Unit 4B - Do unto Others
Do unto Others
Judith Simon Prager
Of all the sadness that came out of September 11, one story shines like a jewel in the dust. It is a story of giving and receiving — a story of saving and being saved and not knowing which is which — the story of the firefighters of Ladder Company 6 and Josephine.
More than three hundred firefighters perished in the tragedy of the World Trade Center. On September 29, at a time when the country was desperate for good news, NBC Dateline reported "The Miracle of Ladder Company 6." By the time I sat around their table in the back of the firehouse two weeks later and heard them recount it, the firefighters of Ladder 6 had said these words many times, but every word was still flooded with the vibrant sound of their gratitude.
They had gone to the World Trade Center that day to give. To rescue. That's what firefighters do. They run into burning buildings against instinct and nature, while the rest of us are running out, trying to save our own lives. They had entered the building at Number One, as had so many of their brothers, after the first plane had mortally wounded it. People were streaming down beside them, saying words of thanks and encouragement to them, offering them drinks from the machines and telling them they should get a pay raise.
They, in turn, offered words of encouragement back. "It's over for you," the firefighters said to those lucky enough to be exiting. "Go out through the lobby and go home now. You're okay."
The stairwells were narrow, only room enough for one person to move past another in either direction. Each of the firefighters climbing the steps carried at least a hundred pounds of equipment. At the twenty-seventh floor, some of them learned that the other tower had gone down, and the effort to save the building was rejected for the more pressing job of saving the people. Somehow in all the confusion, somewhere between the twelfth and fifteenth floors, the men of Ladder 6 were entrusted with the safety of a sixty-year-old bookkeeper named Josephine Harris. Josephine worked on the seventy-third floor, and she had been trudging down those sixty flights of steps through smoke and heat until her desire and ability to go on seemed completely exhausted.
Now getting her safely out was their assignment. So, despite her unwillingness to continue down the stairs, the firefighters encouraged her on. They reminded her of her grandchildren, who were waiting for her when she escaped the building. They told her she could do it. They cajoled. They encouraged. They promised to get her out if she would just keep moving.
On the fourth floor, she finally stopped in her tracks. She could not take another step. Would not take another step. She seemed willing to let them go on without her, but she was done walking. Never even thinking about leaving her, the firefighters began looking around for a chair on which to carry her down the rest of the stairs.
They were tired, too, and burdened by the heat and the weight of their equipment, and they were anxious to evacuate the building. But because some of them were not aware of the other building’s collapse, and because the towers had always seemed somehow immortal, they did not feel at that moment that there was great urgency.
None of them expected the terrible, otherworldly, thunderous sound; none of them expected the rumble that, in an instant, signaled catastrophe. Time stands still at moments like that. They stretch out long enough to give people pause, to consider what dying would mean. Bill Butler thought, I didn't even get to say good-bye to my wife and kids. Clearly, this was it. They had done their best, and now it was over. They prayed for it to be over quickly; they repented and asked for forgiveness; they thought of loved ones.
And then everything turned to dust around them. One hundred and five floors above them came tumbling down, each crushing the one under it with greater force. Within seconds the proud, shiny tower had been turned to sand-sized pieces of rubble, taking thousands of lives in its shattering wake.
From all vantage points, there was no way for anyone to survive this disaster, and no obvious reason why the staircase at which Josephine had halted should have been spared. But miracles have their own reasons. And as the dust settled, Captain John (Jay) Jonas, Sal D'Agostino, Bill Butler, Tommy Falco, Mike Meldrum, Matt Komorowski and Josephine, thrown wildly through the debris, were left whole, if not exactly standing, seemingly buried alive.
For four hours they were trapped in the rubble, wondering what was happening around them and how long they would be trapped. D'Agostino found a can of Sunkist orange soda, which seemed a drink of the gods to the thirsty team. Josephine was “a trooper D'Agostino said of her. He offered her a drink and she declined, being brave and stoic. When, after a while, she said she was cold, Falco gave her his coat and even held her hand when she said she was scared. They had no idea what was happening around them; they could only hope that there were efforts being made to find survivors. Little did they know how ecstatic firefighters would be to discover that anyone had survived this disaster. Little did they know that the search for them was frantic and urgent for all concerned — those lost and those desperate to find them.
