Last man down: the?fireman's story

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?11 September 2001 9: 59 AM

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1?It?came as if from nowhere.

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2?There were about two dozen of us by the bank of?elevators?on the 35th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.?We were?firefighters, mostly, and we were in various stages of exhaustion.?Some guys were?sweating like pigs. Some had their?turnout coats?off, or tied around their waists.?Quite a few were breathing heavily.?Others were?raring to go.?All of us were taking a beat to catch our breaths, and our?bearings, figure out what the hell was going on.?We'd been at this thing, hard, for almost an hour, some a little bit less, and we were nowhere close to done.?Of course, we had no idea what there was left to do, but we hadn't made a?dent.

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3?And then the noise started, and the building began to tremble, and we all froze.?Dead solid still.?Whatever there had been left to do would now have to wait.?For what, we had no idea, but it would wait.?Or, it wouldn't, but that wasn't the point.?The point was that no one was moving.?To a man, no one moved, except to lift his eyes to the ceiling, to see where the?racket?was coming from.?As if we could see clear through the ceiling?tiles?for an easy answer.?No one spoke.?There wasn't time to turn thought into words, even though there was time to think.?For me, anyway, there was time to think, too much time to think, and my thoughts were?all over the place.?Every possible worst-case scenario, and a few more besides.?The building was shaking like in an earthquake, like an amusement park thrill ride gone?berserk, but it was the?rumble?that struck me still with fear.?The sheer?volume?of it.?The way it coursed right through me.?I couldn't think what the hell would make a noise like that.?Like a thousand?runaway?trains speeding towards me.?Like a?herd?of wild beasts.?Like the thunder of a?rockslide.?Hard to put it into words, but whatever the hell it was it was gaining speed, and gathering force, and getting closer, and I was stuck in the middle, unable to get out of its path.

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4?It's amazing, the kind of thing you think about when there should be no time to think.?I thought about my wife and my kids, but only?fleetingly?and not in any kind of life-flashing-before-my-eyes sort of way.?I thought about the job, how close I was to making deputy.?I thought about the?bagels?I'd left on the kitchen counter back at the?firehouse.?I thought how we firemen were always saying to each other, "I'll see you at the big one. " Or, "We'll all meet at the big one."?I never knew how it started, or when I'd?picked up on it?myself, but it was part of our?shorthand.?Meaning, no matter how big this fire is, there'll be another one bigger, somewhere?down the road.?We'll?make it through this one, and we'll make it through that one, too.?I always said it, at big fires, and I always heard it back, and here I was, thinking I would never say or hear these words again, because there would never be another fire as big as this.?This was the big one we had all talked about, all our lives, and if I hadn't known this before – just before these chilling moments – this sick, black noise now confirmed it.

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5?I?fumbled?for some fix on the situation, thinking maybe if I understood what was happening I could?steel myself against it.?All of these thoughts were landing in my brain in a kind of?flashpoint, one on top of the other and all at once, but there they were.?And each thought landed fully formed, as if there might be time to act on each, when in truth there was no time at all.

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Postscript

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6?Richard Picciotto?(also known as Pitch) was in the north tower of the World Trade Center when it collapsed in the?aftermath?of the?massive?terrorist attack on 11 September 2001.?A?battalion?commander?for the New York Fire Department, he was?on the scene of?the disaster within minutes of the attack, to lead seven companies of firefighters into the tower to help people trapped and to?extinguish?fires?blazing?everywhere.

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7?The north tower was the first of the twin towers to be hit.?It was followed 17 minutes later by the south tower.?The south tower, however, was the first to collapse, at 9:59 am.?At that moment, Picciotto was in the north tower, racing upwards by the stairs because the elevators were?out of action.?He then gave the order to?evacuate.?On the 12th story he came across 50 people?amid?the debris, too badly hurt or frightened to move.?Picciotto and his men helped them down.?When he reached the seventh floor, the tower fell, and he was buried beneath thousands of tons of?rubble.?He eventually?came round?four hours later, leading his men to safety.

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8?Picciotto was the highest ranking firefighter to survive the attack.?The chief of the department, the first deputy and the chief of rescue operations had all been killed.?Altogether the death?toll?included 343 firefighters and more than 3,000 civilians.

