我从自闭的弟弟们身上学到的事

演讲介绍：

Faith Jegede的两个弟弟均患有自闭症，他们甚少言语，不合群，思维和正常人不同。但Faith却从他们身上学到不少——他们无法和旁人正常交流，但却能用心去看到旁人看不到的爱和美；他们或许和常人有差异，但这份差异也可以是“与众不同的卓绝”。“正常”是社会设立的标准，但是追求“正常”也可能完全抹杀了潜能、卓越、进步和改变的可能性，在我们想与他人变得一样的努力中消亡。

 

 

演讲精彩片段赏析

片段一：

 

Now I'd like to introduce you to my brothers. Remi is 22, tall and very handsome. He's speechless, but he communicates joy in a way that some of the best orators cannot. Remi knows what love is. He shares it unconditionally and he shares it regardless.

我想介绍给你们认识我的两个兄弟Remi今年22岁，又高又帅，他不讲话，但能传达欢乐，用他特有的方式，最好的演讲家也望尘莫及。Remi知道什么是爱，他无条件无保留地分享他的那份爱。

He's not greedy. He doesn't see skin color. He doesn't care about religious differences, and get this: He has never told a lie. When he sings songs from our childhood, attempting words that not even I could remember, he reminds me of one thing: how little we know about the mind, and how wonderful the unknown must be.

他不贪心，也不在乎别人是什么肤色，他无所谓宗教信仰的差异，还有：他从来没说过谎，当他唱起我们儿时的歌谣唱出就连我都忘记了的歌词，他提醒了我，我们对精神知之甚少，而未知的事物是如此迷人。

Samuel is 16. He's tall. He's very handsome. He has the most impeccable memory. He has a selective one, though. He doesn't remember if he stole my chocolate bar, but he remembers the year of release for every song on my iPod, conversations we had when he was four, weeing on my arm on the first ever episode of Teletubbies, and Lady Gaga's birthday.

Samuel今年16岁，也是又高又帅。他有着超凡的记忆力，但这记忆力是有选择性的，他不记得偷了我的巧克力棒，但记得我iPod里面每首歌的发行年份，他四岁时我们的谈话，看天线宝宝第一集时尿在我手臂上的窘事，还有Lady Gaga的生日。

Don't they sound incredible? But most people don't agree. And in fact, because their minds don't fit into society's version of normal, they're often bypassed and misunderstood.

听起来很神奇吧？但很多人不这么认为。事实是，就因为他们的思维不符合社会对正常人的定义，他们经常被孤立、被误解。

But what lifted my heart and strengthened my soul was that even though this was the case, although they were not seen as ordinary, this could only mean one thing: that they were extraordinary — autistic and extraordinary.

但让我坚定信念的是，即使现实如此，就算他们不被当作正常人看，这也只说明了一件事，他们是非凡的。虽然患有自闭症，但非凡无比。

 

片段二：

 

Normality overlooks the beauty that differences give us, and the fact that we are different doesn't mean that one of us is wrong. It just means that there's a different kind of right.

“正常”忽视了差异带来的美。人与人的差异不代表其中一方是错的，只是说明“对”有不同种类。

And if I could communicate just one thing to Remi and to Sam and to you, it would be that you don't have to be normal. You can be extraordinary. Because autistic or not, the differences that we have - We've got a gift! Everyone's got a gift inside of us, and in all honesty, the pursuit of normality is the ultimate sacrifice of potential. The chance for greatness, for progress and for change dies the moment we try to be like someone else.

我只想说一句话，对Remi、对Sam、对你们你们不必一定是“正常”的，你可以是非凡的，无论是否是孤独症。我们之间的差异——我们每个人都有各自的天赋。老实说，追求“正常” 也就是完全抹杀了潜能、卓越、进步和改变的可能性，在我们想与他人变得一样的努力中消亡。

Please — don't tell me I'm normal. Thank you.

请不要说我“正常” 谢谢。

 

词汇点津：

speechless ['spiːtʃlɪs] adj. 说不出话的；哑的

orator ['ɒrətə] n. 演说者；演讲者

impeccable [ɪm'pekəb(ə)l] adj. 无瑕疵的；没有缺点的

bypass ['baɪpɑːs] v. 绕道，忽视

sacrifice ['sækrɪfaɪs] vt. 牺牲；献祭