While they waited, some of them methodically repacked the rope in case they would need it later, a routine that now gave them something to do. A cell phone played a part in the outcome, as it had in the tragedy of Flight 93. This time it was when Butler, who couldn't reach the firehouse through all the chaos of the phone system, called his wife. She called the firehouse and let them know of the plight of the missing men.
Finally, they were found. Rescued.
But it had been an intense time that they had shared with Josephine, and the six were not ready to turn her over to another company. D'Agostino said that when a firefighter finally discovered them there, he was so pumped up that he rushed to take Josephine from them, calling her "Doll" and saying, "We'11 take care of you, Doll. We got you."
But after all those hours of sharing the limbo between life and death with her, it seemed to them inappropriate not to give her the honor due her. D'Agostino said he grabbed the rescuer's arm and explained, "Her name isn't Doll. Her name is Josephine." When he thinks of it now, he shakes his head. Even in the midst of the excitement of recovery and the terrible fright through which each soul had journeyed, the other firefighter recognized the holiness of the moment and apologized, saying, "Sorry, Josephine, we'll take good care of you."
Ultimately, because special equipment was required to remove her from the wasteland that Ground Zero had become, Josephine was taken away from the men of Ladder 6 and they parted.
As I sat around the table with Sal and Mike and Bill and Tom and listened to them tell it one more time, I could see that the talking about it was part of the process — that we understand so much through stories. They had a reunion with Josephine at a later date, gave her a special jacket and called her their "guardian angel." While she says that they saved her life, they contend the opposite. They believe that by insisting that they stop there at that spot, at the only place left standing at Ground Zero, holding it as a sacred space, Josephine had saved their lives.
参考译文——善待他人
善待他人
朱迪思·西蒙·普拉杰
