参议员，我要说起你一生最难过的时刻了，对此你在书中写得很坦率。1998年1月21日星期三，你写道：丈夫摇醒你，他坐在床边告诉了你一个烦恼的消息。他是怎么说的？
他对我说，有一篇报纸文章宣称他与某年轻女士有绯闻，他说这篇文章让他很难受，他想在我起床并亲自读到该报纸之前，先让我知道这件事。他告诉我那都不是真的。
你相信他吗？
我相信他。芭芭拉，你知道，在那个时候，我遭受过好多指控，这些指控太离谱了，我知道是给凭空捏造出来的，我知道人们出于各种原因想要捏造出这些事端，所以对于我来说，听到他这么说不会觉得不正常。
接着等到8月15日星期六，正如上次一样，丈夫摇醒你。这一次，他的说法改变了
我想，那或许是人会经历到的最难的一刻了，因为那天早上他告诉我，他没有对我或其他人说出实话，他没有说出这件绯闻的全部实话。我愤怒了，哑口无言犹如泥塑，你知道，怒火与失望使我失控。我难以想象出他怎么可以这么对待我与其他人。很久以前的那天早晨我基本就是这么告诉他的。
你丈夫怎么说的呢？他是怎么解释的？
他只是不停地说对不起，说了一遍又一遍。我看得出他是真的愧疚，但我也没感到安慰。我依然怒气冲冲，怒火中烧了好一段时间。但是他一直都不停地说：对不起，对不起，对不起。
你曾说，你丈夫的罪过是出于软弱。
显然是的，一个神学家朋友在那段时间告诉我，罪分为两种：因软弱而犯的罪和因恶意犯下的罪。我想我丈夫是个优点很多的人，本质上是个很好的人，有一颗善良的心；我感到为难的是，这个错误或者罪行是否可以两人一起共同克服渡过。
但是有没有那么一天，你曾说过：“我原谅了他，我们的婚姻会继续下去。”？
说过，我花了很久才说出这句话。可我已经明白过来，我必须做个决定，要么原谅并忘记心中的愤怒与失望，要么结束这段婚姻，我们两人一起很努力、很努力，才做出了这个最终决定。
当你告诉你丈夫你们可以继续下去，他是怎么说的？
他松了一口气，非常感激，因为他一直是这么期望的，这也是我们希望共同努力达成的。做出这个决定我思索了很久，而不是哪天早晨一觉醒来就有的。
好，我必须要问一个问题：如果他将来又做出类似的事情来，怎么办呢？
你知道，那是我们两人之间的事，我相信那绝对属于私人问题，不过现在我对我们的婚姻与关系十分乐观和有信心。
我有一个大问题，这问题也是很多人都想知道的：你怎么还能维持这桩婚姻？我想，你在书中第75页回答了这个问题。
别人常问我，比尔和我为什么还在一起？我只知道，再没有人比他更了解我，没有人能像他那样让我欢笑。经历了那么些年，他依然是我见到过的最有趣、最有朝气、充满活力的人。比尔·克林顿和我在1971年春天开始谈话，30多年后的今天，我们仍然继续着话题。
注释:
1) Viking n. 北欧海盗，维京人
2) bushy a. 浓密的
3) brownish a. 浅棕色的
4) reddish a. 浅红色的
5) ridiculous a. 荒谬的，可笑的
6) allege v. 宣称，断言
7) upset a. 难过的
8) accusation n. 谴责，指责
9) obligated a. 有责任的
10) level v. 坦率，不耍花招
11) furious a. 狂怒
12) theologian n. 神学者
13) malice n. 恶意，预谋
14) fundamentally av. 基础地，根本地
15) relieved a. 放心的
16) zone n. 地带，地域
17) privacy n. 隐私
18) energizing a. 有活力的
★★《2003年09月号-第42期-Disc02-03》★★
A good teacher, A good luck
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great 1)artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the 2)medium is the human mind and spirit.
I shall speak only of my first teacher because 3)in addition to the other things, she brought discovery.
