。
"The thing about fire is this-- it's yours for one glorious moment.
“火的魅力在于——它属于你的辉煌时刻。
You bear it, you raise it.
你承受它，你养育它。
"The first time, in a record store downtown, I stood over the bathroom trashcan thinking I would not let it grow.
“第一次，在市中心的一家唱片店，我站在浴室垃圾桶旁边，心想我不会让它生长。
That I would love it only to a point and then kill it.
我只会爱它一点，然后杀了它。
That's the trick with fire, for that 30 seconds you have a choice, spit on it, step on it, douse it with a can of Coke.
这就是火的技巧，在这 30 秒里，你可以选择，吐口水，踩在上面，用一罐可乐浇灭它。
But wait one moment too long, get caught up in its beauty, and it's grown beyond your control.
但如果等得太久，就会被它的美丽所吸引，它就会变得超出你的控制范围。
And it is that moment that I live for, the relinquishing.
我为之而活的就是那一刻，即放弃。
The power passes from you to it.
力量从你传递给它。
The world opens up and you with it.
世界打开了，你也随之打开。
I cried in the record store when the flame rose above my head, not from fear, but from ecstasy."
当火焰从我头顶升起时，我在唱片店里哭了，不是因为恐惧，而是因为狂喜。”
Hello from WBEZ in Chicago.
您好，来自芝加哥 WBEZ。
It's This American Life.
这就是美国生活。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Today on our program, stories of people who are not appropriately scared of fire.
今天在我们的节目中，讲述了那些不适当害怕火的人的故事。
Act one, Firestarter, why one teenager set fires and then stopped setting them.
第一幕，《起火者》，讲述一名青少年为何放火，然后又停止放火。
Act two, Centralia, an inextinguishable subterranean fire on the edge of a small Pennsylvania town, and why the few remaining residents are not afraid of it.
第二幕，森特勒利亚，宾夕法尼亚州一个小镇边缘发生的无法扑灭的地下火灾，以及为什么仅存的少数居民并不害怕它。
Act three, Firewalk.
第三幕，火行。
That act is about a guy who is not afraid of walking on burning coals, and how he might have been safer if he had simply taken the simple precaution of being afraid.
该剧讲述了一个不害怕在燃烧的煤炭上行走的人，以及如果他只是采取简单的预防措施来避免害怕的话，他可能会更安全。
Act four, The Big Picture on fire, the really, really, really big picture.
第四幕，大局着火，真的，真的，真的大局。
Act five, The Fire Within.
第五幕，内心之火。
Stay with us.
留在我们身边。
Act one, Firestarter.
第一幕，引火者。
Our firestarter is 29, lives in New York City, and he moved from a casual interest in fire to arson, to actual criminality.
我们的纵火者今年 29 岁，住在纽约市，他从对火灾的偶然兴趣转向纵火，再到真正的犯罪。
And what's striking about his story is that he wasn't motivated by anger, or revenge, or any mean feelings toward anybody.
他的故事的引人注目之处在于，他的动机并不是愤怒、报复或对任何人有任何刻薄的感觉。
He just wanted to stare at a fire the way a child does, and he didn't want to restrain himself, the way an adult does.
他只想像孩子一样盯着火，而不想像成年人那样克制自己。
The serious stuff came when I went to college.
当我上大学时，严肃的事情发生了。
There was a house on campus that got hit by a truck, by a drunk driver, and the rumor was that the house was going to be scheduled for demolition.
校园里有一栋房子被卡车撞倒，被醉酒司机撞了，有传言说这栋房子要被拆迁了。
So my friends and I decided that, since it was scheduled for demolition, they were going to tear it down anyway, that there wouldn't be much harm in setting the house on fire.
于是我和朋友决定，既然是要拆迁的，无论如何也要拆掉，放火烧了也没什么坏处。
And we decided to start a fire in the house one night.
我们决定有一天晚上在房子里生火。
We went there.
我们去了那里。
We pried the boards off-- the house had been boarded up-- we pried the boards off, climbed in the window, and lit it on fire, and then climbed out the window and took off.
我们撬开木板——房子已经用木板封起来了——我们撬开木板，爬进窗户，点燃它，然后爬出窗户，起飞。
I was giddy with excitement.
我激动得头晕目眩。
My whole body was just like-- it was tingling.
我的整个身体就像——刺痛。
And we stayed away for a good hour or so to make sure we weren't caught at the scene of the crime, but I do remember coming back and seeing the fire trucks there.
我们在外面待了大约一个小时，以确保我们没有在犯罪现场被抓到，但我确实记得回来时看到了那里的消防车。
There was this sense of disappointment because the fire had been put out before the whole house had burned down.
有一种失望感，因为火在整座房子烧毁之前就被扑灭了。
I think the fire never really got out of the bedroom.
我认为火从未真正从卧室蔓延出来。
So there was definitely a disappointment, because the whole house hadn't burned down, and that was our goal.
所以肯定会令人失望，因为整个房子没有被烧毁，而这正是我们的目标。
And if I could have done things the way I would have chosen to, we would have set the house on fire, and we would have sat up on a little hill at a safe distance watching it, drinking beers and watching it consume itself.
如果我能按照我选择的方式做事，我们就会放火烧房子，然后坐在安全距离的小山上看着它，喝着啤酒，看着它自行消耗。
Watch it slowly start to build, and then peak, and then watch the house fall down, and the fire eventually go out, and everything just turn to ashes.
看着它慢慢开始建造，然后达到顶峰，然后看着房子倒塌，火最终熄灭，一切都化为灰烬。
That would have been the way I wanted things to happen.
这就是我希望事情发生的方式。
In trying to find a pyromaniac to interview for today's program, one thing we discovered is that, first, it's actually very rare.
在试图找到一名纵火狂来接受今天的节目采访时，我们发现的一件事是，首先，这种情况实际上非常罕见。
A real mania, somebody with a real mania, psychological compulsion to set fires.
真正的狂热，真正的狂热，有放火的心理冲动。
Second, when it does occur, psychologists classify it as a sexual disorder, often as a sign of sexual abuse.
其次，当这种情况确实发生时，心理学家将其归类为性障碍，通常是性虐待的迹象。
That wasn't the case with this guy.
这个人的情况并非如此。
He was mild compared to a real pyromaniac.
与真正的纵火狂相比，他很温和。
My interest in fire did stop fairly suddenly.
我对火的兴趣确实突然停止了。
A couple years ago, I think someone mentioned that I used to be a fire bug, and I realized that I wasn't fascinated by fire anymore.
几年前，我想有人提到我曾经是一个火虫，我意识到我不再对火着迷了。
And I started wondering why that was, and I started thinking back and realizing that my fascination with fire ended right around the first time I got laid.
我开始想知道这是为什么，然后我开始回想并意识到我对火的迷恋在我第一次上床的时候就结束了。
And I was fascinated to find that, you know, that this was true.
我着迷地发现，你知道，这是真的。
I was completely unaware of it at the time.
我当时完全没有意识到这一点。
It wasn't until like five or six years after it stopped that I looked back and realized that I had stopped playing with fire right around the time I started having sex.
直到它停止了大约五六年后，我回过头来才意识到，就在我开始做爱的时候，我已经停止玩火了。
I think now I have a normal relationship with fire.
我想现在我和火已经有了正常的关系。
I don't use fire to express myself anymore.
我不再用火来表达自己。
Act two, Centralia.
第二幕，森特勒利亚。
This is the story of a town decimated by fire.
这是一个被大火摧毁的小镇的故事。
Oh, this was all built up along here.
哦，这一切都是在这里建立的。
Our post office was right here at this corner, homes across the street, it was built up pretty solidly.
我们的邮局就在这个拐角处，街对面的住宅，它建造得相当坚固。
Lamar Mervine looks out the window of the municipal building at Locust and Centre Street, what used to be the middle of town.
拉马尔·默文 (Lamar Mervine) 透过洛卡斯特街 (Locust Street) 和中心街 (Locust Street) 的市政大楼窗外望去，这里曾经是市中心。
Right here, on this side of the home, was a big store.
就在这里，在房子的这一边，有一家大商店。
Grocery store?
杂货店？
Lamar Mervine General store, sold just about everything there.
拉马尔·默文杂货店 (Lamar Mervine General store) 几乎出售所有商品。
And the railroad used to run across here.
铁路曾经穿过这里。
So describe this now.
现在描述一下。
Lamar Mervine Well, it's just mostly highways here now, a home here and there.
拉马尔·默文（Lamar Mervine）：嗯，现在这里主要是高速公路，到处都是住宅。
Only one store now stands on Centre Street, vacant lots surround it.
中心街上现在只剩下一家商店，周围都是空地。
Perhaps two dozen homes are left out of the hundreds that used to be here.
这里曾经有数百所房屋，现在也许有两打被遗弃了。
Centralia once had 3,000 people in it.
Centralia 曾经有 3,000 人。
Now there are 40.
现在有40个。
And the fire that decimated this town, that scattered its inhabitants far and wide, never touched a single home, never singed a building.
这场大火摧毁了这座城镇，将居民分散到四面八方，但从未触及任何一个房屋，也从未烧毁一座建筑物。
This is a town destroyed by the idea of fire.
这是一座被火灾摧毁的城镇。
And the fire itself never came.
而火灾本身却从未来临。
The fire that led to the evacuation of Centralia began out on the edge of town in an abandoned strip mine pit in 1962.
1962 年，导致森特勒利亚疏散的火灾始于城镇边缘的一个废弃露天矿坑。
There are 30 underground mine fires like this burning around Pennsylvania right now.
目前宾夕法尼亚州周围有 30 起类似的地下矿井火灾正在燃烧。
They can burn slowly, for years.
它们可以缓慢燃烧数年。
Most don't endanger anybody.
大多数不会危及任何人。
But Centralia's built over old coal mines, and the fear was that the fire would jump from mine to mine and end up under the center of town.