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9?Picciotto tells the story in his book?Last Man Down.?He uses a dramatic first person style which gives the reader an idea of the?nightmare?and the?chaotic?confusion of one of the darkest days in the history of the United States, the?tragedy?now known to the world simply as 9/11, but a day of?utmost?humanity and?heroism?too.?Published in 2002, the book became an?immediate?best-seller, which the author wrote in?gratitude, and intended as a?tribute, to his?decent?and?trustworthy?comrades?who gave their lives.?It's also a?testimony?to his?leadership?skills.?As he says, "People call us heroes, but we were just doing our job."

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最后撤出的人：消防員的故事

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2001年9月11日上午9時(shí)59分

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1?它似乎從天而降。

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2?在世貿(mào)中心北塔35層的一組電梯旁，當(dāng)時(shí)大約有20多個(gè)人。?我們中絕大多數(shù)是消防員，個(gè)個(gè)都差不多精疲力竭了。?有的人大汗淋漓，有的脫掉了他們的消防戰(zhàn)斗服，或是把它們?cè)谘g。?有好幾個(gè)人大口地喘著粗氣。?其他人迫不及待地想要開展工作。?我們所有的人都停了下來，想喘口氣，清醒一下頭腦，搞明白到底出了什么事。?我們已經(jīng)在這兒拼命戰(zhàn)斗了差不多一個(gè)小時(shí)了，有些人時(shí)間稍微短一點(diǎn)兒，可我們根本看不見哪里是盡頭。?當(dāng)然，我們也不知道自己還能干點(diǎn)兒什么，沒有一點(diǎn)兒進(jìn)展。

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3?接著傳來一陣巨大的響聲，整個(gè)大樓開始顫動(dòng)起來，我們都愣住了。?站在那兒一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。?不管本來要做什么，現(xiàn)在都只能等了。?可要等什么呢？我們不知道，但還是得等。?或許我們不用等，可是問題不在這兒。?問題是大家都站在那兒一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。?所有的人沒有一個(gè)人動(dòng)，只是有人抬頭看了看天花板，想搞清楚這巨大的聲響到底是從哪兒傳來的。?好像我們都能透過天花板，很容易就找到答案似的。?沒有人開口說話。?即便是有時(shí)間思考，我們也沒有時(shí)間把思維轉(zhuǎn)變成語言。?不管怎么說，我還有時(shí)間思考，有太多時(shí)間去想了，我思緒萬千。?我想到了每一個(gè)可能發(fā)生的最糟糕的情況，還有一些別的事情。?大樓在劇烈搖晃著，像地震了似的，也像是游樂園里驚聳狂奔的過山車，可真正讓我膽顫心驚的是這巨大的轟隆聲。?這聲音實(shí)在是太大了。?好像直接從我的身體中飛快地穿了過去。?我真想不出來是什么東西會(huì)發(fā)出如此大的響聲。?好像一千輛失控了的火車朝我疾速駛來。?好像一群狂奔著的野獸。?又好像是山崩時(shí)發(fā)出的巨大轟鳴聲。?太難用語言來形容了，但不管這該死的聲音是什么，此刻它傳得越來越快，聲音越來越大，離我們?cè)絹碓浇?，而我被困在其中，沒有辦法逃脫。

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4?真是奇怪，這種時(shí)候你應(yīng)該是沒有時(shí)間思考的，可是你滿腦子都在想著這些事。?我想到了老婆和孩子，只是在腦海里一閃而過，并不是把自己的人生都回顧了一番那樣。?我想到了工作，我離升為副職只有一步之遙了。?我想到了放在消防隊(duì)櫥柜上的面包圈。?我想起我們消防員平?？偦ハ啻蛉ふf“在大火中見吧”或者是“我們肯定會(huì)在大火中碰面的”。?我不知道這種說法是怎么來的，或者我自己是從什么時(shí)候開始說起這種話的，但這就是我們的暗語。?意思是不管這場(chǎng)火有多大，以后在別處還會(huì)有比這更大的。?我們能安然無恙地度過這場(chǎng)火，也會(huì)安然無恙地度過下一場(chǎng)火。?遇到一場(chǎng)大火時(shí)，我總是這么說，也總聽別人這么說，可現(xiàn)在，我呆在這兒，想著自己再也不會(huì)說這樣的話，也不會(huì)再聽到別人這么說了，因?yàn)樵僖膊粫?huì)有比這更大的火了。?這就是我們大家一輩子都在說的那場(chǎng)大火，如果以前——就在這一個(gè)個(gè)令人膽戰(zhàn)心驚的瞬間之前——我沒有認(rèn)識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)的話，現(xiàn)在這恐怖的、不祥的響聲印證了這一點(diǎn)。

