听力文本

From there, to the modern ventriloquist's dummy,
从这个到现代的口技者的木偶，
is but a brief moment in history.
不是一段简短的历史。
You were late for school again this morning.
今天早上你上学又迟到了。
The ventriloquist must first make us believe that a small boy is sitting on his lap.
口技者必须首先让我们相信，在他膝盖上坐着的是一个小男孩儿。
The illusion of speech follows incidentally.
然后自然而然的带出台词。
What have you got to say for yourself, Jimmy?
你为自己有什么想要说的吗，吉米？
As adults we admire the lap from a nostalgic distance.
作为成年人，我们羡慕那膝盖因为我们怀旧。
We have fading memories of that provisional temple,
我们的记忆在慢慢消退，有关那个短暂的神庙的记忆，
erected each time an adult sat down.
那座在每一个坐下的成年人膝上立起的神庙。
On a crowded bus there was always a lap to sit on.
拥挤的公交车上，总有可以坐上去的膝盖。
It is children and teenage girls who are most keenly aware of its architectural beauty.
孩子和青春期的少女们能最敏锐的察觉到建筑结构的美。
They understand the structural integrity of a deep avuncular lap,
他们能明白建筑结构的整体性-我指的是父辈的膝盖，
as compared to the shaky arrangement of a neurotic niece in high heels.
相对于你那神经质的外甥女和她的高跟鞋之间摇摇晃晃的关系来说。
The relationship between the lap and its owner is direct and intimate.
膝盖和它的拥有者之间的关系直接而亲密。
I envision a 36-story,
我想象了一幢36层高，
450-unit residential high-rise,a reason to consider the mental health of any architect before granting an important commission.
有450个房间的住宅大楼用来检验建筑师的心理健康，在还没有给他一大笔佣金之前。
The bathrooms and kitchens will,
洗手间和厨房
of course, have no windows.
当然是没有窗户的。
The lap of luxury is an architectural construct of childhood,
膝盖上的奢侈生活 只是一个童年的构想，
which we seek, in vain,
我们在寻觅的过程中总是无功而返，
as adults, to employ.
就像成年人雇佣人的时候一样。

演讲介绍
这则动人演讲选自TED锦集，是漫画家Ben Katchor从他的连环漫画中选出来朗读的。这些独具风韵的超现实小故事，在电灯开关、标记牌这些小物件上找到了历史（和现代纽约）残留其中的殷切希望和种种瑕疵。