但森特勒利亚建在旧煤矿上，人们担心火势会从一个煤矿蔓延到另一个煤矿，最终蔓延到市中心下方。
The coal is burning one small section at the end of our borough, and it has never gone anywhere else, never.
煤炭只在我们行政区尽头的一小部分地区燃烧，而且从来没有流到其他地方，从来没有。
I met with five of the remaining residents of Centralia-- one eighth of the town-- in the town council's meeting room.
我在镇议会的会议室会见了森特勒利亚仅存的五名居民（占该镇的八分之一）。
John Comarnisky, a science teacher at a nearby high school, was quick to pull up various government charts and reports that prove, he says, that the subterranean fire is not a danger to the town.
约翰·科马尼斯基 (John Comarnisky) 是附近一所高中的科学老师，他很快就拿出了各种政府图表和报告，他说，这些图表和报告证明地下火灾不会对该镇构成威胁。
This is off the government's website, apparently.
显然，这是政府网站上没有的。
That's what they told us back when.
这就是他们当时告诉我们的。
And this is from the Department of Community and Economic Development.
这是来自社区和经济发展部的。
That's the boys who are basically empowering this whole thing, running the whole program.
这些男孩基本上是赋予整个事情权力，运行整个项目。
And you can see that basically you have the borough of Centralia here, and you have fire being spread in this direction, that direction, and all these other directions, southwest, and Centralia's the only place, the only direction it isn't going, and in fact, this federal study says that that's what should happen.
你可以看到，基本上这里有森特勒利亚行政区，火势正在向这个方向、那个方向以及所有其他方向（西南方向）蔓延，而森特勒利亚是唯一的地方，唯一不会蔓延的方向，事实上，这项联邦研究表明，这就是应该发生的情况。
And because there's a mine pool underneath Centralia, right now, the coal underneath us is underwater.
因为森特勒利亚地下有一个矿池，所以现在我们脚下的煤炭都在水下。
And there's no way that even the government will try and tell you that coal underwater burns, because it just doesn't.
即使是政府也不可能试图告诉你煤炭在水下燃烧，因为它根本不会燃烧。
Helen Womer says the reason the government has tried to convince the people of Centralia that their town is in danger and evacuated the town is because Centralia sits on as much as $3.2 billion-- that's billion-- worth of coal.
海伦·沃默表示，政府之所以试图让森特勒利亚人民相信他们的城镇正处于危险之中并疏散该镇，是因为森特勒利亚拥有价值高达 32 亿美元（即 10 亿美元）的煤炭。
This is what this whole entire situation is about.
这就是整个情况的意义所在。
It's about our coal.
这与我们的煤炭有关。
And I don't care who you talk to, I don't care what they say, they are not telling the truth.
我不在乎你和谁说话，我不在乎他们说什么，他们没有说实话。
They could talk till they're blue in the face about how we should get out of here because we are in danger from gases, from subsidences, from all these horrible elements, and that isn't true at all.
他们可以谈论我们应该如何离开这里，因为我们正处于气体、地面沉降和所有这些可怕元素的危险之中，但这根本不是事实。
If we didn't have any coal beneath us, Centralia would be right where it is, the entire community.
如果我们脚下没有煤炭，森特勒利亚就在原地，整个社区。
They don't have a lot of hard evidence to prove this government conspiracy.
他们没有太多确凿的证据来证明这个政府的阴谋。
No paper trail, no witnesses, no names they're willing to name on the record.
没有书面记录，没有证人，也没有他们愿意在记录中提及的名字。
But what they do seem to be entirely correct about is this-- in 35 years, the fire has not moved from the edge of town toward the center, and has not injured anyone.
但他们似乎完全正确的是——35年来，大火没有从城镇边缘蔓延到市中心，也没有伤害任何人。
What seems to have happened in Centralia is this-- the fire burned for 19 years, and then in 1981 came one of those turning point, made for TV events that can take your average, ongoing, unextinguished subterranean fire, and turn it into a state-wide media circus.
森特勒利亚发生的事情似乎是这样的——大火燃烧了 19 年，然后在 1981 年出现了转折点之一，这是为电视事件而设计的，可以将普通的、持续的、未扑灭的地下火灾变成一场全州范围的媒体马戏团。
On February 14th, 1981, Todd Domboski was walking across his backyard when the ground beneath him suddenly gave way, and he was knee deep in steaming mud.
1981 年 2 月 14 日，托德·东博斯基 (Todd Doboski) 走过自家后院时，脚下的地面突然塌陷，他陷入了齐膝深的热气腾腾的泥浆里。
This is a video made by the state to brief its own policy makers on the history of the fire.
这是该州制作的视频，旨在向本国政策制定者介绍火灾的历史。
Fortunately, a friend heard his cries for help and managed to reach into the hole and drag him out by the collar of his coat.
幸运的是，一位朋友听到了他的求救声，设法把手伸进洞里，抓住他的外套领子把他拖了出来。
Government officials, who were visiting Centralia that day, were summoned to the scene.
当天正在访问森特勒利亚的政府官员被传唤到现场。
Someone in their party dropped a large block into the hole, and no one heard it hit bottom.
他们队伍中有人把一块大石块扔进洞里，没有人听到它落到底的声音。
Before the story hit the TV news, the big political fight in Centralia was townspeople trying to get the government to block the fire or put it out.
在这个故事登上电视新闻之前，森特勒利亚的一场重大政治斗争是镇民试图让政府阻止大火或将其扑灭。
After the story hit the TV news, the government declared there was no way to tell where the fire might go next.
该故事登上电视新闻后，政府宣布无法判断火势下一步会蔓延到哪里。
They decided to evacuate.
他们决定撤离。
Bill Clank, who headed the location effort, says it was the only reasonable decision.
负责该地点工作的比尔·克兰克 (Bill Clank) 表示，这是唯一合理的决定。
Twice the state tried to erect barriers to block the fire, he says, and twice it jumped the barriers.
他说，该州曾两次试图设置障碍物来阻止火灾，但两次都跳过了障碍物。
They trenched and inserted fly ash.
他们挖沟并埋入粉煤灰。
It's supposed to be an uncombustible material.
应该是不燃材料。
And this was to keep the fire from crossing the road that is now closed off up at the top of the hill by the Catholic church.
这是为了防止大火穿过现在被天主教堂封锁在山顶的道路。
Well, the fire did it, it went through there, and it was on the other side of the road.
好吧，火做到了，它穿过那里，在路的另一边。
And then they put a clay barrier on top of that and tried to keep-- because there were fumes.
然后他们在上面放了一个粘土屏障并试图保留——因为有烟雾。
And I honestly believe that when a fire gets to the magnitude that it is now, that it's like a hurricane or anything else.
老实说，我相信，当火灾达到现在的规模时，它就像飓风或其他任何东西一样。
You don't tell the fire what it's going to do.
你不会告诉火它会做什么。
It does what it damn well pleases.
它做它喜欢做的事情。
The government calculated that it would cost $42 million to buy everyone's home.
政府计算出需要花费 4200 万美元才能买下每个人的房子。
The request was put into the federal government.
该请求已提交给联邦政府。
Once people heard about the potential money, says Helen Womer, the town split.
海伦·沃默 (Helen Womer) 表示，一旦人们听说了这笔潜在资金，镇上的人就分裂了。
Lots of people were living in these old houses built by the coal companies decades before.
许多人住在几十年前煤炭公司建造的这些老房子里。
Very, very few people moved out of this town because of the fire.
由于火灾，很少有人搬出这个小镇。
I want to make that perfectly clear.
我想把这一点说得非常清楚。
The government came in with big bucks.
政府带着大笔资金进来了。
A lot of the homes, their children had all left, they were raised.
很多家庭，他们的孩子都离开了，他们被抚养长大。
They were left with these white elephant big houses, a lot of them needed fixing, so they knew that where to make the most money was to sell your home to the government.
他们只剩下这些白象大房子，很多都需要修理，所以他们知道哪里赚最多的钱就是把房子卖给政府。
Two community organizations faced off.
两个社区组织对峙。
One, to keep people in Centralia and the fire out; the other to sell out and get out.
第一，阻止森特勒利亚的人们和火灾；另一个则卖掉并退出。
People in the other camp knew where Helen Womer stood.
另一个阵营的人知道海伦·沃默的立场。
They would blow smoke in her face in public, throw their pass books at her when she worked her bank teller job.
他们会在公共场合向她脸上喷烟，当她在银行出纳工作时，他们会向她扔存折。
Somebody lit an M-80 firecracker on her lawn.
有人在她的草坪上点燃了 M-80 鞭炮。
Somebody else threw a cat at her.
有人向她扔了一只猫。
I know one thing.
我知道一件事。
There are people that moved out of this town that can't wait till we're all out, because then, and only then, will they have peace of mind.
有些人搬出了这个小镇，他们迫不及待地想等到我们都出去的时候，因为只有那时，他们才会安心。
Because as long as there is someone left in Centralia as adamant and committed as we are here in this town, they will never have peace of mind on what they did.
因为只要森特勒利亚还有像我们这个镇上的人一样坚定和忠诚的人，他们就永远不会对自己所做的事情感到安心。
Because many, many of them knew that they were instrumental in having Centralia in the condition that we are now.
因为他们中的很多人都知道，正是他们才让森特勒利亚变成了我们现在的样子。
They would stop talking to you.
他们会停止和你说话。
They would stop being friendly.
他们将不再友好。
And that moment, the very moment that occurred, you knew that they were going to be next.
那一刻，就在发生的那一刻，你知道他们将是下一个。
That was the main thing, they would just stop being friendly, they would stop being neighborly.
这是最重要的，他们将不再友好，他们将不再睦邻。
And that was your first indication that they had turned the other way.
这是他们转向另一个方向的第一个迹象。
It was the other way around, the people that had moved, the people that stayed there were mad at them.
