2006年NPR美国国家公共电台一月-Social Work: The Ideal vs. The Reality

（单词翻译）

In 1991, I lived with a murderer, an albino Elvis impersonator, and a girl whose TV told her she was wicked. I was in London as a volunteer working with mentally ill homeless people, testing out a possible future as a social worker.

Smith Lodge¹ was the euphemistic name for the nuthouse where I worked and lived. As the only staff member there after 4 o clock, I became the housemother to an unholy herd² of schizophrenics, violent offenders³ and HIV-positive prostitutes. Even though I had no mental health training, I was upbeat about my assignment and intrigued⁴ by some of the characters and residents.

Colin, the albino Elvis personator surfaced right after I did. He was thin as dental floss and obsessed⁵ with destroying the building s elevator. I d find him with his arms and face drenched⁶ in black elevator grease. The streaks⁷ on his transparent⁸ white face made him look like the warlord of the asylum⁹.

He passed the time with Elvis s songs, jittery¹⁰ renditions of Love Me Tender and Viva Las Vegas . He performed at the nearby pub until becoming convinced that Win Skeletons were kept birding him when he ventured outside. He had to be hospitalized.

His breakdown¹¹ affected¹² me deeply. I started to realize that I was too connected to his suffering to really help him.

I did make some progress, finding grant money for a resident's bike ride across England to raise awareness¹³ of his disease, Tourette's syndrome¹⁴. The disease can cause convulsions and vulgar outburst.

Andrew always attired¹⁵ in glaring spandex bike-shorts was so thrilled about the grant that he cussed like a sailor and collapsed¹⁶ in a shining heap at my feet. Despite the good news, I still fretted¹⁷ over his mental problems. In fact, I worried about everyone, and it was taking a toll¹⁸. My doubts about becoming a social worker grew with each pint¹⁹ of gins I consumed, and eventually I consumed six pints²⁰ every night.

Finally, there was Clyde, a 4-feet-11-inch native of French Guyana and a gentle sweet man. It was determined²¹ that he was ready for independent living but he never would be. He needed a supportive community. He cried when the moving van arrived to transport his belongings²² to his new home, a urine drenched housing project in one of London s welfare waste lands. His few things, clothes, toiletries, a framed photo of his long-dead mother, looked lonely in the back of the van. I couldn t bear the cruelty of the situation.

I knew then and there that I d never be a social worker because I never have or want the emotional detachment necessary for the job. I crossed the Atlanta to test out a career, I left there seeing that this kind of work would destroy me. I was the wrong person, too empathetic, too concerned about Colin, Andrew and Clyde.

In the end, I came to understand the old saying: If you live next to the cemetery²³, you can not cry for everyone. And it was clear that I d have to move on and live someplace else.

NEW WORDS:

albino 白化病患者
impersonator 模仿(名人等)的艺人
euphemistic 委婉的
schizophrenic 精神分裂症的
asylum 收容所, 精神病院
Guyana 圭亚那
dental floss 牙线
jittery = trembling
convulsion 震撼,动乱
attire in 穿上
toiletry 化妆品
detachment the state of not reacting to or being involved in something in an emothinal way