She aroused us to shouting, bookwaving discussions. She had the noisiest class in school and she didn’t even seem to know it. We could never 4)stick to the subject. She breathed curiosity into us so that we brought in facts or truths 5)shielded in our hands like 6)captured 7)fireflies.
She was fired and perhaps 8)rightly so, for failing to teach 9)fundamentals. Such things must be learned. But she left a passion in us for the pure knowable world and she 10)inflamed me with a curiosity which has never left. I could not do simple 11)arithmetic but through her I sensed that 12)abstract 13)mathematics was very much like music.
When she was relieved, a sadness came over us but the light did not go out. She left her 14)signature on us, the literature of the teacher who writes on minds. I suppose that to a large extent I am the unsigned 15)manuscript of the high school teacher. What deathless power lies in the hands of such a person.
I can tell my son who looks forward with horror to fifteen years of 16)drudgery that somewhere in the 17)dusty dark a magic may happen that will 18)light up the years... if he is very lucky.
良师，乃人生一幸
我相信一名好老师就是一名伟大的艺术家，而且相信好的老师和伟大的艺术家一样难得。教书也许是一门最伟大的艺术，因为它的媒体是人的大脑和灵魂。
我特别要说一说我的第一位老师，她教会我们其他知识，也教会我们如何探求知识。
她让我们大声讨论，挥舞着书本。她的课堂是全校最乱的课堂，而她对此却好像全然不知。我们从不会拘泥于一个科目上。她培养我们的好奇心，让我们自己去发现事实和真理，把它们攥在手中，像被捕捉的萤火虫一样。
她因未能教授我们基础知识而被解雇了，或许这理由很正当，因为这些知识一定要学。但是她给我们留下了对纯粹的可知世界的热情；她燃起我求知的热情，这种热情前所未有。我虽然不会计算简单的算术题，但是通过她，我感到抽象的数学与音乐非常地相似。
当她被解聘时，我们都很难过，但是那片光明并没有消失。她给我们留下她的签名，那是老师写在我们心中的作品。我想在很大程度上，我正是那位中学老师未经签名的手稿。这样一个人拥有多么永恒的力量啊。
我可以告诉我那恐惧地等待15年寒窗之苦的儿子，如果他非常幸运的话，在一片混沌黑暗中，也许会有神奇的事情发生，使他的学生时代一片光明。
注释:
1) artist n. 艺术家，画家
2) medium n. 媒体，媒介
3) in addition to 除……之外
4) stick to 坚持，固守
5) shield v. 遮蔽，防护
6) captured a. 被捕获的
7) firefly n. 萤火虫
8) rightly adv. 正当地，正确地
9) fundamental n. 基本原理
10) inflame v. 燃起
11) arithmetic n. 算术
12) abstract a. 抽象的
13) mathematics n. 数学
14) signature n. 签名
15) manuscript n. 原稿，手稿
16) drudgery n. 苦工
17) dusty a. 尘土的
18) light up 点亮
★★《2003年09月号-第42期-Disc02-04》★★
A Dance of Life on The Edge
His name is Dan Osman. A 1)Guinness record 2)holder and a legend in the world of rock climbing. Over the past 11 years, Dan thrilled, amazed and inspired everyone who saw him in action. On November 23rd 1998, Dan Osman died, doing what he loved to do.
Dan Osman gained fame and recognition for a spectacular sport he created called “rope free-falling”. Tied to the end of a rope 3)anchored to a structure, Dan 4)hurled himself through space facing death head on. He bathed in the rush.
Dan: I can do a lot of things for an adrenaline rush, but I choose this because it’s the only way to get like pure raw adrenaline, you know, pure all together in one.
Friend: Dan was a wild man, creative and bold and 5)exuberant, but he was also 6)methodical, 7)patient and precise in his technical 8)mastery of the equipment involved and his understanding of the 9)dynamics of every challenge that he undertook.