恰恰相反，搬走的人和留在那里的人都对他们很生气。
Oh yeah, there were a lot of people mad.
哦，是的，有很多人生气了。
Did that happen to you?
你有这样的经历吗？
Jerry Sure, a lot of them were mad at me.
杰瑞 当然，他们中的很多人都生我的气。
If you talk to former Centralia residents like Jerry Wasachanski, leaving town wasn't a grand betrayal, not at all.
如果你和杰里·瓦萨昌斯基（Jerry Wasachanski）这样的森特勒利亚前居民交谈过，就会发现离开小镇并不是一个重大的背叛，一点也不。
He says he had a heart attack, wanted to move into a house where he wouldn't have to shovel coal down in the basement into the furnace.
他说他心脏病发作了，想搬进一所房子，这样他就不用把地下室的煤铲进炉子里了。
He and several other former residents did confirm what Helen Womer told me, though, that he was never scared of the underground fire reaching his house, never scared of underground gases seeping up and killing him.
不过，他和其他几位前居民确实证实了海伦·沃默告诉我的事情，即他从不害怕地下火灾到达他的房子，从不害怕地下气体渗入并杀死他。
Mostly, he says, he moved because of the great deal the government gave him for his old house.
他说，他搬家主要是因为政府为他的旧房子提供了大量资金。
I moved in, it was $3,000, but then when I moved out of there, they gave us $55,000.
我搬进去的时候是 3,000 美元，但是当我搬出那里时，他们给了我们 55,000 美元。
$55,000 on a $3,000 investment-- a 2,000% profit.
3,000 美元的投资可获得 55,000 美元——利润为 2,000%。
Now Jerry lives with his son Rob, about a 10 minute drive from Centralia, in Mount Carmel, where lots of former Centralians live.
现在，杰里 (Jerry) 和他的儿子罗布 (Rob) 住在卡梅尔山 (Mount Carmel)，距森特勒利亚约 10 分钟车程，那里居住着许多前森特勒利亚人。
Rob says they held out a long time before they moved, that Centralia changed.
罗布说，他们在搬家之前坚持了很长时间，森特勒利亚发生了变化。
We were being bombarded with 110 feelings at one time.
我们同时受到 110 种感觉的轰炸。
It was just getting to be too much.
实在是太过分了。
The town wasn't like it was.
小镇不再是原来的样子了。
And if it would have stayed that way, we probably would have stayed up there.
如果它一直保持这种状态，我们可能会呆在那里。
But when more and more people were going, it was just time to go.
但当去的人越来越多时，也到了该走的时候了。
As with most government operations on the scale of this evacuation, there are really two ways that people look at what happened in Centralia.
与大多数政府在这次疏散规模上采取的行动一样，人们实际上有两种方式看待森特勒利亚发生的事情。
As a conspiracy, the way the remaining townspeople see it, or as simple human incompetence, the way Jerry's son Rob sees it.
在剩下的镇民看来，这是一场阴谋；在杰瑞的儿子罗布看来，这只是人类的无能。
What would the government do now?
政府现在会做什么？
They spent all that money, they're not going to say they were wrong.
他们花了那么多钱，他们不会说他们错了。
They're not going to admit a mistake.
他们不会承认错误。
But all the guys who would have made the mistake, they're already probably gone now anyways.
但所有可能犯这个错误的人现在可能都已经走了。
It was 20 years ago.
那是20年前的事了。
Yeah, but federal government's federal government.
是的，但是联邦政府的联邦政府。
They're not going to admit to it 20 years ago, or 20 years down the line they won't admit that they made a mistake.
20年前他们不会承认，或者20年后他们也不会承认他们犯了错误。
They can't just say, fire moved, thought it was going to go this way, it went this way.
他们不能只是说，火移动了，以为它会朝这边走，结果就朝这边走。
When there's $42 million involved, I guess.
我猜涉及到 4200 万美元。
I mean, they'd spend a lot more money on different crazy things, but, you aren't going to see them offer the land back, or even just sell it and make money, or start the town over.
我的意思是，他们会花更多的钱在不同的疯狂的事情上，但是，你不会看到他们归还土地，甚至只是卖掉它来赚钱，或者重新建设城镇。
Actually, there's a third way to view what happened in Centralia, the way that Bill Clank, head of the relocation effort, sees it, which is as a government program that actually worked.
事实上，还有第三种方式来看待森特勒利亚发生的事情，即搬迁工作负责人比尔·克兰克 (Bill Clank) 的看法，即作为一项真正有效的政府计划。
A rare example of government competence and generosity.
这是政府能力和慷慨的罕见例子。
Don't get me wrong, I agree with the people over there, that for a long time the government did not respond to this thing the way they should have, and that's why it's gotten to the point that it is.
不要误会我的意思，我同意那边的人的观点，很长一段时间以来，政府没有以应有的方式回应这件事，所以才走到了现在的地步。
But when the government finally came through for them and said, look, we're going to give you a chance to get out of here, and not only that, we're going to give you a chance to build a new house, and make yourselves whole.
但当政府最终站出来对他们说，看，我们会给你们一个离开这里的机会，不仅如此，我们还会给你们一个机会建造新房子，让你们变得完整。
We're not just going to give you the, maybe, if you're lucky, the $10,000 your property's worth, so that you can actually go out and afford to build a new home on the market, that's pretty hard to pass up for most people.
如果您幸运的话，我们不仅仅会给您价值 10,000 美元的房产，这样您就可以真正走出去，在市场上建造新房，这对大多数人来说是很难错过的。
In 1992, after a decade of voluntary relocation of the people from Centralia, the state condemned the remaining homes there, told everyone they had to get out, declared eminent domain.
1992 年，在森特勒利亚居民自愿搬迁十年之后，国家谴责了那里剩余的房屋，告诉每个人他们必须离开，宣布征用。
The mayor and town council back then took this to court.
当时的市长和镇议会将此事告上法庭。
They appealed it all the way up to the US Supreme Court.
他们一直上诉到美国最高法院。
They did not win one case.
他们没有赢过一场官司。
Then the town council back then resigned, left town, saying it was over.
然后当时的镇议会辞职，离开小镇，说一切都结束了。
They'd lost.
他们输了。
Legally, no one has the right to stay in Centralia anymore.
从法律上讲，任何人都无权再留在森特勒利亚。
For the 40 diehards who still live there, like Helen Womer, these final departures were the bitterest betrayal.
对于像海伦·沃默一样仍然住在那里的 40 名顽固分子来说，这些最后的离开是最痛苦的背叛。
I had a neighbor who we fought shoulder to shoulder for years and years.
我有一个邻居，我们并肩战斗了很多年。
And then she got involved with-- I mean, she turned.
然后她参与了——我的意思是，她转身了。
But not only that, it's not only she turned, she stopped talking.
但不仅如此，她不仅转身，而且不再说话了。
She turned into a different person, absolutely different person.
她变成了另外一个人，完全不同的一个人。
She lives in-- about four miles, I guess.
我猜她住在——大约四英里处。
So very close?
这么接近？
Helen Womer Very, very close.
海伦·沃默 非常非常接近。
Well, I mean that was her decision.
嗯，我的意思是那是她的决定。
No, we're not social.
不，我们不社交。
I mean, we were neighbors, and we got along wonderfully, wonderfully together.
我的意思是，我们是邻居，我们相处得非常非常好。
That was sad.
那很伤心。
Now in the long stretch of grass that used to be the middle of town, someone put in some benches and a sign that says, we love Centralia.
现在，在曾经位于城镇中心的那片长长的草地上，有人放了一些长凳和一块牌子，上面写着“我们爱森特勒利亚”。
Jerry Wasaschinski and the other old men who left town because of the idea of a fire travel from their homes elsewhere, come back to Centralia, not for the town that it is, but for the idea of the town it was.
杰里·瓦萨辛斯基（Jerry Wasaschinski）和其他因为火灾想法而离开小镇的老人从别处的家出发，回到森特勒利亚，不是为了这个小镇，而是为了这个小镇的想法。
Now I go up there, about seven, eight guys go up there at night time when the weather's nice.
现在我去那里，大约七、八个人在晚上天气好的时候去那里。
And we might have a little hot dogs, or a bottle of beer or something, something like that.
我们可能会吃一些热狗，或者一瓶啤酒之类的东西。
And then we talk about the old town.
然后我们谈论老城区。
But now they're fading away.
但现在它们正在消失。
Two of them died already, and their homes are being torn down.
其中两人已经死亡，他们的房屋正在被拆除。
One lad is paralyzed now, and the other one, he can't drive anymore.
一个小伙子现在瘫痪了，另一个小伙子再也不能开车了。
So it's fading away up there, too.
所以它在那里也正在消失。
Act three, Fearless.
第三幕，无畏。
This is the story about somebody who wasn't scared of fire and who did get burned because of it.
这是一个关于一个不怕火却被火烧伤的人的故事。
Ki Kim studied Buddhism, meditated, avoided red meat.
基金（Ki Kim）学习佛教、冥想，不吃红肉。
When a friend sent him an email inviting him on a firewalk retreat, he thought, why not?
当一位朋友给他发了一封电子邮件邀请他参加火道静修时，他想，为什么不呢？
He'd been feeling sort of low.
他的情绪一直很低落。
The idea of the retreat is that you go, meditate, and at the culmination of the weekend, walk across hot coals.
静修的目的是，你去冥想，然后在周末的高潮时，走过滚烫的煤炭。
To make a long story short, he ended up with near third degree burns that made it difficult to walk for weeks.
长话短说，他最终遭受了近三度烧伤，导致数周内无法行走。
He spoke with This American Life producer Nancy Updike.
他与《美国生活》制片人南希·厄普代克进行了交谈。
Ki had read a lot about firewalks.
基读过很多有关烟火步道的书。
He knew they were a common ritual practiced around the world, and the story was always the same, no one gets burned, never happens.