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5?我琢磨著有什么辦法能改變我們的處境。我想如果搞明白了現(xiàn)在發(fā)生了什么事，也許我就能應(yīng)對(duì)了。?所有這些思緒在我腦子里一個(gè)連著一個(gè)地閃現(xiàn)，想完一個(gè)又是另一個(gè)，一時(shí)間都堆積在我的腦子里。?每個(gè)想法都是那么完整，好像我有足夠的時(shí)間一個(gè)個(gè)地付諸行動(dòng)似的，而事實(shí)上我根本沒有時(shí)間。

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后評(píng)

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6?2001年9月11日，在世貿(mào)中心遭到恐怖分子襲擊而倒塌時(shí)，理查德·皮喬托（也被稱作“皮奇”）正在世貿(mào)中心的北塔里。?作為紐約消防局的一名營(yíng)長(zhǎng)，他在襲擊發(fā)生后的幾分鐘之內(nèi)就趕到了現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，帶領(lǐng)七個(gè)連的消防隊(duì)員進(jìn)入北塔，解救受困人員，撲滅四處蔓延的大火。

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7?北塔是世貿(mào)雙塔中最先受到攻擊的。?17分鐘后南塔也遭到了襲擊。?而南塔第一個(gè)倒塌，時(shí)間是上午9點(diǎn)59分。?當(dāng)時(shí)皮喬托正在北塔里，沿著樓梯往上跑，因?yàn)殡娞莞具\(yùn)行不了了。?這時(shí)他下達(dá)了撤退的命令。?到達(dá)12層時(shí)，他看到50個(gè)人被壓在廢墟底下，他們有的受了重傷動(dòng)彈不了，有的驚慌失措。?皮喬托和他的部下扶著他們往下走。?到第七層時(shí)，北塔塌了，他被埋在幾千噸的瓦礫之下。?過了四個(gè)小時(shí)，他終于蘇醒了，領(lǐng)著他的部下到達(dá)安全的地方。

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8?皮喬托是襲擊中幸存下來的最高級(jí)別的消防員。?紐約消防局局長(zhǎng)、第一副局長(zhǎng)以及救援隊(duì)隊(duì)長(zhǎng)全部都以身殉職了。?整個(gè)事件中共有343名消防隊(duì)員獻(xiàn)出了生命，超過3,000名平民喪生。

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9?皮喬托在他的《最后撤出的人》一書中講述了他的經(jīng)歷。?他用一種扣人心弦的第一人稱的方式向讀者描述了被認(rèn)為是美國(guó)歷史上最黑暗的日子、也是世人皆知的9/11那天，人們所經(jīng)歷的惡夢(mèng)般的恐懼和混亂，當(dāng)然這也是人道主義精神和英雄主義精神展現(xiàn)得最淋漓盡致的一天。?此書于2002年一出版就立即成為一本暢銷書，作者抱著一顆感恩的心寫了這本書，并欲以此書向那些品德高尚、值得信賴，并獻(xiàn)出了生命的戰(zhàn)友們致敬。?當(dāng)然，這本書也展示了他的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)才能。?正如他所說的，“人們都稱我們?yōu)橛⑿?，其?shí)我們只是在干我們的本職工作?！?/p>

Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World

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Dear readers,

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1?It was during this week in 1948 that?Eleanor Roosevelt?paused for a moment during a walk from her Washington Square apartment toward New York City's 8th Street.?"Suddenly," she wrote in her?syndicated?column, "I saw on the sidewalk a figure of a man."?The man was?homeless, "very thin and very poor-looking", a sight not?uncommon?for city dwellers but rarely a cause for a letter to the nation in which she wondered "how many human rights that poor man had".

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2?As a young woman Roosevelt did volunteer work for organizations like the Red Cross and the Junior League of NY – a high-society lady with a big heart.?But she was still just a woman at a time and in a country?dominated?by men.?When asked in 1911 if she was for a woman's right to vote, she responded: "If my husband [then a NY State Senator] is a?suffragist, I probably must be too."?As?Franklin Delano Roosevelt's political career grew, however, so too did her concern for women's issues, labor issues, youth and civil rights issues.?By the time she and FDR moved to the White House in 1932, Eleanor was?coming into her own.