He spent endless hours perfecting his world-class skills. And his 10)expertise as a climber and a 11)rigger were in big demand. He trained the elite US Navy SEAL’s 12)commando fighting unit, and taught safety workers how to 13)scale buildings. Despite the demands on his life, he always found time to spend with his eight-year-old daughter, Emma. When his thoughts weren’t on Emma, he was focused on setting three new rope free-falling records. He leapt 200 feet suspended across a 14)canyon, 300 feet off a cliff and an astonishing 650 feet off a bridge.
Dan: The difference between rope free-flying which is what I do and say 15)bungee jumping, for instance, is that a bungee is a big rubber band that just kind of “Boings” and stretches out and slows you down, very slowly, where I use a climbing rope which is made of 16)nylon, and what it does is it lets you go all the way to the deck and stops you just before impact.
Rope free-falling is where he gained his fame. But it didn’t stop there. He became the first person to climb a 17)rushing waterfall --battling raging 18)currents and near freezing temperatures he turned the impossible into the probable.
Dan: I like to invent new sports because I can do things that no one else has ever done. No one believes that I can really do it until I come back alive with a smile on my face.
Dan was always looking for new ways to up the thrill and push the envelope. He found it in the 19)perilous sport called free climbing. Free climbers use no ropes or gear.
Friend: One of the boldest things I ever saw Dan do was free solo rock climbing. He would climb up these routes that were so steep and so hard. He’d be hanging by his fingertips and his toes and that’s it. And these were so steep that once he started he couldn’t turn back. It was 20)summit or 21)plummet.
Like everything else he did, Dan mastered the sport. He became one of the top free climbers in the world. But that wasn’t enough, Dan had to find a way to take this sport to new extremes and he did. He added an even more 22)lethal element: speed. He became the first person on earth to do speed free climbing.
Friend: One of the last things I said to Dan on that last day I saw him was, “That’s enough. Park it. Put your toys away, give it a rest. Spend some time with your daughter, enjoy your life.”
People always used to ask him if he didn’t have a death wish and his most common response was no, he had a life wish. And it was just pushing the edge of life and finding out what happens there at the edge of life and death and the edge of fear and joy.
舞在悬崖边上的生命之花
他的名字叫丹·奥斯曼，既是世界吉尼斯记录保持者，也是世界攀岩运动的一位传奇人物。在过去的11年里，每个看到丹一展身手的人无不感到激动、惊讶并且深受鼓舞。1998年11月23日，丹在进行他所热爱的运动时，不幸身亡。
丹·奥斯曼发明了一项名为“自由降落”的惊险运动，并因此声名四起。丹将自己系于一根固定在他物上的绳索另一端，无惧于前方未知的死亡，横空奋力跃下，感受急速冲击。
丹：我喜欢各种刺激体验，但我做自由降落，是因为只有这种运动能体会到最纯粹的刺激，集合各种刺激之最。
朋友：丹是个热情奔放的人，他充满创意，勇敢并且精力充沛。他对使用装备有系统、专业而精准的技术知识；对于尝试的每个挑战性动作，他都能准确无误地把握好。
他花了很多工夫在改进自己世界一流的技术。他在攀岩和索具装备方面具有精准的知识，深受欢迎。他训练过精锐的美国海军海豹特战队，教导安全人员如何攀爬建筑物。但不管有多忙，他都会抽出时间与八岁的女儿埃玛共享天伦之乐。当不想埃玛时，他就全力以赴，创造出三项自由降落的新世界纪录。他悬吊着跃下过200英尺深的峡谷、300英尺高的悬崖，以及高达令人惊骇的650英尺的桥。
丹：我所做的自由降落和蹦极跳相比，区别在于蹦极跳用的是长长的橡皮绳，会发出“嘣”的声音，然后再让你慢慢减速。而我自由降落用的是尼龙绳，它会让你一路降到最底，受撞前才让你猛然停住。
丹因为自由降落赢得了名声，但他并未就此有所松懈。他还是第一个在急流瀑布中攀爬而上的人，他顽强地战胜了急流怒涛以及近乎冰点的水温，使不可能的任务成为可能。
