读者文摘:魔术改变了我的生活(4)

Something incredible had happened.

不可思议的事情发生了。

I might have caused it, but it had not come from me.

可能是我造成的，但不是来源于我。

I had inadvertently tapped into something visceral and wild:

我无意中发现了一些发自内心和狂野的东西：

the teacher's face, the shouts of fear, astonishment—and joy.

老师的表情，恐惧、惊讶和欢乐的呼喊。

The joy was the hardest to explain.

这种喜悦难以言喻。

Surprise comes easy, but joy never does.

惊喜来得容易，快乐却不易。

I was an alchemist who had somehow—unknowingly, unintentionally—discovered how to turn lead into gold.

我是一个炼金术士，不知不觉无意中发现了把铅变成金子的方法。

Even a nine-yearold knows this is impossible.

甚至一个九岁的孩子都知道这是不可能的。

You could only do that with real magic.

只有真正的魔法才能实现。

The gulf¹ between wanting to become a great magician and actually doing it is enormous, however,

然而，想要成为一名伟大的魔术师与现实还是有着巨大的差距，

and the career of a young magician is marked as much by humiliation² and public failure as it is by the occasional success.

公演失败蒙羞和偶然成功对于年轻魔术师的职业生涯都同样重要

In high school, I staged a show in the auditorium³ and my entire world came out to watch— 600 friends, family members, girls from school, everyone I wanted to defy or impress.

高中时，我在礼堂里举办了一场表演，我所认识的人——600名朋友、家人、学校里的女生，所有我想挑战或打动的人都来观看。

They all looked on in horror, fascination⁴, and pity as I twirled about the stage, frantically⁵ trying to remember every bit of choreography from every David Copperfield special I had ever seen.

当我在舞台上转动，疯狂地想要记住我看到的大卫·科波菲尔的每一个特别的动作时，他们都流露出惊恐、着迷和同情的表情。

The audience sat mute, aghast, enduring the spectacle and waiting for the catastrophe⁶ to end.

观众们坐在那里哑口无言，忍受着我的表演，等待着灾难的结束。

A few years later, I staged a Harry⁷ Houdini–style underwater escape in the river that flowed through the middle of the campus of the University of Iowa, where I went to school.

几年后，我在流经我上学的地方——爱荷华大学校园中央的河中上演了一场哈利·霍迪尼式水下逃生。

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

3 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

4 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

5 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

6 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。