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3?Roosevelt would spend the next 12 years rewriting the definition of First Lady.?"I was alarmed myself, when she started," Madame?Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and a?longtime?friend of Mrs Roosevelt's, told a?Time?correspondent?in 1952.?"I was very alarmed when she began making speeches."?Roosevelt was the first First Lady to hold a press conference (only female reporters were admitted); and since the wheelchair-bound FDR counted on her to be his legs, eyes and ears, she became involved with New Deal projects to an extent that shocked many.?"I felt certain that somewhere along the line she would?stub?her?toe," said Perkins, thinking of Washington's?fishbowl?atmosphere.?"But she did avoid any real mishap. I don't know how she did it. What to lay it to? Sincerity of purpose,?simplicity?of heart, an?unconscious?desire not to hurt people."?At first some?attributed?such qualities to na?veté, but as time passed, Roosevelt's?humane?and?selfless?nature?won over?the?naysayers.?She was the White House's chief advocate for the rights of women and African-Americans; her syndicated newspaper column, "My Day", was her platform from 1935 until her death in 1962.?All the while, Eleanor had been a mother of six children.?"We feel," said her daughter Anna, "that if you're that interested and energetic and have a mind like hers, you shouldn't be?let down. I hope she keeps right on going the way she has."?She was also a wife to a man who could not stand on his own.?"We must?ascribe?to her the?marvelous?fact," said Winston Churchill in 1948, "that a?crippled?man, victim of a cruel?affliction, was able for more than ten years to?ride the storms?of peace and war at the?summit?of the US. The debt we owe to President Roosevelt is owed also to her."

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4?Her role as First Lady,?heroic?though it was, was only training.?She had used her White House seat to?lobby?but the power was still reserved for the man of the House.?Besides, as Perkins once said, "She said things that made people angry."?With her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt seemed ready to return to a private life.?"The story is over," she told the press.?Later that year President?Truman?asked Eleanor to serve as a US?delegate?to the United Nations.?She accepted the charge, moved on, and would change forever the role of women in American society and around the world.?"Most people who have played second violin all their lives never have an opportunity to play first violin," remarked Perkins. "Mrs Roosevelt had the chance to, and she plays with?genius."

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5?The 17 women delegates and?advisers?to the first United Nations General?Assembly?looked to Roosevelt for leadership and she?delivered, quickly becoming the?foremost?advocate for human rights the world over.?Named as the first chairman of the UN Human Rights?Commission, Roosevelt?oversaw?the two-year process of drafting and securing passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.?Additionally, her clashes with representatives of?the Soviet Union?led one Republican to lean forward in his chair and state – he wouldn't allow his name to be used for fear of being labeled as a Democratic supporter – "Now, if you want to know what I think about Mrs Roosevelt, she is tuh-riffic! Mrs Roosevelt is unique in her capacity to create an understanding of our position in the minds of the delegates of other countries. Her performance is so?superlative?that it is rather unexpected to be asked to evaluate her in ordinary terms."

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6?By the time she resigned from her UN post in 1952, Roosevelt had become the "First Lady of the World".?On a trip to India that same year she was greeted by?throngs?of?admirers?and introduced to the Indian?Parliament?by?Pandit Nehru?as "a representative of?resurgent?humanity".?As she traveled around the cities and?slums?of that country she often spoke with young women about the challenges they faced.?"If a man fails it would simply be said, ‘It's so bad that so-and-so failed.' But if a woman fails they will say, ‘So you see, a woman is incapable of holding jobs.' Women have to run?on a par with?men."?Anna Eleanor Roosevelt never ran on a par, she set the pace.

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7?Even at 77 she was still going strong, appointed again to the UN by President Kennedy in 1961, and host of her own?panel?discussion television show,?Prospects of Mankind.?"There is one thing that a great many women are interested in," she told Kennedy during one of her broadcasts. "Why is it that in this country we have not managed to put them into higher positions of power?"

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8?Please join?Life?magazine as we honor the power and humanity of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt by?inducting?her into the Hall of Heroes.

