《外刊精读》戴着口罩哭泣是一种什么体验？

戴着口罩哭泣，是一种什么体验？ 难度：CSE6 课程导读 在今天的文章中，《纽约时报》著名书评人Pamela Paul 从自己在葬礼上带着口罩、不知如何擤鼻涕的经历说起，反思了口罩对于自身生活的改变，行文幽默而不乏巧思。口罩引发了她怎样的思考？长期与口罩共处，会给我们的精神生活带来怎样的深层影响？一起来听今天的讲解。 本篇课程首发于2020年12月4日 英文原文 I've Been Wearing Masks for Months and I Still Have Questions 口罩戴了几个月，我仍有不少疑问 By Pamela Paul Recently, at a funeral, I got to thinking about the lesser challenges of the mask. Not the should-you-or-shouldn't-you, which is settled science at this point, but the specific problem of how to cry with a mask on. The mask posed a new challenge: How to blow my nose discreetly and with enough frequency that I didn't wind up with a big wet splotch in the middle, surely a repellent look during a raging pandemic? 最近，在一场葬礼上，我不由得琢磨起了一些关于口罩的小难题。不是“该戴还是不该戴”的问题，因为到了现在这个节骨眼儿上，这早已有科学定论了。我为难的，是一个非常具体的问题：带着口罩的时候，该怎么哭呢？口罩带来了全新的考验：我应该如何体面地擤鼻涕？而且还得擤得足够频繁，以免口罩中央留下一大滩湿乎乎的污渍。在疫情肆虐的环境里，这幅样子肯定会让所有人对我敬而远之。 Worse, I hadn't worn black. That is to say, I had worn black clothing and a black coat, but the mask was light gray. 更糟糕的是，我穿戴得也不够黑。也就是说，我穿了黑色的衣物和黑外套，但我的口罩是浅灰色的。 Goodness knows, I had mask issues. I forgot, repeatedly, not to apply lip balm. I smiled meaningfully at people, forgetting they couldn't see. Walking up a steep hill after the funeral with two old friends, I gasped and wheezed like an animal trapped under a damp blanket. "Can we stop for a minute?" I begged, while the two of them looked at me coolly, their expressions yogi-like, their breath inaudible. 天晓得，我的确跟口罩过不去。有好几次，我都忘了戴口罩的时候不能涂润唇膏。我依然会用微笑对别人传达我的好意，但却总忘了人家根本看不见。葬礼结束之后，我和两个老朋友沿着一个陡坡往上走，我气喘吁吁，像一个被湿毯子压住的动物。我恳求说：“我们能歇会儿吗？” 而两个朋友看着我，脸上的神情像瑜伽修行者一般平静，他们呼吸轻柔，无法听见。 When I got home, I faced the usual cacophony of masks scattered on the bench by the doorway. "Whose are these?" I raged. Some masks had been labeled, but a vast majority were inscrutable. 进家以后，我面对着门厅长凳上一如既往散落各处的口罩，觉得它们的样子分外刺眼。我怒吼道：“这都是谁的？”有些口罩加了标签，但大多数都神秘莫测。 "Whose face does this belong to?" you'd find yourself wondering, and then wandering to a more existential place. "And who am I beneath this mask I wear?" 你会发现自己开始疑惑：“这只口罩属于哪张脸呢？”接着，思绪就会进入更加存在主义的范畴：“在我戴着的口罩之下，我又是谁呢？”