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The Man in the Water--Roger Rosenblatt

As disasters go, this one was terrible, but not unique, certainly not among the worst U. S. air crashes on record. There was the unusual element of the bridge, of course and the fact that the plane hit it at a moment of high traffic. Then, too, there was the location of the event. Washington, the city of form and rules, turned chaotic by a blast of real winter and a single slap of metal on metal. The jets from Washington National Airport that normally fly around the presidential monuments like hungry gulls are, for the moment, represented by the one that fell. And there was the aesthetic clash as well — blue-and-green Air Florida, the name of a flying garden, sunk down among gray chunks of ice in a black river. All that was worth noticing, to be sure. Still, there was nothing very special in any of it, except death, which, while always special, does not necessarily bring millions to tears or to attention. Why, then, the shock here?

Perhaps because the nation saw in this disaster something more than a mechanical failure. Perhaps because people saw in it no failure at all, but rather something successful about themselves. Here, after all, were two forms of nature in collision: the elements and human character. Last Wednesday, the elements, indifferent as ever, brought down Flight 90. And on that same afternoon, human nature — groping and struggling — rose to the occasion.

Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event, three are able to account for their behavior. Donald Usher and Eugene Windsor, a park police helicopter team, risked their lives every time they dipped into the water to pick up survivors. On television, side by side, they described their courage as all in the line of duty. Lenny Skutnik, a 28-year-old employee of the Congressional Budget Office, said: "It's something I never thought I would do" — referring to his jumping into the water to drag an injured woman to shore. Skutnik added that "somebody had to go in the water", delivering every hero's line that is no less admirable for being repeated. In fact, nobody had to go into the water. That somebody actually did so is part of the reason this particular tragedy sticks in the mind.

But the person most responsible for the emotional impact of the disaster is the one known at first simply as "the man in the water". Balding, probably in his 50s, a huge mustache. He was seen clinging with five other survivors to the tail section of the airplane. This man was described by Usher and Windsor as appearing alert and in control. Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him, he passed it on to another of the passengers. "In a mass casualty, you'll find people like him," said Windsor. "But I've never seen one with that commitment." When the helicopter came back for him the man had gone under. His selflessness was one reason the story held national attention; his anonymity another. The fact that he went unidentified gave him a universal character. For a while he was Everyman, and thus proof (as if one needed it) that no man is ordinary.

参考译文

这次灾难和其他灾难一样很严重，但并不特殊，当然也绝对不在美国有记载的伤亡人数最多的空难之列。这次空难的不同之处在于：一是飞机是在交通高峰时段撞上了桥梁。另外就是事件发生的地点，在华盛顿。这个井然有序的漂亮城市，由于这突如其来的冬天的寒风以及这金属与金属的撞击声，突然变得混乱起来。从华盛顿国家机场起飞的飞机一般都像饥饿的海鸥一样绕着华盛顿纪念馆飞行。而现在，尤以这架坠落的飞机为代表，却发生了美感的撞击---号称“空中花园”的蓝绿色佛罗里达航空公司的飞机，坠入黑色河水的厚灰冰中。固然，这些都值得关注。因为只有死亡才会让成千上万的人落泪。那么，为什么这次空难如此令人震惊呢？

也许是因为人们不仅仅把这次空难堪称是一次机械故障。也许因为在这次空难中人们看到的不是失败，而是人类的成功。毕竟，这次相撞存在着两种因素：天气与人性。上周三，因素之一是这冷漠糟糕的天气将90号航班硬生生地从天空拽到了水中。而还是在同一个下午，另外一个因素人性---摸索着，挣扎着---终于冒着风险战胜了天气。

此事件的四个确认英雄中，三人能够向人们讲述他们的经历。由唐纳德.厄舍尔和尤金.温莎组成的一个公园警察直升机小组，数次冒着生命危险降到水中打捞起幸存者。电视上，他们共同描述着当时表现出来的勇气，如同在执行任务。28岁的勒尼.斯库特尼克是国民预算办公室的一名雇员，他说：“我没想到我会那样做。”--指的是他跳入水中将一个受伤的妇女拖上岸。斯库特尼克还说：“总得有人跳到水中去救人”，这是每个英雄都会说的话，即使是第一次听到这样的话，人们也丝毫不会吝啬对它的赞美。实际上，没有人必须跳进水中。而有人这样做了，这便成了这次特殊的悲剧让人们记住的部分原因。