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埃莉諾·羅斯福——世界第一夫人

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親愛的讀者們：

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1?就在1948年這個(gè)星期的某一天，正當(dāng)埃莉諾·羅斯福從位于紐約華盛頓廣場(chǎng)的公寓步行前往第八大道時(shí)，她停下了腳步。?“突然間 ,”她在自己的聯(lián)合專欄中寫道 ,“我在人行道上看到一個(gè)男人的身影。”?他是個(gè)無家可歸的人，“瘦骨嶙峋，看起來十分窮困”，這種景象對(duì)城里人來說并不少見，但很少有人會(huì)像她那樣為了這樣的一件事情向全國(guó)民眾寫了一封公開信，在信中她問道：“這個(gè)窮人到底享有多少人權(quán)呢 ?”

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2?年輕的時(shí)候，羅斯福夫人就為紅十字會(huì)和紐約青少年聯(lián)盟等組織做志愿者——她出身上流社會(huì)，心地善良。?但是在當(dāng)時(shí)那個(gè)以男性為主導(dǎo)的時(shí)代和國(guó)家里，她也僅僅是一個(gè)女人。?1911年，當(dāng)被問到她是否支持給予婦女選舉權(quán)時(shí)，她回答說：“如果我丈夫（當(dāng)時(shí)還是紐約州的一名參議員）是婦女選舉權(quán)的支持者，那我也許必須支持給予婦女選舉權(quán)?！?但是隨著富蘭克林?德拉諾?羅斯福的仕途越來越順利，她也越來越關(guān)注婦女問題、勞工問題、青年人問題和公民權(quán)利問題。?1932年，她和羅斯福入主白宮后，埃莉諾開始大顯身手了。

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3?在接下來的12年中，羅斯福夫人重新定義了“第一夫人”這個(gè)角色。?“剛開始時(shí)，連我自己都吃了一驚，”羅斯福政府的勞工部長(zhǎng)、羅斯福夫人的長(zhǎng)期摯友弗朗西斯?珀金斯1952年對(duì)《時(shí)代》周刊的一名記者這樣說道。?“她剛開始發(fā)表演講時(shí)，我十分驚訝?！?羅斯福夫人是第一位召開新聞發(fā)布會(huì)的第一夫人（她只允許女記者參加）；而且，因?yàn)榱_斯福離不開輪椅，他把埃莉諾當(dāng)成了自己的雙腿、雙眼和耳朵，因此她十分積極地參與羅斯福新政，以至于讓很多人都感到震驚。?“我那時(shí)候覺得總有一天她會(huì)受挫的，”珀金斯說，因?yàn)樵谌A盛頓，你的一舉一動(dòng)都在別人的注視之下。?“但是她的確沒出什么岔子。我不知道她是怎么做到的。這應(yīng)該歸功于什么呢？我想這是因?yàn)樗靡庹嬲\(chéng)，心地單純，從未想要去傷害別人?！?一開始有人把這些品質(zhì)歸結(jié)于她的天真，但是隨著時(shí)間的推移，羅斯福夫人仁慈而無私的性情使她爭(zhēng)取到了眾多反對(duì)者的支持。?在白宮，她是婦女權(quán)利和黑人權(quán)利的頭號(hào)倡導(dǎo)者；從1935年到1962年她去世，她創(chuàng)立的報(bào)紙聯(lián)合專欄《我的一天》一直都是她活動(dòng)的平臺(tái)。?與此同時(shí)，埃莉諾還是六個(gè)孩子的母親。?她的女兒安娜說：“我們覺得如果你有這么濃厚的興趣，又精力充沛，還有她那樣聰明的頭腦，你一定不要?dú)怵H。我希望她能像現(xiàn)在這樣一直不停地做下去?！?另外，她還是一位賢妻，要照顧一個(gè)無法站立的丈夫。?溫斯頓?丘吉爾在1948年曾說過：“一個(gè)雙腿殘疾、惡疾纏身的人能夠領(lǐng)導(dǎo)美國(guó)十多年，經(jīng)受住戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)年代和和平時(shí)期的風(fēng)雨磨難。這個(gè)奇跡我們同時(shí)也要?dú)w功于羅斯福夫人，羅斯?？偨y(tǒng)的偉大功勛中有她的一半?！?/p>