他知道这是世界各地常见的仪式，而且故事总是一样的，没有人被烧伤，永远不会发生。
The one person he knew who had gone on a firewalk didn't get burned.
他认识的唯一一个在火上行走的人没有被烧伤。
The leaders of the retreat were so confident no one would get burned, they didn't even bother to bring first aid supplies.
撤退的领导人坚信不会有人被烧伤，他们甚至懒得带急救用品。
The way the weekend started was we participated in a whole bunch of exercises that were designed to, you know, peel off these layers of personas that we build up and show to the world to protect our deepest selves.
周末开始时，我们参加了一大堆练习，这些练习的目的是，你知道，剥去我们建立起来的这些角色层，并向世界展示，以保护我们最深层的自我。
How do you peel those layers off?
你如何剥掉这些层？
We're all dying to know.
我们都非常想知道。
Well, you know, one exercise had the people there pair off into groups, and one person would simply stare into the other's eyes while the person who is being stared at would have to answer questions like, who are you?
嗯，你知道，一项练习让那里的人分成几组，一个人只需凝视另一个人的眼睛，而被凝视的人则必须回答诸如“你是谁？”之类的问题。
And the whole idea was to gather together this group of strangers to share with each other their most intimate selves.
整个想法就是将这群陌生人聚集在一起，互相分享他们最亲密的自我。
Why are you laughing?
你笑什么？
Ki Kim I don't know--
金基我不知道——
You participated.
你参加了。
Ki Kim Well, I guess I ought to warn you that much of what I have to say could very well be replete with New Agey jargon, which I think is kind of funny, but I do believe in a lot of this stuff.
Ki Kim 好吧，我想我应该警告你，我所说的很多内容很可能充满了新时代的行话，我认为这有点有趣，但我确实相信很多这样的东西。
After the sun went down on that Saturday, we all formed a human chain with one part of the chain, or one person, standing at the pile of wood, and the other person at the point where the fire was going to be built.
那个星期六太阳下山后，我们大家组成了一条人链，链的一部分，或者一个人，站在木头堆旁，另一个人站在要生火的地方。
And so every single log that went into building this fire passed along this human chain.
因此，用于生火的每一根木头都沿着这条人链传递。
And, we surrounded the fire in this circle, and--
然后，我们把火围成了一个圈，然后——
And is it hot on your face?
还有你的脸热吗？
Ki Kim It was unbelievably hot.
Ki Kim 天气热得令人难以置信。
We were standing a good four or five feet away from it, and you could still feel the heat.
我们站在离它四五英尺远的地方，你仍然能感觉到热量。
And still, at the point where it's on your face, and it's so hot, and it's this huge bonfire, and you're looking at this orange--
尽管如此，当它在你脸上的时候，它是如此的热，它是一个巨大的篝火，你正在看着这个橙色——
Inferno.
地狱。
Nancy Updike Inferno, thank you, you're still not scared, you're feeling-- what are you feeling?
南希·厄普代克地狱，谢谢你，你仍然不害怕，你感觉——你感觉怎么样？
There isn't any fear, nor was there any concern.
没有任何恐惧，也没有任何担忧。
There was this kind of dull sense of contentment and peace.
有一种沉闷的满足感和平静感。
Sure.
当然。
The dull contentment and peace that precedes a third degree burn.
三度烧伤之前的沉闷的满足感和平静。
Right.
正确的。
Nancy Updike So one explanation for why people don't get burned on firewalks is that they're so nervous they sweat, and that layer of moisture protects their feet.
南希·厄普代克（Nancy Updike） 因此，人们在火道上不会被烧伤的一个解释是，他们太紧张而出汗，而那层湿气可以保护他们的脚。
In other words, Ki got burned because he was too certain that he wouldn't be.
换句话说，基被烧伤是因为他太确定自己不会被烧伤。
If he'd been more scared of fire, if he'd been nervous and sweated, he probably wouldn't have gotten hurt.
如果他更害怕火，如果他紧张并出汗，他可能就不会受伤。
I had this conviction that I wouldn't get hurt.
我有这样的信念：我不会受伤。
I can't really think of an explanation for why I had this, but I just simply didn't believe that it could hurt me.
我真的想不出一个解释为什么我会这样，但我只是不相信它会伤害我。
I mean, the moment that I stepped on the coals, I knew I was in trouble.
我的意思是，当我踩到煤炭的那一刻，我知道我有麻烦了。
And I could just feel my flesh sizzling.
我能感觉到我的肉在嘶嘶作响。
Oh my god.
我的天啊。
Ki Kim And I don't know what it was in me that compelled me to keep walking, but I made it across, and collapsed into one of the co-leader's arms.
Ki Kim 我不知道是什么力量迫使我继续走下去，但我还是坚持了下来，倒在了一位副领队的怀里。
I was in a state of panic, and I was at a point where I felt like all my entire belief system had just collapsed from under itself.
我处于恐慌状态，感觉我的整个信仰体系都崩溃了。
So I'm sitting off to the side, and the other people are also taking their turns going across the fire.
所以我坐在一边，其他人也轮流穿过火堆。
And are you saying anything?
你有说什么吗？
Do they know that you've been burned?
他们知道你被烧伤了吗？
Actually, the way that I'd composed myself, everyone thought, oh yeah, Ki just made it across, no problem.
事实上，就我镇静的方式而言，每个人都想，哦，是的，基刚刚成功了，没问题。
I didn't say or do anything to suggest to the others that I was in a great deal of pain.
我没有说或做任何事情来向其他人表明我正处于极大的痛苦之中。
Wow.
哇。
You're perpetuating the racist cliche about your people, that you are inscrutable.
你正在延续关于你的人民的种族主义陈词滥调，说你是深不可测的。
You didn't say anything?
你什么也没说？
Nobody had a clue.
没有人知道。
Earlier in that day, on these three by five index cards, we wrote down our three greatest fears.
那天早些时候，我们在这三乘五的索引卡上写下了我们最害怕的三个事情。
And we each took turns, one at a time, going up to the fire and tossed the index card into the fire.
我们每个人轮流，一次一个，走到火边，把索引卡扔进火里。
What were those fears?
那些恐惧是什么？
Ki Kim I guess the simplest way to put it was a fear of speaking.
Ki Kim 我想最简单的说法就是害怕说话。
Ki finally did tell everyone how badly burned he was.
基终于告诉大家他烧伤的有多严重。
He forced himself to speak.
他强迫自己说话。
And he looks back on that moment when he had to overcome exactly the fear he had named as a moment of revelation.
他回顾了那一刻，当时他必须克服恐惧，他称之为“启示时刻”。
Because he got burned on his firewalk, he had to speak.
因为他在走火场时被烧伤，所以他必须说话。
I feel like I got burned because getting burned was the appropriate experience for me to have at that point.
我觉得我被烧伤了，因为烧伤对我来说是当时最合适的经历。
Had I made it across unscathed, it would have made me think, oh yeah, I'm fine.
如果我毫发无伤地渡过难关，我一定会想，哦，是的，我很好。
Everything's cool.
一切都很酷。
I'm on the path.
我正在路上。
Yeah, I'm getting there.
是的，我马上就到了。
Yeah, I think that if I didn't get burned, I can easily imagine that, if this makes any sense, I would have become less mindful in the way that I live.
是的，我认为如果我没有被烧伤，我可以很容易地想象，如果这有任何意义的话，我会变得不那么在意我的生活方式。
Man, oh man, oh man.
伙计，哦，伙计，哦，伙计。
Well, coming up we step back for the big picture on humans and fire-- the really big picture.
好吧，接下来我们退后一步来了解人类和火的大局——真正的大局。
That's in a minute, when our program continues.
一会儿之后，我们的节目就会继续。
It's This American Life.
这就是美国生活。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Each week on our program, of course, we choose a theme, invite a variety of writers and performers to contribute various kinds of stories on the theme.
当然，每周我们的节目都会选择一个主题，邀请各种作家和表演者围绕该主题贡献各种故事。
Today's show, people who are not afraid of fire.
今天的节目，不怕火的人。
We've arrived at act four, as promised, The Big Picture.
正如所承诺的，我们已经到达第四幕“大局”。
Stephen Pyne, a professor, believes that we Americans as a people, as a group, are too afraid of fire.
斯蒂芬·派恩（Stephen Pyne）教授认为，我们美国人作为一个民族、一个群体，太害怕火了。
And he says that this has all sorts of practical consequences.
他说这会产生各种实际后果。
For example, in Yellowstone National Park, Pyne says the Forest Service policy of suppressing fires for the last 100 years out of fear of fire has led to an incredible overgrowth of flammable material, which caused the fires in 1988 that destroyed half the park.
例如，派恩表示，在黄石国家公园，过去 100 年来，林务局出于对火灾的恐惧而采取的灭火政策导致了易燃物质的过度生长，导致 1988 年的火灾烧毁了一半的公园。
In other words, by trying to avoid fires, we called them down upon us.
换句话说，通过试图避免火灾，我们招来了火灾。
Pyne says that what humans have done throughout history is set fires in a controlled way, and that part of our problem today is the way that we think about fire, that we do not see it as a practical tool, that we're afraid of it.
派恩说，人类在历史上所做的就是以受控的方式放火，而我们今天的部分问题是我们对火的看法，我们不认为它是一种实用的工具，我们害怕它。
That's a very recent and, in some ways, a bizarre perception.
这是最近才出现的，而且在某些方面是一种奇怪的看法。
There are good reasons to be afraid of fire.
害怕火灾是有充分理由的。
It's dangerous.
这很危险。
It can be unpredictable.
它可能是不可预测的。
But people have always paired that perception of fire with the sense that it was necessary, essential, that it's what made the world habitable.
但人们总是将这种对火的认识与这样一种感觉联系起来：它是必要的、必不可少的，它是让世界变得适宜居住的原因。
I mean, if you think about fire origin myths, and all cultures have them, almost always the story goes that humans are sort of a less capable or less well endowed species, then, through various means, usually by guile or theft, humans get it, or are given it, and then become powerful.
