I will sail onward

I felt I saw your face, and I launched my boat in the dark.
Now the morning breaks in smiles and the spring flowers are in bloom.
Yet should the light fail and the flowers fade I will sail onward.
When you made mute signal to me the world slumbered and the darkness was bare.
Now the bells ring loud and the boat is laden with gold.
Yet should the bells become silent and my boat be empty I will sail onward.
Some boats have gone away and some are not ready, but I will not tarry behind.
The sails have filled, the birds come from the other shore.
Yet, if the sails droop, if the message of the shore be lost, I will sail onward.

我感到我看见了你的面孔,黑暗中我解缆起航。
此刻,朝阳钻了出来,露出了笑脸,春天的百花竞相开放。
即使晨光暗淡,百花凋谢,我也要向前航行。
你向我发出无声的信号时,万物还在沉睡,一片漆黑。
此刻,铃儿高声作响,小船载满黄金。
即使铃声沉寂,小船空空,我也要向前航行。
有些船儿已经远去,有些船儿还未准备,我不会耽搁,落在后面。
轻风鼓起船帆,海鸟从彼岸飞来。
即使船帆掉落,即使丢失对岸的信息,我也要向前航行。

青春不是年華,而是心境

廷龍的博客发现了Samuel Ullman的《青春》。

很赞同这首诗,特别是在拉了一晚上肚子还爬起来上QQ,查邮件,回邮件后。

这首诗歌很优美,不过感觉稍微啰嗦。说到底,就是要有一颗不断奔跑的心。其实还要有能不断奔跑的体魄。

附:Samuel Ullman的诗 《青春》
Youth

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty.

Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty , but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.

译文一

青春

Continue reading “青春不是年華,而是心境”

会说一口完美英语的梁朝伟

康康他妈是梁朝伟的粉丝,昨晚在香港赶着去看了一场《色。戒》,回来跟在电话上讲她的感觉。

“恩,一部有情节的三级片。”

我明白她说的三级片是什么意思,既然标题是以“色”字开头的,也没有什么奇怪的,只是新加坡这边还没开映,她这么说不是吊我胃口吗?

在网上扫了一些有关《色。戒》的资料,其中有一篇很有趣。

美媒体赞梁朝伟是最伟大演员 赞其英语完美无暇

搜了一下,原文应该是这一篇ComingSoon.net的采访,

Exclusive: Chinese Superstar Tony Leung

关于伟仔的英文水平,原文是这么说的,

“…he spoke perfect English, which isn’t always the case with Chinese filmmakers and actors we interview.”

知道伟仔演戏好,没想到他的英文能得到这么高的评价。很想知道鬼佬所说的Perfect English是怎么回事,就又到网搜了搜,找到了伟仔在2001年为电影《2046》接受的英语采访:

 在这次采访里,主持人对他英文口语的评价是”Fantasty!”–极好!

真想不到伟仔的英文口语这么好,比我们中国常驻联合国代表的英文口语都要溜。

据说,伟仔小时家境贫寒,没有留过洋。在新加坡那么多年,我知道要一个土生土长的中国人练到那样的口语水平有多困难。那么这样的真正的双语本事是怎么炼成的呢?

伟仔说他是在幼儿园学的。

也许是开玩笑,但并非没有道理。人在小时候能接触到不同的语言对以后掌握多种语言很有帮助,新加坡,瑞士,这些国家的人很小就接触多种语言,这些国家的人通常都能说多种语言。

看来我要抓紧时间努力教康康英语了。

Funny Sign

37953cf6.jpg

From Chinadaily.com Original Link
The sign just wants to tell people “Water Hazard!” But they made a word by word translation. 🙂

As the Olympics 2008 is approaching, China Daily launched the Clean up Beijing’s Enlish Sign. Its slogan is Use Accurate English to Welcome the Olympics. You can have a look at its official site here. You will find many funny signs in its Chinglish Signs session. Well, they are asking for picture of correct signs too. Just send the pictures to this address [email protected]

I find some use for my cell phone camera now.

另:

”Carefully fall to the river “
鬼佬看到的感觉是你叫他
“请小心谨慎地掉水里。”
(千万不要大大咧咧地,心不在焉地,漫无目的地掉水里!)

Automate Language Translation

美国之音3月24号的Talk To America的节目介绍了一种新的翻译技术。跟其它的自动翻译有点不同,这种技术除了翻译普通的语言外,它还尝试翻译非语音的交流(Non-spoken Language)。这种非语音的交流包括身体语言(Body Language)与表情(Expressions)等。

咋一听起来有点玄。其实我们平时在网上用QQ,ICQ,MSN聊天的时候都有尝试做类似的事情。我们会用一些特殊的符号如 🙂 :p 等等去表答我们的情绪。这种新技术就是想通过记录人的神经信号去“翻译”人的情绪。

我想,如果这种技术能成功应用的话,那么人类日常交流就会有很大的变化。如今,逢场做戏都成了现代中国人必要的生存技能了。见人说人话,见鬼说鬼话,反正就不要说真话。但有了一个“情绪翻译机”情况就会不同。似想想,每个人随身都带着一个象“测谎仪”的东西来翻译别人的内心的想法,也许大家都会变得真诚一些吧。不过那样的话,世界又变得太单调,没那么有趣了。:-)

节目里有个教授还提到翻译的问题。他认为,翻译不仅仅是语言问题。语言和文化是不可分割的。如果要做到真正好的翻译,那么就必须对双方的文化都有很深的了解。换句话说来就是,要学好英语首先要对英语文化有所了解。

我的情况刚好相反。我是想要了解他们文化,所以我才花心思去学英语的。希望是殊道同归吧。

另外这个教授介绍了一种练习同步传译的方法。

  1. 录下一段外语节目,比如说CNN的外语新闻。
  2. 根据所录的节目录下自己做的同步传译。
  3. 同朋友一起复习检查自己做的传译。

随着全球化的深入,同步传译的需求一定会极大的提高。希望这个方法对有志做同步传译的朋友有用吧。
对这期节目有兴趣的朋友可以在以下的链接下载mp3文件。
Download the mp3 file of this program here.