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4?第一夫人的角色，無論多么英勇，對(duì)她來說只能算是小試身手。?雖然她曾經(jīng)憑借她在白宮的地位去四處游說，但是掌握大權(quán)的畢竟還是總統(tǒng)。?此外，正如珀金斯說過的那樣，“她也說了一些得罪人的話。”?1945年，她丈夫去世之后，羅斯福夫人似乎已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備要退隱，離開公眾的視野。?她對(duì)媒體說：“一切都結(jié)束了?！?但那年的晚些時(shí)候，杜魯門總統(tǒng)邀請(qǐng)埃莉諾出任美國(guó)駐聯(lián)合國(guó)代表。?她接受了使命，繼續(xù)努力工作，并且永遠(yuǎn)改變了女性在美國(guó)和全世界所扮演的角色。?“絕大多數(shù)一輩子當(dāng)副手的人從來沒有機(jī)會(huì)當(dāng)一把手，”珀金斯說，“羅斯福夫人有機(jī)會(huì)當(dāng)一把手，而且表現(xiàn)得極為出色?！?/p>

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5?第一屆聯(lián)合國(guó)大會(huì)的17位女性代表和顧問都把羅斯福夫人視為領(lǐng)袖，而她也不負(fù)眾望，很快就成為全世界最卓越的人權(quán)領(lǐng)袖。?作為聯(lián)合國(guó)人權(quán)委員會(huì)的首任主席，羅斯福夫人監(jiān)督了《世界人權(quán)宣言》歷時(shí)兩年的起草和通過的全過程。?此外，她和蘇聯(lián)代表的交鋒讓一位共和黨人從椅子上朝前探過身來，說出了下面一番話——因?yàn)榕卤划?dāng)成是民主黨的支持者，他不愿意透露自己的姓名——“如果你想知道我對(duì)羅斯福夫人的看法，那我會(huì)說她真是了不起！羅斯福夫人有一種獨(dú)特的能力，能讓其他國(guó)家的代表清楚地了解我們的立場(chǎng)。要用平常的語言來評(píng)價(jià)她高超的外交手腕，一時(shí)間還真不知道該怎么說。”

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6?1952年，當(dāng)她從聯(lián)合國(guó)代表的位置上卸任時(shí)，羅斯福夫人已經(jīng)是“世界第一夫人”了。?同年，去印度訪問時(shí)，她受到了大批崇拜者的歡迎，潘迪特?尼赫魯向議會(huì)介紹她時(shí)，說她是“重獲新生的人性的杰出代表”。?她去了印度的各大城市，造訪了貧民窟，期間她經(jīng)常和年輕婦女們探討女性所面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。?她說：“如果一個(gè)男人失敗了，人們只會(huì)說：‘某某失敗了，真是令人遺憾。’ 但是如果一個(gè)女人失敗了，他們會(huì)說：‘你看，女人就是干不成什么事?！?女人不應(yīng)該比男人遜色。”?安娜?埃莉諾?羅斯福從來不滿足于同男人并駕齊驅(qū)，她要當(dāng)那個(gè)領(lǐng)跑的人。

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7?即使到了77歲的高齡，她的風(fēng)頭依然不減當(dāng)年。1961年，她受肯尼迪總統(tǒng)的任命，再次出任聯(lián)合國(guó)代表，同時(shí)主持自己的一檔電視節(jié)目《人類的前途》。?在一期節(jié)目中，她對(duì)肯尼迪總統(tǒng)說：“很多女性都對(duì)一個(gè)問題感興趣，那就是為什么在我們這個(gè)國(guó)家女性沒有能夠在政府中擔(dān)任更高級(jí)別的職務(wù)呢？”

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8?《生活》雜志已經(jīng)把安娜?埃莉諾?羅斯福列入英雄殿堂，愿您同我們一起來緬懷她非凡的才智和人性的光輝。

Heroes in Western literature

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Every culture has its heroes. The earliest heroes?inhabit?the?shadowy?area of?mythology, occupying a middle space between human experience and?superhuman?power and knowledge. They were considered neither human nor?divine, and the Greek word from which?hero?derives actually means “demigod” and refers to someone one of whose parents was a god, the other a human being. Often, in the oldest mythologies, the hero succeeded in changing the world, by discovery, invention, or?trickery?– for example by discovering or inventing fire, or tricking the gods into giving it to humans.