我的意思是，如果你想到火起源神话，所有文化都有它们，几乎总是这样的故事，人类是一种能力较差或天赋较差的物种，然后，通过各种手段，通常是通过欺骗或盗窃，人类得到它，或被赋予它，然后变得强大。
Then, in a sense, they become human, and the essential features of who we are become apparent.
然后，从某种意义上说，他们成为了人类，而我们是谁的基本特征也变得显而易见。
I mean, in many ways, we really are the keepers of the planetary flame.
我的意思是，在很多方面，我们确实是行星火焰的守护者。
And the sense that somehow, if we could abolish fire, it would be in our interest or the earth's interest, is a very peculiar and very modern, and urban, one.
如果我们能以某种方式废除火，那将符合我们的利益或地球的利益，这是一种非常奇特、非常现代、城市化的感觉。
Let me ask you, when you talk about societies where fire is valued, what societies are you thinking of?
我问你，当你谈论重视火的社会时，你想到的是哪些社会？
Are we talking about most agricultural societies?
我们谈论的是大多数农业社会吗？
Well, we're talking about almost every society other than, basically, an urban and industrial one.
嗯，我们谈论的是几乎所有社会，基本上除了城市和工业社会。
And industrial societies have sort of sublimated fire into machines, and we're not burning living biomass so much as fossil fuels, fossil biomass.
工业社会已经将火升华为机器，我们燃烧的不是生物生物质，而是化石燃料、化石生物质。
In other words, we've gone from actually having real bonfires to these tiny little combustions inside engines?
换句话说，我们已经从真正的篝火变成了发动机内的微小燃烧？
That's right.
这是正确的。
And we have, essentially, particularly in cities, people's contact with fire is almost always negative.
从本质上讲，尤其是在城市中，人们与火的接触几乎总是负面的。
A city is not a nice habitat for fire.
城市并不是火灾的好栖息地。
It occurs in wild forms, it's dangerous.
它以野生形式出现，很危险。
So people used to grow up-- if you were in a rural setting, you grew up burning off debris in the spring, burning off your fallow fields, burning off the pastures to get rid of the old grass and start the new, all kinds of little sort of spring cleaning fires, if you will, and fires for other purposes.
所以人们过去是这样长大的——如果你在农村，你会在春天烧掉残骸，烧掉休耕地，烧掉牧场以除掉旧草并开始新的各种小型春季大扫除火灾，如果你愿意的话，以及其他目的的火灾。
But it seems to me all that kind of personal contact with fire is gone, and what we have largely left is a kind of imagery, a kind of virtual fire-- fires as presented for their telegenic effect, or fires used to dramatize other phenomenon.
但在我看来，所有与火的个人接触都消失了，我们留下的大部分是一种意象，一种虚拟的火——为了上镜效果而呈现的火，或者用来戏剧化其他现象的火。
And in almost every case, the fire is negative.
几乎在所有情况下，火都是负面的。
Actually, as you describe this, I realized all of the movies, and all of the previews for movies I've seen lately, where fire is a huge element in those movies.
事实上，正如你所描述的那样，我意识到所有的电影，以及我最近看过的所有电影的预览，火都是这些电影中的一个重要元素。
There's a whole sequence of movies out now where volcanoes set cities on fire.
现在有一整套电影讲述火山点燃城市的故事。
I was at one of the Star Wars movies, and one of the things that struck me was just how much of the movie was simply about blowing things up.
我看过一部《星球大战》电影，令我印象深刻的一件事是这部电影中有多少内容只是关于炸毁东西。
Blowing things up, and, at least, there is a more benevolent and ancient image in the last of it, where you have the funeral pyre for Darth Vader.
炸毁东西，至少在最后一个图像中有一个更仁慈和古老的图像，在那里你有达斯维德的葬礼柴堆。
But in general, you're right.
但总的来说，你是对的。
Almost anything you can think of now, fire is used to sort of give visual and dramatic power to the story.
几乎所有你现在能想到的东西，火都被用来为故事赋予视觉和戏剧性的力量。
But are you arguing, in some way, that we have this visual fetish for fire because fire is not a part of our everyday lives anymore?
但你是否认为，在某种程度上，我们对火有这种视觉迷恋，因为火不再是我们日常生活的一部分？
I think we're allowing that to remain unchallenged, because in our personal sense, we don't have a sense of fire as a good force, fire as a useful tool, fire as something that makes the world habitable.
我认为我们允许这一点保持不变，因为就我们个人而言，我们不认为火是一种良好的力量，不认为火是一种有用的工具，不认为火是使世界变得适宜居住的东西。
Well, what kind of iconography do you want to see?
那么，您想看到什么样的图像？
Well, I would just like to see hearth fires.
好吧，我只是想看看炉火。
I would like to see some agricultural fires.
我想看到一些农业火灾。
I would like to see the Forest Service pair Smokey Bear with a complementary figure-- Smokey's twin brother, separated at birth or something, and he's there with a drip torch, and now they're together again, arm in arm, a paired set.
我希望看到林务局将斯莫基熊与一个互补的人物配对——斯莫基的双胞胎兄弟，出生时就分开了，他拿着滴水炬在那里，现在他们又在一起了，手挽手，一对。
That's the way it should be.
事情就应该这样。
And children would sometimes follow the example of Smokey the one who sets the fires, the other Smokey?
孩子们有时会效仿那个放火的斯莫基，另一个斯莫基？
Right.
正确的。
Ira Glass I don't know if a lot of parents are going to go with you on that one.
艾拉·格拉斯（Ira Glass）：我不知道很多家长是否会同意你的观点。
Well, it's not designed for urban environments, but I would like to have it in our consciousness that such things are possible.
嗯，它不是为城市环境设计的，但我希望我们意识到这样的事情是可能的。
Are you arguing in some way we need to get back to fire?
你是否认为我们需要重新开火？
We need to embrace fire more than we are?
我们比现在更需要拥抱火吗？
Well, I would like to see us first intellectually embrace it, and recognize that it is really part of our heritage as a species.
好吧，我希望看到我们首先在理智上接受它，并认识到它确实是我们作为一个物种的遗产的一部分。
We have a species monopoly over it.
我们对它有物种垄断。
And to sort of renounce that seems to me very strange.
在我看来，放弃这种做法很奇怪。
We have a species monopoly, meaning other animals have not mastered fire and we have?
我们拥有物种垄断，这意味着其他动物还没有掌握火，而我们却掌握了？
That's right.
这是正确的。
And I'm sure we will never allow any other species.
我确信我们永远不会允许任何其他物种出现。
I was going to say, if snakes get fire, what will we do?
我想说，如果蛇着火了，我们该怎么办？
I think we're in big, big trouble.
我认为我们遇到了很大很大的麻烦。
I mean, our whole premise is that we control it.
我的意思是，我们的整个前提是我们控制它。
If cows get fire-- Stephen Pyne Well, suddenly, the whole thing comes undone.
如果牛着火了——史蒂芬·派恩 好吧，突然之间，整个事情就毁了。
Yeah.
是的。
Stephen Pyne Actually I've written a novel on this.
斯蒂芬·派恩 事实上我已经写了一本关于这个的小说。
And it was a real mess, because I'm not trained to write novels, but the premise seems to me a legitimate one to think about.
这真是一团糟，因为我没有受过写小说的训练，但在我看来，这个前提是值得思考的。
I mean, maybe we've done such a bad job as a species that nature finally turns the task over to somebody else who can do it right.
我的意思是，也许我们作为一个物种做得如此糟糕，以至于大自然最终将这项任务交给了其他能做好这件事的人。
Stephen Pyne is the author of the books Burning Bush, Fire in America, and World Fire.
斯蒂芬·派恩是《燃烧的布什》、《美国之火》和《世界火灾》等书的作者。
Act five, The Fire Within.
第五幕，内心之火。
To be honest, this next story isn't really about fire.
老实说，下一个故事并不是关于火的。
It's called fire.
这就是火。
It mentions fire.
其中提到了火。
The writer's name is Rennie Sparks.
作者的名字叫雷尼·斯帕克斯。
But basically, we just really liked this story, and we thought we would end the show with it today.
但基本上，我们真的很喜欢这个故事，我们认为今天就以此结束节目。
I was car sick from reading the Sun Times in the car, but I couldn't stop reading.
我在车里看《太阳时报》晕车了，但我无法停止阅读。
There was an article wedged in next to a tight column of helpful household hints, right above Today's Chuckle.
在“今天的笑声”上方，有一列有用的家庭提示，旁边夹着一篇文章。
The article reported a study that proved that in emergency situations, people respond more seriously when someone screamed fire than when someone screamed help.
文章报道了一项研究，该研究证明，在紧急情况下，人们对有人尖叫着火的反应比有人尖叫救命时的反应更严重。
Your average person just didn't respond to the word help anymore.
一般人只是不再对“帮助”这个词做出反应。
The word had lost its punch.
这个词已经失去了力量。
The study coordinator suggested that people should scream fire even when there was no fire.
研究协调员建议，即使没有发生火灾，人们也应该尖叫着火。
Below that article was a piece about how putting a brick in your toilet could eventually conserve enough water to fill a kiddy pool.
这篇文章下面是一篇关于如何在厕所里放一块砖最终可以节省足够的水来填满儿童游泳池的文章。
I stopped reading then because my husband Steven was yelling at me.
然后我就不再读书了，因为我的丈夫史蒂文对我大喊大叫。
He was trying to yell at me and park the car at the same time.
他一边想一边停车一边对我大喊大叫。
It was too much for him.
这对他来说太过分了。
That was obvious.
这是显而易见的。
He was yelling things like, "You know I told you," and, "God dammit, what did I say?" You could tell he was thinking about too many things at once, and nothing was getting done right.
