美国国家公共电台 NPR Virtual Reality Project Captures Experience Of Immigrants And Refugees

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

I once snuck across the border from Tijuana to San Diego. I was with NPR's Mandalit del Barco to watch people cross illegally into this country - at night, across a highway, through a fence, through sewers¹ and over hills, we ran with them.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Speaking Spanish).

SIMON: Here comes a van. Let's...

And, of course, immigration remains² a polarizing issue. And the Mexican film director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's latest work addresses border crossings that are happening today. Mandalit went and checked it out.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE³: I was asked not to record the sounds of this 360-degree docudrama, but I can testify it felt almost as heart racing⁴ and harrowing as the real deal. I stood barefoot on a wall of sand and put on a virtual-reality headset. Then I was transported to the Arizona desert at night with a small group led by a coyote, a smuggler⁵. A scared child was to my right. And a woman behind me collapsed⁶ from exhaustion⁷ and terror.

A helicopter and patrol cars rushed in, bright lights blazing. I crouched⁸ down with the others, but they had us. I dropped to my knees, with my hands up, as a Border Patrol agent barked orders and drew a gun straight at me, exactly like what happened to me when Scott and I crossed the border in 1990.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Hey. I'm not going to tell you again. Get over here. You're getting in a lot of trouble, lady, if I think - if I...

SIMON: Good evening, officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: You folks are in a lot of trouble. Come on over here.

DEL BARCO: It's a scenario⁹ like this that director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has created for his installation "Carne Y Arena¹⁰" - flesh and sand.

ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU: You become an immigrant. And I think it's the only way that really we can have empathy and compassion¹¹.

DEL BARCO: Inarritu asked Mexican and Central American immigrants to recreate their stories that they relayed to him about crossing over.

INARRITU: You know, they are raped¹². They are robbed. They are killed. And there's no even data about it. So there's something wrong when you treat your neighbor like that, you know. So it's a worldwide phenomenon that is so sad.

DEL BARCO: While he's critical of President Trump's immigration policies, Inarritu says "Carne Y Arena" transcends¹³ political statements.

INARRITU: Just to be present in a reality that is much more complex without going to politics, to the right or to the left.

DEL BARCO: Inarritu calls this a lucid¹⁴ dream that continues to be a nightmare for people crossing the border around the world. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

1 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

8 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

11 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

12 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

13 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

14 lucid   

adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的

参考例句：

• His explanation was lucid and to the point.他的解释扼要易懂。
• He wasn't very lucid,he didn't quite know where he was.他神志不是很清醒，不太知道自己在哪里。