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In Western culture, however, and particularly in Western literature, heroes are traditionally recognized by their?bravery, their?selflessness, and their ability to rise to the occasion in a desperate or dangerous situation. But they are human, not superhuman, and it is the fact that they are “only human” which makes it possible for us to identify with them; this is a point made more than two thousand years ago by the Greek?philosopher?Aristotle?in his definition of “tragic?hero”.

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Since then, the adventures of heroes have filled the pages of?countless?plays and novels; in fact, one of the definitions of the word?hero?today is “the main character of a book”. In more recent times, especially from the?Romantic?period on, many heroes have shown?unconventional?characteristics, making them “anti-heroes” such as the bad-tempered?Heathcliff?in?Wuthering Heights?or?Yossarian?in?Catch-22, the air force pilot who does not want to fly. We can understand the?motives?of these characters, of course, but the real hero remains the person who is a force for good in the struggle against evil.

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Heroes come in all shapes and sizes.?Harry Potter?is a schoolboy with?geek-like qualities, while in?The Lord of the Rings?the two main heroes could not be physically more different.?Aragon?is tall, strong and?fearless, while?Frodo?is small, and very often frightened. Yet it is Frodo the?hobbit, rather than Aragon the man, that most of us probably find it easier to identify with, and for whom we feel most sympathy.

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The Lord of the Rings, of course, looks back to the mythology of the past, and recalls some of the earliest recorded stories in history. We may agree that in real life things are different and it is the?unsung?heroes, whose stories never get told, and whose actions may not involve saving the world, who most deserve our?admiration?and respect. But larger-than-life heroes who battle and overcome the forces of evil, when all the odds seem to be stacked against them, continue to fascinate us, in films,?comics?and video games.

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西方文學(xué)中的英雄

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每個(gè)文化都有自己的英雄。最早的英雄出現(xiàn)在神秘的神話中，本領(lǐng)介于人類和具備超人類力量與認(rèn)識(shí)的神靈之間。那個(gè)時(shí)候的英雄既非凡人，也非神靈，而“英雄”這個(gè)詞來自古希臘語，在希臘語中的意思是“半神”，指的是那些父母中一方是神靈，另一方是凡人的人。在那些最古老的神話中，英雄常常是通過自己的發(fā)現(xiàn)、創(chuàng)造或者是謀略——比如發(fā)現(xiàn)了火，或者是誘騙神把火種給了人類——改變了世界的面貌。

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但是在西方文化中，尤其是西方文學(xué)中，英雄之所以成為英雄，傳統(tǒng)意義上是因?yàn)樗麄冇赂摇o私，能夠在絕境或是險(xiǎn)境中應(yīng)付自如。但他們畢竟是凡人，不是超人，也正因?yàn)檫@一點(diǎn)，我們才會(huì)對(duì)他們產(chǎn)生認(rèn)同感；兩千多年前，希臘哲學(xué)家亞里士多德在定義“悲劇英雄”時(shí)就已經(jīng)作出了這樣的闡釋。

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此后，英雄歷險(xiǎn)的故事就成了無數(shù)戲劇和小說的題材；事實(shí)上，如今“英雄”這個(gè)詞其中的一個(gè)含義就是“書中的主要人物”。在較近的時(shí)間里，尤其是浪漫主義時(shí)期以來，許多主人公都有一些非傳統(tǒng)的特征，這些特征使得他們成了“反英雄”，比如《呼嘯山莊》中脾氣暴躁的希思克厲夫，《第二十二條軍規(guī)》中那個(gè)不愿意執(zhí)行飛行任務(wù)的飛行員約薩里安。我們當(dāng)然能夠理解這些角色背后的動(dòng)機(jī)，但是我們心目中真正的英雄還是那些與邪惡做斗爭(zhēng)的、 替天行道的人。

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英雄不分高矮胖瘦。哈利·波特是個(gè)有點(diǎn)書呆子氣的學(xué)童，而《指環(huán)王》中的兩位主人公體型上相差更遠(yuǎn)。阿拉貢高大、強(qiáng)壯、英勇無畏，而弗羅多體型矮小、膽小怕事。但是對(duì)絕大多數(shù)人來說，更能讓我們產(chǎn)生認(rèn)同感、 讓我們傾注更多同情的卻是弗羅多這個(gè)矮人，而不是阿拉貢。