他大喊着诸如“你知道我告诉过你了”之类的话，以及“该死的，我说什么了？”看得出来，他脑子里想的事情太多了，却什么都做不好。
We'd been driving around and around the cramped streets of Lincoln Park for over 40 minutes, searching for a spot.
我们开车在林肯公园狭窄的街道上转了 40 多分钟，寻找停车位。
"Reading that junk is just wasting brain cells," he said.
“阅读那些垃圾内容只是浪费脑细胞，”他说。
"You might as well sit an inch away from the TV." "Traffic makes me nervous, it helps if I read," I told him.
“你最好坐得离电视一英寸远。” “交通让我紧张，如果我读书会有帮助，”我告诉他。
"That's because you're not driving."
“那是因为你没有开车。”
We'd been going back and forth like this ever since he picked me up after work.
自从他下班来接我以来，我们就这样来来回回。
He was mad because I hadn't asked my boss for a raise.
他很生气，因为我没有向老板要求加薪。
My annual review had come and gone and I hadn't, as he put it, made my move.
我的年度回顾已经过去了，但正如他所说，我并没有采取行动。
Steven, on the other hand, had pulled a 20% raise out of his review, plus an office with a window.
另一方面，史蒂文在他的审查中取消了 20% 的加薪，并加上一间带窗户的办公室。
A major move up, he termed it, a personal best.
他称这是个人最好成绩，这是一次重大进步。
He was disgusted with me and the tiny cubicle in which I spent my days shuffling data, without any attempt at advancement.
他对我和我整天在里面整理数据而没有任何进步的小隔间感到厌恶。
He'd wasted weeks before my review date, giving me pep talks to boost what he termed my corporate competitiveness.
在我的审查日期之前，他浪费了几周的时间对我进行鼓舞士气的演讲，以提高他所说的我的企业竞争力。
"You either step up, Pat," he said, "or you get stepped over.
“帕特，你要么站出来，”他说，“要么你就会被踩倒。
It's that simple.
就是这么简单。
Let them know you're on the move.
让他们知道你正在行动。
Walk faster down hallways.
沿着走廊走得更快。
Make quality eye contact."
进行高质量的眼神交流。”
Judging from the way I'd silently nodded yes, yes, yes, to every new criticism my boss had cited as reasons for giving me only a cost of living increase, I hadn't managed much of a killer instinct.
从我默默地点点头的方式来看，是的，是的，是的，对老板提出的每一个新批评，作为只给我增加生活费用的理由，从我的方式来看，我并没有发挥出太多的杀手本能。
My secret dream, to breed golden retrievers out on two acres in the suburbs, seemed to be moving further and further away.
我的秘密梦想——在郊区的两英亩土地上饲养金毛猎犬——似乎离我越来越远了。
Steven turned the car into the alley behind our building.
史蒂文把车开进我们大楼后面的小巷。
This was the sign that we were giving up our parking search for the day.
这是我们放弃当天寻找停车位的标志。
He backed us in next to a dumpster surrounded by no parking signs and broken glass.
他把我们倒车到一个垃圾箱旁边，周围都是禁止停车标志和碎玻璃。
We already had 15 outstanding $100 tickets from parking in this alley.
我们已经收到了 15 张在这条巷子里停车的 100 美元罚单。
10 was the suggested limit before they towed, but Steven refused to take mass transit.
10 是他们拖车前的建议限制，但史蒂文拒绝乘坐公共交通工具。
He had a system.
他有一个系统。
Every time he parked the car, he turned the wheels as far to the right as they'd go.
每次他停车时，他都会将车轮尽可能向右转动。
He was convinced this made it impossible for the car to be towed.
他确信这使得汽车无法被拖走。
Unfortunately, Steven was a man of many such theories.
不幸的是，史蒂文有很多这样的理论。
He insisted that light beer was 90% water, and that all TV networks were working together behind the scenes.
他坚称淡啤酒 90% 是水，所有电视网络都在幕后合作。
He'd flip up and down the 10 o'clock news shows comparing anchor people, graphics, weather reports, until inevitably, he'd hit two shows doing a special report on the same subject, or two networks airing the same commercial at the same time.
他会上下翻看 10 点的新闻节目，比较主播、图像、天气预报，直到不可避免地，他会观看两档节目对同一主题进行特别报道，或者两个电视网同时播放同一广告。
"See, look at this," he'd yell at the screen.
“看，看这个，”他对着屏幕大喊。
"This is exactly what I'm talking about."
“这正是我所说的。”
Steven parked so close to the dumpster, I had to crawl over the gear shift to his side to get out.
史蒂文把车停得离垃圾箱太近，我不得不爬过变速杆到他身边才能下车。
We walked quickly up the alley to the street.
我们沿着小巷快步走到街上。
Just as we turned onto our block, he grabbed my arm.
正当我们转向我们的街区时，他抓住了我的手臂。
"Pat, have I died and gone to heaven?
“帕特，我死了然后去了天堂吗？
Am I having a stroke?" A lone station wagon with wooden siding was pulling out a few feet ahead of us inch by inch, exposing pavement as dark as new tar and a gleaming white curb.
我是不是中风了？”一辆带有木质壁板的旅行车在我们前方几英尺处一寸一寸地驶出，露出了漆黑如新柏油的人行道和闪闪发光的白色路缘。
The space hadn't seen sunlight in decades.
这个空间已经几十年没有见到阳光了。
It was like seeing a new $100 bill.
就像看到一张新的 100 美元钞票一样。
I swallowed hard, sucking my cheeks in in excitement.
我用力咽了口口水，兴奋地捂住了脸颊。
"Is that a spot or is that a spot?" Steven was grinning so hard his face began to leap and twitch, his fingers flexing in and out against my arm, like a cat clawing a blanket.
“那是一个地方，还是一个地方？”史蒂文笑得很厉害，他的脸开始跳动和抽搐，他的手指在我的手臂上来回弯曲，就像一只猫抓着毯子。
"It's a spot, all right," I said.
“这是一个地方，好吧，”我说。
"A big one.
“一个大的。
You want to bet on how many seconds before it's gone?"
你想赌一下它还有多少秒消失吗？”
"Listen," he said in a quick whisper.
“听着，”他快速低声说道。
"Go stand in it while I get the car.
“我去取车的时候，你站在里面。
Don't let anyone in, not anyone."
不许任何人进来，不许任何人进来。”
"Steven, you can't save spots by standing in them," I said.
“史蒂文，你不能通过站在位置上来节省位置，”我说。
"This isn't kindergarten.
“这不是幼儿园。
This is the kind of thing people get shot over."
这就是人们被枪击的事情。”
"Just stand there.
“就站在那里吧。
You've got to stand somewhere, am I right?" His voice reached a threatening pitch.
你必须站在某个地方，对吗？”他的声音达到了威胁的程度。
Sweat was beaded up on his forehead.
他的额头上渗出了汗珠。
"Pat, get in that spot."
“帕特，到那个地方去。”
I stepped forward into the space, staring down at the indentations his burgundy loafers made in the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street.
我向前迈进了这个空间，低头凝视着他的酒红色乐福鞋在人行道和街道之间的草地上留下的凹痕。
I curled my hands into firsts, and pressed my fingernails into my palms so hard I snapped off a nail.
我将双手握成拳头，用力将指甲压入手掌，用力以至于把指甲折断了。
I felt like sobbing.
我感觉想抽泣。
These were acrylic nails that had cost a fortune at Lovely Lady, a nail salon by the lake.
这些是丙烯酸指甲，在湖边的一家美甲沙龙“Lovely Lady”上花了一大笔钱。
I forced my fingers out straight and dropped the broken nail, a flash of fluttering pink.
我用力把手指伸直，把断掉的指甲掉了下来，一闪而过的粉红色。
Steven disappeared into the alley.
史蒂文消失在小巷里。
A minute passed in silence.
一分钟的沉默过去了。
I detected the faint smell of something green lurking underneath the city air.
我闻到了城市空气中潜藏着的淡淡的绿色气味。
I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining a perfect lawn, a cement patio, and golden retrievers in a wire mesh kennel.
我闭上眼睛一会儿，想象着完美的草坪、水泥庭院和铁丝网狗舍里的金毛猎犬。
Headlights swept across me then, a car turning the corner, a big rumbling car, but behind the wheel, a delicate man so dwarfed by his car, I imagined him propped up on telephone books to reach the wheel.
车头灯扫过我，一辆汽车正在转弯，一辆隆隆作响的大汽车，但方向盘后面是一个精致的男人，在他的车面前显得那么渺小，我想象他靠在电话簿上才能到达方向盘。
His window rolled down, his pushed his head out, carefully maneuvering a worn Cubs cap through the open window.
他的车窗摇了下来，他把头伸出来，小心翼翼地把一顶破旧的小熊队帽子从开着的车窗里拿出来。
He said something, but I couldn't quite catch it.
他说了些什么，但我听不太清楚。
His voice was high and thin, freakishly feminine.
他的声音又高又细，异常女性化。
I stepped forward, but still I couldn't hear what the man was saying, even though I saw his neck straining, veins bulging as he raised his voice.
我向前走去，但我还是听不见那个人在说什么，尽管我看到他提高了声音，脖子绷紧，青筋暴起。
I just couldn't quite catch it.
我只是不太明白。
Or at least, I hoped I hadn't, because what I thought he said was, "Are you going to move, or do I have to run you over?"
或者至少，我希望我没有，因为我以为他说的是，“你要搬走吗，还是我得把你碾死？”
I glanced toward the alley, no sign of Steven.
我朝小巷看了一眼，没有看到史蒂文的踪影。
The man lurched his car into park and lifted himself up so that half his torso came up out of the window.
这名男子将车摇摇晃晃地停进停车场，然后站了起来，半个躯干伸出了窗外。
This time I heard him clearly.
这次我听得很清楚。
"Are you trying to save that spot?" He smiled at me.