丹：我喜欢发明新运动，那样我可以去做别人从不曾做过的事。没人相信我会成功，直到我活着回来，面带微笑。
丹总是寻求新方法为刺激度推波助澜。他发明了徒手攀岩的冒险运动，攀岩者不用绳索也不用绞轮。
朋友：我所见过丹做过的最大胆的事之一就是徒手攀岩。他攀的都是陡峭异常的崖壁。他挂在崖壁上，只靠手指和脚趾着力。这些崖壁太险峻了，一旦开始爬就无法回头。不成功则成仁。
像以往一样，他征服了这项运动，并成为世界顶级的徒手攀岩者。但这对丹来说还不够，他必须想办法使这项运动达到一个新的极限，最后他如愿以偿了。他增加了一个致命因素：速度。于是他又成为了高速徒手攀岩的第一人。
朋友：最后一天看见丹的时候，我对他说：“够了。停一停吧。收拾好你的工具，让它们也好好休息一下。多陪陪你女儿，享受享受生活吧！”
从前，人们问他是否有遗愿，他常回答说“没有”。他毕生只有一个心愿：接近生命的极限，体验在生死极限、恐惧与快乐边缘的一切滋味。
注释:
1) Guinness n. 吉尼斯（世界纪录）
2) holder n. 持有者，保持者
3) anchor v. 锚定
4) hurl v. 用力投掷
5) exuberant a. 活力充沛的
6) methodical a. 有方法的，有系统的
7) patient a. 耐心的
8) mastery n. 掌握
9) dynamics n. 动力学
10) expertise n. 专门技术
11) rigger n. 索具配备人
12) commando n. 突击队
13) scale v. 攀登
14) canyon n. 峡谷，溪谷
15) bungee n. 蹦极跳
16) nylon n. 尼龙
17) rushing a. 急流的
18) current n. 水流
19) perilous a. 危险的
20) summit n. 顶点
21) plummet n. 垂直落下
22) lethal a. 致命的
★★《2003年09月号-第42期-Disc02-05》★★
Car Speeding
Jason has always loved driving fast and living on the edge. Even as a young man growing up in Vancouver, Canada, he was a risk taker.
Journalist: You did 1)extreme things. I mean, you bungee jumped and you had motorcycles, and you were always a 2)daredevil, were you not?
Jason: Yes. I was always, you know, when I was 16 everyone else got a car, I got a motorcycle. I just wanted to live every minute. I was a 3)rugby player, I was a 4)hockey player. I love to challenge myself. And I love to compete, and I just love all that.
And from his earliest years, Jason loved another risky business, acting. His big break came at just 21 years old on Beverly Hills 90210. But he was also still involved in car racing.
"You don’t get to drive those cars just because you’re famous. You get to drive those cars because you are a racecar driver.”
---Jason Priestly
And he didn’t just race cars. Jason’s thrill seeking extended to piloting 50-foot Cigarette Boats in dangerous ocean races. Jason has 5)crashed or spun out several times on the car 6)racetrack and once in a boat race, his 7)restlessness turned to 8)recklessness in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
Journalist: So if I say to you, are you a daredevil, what do you say?
Jason: No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that I’m a daredevil. I think that I like to challenge myself.
Journalist: But you’ve had three accidents, two in cars and one in a boat. Right?
Jason: Sure.
Journalist: Don’t say sure, doesn’t everybody, I mean. You’re a little accident-prone, maybe.
Jason: No, I don’t think I’m accident-prone. I think anytime you’re competing like that, whether you’re racing cars or you’re racing boats, you know, I think that incidents happen. Unfortunately me being me, you just heard about it.
Journalist: Sure. Were you ever tempted or are you tempted now to quit racing?
Jason: There was a time right after the accident where had you asked me that question I would have said, “Yeah, I’m all done. I’ll never race again.” But as the months go on and as the memory of what had happened 9)recedes, you know, I start thinking about getting back into a racecar.
Journalist: Oh, Jason!
Jason: But I’m, you know, I don’t want to do anything that’s going to 10)jeopardize my ability to work as an actor. Because you know as much as I love racecar driving, I love being an actor.