但是，这次灾难使人们深深感动的最关键人物是最初被简单叫做“水中人”的那个人。可能有50来穗的鲍尔丁是一个大胡子。有人看到他和其他五个幸存者紧抓着失事飞机的尾翼。厄舍尔和温莎形容他表现得机警、镇定。每当他俩降下救生索和救生圈给他，他都要让给另外一个乘客。“在伤亡惨重的事故中，你总能找到像他那样的英雄，”温莎说道。“但是我从未见到过那样有奉献精神的人。”当直升机飞来救他时，他已经沉入水中了。他的无私是人们关注这件事情的一个原因；另一个原因则是他的未知身份，这样的身份赋予他普遍的特征。一时间，他成了每一个普通人的代表，这样也证明了（仿佛人们需要这个证明）没有人是普通的。

词汇释义

1.aesthetic adj.美感的；美的；审美的；有审美能力的

例句：

The play was an aesthetic success.
这部戏剧是个艺术上的成功

2.slap [slæp] n. 掴,侮辱,拍击声

例句：

He gave me a playful slap on the hand.
他闹着玩地打了一下我的手。

3.collision n. 碰撞,冲突

例句：

The liner is reported to have been in collision with an oil tanker.
据报道，这艘客轮与一艘油轮相撞。

4.acknowledge v. 承认,答谢,告知收到,确认,报偿

例句：

She is acknowledged as the best tennis-player in the world.
她被公认为是世界最佳网球选手。

5.anonymity n.匿名, 无名

例句：

Complete anonymity is the best weapon I have.
彻底隐姓埋名是我最好的武器。

短语解析

1.on record 正式记录的,公开发表的

例句：

Last summer was the wettest on record for 50 years.
刚过去的这个夏季是50年来记录中雨水最多的.

2.a blast of 一阵风

例句：

A blast of cold air hit him as he opened the window.
他打开窗，一股寒冷的空气直向他扑来。

3.chunks of 厚块，大块

例句：

He can reel off great chunks of these essays.
这些散文他能够大段大段地背出来。

4.bring sb. to tears 使热泪盈眶

例句:

The news he succeeded in the game drought us to tears.

他在比赛中获胜的消息使我们热泪盈眶。

5.rise to the occasion 表现出能应付（困难局面）

例句：

When the guest speaker failed to arrive, the chairman rose to the occasion and made a very amusing speech himself.

当演讲嘉宾未能到来时，主席表现出有应付窘境的本领，临时自己作了一次非常有趣的演讲。

6.account for 对...作出满意的解释

例句：

The defendant couldn't account for the fact that the money was found in his house.

被告未能对钱是从他家里发现的这一事实作出令人满意的解释。

7.describe sth. as 看成，视为

例句：

The seller described it as a vintage car, but I'd call it an old wreck.

卖主把车说成是一辆古香古色的名贵轿车，但我把它叫做旧破车。

难句解析

1.As disasters go, this one was terrible, but not unique, certainly not among the worst U. S. air crashes on record.

【难句释义】Compared with other air crashes, this one was not the worst; of course, it also involved a heavy loss of lives. In fact, this air crash was remembered for a different reason.

【难句解析】as sth. goes 就...来说

2.There was the unusual element of the bridge, of course and the fact that the plane hit it at a moment of high traffic.

【难句释义】One thing that was unusual about this air crash was that the plane hit the bridge during the rush hour.

【难句解析】此句中that引导的从句为the fact的同位语。

3.And there was the aesthetic clash as well — blue-and-green Air Florida, the name of a flying garden, sunk down among gray chunks of ice in a black river.

【难句释义】When the airplane clashed into the bridge and sunk down into the black river with gray chunks of ice, it made not only the loud sound but also the contrast between the colors; the blue-green color of the plane and the black color of the ice and water.
【难句解析】Air Florida 佛罗里达航空公司

4.Still, there was nothing very special in any of it, except death, which, while always special, does not necessarily bring millions to tears or to attention.

【难句释义】The air clash also involved loss of lives, which was always special, but it was not worth making fuss about it or to make millions cry or attract millions of people's attention.

【难句解析】状语从句while always special 中省略了其主语和系动词，其意为“although (it is) always special”。

5.Last Wednesday, the elements, indifferent as ever, brought down Flight 90. And on that same afternoon, human nature — groping and struggling — rose to the occasion.

【难句释义】Last Wednesday, unconcerned about the consequences as always, the weather made Flight 90 fall down. On the same afternoon, passengers, groping for flotation rings and struggling for life in the icy water, did deal sucessfully with the terrible situation.

【难句解析】形容词indifferent as ever用作the elements的同位语。