“你想保住那个位置吗？”他对我微笑。
I looked down around me at the space and nodded.
我低头看了看周围的空间，点了点头。
"My husband is pulling up from the alley." We both turned, staring down the alley.
“我丈夫正从巷子里停下来。”我们都转过身，凝视着小巷。
Nothing.
没有什么。
"You think there's room for two?" The man asked.
“你觉得这里可以住两个人吗？”男人问道。
I stared across the empty space, measuring car lengths with my eyes.
我凝视着空旷的空间，用眼睛测量汽车的长度。
This was just the kind of spatial relationship task I'd done poorly at in school.
这正是我在学校里做得不好的空间关系任务。
"I don't know," I said, "I mean I guess." Before I could work on my reasoning, he smiled at me again.
“我不知道，”我说，“我是说我猜。”还没等我开始推理，他又对我微笑了。
I sent him back a wide grin.
我对他报以一个大大的微笑。
He returned a soft, knowing stare.
他回以温柔、会意的目光。
Just as the man pulled into the parking spot, and I saw with a jolt of fear that there was definitely not going to be room for two cars after all, our car appeared at the mouth of the alley with Steven hunched over the wheel.
就在那个人把车开进停车位时，我惊恐地发现这里肯定容不下两辆车，我们的车出现在巷口，史蒂文弓着腰坐在方向盘上。
He looked at the spot being taken, looked at me, then squealed in reverse back down the alley.
他看了看被拍摄的位置，又看了看我，然后反向尖叫着回到巷子里。
"Was that your husband?" The man asked.
“那是你的丈夫吗？”男人问道。
He was out of his car now.
他现在已经下了车。
He had on a black t-shirt and shiny lycra bike pants.
他穿着黑色 T 恤和闪亮的莱卡自行车裤。
His arms and legs were pale and bony, and hung helplessly from his torso.
他的胳膊和腿苍白而骨瘦如柴，无助地垂在他的躯干上。
"He was here a minute ago," I said.
“他一分钟前还在这里，”我说。
"He backed down into the alley.
“他退到了小巷里。
I guess he thought there wasn't room."
我猜他认为没有空间了。”
"Well, what kind of car does he drive?" The man asked.
“嗯，他开什么车？”男人问道。
"A Nissan," I told him.
“一辆尼桑，”我告诉他。
"Oh, he can fit.
“哦，他可以适应。
He can definitely fit.
他绝对能适应。
Go get him.
去找他吧。
I can move up further.
我还可以更进一步。
I'm sure of it." I had my doubts, but remembering our shared smiles, I moved up onto the sidewalk and cut across to the alley.
我确信这一点。”我心存疑虑，但想起我们共同的微笑，我走到人行道上，穿过小巷。
Just as I stepped away from the spot, a car turned up the block, a Cadillac.
正当我离开现场时，一辆凯迪拉克汽车出现在街区里。
I looked back.
我回头看了一眼。
"Go on," the man waved me forward.
“走吧。”那人挥手示意我往前走。
"I'll save the spot.
“我会保留位置。
Besides," he lowered his voice, "it's a Caddy.
而且，”他压低了声音，“这是一辆球童。
She'll never fit in a million years." I smiled.
一百万年后她永远也无法适应。”我笑了。
The man shot back a smirk.
男人回以冷笑。
I headed down the alley.
我朝小巷走去。
Steven was double parked next to the dumpster again.
史蒂文再次停在垃圾箱旁边。
I knocked on the glass.
我敲了敲玻璃。
He held his finger on the window button.
他将手指放在车窗按钮上。
The glass hummed down into the door.
玻璃嗡嗡地落到门上。
"I'm sorry," I told him.
“我很抱歉，”我告诉他。
"I thought there was room.
“我以为还有空间。
That guy says he'll try and move up if you want to pull in again."
那家伙说，如果你想再次加入，他会尝试向上移动。”
"No one," Steven said, his voice arcing up towards hysteria, "on this entire planet, in any car, from any country, could fit into that spot.
“没有人，”史蒂文说道，他的声音变得歇斯底里，“在这个星球上，无论来自哪个国家，乘坐任何汽车，都可以适应那个位置。
I'm not going to embarrass any of us by trying."
我不会因为尝试而让我们任何人感到尴尬。”
"Well, what do you want to do then?" I asked.
“嗯，那你想做什么？”我问。
"OK, OK." He let out a long, theatrical burst of air.
“好吧，好吧。”他长长地、戏剧性地吐出一口气。
"I'll go through the motions.
“我会走过场。
Why not?
为什么不呢？
Why don't we just sleep in the car tonight?
今晚我们为什么不在车上睡觉呢？
Hook the TV to the dashboard and just wait for the police to show up in the morning." He stepped on the clutch, the skin around his eyes and mouth quivering violently.
将电视挂在仪表板上，然后等待警察早上出现。”他踩下离合器，眼睛和嘴巴周围的皮肤剧烈颤抖。
"Go on," I yelled, "you can do it." I turned and ran back up the street.
“加油，”我喊道，“你能行的。”我转身跑回街上。
Halfway there, Steven burst past me, motor roaring.
半路上，史蒂文从我身边冲过，发动机轰鸣。
When I turned the corner, the man was in his car, pushing it up against the bumper of the car in front of him.
当我转过街角时，那个人正坐在他的车里，将车推到他前面汽车的保险杠上。
There was the squeal of metal rubbing against metal.
金属与金属摩擦的尖叫声响起。
The car in front moved up an inch or two, and then slammed into the back bumper of the next car up.
前面的车向上移动了一两英寸，然后撞上了下一辆车的后保险杠。
The man turned the car off, jumped out, smiling.
男人把车熄火，微笑着跳下车。
He'd created at most another four or five inches of space.
他最多又创造了四五英寸的空间。
Meanwhile, Steven had pulled halfway into the spot and pulled back out again.
与此同时，史蒂文已经将车停到了一半，然后又退出了。
Finally, he screeched off again down into the alley for the third time.
最后，他第三次尖叫着冲进了小巷。
The man and I stood in silence on the sidewalk as a Honda came around the corner and glided smoothly into the spot.
我和那个男人静静地站在人行道上，一辆本田车从拐角处开过来，平稳地滑进了现场。
Two girls jumped out.
两个女孩跳了出来。
"Marla's apartment is that way," one of them said to the other.
“玛拉的公寓就在那边，”其中一人对另一人说道。
"She's got this new futon couch and faux marble." I caught their perfume in the air as they clicked away down the sidewalk, something between watermelon and lilies.
“她有这个新的蒲团沙发和人造大理石。”当他们沿着人行道走开时，我在空气中闻到了他们的香水味，介于西瓜和百合之间。
Steven said faux was for wimps.
史蒂文说假货是给懦夫准备的。
He liked earth tones.
他喜欢大地色系。
Everything had to be earth tones, so that our apartment ended up looking like a pile of dirt.
一切都必须是大地色系，所以我们的公寓最终看起来就像一堆泥土。
I walked down the alley.
我沿着小巷走去。
Steven was bent over the trunk of the car, pushing down hard enough to make the car bounce.
史蒂文俯身在汽车后备箱上，用力向下推，足以让汽车弹起来。
"Damn this trunk," he said.
“该死的这个箱子，”他说。
"It's never worked right since we were broken into."
“自从我们被闯入以来，它就从来没有正常工作过。”
"I'm sorry I gave away our spot," I said.
“我很抱歉我放弃了我们的位置，”我说。
"I knew in a second we wouldn't fit," he snapped.
“我立刻就知道我们不适合，”他厉声说道。
"Not in a million years." He lunged one last time onto the trunk and it clicked painfully into the lock.
“一百万年内不会。”他最后一次冲上箱子，箱子痛苦地卡在锁上。
"I shouldn't have done it," I said.
“我不应该这么做，”我说。
"I know that now." "It doesn't matter, Pat," he said, turning to face me, resting his weight against the car.
“我现在知道了。” “没关系，帕特，”他说，转身面对我，将身体靠在车上。
"What's one more ticket at this point?
“现在还有一张票吗？
We might as well start parking in bus stops and handicap zones."
我们不妨开始在公交车站和残疾人区停车。”
There were footsteps behind us.
我们身后有脚步声。
It was the man who'd taken our spot.
就是那个人取代了我们的位置。
He stood a moment, staring at us, pushing his shirt down into his bike pants.
他站了一会儿，盯着我们，把衬衫塞进自行车裤里。
"Your car is big for a Nissan," he said finally.
“对于日产来说，你的车很大，”他最后说道。
"Yeah," Steven said, "and heavy.
“是的，”史蒂文说，“而且很重。
Burns a lot of oil."
烧掉很多油。”
"I'm sorry I took your spot," the man said.
“对不起，我抢了你的位置。”男人说道。
"My car is bigger than I thought.
“我的车比我想象的要大。
Do you live here?" He pointed to our building.
你住在这里吗？”他指着我们的大楼。
We nodded.
我们点点头。
"I just moved in," he said.
“我刚搬进来，”他说。
"Last week during the storm."
“上周暴风雨期间。”
We headed up the alley and around to the front courtyard, the man talking as we walked, following a step behind.
我们沿着小巷走去，绕到前院，那个男人一边走一边说话，跟在我们后面一步。
"I just moved in, like I said, and already I can't take the noise."
“就像我说的，我刚刚搬进来，但我已经无法忍受噪音了。”
I held the gate open, and then the three of us were standing in the courtyard.
我把门打开，然后我们三个就站在院子里。
We stopped, surrounded by our building on three sides, and behind us, the street.
我们停了下来，三边都被我们的大楼包围着，身后是街道。
High above us, the third floor maybe, someone was practicing a clarinet, and in one of the open windows on the first floor I could hear a woman talking softly.
在我们上方的高处，也许是三楼，有人正在练习单簧管，在一楼的一扇开着的窗户里，我可以听到一个女人轻声说话。
"That's a good kitty.