Journalist: The devil is not racing cars for you, is he? You may indeed get in that car again.
Jason: Yeah. Do you see the smile that put on my face just thinking about driving a racecar?
极速奔驰
贾森一直都喜欢开快车，并勇于尝试冒险。他在加拿大的温哥华长大，还年纪轻轻时，他就是一位冒险家了。
记者：你做过很多极端冒险的事。比如，你蹦级，有几辆摩托车，一直天不怕地不怕，对吗？
贾森：是的。我一直这样。我16岁时，别人都有汽车，我只有摩托车。我想争分夺秒地活着。我打橄榄球，也打曲棍球。我爱挑战自我，喜欢竞争，并且只爱这些。
更从早年起，贾森爱上了另一种冒险行业--表演。出演《飞越比佛利》是他演艺生涯的一大突破，当时他才21岁。但是与此同时，他也参与赛车运动。
“你能不能驾驶，并不靠名气。你要是一位赛车手，才有资格驾驶。”
-贾森·普莱斯利
贾森不只赛车，他进行的刺激运动还有在风险性大的海上摩托赛上驾驶50英尺长的西格莱特赛艇。在赛车跑道上，贾森数次撞车和冲出跑道，在赛艇中也发生过一次意外。在洛杉矶，他的好动变成了胆大鲁莽。
记者：如果我说你胆大鲁莽，你会怎样？
贾森：不，我不这样认为。我认为我不是蛮干，我只是喜欢自我挑战而已。
记者：但你出过三次事故，两次是赛车，一次是赛船，对吧？
贾森：当然。
记者：不要说当然，不是每个人都出事的。可能你特别容易发生事故。
贾森：不，不是的。我认为凡是比赛，不管赛车也好赛船也好，只要竞争就难免有事故发生。不幸的是，因为我比较有名，我一出事你就会听说到。
记者：当然了。那你是否有过或者会不会有退出比赛的打算？
贾森：如果你这个问题是在我出事后的那段时间问的，我会说：“是的，结束；我再也不会去赛车了。”但几个月下来，随着对事故记忆的淡去，我又开始考虑赛车了。
记者：噢，贾森！
贾森：但是你要知道，任何会危及到我表演能力的事情，我都不会去做。因为我爱赛车，也同样爱表演。
记者：你并不觉得赛车棘手可怕，对吧？你会再次发动你的赛车。
贾森：是的。一想到赛车，我脸上就会笑开花，你看到了吗？
注释:
1) extreme a. 极端的
2) daredevil n. 铤而走险的人
3) rugby n. 橄榄球
4) hockey n. 马球
5) crash v. 碰撞，撞击
6) racetrack n. 跑道
7) restlessness n. 不安宁
8) recklessness n. 鲁莽
9) recede v. 后退
10) jeopardize v. 危害
★★《2003年09月号-第42期-Disc02-06》★★
Ashley's "World" tour
Music has always had a big influence on my life.
I could remember being three or four and singing my little heart out into a 1)mustard bottle. Michael Bolton was big in my house back then and even though I was fairly young, thanks in great part to the endless repetition, I remembered the 2)chorus of most of his songs.
A 3)dentist appointment is where I expanded my taste in music. With extra time to spare before my dreaded appointment, my grandmother 4)dragged me into a wine store in the same building. I was looking at a picture of woman on a tape cassette cover that was 5)draped around the neck of a red wine. The man who worked at the cash register noticed my fascination with it and offered the tape to me for being such a good client. I could not wait for my appointment to be over with just so that I could 6)hop into the car and listen to my first real tape. It was the song “Power of Love” by Celine Dion. My grandmother gave me a whole 7)lecture on how great Celine was, and she was one of the few from around here that actually made it in the business. I ran to my room, 8)popped my new tape into my Playskool tape recorder and listened to it over and over and over again. I drove my family crazy. It got to the point when my brother threatened to beat me! With that, Michael Bolton went into 9)retirement and Celine Dion was all that mattered. I didn’t understand a word of what I was singing -- all I knew was that I loved to sing and no one could stop me.