在911事件引发的种种悲伤哀痛之中，有一个故事犹如尘埃中的珠宝熠熠发光。那是一则关于助人与受助的故事——一则关于拯救与被救，却不知谁为救者谁为被救者的故事——一则关于云梯六连的消防队员和约瑟芬的故事。
三百多名消防队员在世贸中心的惨祸中失去了生命。9月29日，正值全国上下亟盼能有振奋人心的消息之时，全国广播公司专题新闻节目报道了“云梯6连的奇迹”。两个星期后，我在消防站的后面与他们围桌而坐，倾听他们叙述时，虽说云梯6连的队员们已经把同样的话重复过许多遍了，但字字句句仍饱含着感激之情。
那天他们去世贸中心是为了帮助别人。去救援。这是消防队员的职责。正当我们其余的人纷纷向外奔逃以图活命之际，他们却冲入燃烧着的大楼，尽管人有逃生的本能与天性。在第一架飞机重创1号楼之后，他们跟许多消防队的弟兄们一样冲了进去。人们从他们身旁鱼贯而下，说着感激与鼓励的话语，从售货机买饮料给他们，跟他们说他们应该获得加薪。
他们反过来给大伙鼓劲。“你们没事了，”消防队员们对那些有幸逃出的人说。“从大堂出去，快回家。你们没事了。”
楼道很狭窄，只够一人上另一人下。沿楼梯而上的消防队员人人都提着至少重一百镑的器械。在27楼，他们中有人得知另一幢塔楼已经倒塌，抢救大楼的任务只得改为救人这一更为紧迫的任务。混乱之中，在12和15楼之间的某处，云梯6连的队员被托付了安全护送一位 60岁的会计约瑟芬·哈里斯的任务。约瑟芬在73楼工作，她在烟雾和热浪中挣扎着下了60级阶梯后，求生的欲望和能力似乎都完全耗竭了。
此刻他们的任务就是将她安全护送出去。于是，尽管她不愿往下走，消防队员们还是鼓励她继续走。他们提醒她：她在大楼里逃生时，她的孙儿们都正等着她呢。他们跟她说她能行。 他们劝导她，给她鼓劲。他们说只要她继续走，就保证送她出去。
她终于在4楼停了下来，她一步也走不动了，她也不愿再走一步了。她似乎宁肯他们把自己扔下，她是不走了。消防队员压根儿就没想过要扔下她，他们开始找椅子，只好抬着她下楼。
他们自己也疲惫不堪，闷热与沉重的消防器械更使他们不胜重负，而且他们急于把人们疏散出大楼。但由于他们中有的并不知道另一幢楼已经倒塌，由于这两幢塔楼一向显得牢不可破，此时此刻，他们并不觉得情形相当紧迫。
他们谁也没料到会传来那可怕的、地狱般的轰隆声；他们谁也没料到，刹那间，那轰隆声就是灾难的信号。在那样的时刻，时间似乎凝固了。凝固的时间长得足以让人们停下来想一想死亡意味着什么。比尔·巴特勒想，我甚至没能跟老婆孩子告别呢。显然此刻就是那样的时刻到来了。他们尽了全力，现在一切都结束了。他们祈祷着快快完结；他们忏悔，祈求宽恕；他们想着挚爱的亲人。
随后周围的一切都变为灰尘。他们上面的105层楼统统轰然倒塌下来，每一层都以更大的冲力撞向下一层。短短数秒之间，不可一世的、光芒耀眼的塔楼成为一堆细小的瓦砾，随着其倒塌破碎，上千条生命被夺去。
无论从哪方面来看，没有人能从这场灾难中幸存，然而，不知什么原因，约瑟芬停下来的这段楼梯竟然会幸免于难。但奇迹自有其道理。等到尘埃落定，在瓦砾落下时被抛掷得东倒西歪的约翰（杰伊）·乔纳斯队长、萨尔·达格斯迪诺、比尔·巴特勒、托米·菲尔科、麦克·梅尔姆、迈特·科莫罗斯基和约瑟芬，即便没能完全顶住，看上去像是被活埋了似的，但却完好无损。
他们在瓦砾堆中被困了4个小时，不明白周围发生了什么事，不知道会被困多久。达格斯迪诺发现一罐新奇士橘子汽水，对这些干渴的人来说不啻为天赐的甘露。约瑟芬是个“能吃苦耐劳的好样儿的”，达格斯迪诺这么说她。他给她饮料，她谢绝了，表现得勇敢而又坚毅。过了一会儿，她说冷，菲尔科就把自己的外套给了她，在她说她害怕时，甚至还拉住她的手。他们不知道周围发生了什么；他们只能希望会有人在设法寻找幸存者。他们很少知道，一旦发现居然还有人能从这场灾难中活过来时，消防队员们会是多么髙兴万分啊。他们很少知道，人们正在拼命地搜寻他们；这对于所有有关的人——那些失踪的人们以及那些拼命地在寻找他们的人——来说，都是万分紧迫的事。
他们等待着，有的有条不紊地重新将绳索整理好，万一接下来用得着。一项例行的工作此刻倒使他们有事可干。结果，如同在93次航班发生的悲剧那样，手机发挥了作用。这次的情况是，巴特勒由于电话系统乱糟糟无法接通消防站，便拨通了他的妻子。她再给消防站打电话，把这些失踪队员的困境向他们告知。
终于，他们被找到了。获救了。
可是，由于他们与约瑟芬共同度过了那么紧张的一段时光，6个人不愿把她交给另一个连队。达格斯迪诺说，当一个消防队员终于在那儿找到他们时，他激动万分，冲过来要把约瑟芬带走，叫她“宝贝”，说“我们会照看你的，宝贝。有我们和你在一起呢。”
可是，和她一起经历了这么多时间的生死劫难，不向她表示应有的敬意似乎是说不过去的。达格斯迪诺说他一把抓住救援者的手臂解释道，“她不叫宝贝。她叫约瑟芬。”如今他回想起来，还是摇了摇头。即便人们沉浸在从曾经都经历过的极度恐怖中恢复过来的兴奋激动之中，那位消防队员还是意识到了当时那神圣的时刻，道歉说:“对不起，约瑟芬，我们会照顾好你的。”