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當(dāng)然，《指環(huán)王》描述的是遠(yuǎn)古的神話，讓我們回憶起有記載以來最古老的故事。我們可能都會(huì)認(rèn)為，現(xiàn)實(shí)生活是不一樣的，現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中有些無名英雄，沒有人傳頌他們的故事，他們也沒做出拯救世界這樣驚天動(dòng)地的事情，卻是最值得我們?nèi)コ绨莺妥鹁吹?。但是電影、漫畫和電子游戲中那些身陷絕境，與邪惡作斗爭(zhēng)，并最終戰(zhàn)勝邪惡的傳奇英雄們還是深深地吸引著我們。

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The hero is an integral part of the American culture and identity. In America the hero takes many different forms, reflecting different values. As children Americans are taught about the politicians and religious leaders who fought to establish their country and those who have shaped America since. These are historically real people who have been elevated to a heroic status due to the role they played in creating the United States. This includes people like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In popular culture the comic book superhero has been, and continues to be, a major force. Beginning in the early 20th century comic books gained popularity chronicling the adventures of superheroes, like?Superman. The athlete as hero is a more recent occurrence in the history of hero figures. In the United States especially, the rise of professional sports created athletes whose performance was widely publicized. The notion of using single individuals to embody the ideals of many is certainly not unique to American culture, but American people's fascination with heroes is rarely seen in other cultures.

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英雄是美國(guó)人文化和身份認(rèn)同的必要組成部分。在美國(guó)，英雄人物是以各種不同的形象出現(xiàn)的，他們反映了不同的價(jià)值觀。美國(guó)人從孩提時(shí)代起就學(xué)習(xí)那些為建立國(guó)家而奮斗的政治家和宗教領(lǐng)袖，學(xué)習(xí)那些建國(guó)后塑造美國(guó)歷史的人。他們是歷史上真實(shí)存在的人，因?yàn)樵诿绹?guó)建國(guó)過程中發(fā)揮了巨大的作用而被提升為英雄，比如喬治?華盛頓和亞伯拉罕?林肯。在通俗文化中，漫畫書中的超級(jí)英雄以前一直是，并將繼續(xù)是一支主力軍。從20世紀(jì)早期開始，這些描述超級(jí)英雄冒險(xiǎn)奇遇的漫畫書，如《超人》，就日益走紅。運(yùn)動(dòng)員成為英雄這種現(xiàn)象是最近才在英雄人物史中出現(xiàn)的。以美國(guó)為甚，隨著職業(yè)體育的興起，出現(xiàn)了知名的運(yùn)動(dòng)員，他們的在運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)上的表現(xiàn)廣為人知。用個(gè)體形象來體現(xiàn)大眾理想的做法并不是美國(guó)文化所特有的，但是美國(guó)人對(duì)英雄的癡迷在其他文化中也是很少見的。

窗體底端

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中國(guó)是世界上自然災(zāi)害較為嚴(yán)重的國(guó)家之一。在和平時(shí)期，搶險(xiǎn)救災(zāi)是中國(guó)軍隊(duì)的一項(xiàng)重要任務(wù)。中國(guó)軍隊(duì)是搶險(xiǎn)救災(zāi)的突擊力量，承擔(dān)最緊急、最艱難、最危險(xiǎn)的救援任務(wù)。中國(guó)軍人都是抱著打仗的心態(tài)在救災(zāi)，甚至冒著生命危險(xiǎn)搶救災(zāi)民。每當(dāng)解放軍抵達(dá)災(zāi)區(qū)，群眾都熱烈歡迎，感到無比欣慰。中國(guó)軍隊(duì)在歷次災(zāi)難救援中表現(xiàn)出的組織性、專業(yè)性、高效性贏得了人民群眾的信任和贊譽(yù)。

窗體頂端

China ? is one of the countries that are most affected by natural disasters. In ? peacetime, rescue and relief work is an important part of the mission of the ? Chinese military. China's armed forces always form task forces for rescue and ? relief work, taking on the most urgent, most difficult and most dangerous ? jobs. Chinese military personnel perform their rescue and relief work as if ? they were fighting a war, sometimes even at the risk of their own lives. ? Whenever the People's Liberation Army (PLA) arrives at an area hit by a ? natural disaster, the local people will welcome them warmly and feel greatly ? relieved. The sense of organization, professionalism and efficiency they have ? displayed has helped them win the trust and praise of the public.

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