“这是一只好猫。
Mama loves a good baby kitty."
妈妈很喜欢一只乖乖猫宝宝。”
"Do you have a problem with the noise?" The man asked.
“你有噪音问题吗？”男人问道。
"Sure," Steven said, "everybody does." "Frankly," the man said, "I don't know if I can take it.
“当然，”史蒂文说，“每个人都这样。” “坦白说，”那人说，“我不知道我是否能接受。
The woman above me walks back and forth all night long.
我楼上的那个女人整晚都在来回走动。
That's not normal in my book." "You should talk to her," I offered.
这在我的书中是不正常的。” “你应该和她谈谈，”我提议道。
We were standing in a circle, but suddenly, as if he'd made a decision, the man stepped forward towards Steven, putting his back to me.
我们站成一圈，但突然，那个男人仿佛做出了决定，向史蒂文走来，背对着我。
He kept talking.
他一直在说话。
"I went up there twice already, and she said she's going to call the police on me.
“我已经去过那里两次了，她说她要报警抓我。
'Fine,' I told her.
“好吧，”我告诉她。
It's my peace being disturbed, not hers."
扰乱的是我的平静，不是她的。”
"Get a broom," Steven said.
“拿把扫帚，”史蒂文说。
"I've used a broom." "What?" The man said, stepping closer.
“我用过扫帚。” “什么？”男人说道，一步步靠近。
"On the ceiling," Steven explained.
“在天花板上，”史蒂文解释道。
"Oh, so you do have noisy neighbors," the man said, excited.
“哦，原来你的邻居确实很吵，”那人兴奋地说。
"We did." Steven told him.
“我们做到了。”史蒂文告诉他。
"They were old people, banging around in wheelchairs all day, then the man died.
“他们都是老人，整天坐在轮椅上打滚，然后那个人就死了。
That ended it."
就这样结束了。”
"You mean the woman quieted down without him?" The man asked, thrusting in front of me so I had to take a step back against the wall of the building.
“你是说，没有他，那个女人就安静下来了？”那人问道，冲到我面前，让我不得不靠着大楼的墙壁后退一步。
"Oh no," Steven said, "nothing like that."
“哦，不，”史蒂文说，“不是那样的。”
"Well, like I say, I just moved in," the man said, interrupting.
“好吧，就像我说的，我刚刚搬进来，”男人打断道。
His voice was growing hoarse.
他的声音越来越沙哑。
"And I have friends on Bryer, you know, right around the corner.
“我在布莱尔有朋友，你知道，就在拐角处。
They have parking there, but you have to pay, and the waiting list is so long you practically have to kill someone to move up." His voice sped up.
他们在那里有停车场，但你必须付费，而且等候名单太长了，你几乎必须杀掉一个人才能继续前进。”他的声音加快了。
"The indoor's more expensive, but not so much, really, I mean, you have to realize outdoor is crazy.
“室内的价格更贵，但也没有那么多，真的，我的意思是，你必须意识到室外的价格很疯狂。
You're getting no protection at all.
你根本得不到任何保护。
Zip."
拉链。”
He caught his breath and stepped back onto my foot.
他屏住呼吸，重新踩到我的脚上。
I slid along the bricks, out of his way.
我沿着砖块滑行，避开他的路。
"You know," he continued, "I don't know too many people around here, but I'm making it a point to tell everyone I meet, my friends on Bryer tell me someone was robbed at gunpoint in the lobby the other night.
“你知道，”他继续说道，“我在这附近认识的人不多，但我特意告诉我遇到的每个人，我在布莱尔的朋友告诉我，那天晚上有人在大厅里被枪指着抢劫。
I mean, the only reason I'm telling you this is that they're right around the corner, and if you look, they have the same kind of lobby we do.
我的意思是，我告诉你这一点的唯一原因是他们就在拐角处，如果你看的话，他们有和我们一样的大厅。
You know, an outer door, and then mailboxes, and then a locked door.
你知道，一扇外门，然后是邮箱，然后是一扇锁着的门。
They wait for you to come get your mail.
他们等待您来取邮件。
I don't want to ruin your night, but robbed at gunpoint, that's the worst, isn't it?"
我不想毁了你的夜晚，但被枪指着抢劫，那是最糟糕的，不是吗？”
I looked up at the sky.
我抬头看着天空。
A helicopter was clicking past in the darkness.
黑暗中，一架直升机呼啸而过。
It was one of those questions, would you rather be burned to death, or frozen?
这是其中一个问题，你愿意被烧死还是被冻死？
"That's why I always carry $10 in my wallet," Steven said.
“这就是为什么我总是在钱包里放 10 美元，”史蒂文说。
"What do you mean?" The man asked, stepping forward now, towards Steven.
“你是什么意思？”男人向前迈了一步，朝史蒂文问道。
"I haven't heard this one." "$10 is usually enough they won't shoot," Steven said.
“我没听过这个。” “通常 10 美元就足够了，他们不会开枪，”史蒂文说。
"They just want something." He spoke slowly, his face luminescent under the street lights.
“他们只是想要一些东西。”他说话的速度很慢，脸在路灯下泛着光。
I stepped forward, trying to catch Steven's gaze over the man's shoulders.
我向前走去，试图从男人的肩膀上捕捉史蒂文的目光。
"I just read something I think you'll both find interesting," I said.
“我刚刚读了一些我认为你们都会感兴趣的东西，”我说。
My voice sounded raw and crazy.
我的声音听起来原始而疯狂。
They turned.
他们转身。
Steven's arm was blocking his chest, the man swivelling around on the point of one toe.
史蒂文的手臂挡住了他的胸口，男人用一个脚趾尖旋转着。
"Actually, it's right along this vein of conversation," I said, pausing for breath, trying to think how Steven might tell it.
“事实上，这就是谈话的脉络，”我说，停下来喘口气，试图思考史蒂文会如何讲述。
"They say," I said, voice rising up high, "that is, the professionals, that when you're attacked, you should never scream, 'help,' because nobody listens.
“他们说，”我提高声音说，“也就是说，专业人士，当你受到攻击时，你永远不应该尖叫‘救命’，因为没有人听。
No one takes that word seriously anymore."
没有人再认真对待这个词了。”
"Is this a joke?" The man asked.
“这是开玩笑吗？”男人问道。
"I don't think I've heard this one.
“我想我没听过这个。
My roommate has a book of 1,000 space shuttle jokes.
我的室友有一本书，里面有 1000 个航天飞机笑话。
I mean, get a life, right?" Steven was staring at me as if I had completely broken with reality.
我的意思是，好好生活，对吗？”史蒂文盯着我，好像我已经完全脱离了现实。
Gypsy moths beat their wings noisily against the shining lamps over the doorway.
吉普赛蛾用翅膀拍打着门口闪烁的灯光，发出吵闹的声音。
The clarinet player had stopped.
单簧管演奏者已经停了下来。
I felt like the whole building was silent, waiting.
我感觉整栋楼都静悄悄的，等待着。
"They have statistics that prove this, that in an emergency," I was gasping for air now, "it seems more people listen when you scream, 'fire,' even when there is no actual fire."
“他们的统计数据证明了这一点，在紧急情况下，”我现在气喘吁吁，“当你尖叫‘着火了’时，似乎有更多的人在听，即使实际上并没有发生火灾。”
Steven's face was bright red, a vein pulsing in the center of his forehead.
史蒂文的脸涨得通红，额头中央有一根青筋在跳动。
Suddenly the man spoke.
突然，男人开口了。
"Fire?" He asked, "do I have this right?"
“火？”他问：“我有这个权利吗？”
We stepped forward in unison, Steven and I, almost swallowing the man up.
我和史蒂文齐心协力向前走去，差点把那个人吞下去。
"Fire," we said, at precisely the same moment, with precisely the same inflection.
“着火了，”我们在同一时刻以完全相同的语调说道。
I felt my insides leap up.
我感觉我的五脏六腑都在跳跃。
Steven's eyes flashed to mine.
史蒂文的目光闪过我的目光。
Rennie Sparks.
雷尼·斯帕克斯。
Credits Ira Glass Our program today was produced by Alix Spiegel and myself, with Paul Tough, Julie Snyder, Nancy Updike, contributing editor Sarah Vowell, Jack Hitt, and Margie Rockland.
图片来源 Ira Glass 我们今天的节目由我和阿利克斯·斯皮格尔 (Alix Spiegel) 制作，还有保罗·托夫 (Paul Tough)、朱莉·斯奈德 (Julie Snyder)、南希·厄普代克 (Nancy Updike)、特约编辑莎拉·沃威尔 (Sarah Vowell)、杰克·希特 (Jack Hitt) 和玛吉·罗克兰 (Margie Rockland)。
Music help today from Steve Cushing.
今天史蒂夫·库欣提供音乐帮助。
Susan Perabo's story originally appeared in TriQuarterly .
苏珊·佩拉博的故事最初发表在《三季刊》上。
If you'd like a copy of this program, call us at WBEZ in Chicago, phone number 312-832-3380, 312-832-3380.
如果您想要该计划的副本，请致电芝加哥 WBEZ，电话号码 312-832-3380、312-832-3380。
Our email address, [email protected] .
我们的电子邮件地址，[电子邮件受保护]。
[FUNDING CREDITS] WBEZ management oversight by Torey Malatia, who says--
[资金来源] WBEZ 管理由 Torey Malatia 监督，他说——
You either step up, or you get stepped over.
你要么挺身而出，要么被踩倒。
It's that simple.
就是这么简单。
I'm Ira Glass.
我是艾拉·格拉斯。
Back next week with more stories of This American Life.
下周我们将带来更多《美国生活》的故事。
This American Life is produced in collaboration with WBEZ Chicago and delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange.
《This American Life》与 WBEZ Chicago 合作制作，并由 PRX 公共广播电台传送到各电台。