最后，由于需要用特殊器械把约瑟芬从世贸中心的废墟中移出来，她从云梯6连队员手中被带走，他们分手了。
我与萨尔、麦克、比尔和汤姆围坐在一起，听他们再一遍讲述这个故事，我意识到讲述本身也是过程的一部分——故事使我们领悟到更多。后来他们与约瑟芬重逢，赠给她一件特殊的夹克衫，称她为他们的“守护神”。她说他们救了她，他们却认为恰恰相反。他们认为，正是由于约瑟芬坚持要他们待在那个地点，那个整个世贸中心被夷为平地后唯一残存尚未倒塌的地方，那个她视作神圣的处所，她拯救了他们的性命。
Key Words:
encouragement [in'kʌridʒmənt]
n. 鼓励
instinct ['instiŋkt]
adj. 充满的
n. 本能，天性，直觉
plane [plein]
adj. 平的，与飞机有关的
n. 飞机，水平
ladder ['lædə]
n. 梯子，阶梯，梯状物
n. （袜子）
miracle ['mirəkl]
n. 奇迹
gratitude ['grætitju:d]
n. 感恩之心
rescue ['reskju:]
vt. 营救，援救
n. 营救，救援
recount [.ri:'kaunt]
vt. 详述，列举，重新计算
n. 重新计算
vibrant ['vaibrənt]
adj. 震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩
desperate ['despərit]
adj. 绝望的，不顾一切的
willing ['wiliŋ]
adj. 愿意的，心甘情愿的
confusion [kən'fju:ʒən]
n. 混乱，混淆，不确定状态
assignment [ə'sainmənt]
n. 分配，功课，任务，被指定的(课外)作业;(分派的)
ladder ['lædə]
n. 梯子，阶梯，梯状物
n. （袜子）
tracks
n. 轨道（track的复数）；磁道；轮胎
unwillingness [ʌn'wiliŋnis]
n. 不愿意；不情愿
pressing [presiŋ]
adj. 紧迫的，紧急的 press的现在分词
urgency ['ə:dʒənsi]
n. 紧急(的事)
evacuate [i'vækjueit]
v. 疏散，撤出，排泄
settled ['setld]
adj. 固定的；稳定的 v. 解决；定居（settle
stretch [stretʃ]
n. 伸展，张开
adj. 可伸缩的
obvious ['ɔbviəs]
adj. 明显的，显然的
catastrophe [kə'tæstrəfi]
n. 大灾难，大祸，彻底失败
collapse [kə'læps]
n. 崩溃，倒塌，暴跌
v. 倒塌，崩溃，瓦解
survive [sə'vaiv]
vt. 比 ... 活得长，幸免于难，艰难度过
staircase ['stɛəkeis]
n. 楼梯
disaster [di'zɑ:stə]
n. 灾难
desperate ['despərit]
adj. 绝望的，不顾一切的
concerned [kən'sə:nd]
adj. 担忧的，关心的
frantic ['fræntik]
adj. 疯狂的，狂乱的
cell [sel]
n. 细胞，电池，小组，小房间，单人牢房，(蜂房的)巢室
chaos ['keiɔs]
n. 混乱，无秩序，混沌
disaster [di'zɑ:stə]
n. 灾难
routine [ru:'ti:n]
n. 例行公事，常规，无聊
adj. 常规的，
stoic ['stəuik]
n. 坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 Stoic: 斯多葛派人
thirsty ['θə:sti]
adj. 口渴的，渴望的
flight [flait]
n. 飞行，航班
sacred ['seikrid]
adj. 神圣的，受尊重的
intense [in'tens]
adj. 强烈的，剧烈的，热烈的
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]
vt. 理解，懂，听说，获悉，将 ... 理解为，认为<
contend [kən'tend]
vi. 奋斗，斗争，辩论
vt. 坚持认为，竞
inappropriate [.inə'prəupriit]
adj. 不适当的，不相称的
recovery [ri'kʌvəri]
n. 恢复，复原，痊愈
ladder ['lædə]
n. 梯子，阶梯，梯状物
n. （袜子）
wasteland ['weistlænd]
n. 荒地，未开垦地
remove [ri'mu:v]
v. 消除，除去，脱掉，搬迁
n. 去除
ultimately ['ʌltimitli]
adv. 最后，最终
参考资料：
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