TED英语演讲我的阅读世界年.docx

TED英语演讲我的阅读世界年.docx

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TED英语演讲我的阅读世界年

TED英语演讲：

我的阅读世界年

　　安.摩根认为自己擅于阅读，直到她在自己的书架上发现到不得了的文化盲点;在众多的英、美作家之列，极少作品出自英语世界以外的作家。

所以她订出一个豪情万丈的目标-「在一年的历程阅读世界各国的一本书」;现在她鼓励其他的崇尚英风者们去阅读翻译作品。

下面是小编为大家收集关于TED英语演讲：

我的阅读世界年，欢迎借鉴参考。

　　演说题目：

我的阅读世界年!

　　演说者：

AnnMorgan

　　It’softensaidthatyoucantellalotaboutapersonbylookingatwhat’sontheirbookshelves.Whatdomybookshelvessayaboutme?

Well,whenIaskedmyselfthisquestionafewyearsago,Imadeanalarmingdiscovery.I’dalwaysthoughtofmyselfasafairlycultured,cosmopolitansortofperson.Butmybookshelvestoldaratherdifferentstory.PrettymuchallthetitlesonthemwerebyBritishorNorthAmericanauthors,andtherewasalmostnothingintranslation.Discoveringthismassive,culturalblindspotinmyreadingcameasquiteashock.

　　AndwhenIthoughtaboutit,itseemedlikearealshame.IknewtherehadtobelotsofamazingstoriesouttherebywritersworkinginlanguagesotherthanEnglish.AnditseemedreallysadtothinkthatmyreadinghabitsmeantIwouldprobablyneverencounterthem.So,Idecidedtoprescribemyselfanintensivecourseofglobalreading.20xxwassettobeaveryinternationalyearfortheUK;itwastheyearoftheLondonOlympics.AndsoIdecidedtouseitasmytimeframetotrytoreadanovel,shortstorycollectionormemoirfromeverycountryintheworld.AndsoIdid.AnditwasveryexcitingandIlearnedsomeremarkablethingsandmadesomewonderfulconnectionsthatIwanttosharewithyoutoday.

　　Butitstartedwithsomepracticalproblems.AfterI’dworkedoutwhichofthemanydifferentlistsofcountriesintheworldtouseformyproject,IendedupgoingwiththelistofUN-recognizednations,towhichIaddedTaiwan,whichgavemeatotalof196countries.AndafterI’dworkedouthowtofitreadingandbloggingabout,roughly,fourbooksaweekaroundworkingfivedaysaweek,

　　IthenhadtofaceuptothefactthatImightevennotbeabletogetbooksinEnglishfromeverycountry.Onlyaround4.5percentoftheliteraryworkspublishedeachyearintheUKaretranslations,andthefiguresaresimilarformuchoftheEnglish-speakingworld.Although,theproportionoftranslatedbookspublishedinmanyothercountriesisalothigher.4.5percentistinyenoughtostartwith,butwhatthatfiguredoesn’ttellyouisthatmanyofthosebookswillcomefromcountrieswithstrongpublishingnetworksandlotsofindustryprofessionalsprimedtogooutandsellthosetitlestoEnglish-languagepublishers.So,forexample,althoughwellover100booksaretranslatedfromFrenchandpublishedintheUKeachyear,mostofthemwillcomefromcountrieslikeFranceorSwitzerland.French-speakingAfrica,ontheotherhand,willrarelyevergetalook-in.

　　TheupshotisthatthereareactuallyquitealotofnationsthatmayhavelittleorevennocommerciallyavailableliteratureinEnglish.Theirbooksremaininvisibletoreadersoftheworld’smostpublishedlanguage.Butwhenitcametoreadingtheworld,thebiggestchallengeofallformewasthatfactthatIdidn’tknowwheretostart.HavingspentmylifereadingalmostexclusivelyBritishandNorthAmericanbooks,Ihadnoideahowtogoaboutsourcingandfindingstoriesandchoosingthemfrommuchoftherestoftheworld.Icouldn’ttellyouhowtosourceastoryfromSwaziland.Iwouldn’tknowagoodnovelfromNamibia.Therewasnohidingit--Iwasacluelessliteraryxenophobe.SohowonearthwasIgoingtoreadtheworld?

　　Iwasgoingtohavetoaskforhelp.SoinOctober20xx,Iregisteredmyblog,,andIpostedashortappealonline.IexplainedwhoIwas,hownarrowmyreadinghadbeen,andIaskedanyonewhocaredtotoleaveamessagesuggestingwhatImightreadfromotherpartsoftheplanet.Now,Ihadnoideawhetheranyonewouldbeinterested,butwithinafewhoursofmepostingthatappealonline,peoplestartedtogetintouch.Atfirst,itwasfriendsandcolleagues.Thenitwasfriendsoffriends.Andprettysoon,itwasstrangers.

　　FourdaysafterIputthatappealonline,IgotamessagefromawomancalledRafidahinKualaLumpur.Shesaidshelovedthesoundofmyproject,couldshegotoherlocalEnglish-languagebookshopandchoosemyMalaysianbookandpostittome?

Iacceptedenthusiastically,andafewweekslater,apackagearrivedcontainingnotone,buttwobooks--Rafidah’schoicefromMalaysia,andabookfromSingaporethatshehadalsopickedoutforme.Now,atthetime,Iwasamazedthatastrangermorethan6,000milesawaywouldgotosuchlengthstohelpsomeoneshewouldprobablynevermeet.

　　ButRafidah’skindnessprovedtobethepatternforthatyear.Timeandagain,peoplewentoutoftheirwaytohelpme.Sometookonresearchonmybehalf,andothersmadedetoursonholidaysandbusinesstripstogotobookshopsforme.Itturnsout,ifyouwanttoreadtheworld,ifyouwanttoencounteritwithanopenmind,theworldwillhelpyou.WhenitcametocountrieswithlittleornocommerciallyavailableliteratureinEnglish,peoplewentfurtherstill.

　　Booksoftencamefromsurprisingsources.MyPanamanianread,forexample,camethroughaconversationIhadwiththePanamaCanalonTwitter.Yes,thePanamaCanalhasaTwitteraccount.AndwhenItweetedatitaboutmyproject,itsuggestedthatImightliketotryandgetholdoftheworkofthePanamanianauthorJuanDavidMorgan.IfoundMorgan’swebsiteandIsenthimamessage,askingifanyofhisSpanish-languagenovelshadbeentranslatedintoEnglish.Andhesaidthatnothinghadbeenpublished,buthedidhaveanunpublishedtranslationofhisnovel“TheGoldenHorse.”Heemailedthistome,allowingmetobecomeoneofthefirstpeopleevertoreadthatbookinEnglish.

　　Morganwasbynomeanstheonlywordsmithtosharehisworkwithmeinthisway.FromSwedentoPalau,writersandtranslatorssentmeself-publishedbooksandunpublishedmanuscriptsofbooksthathadn’tbeenpickedupbyAnglophonepublishersorthatwerenolongeravailable,givingmeprivilegedglimpsesofsomeremarkableimaginaryworlds.Iread,forexample,abouttheSouthernAfricankingNgungunhane,wholedtheresistanceagainstthePortugueseinthe19thcentury;andaboutmarriageritualsinaremotevillageontheshoresoftheCaspianseainTurkmenistan.ImetKuwait’sanswertoBridgetJones.

　　AndIreadaboutanorgyinatreeinAngola.

　　Butperhapsthemostamazingexampleofthelengthsthatpeoplewerepreparedtogototohelpmereadtheworld,cametowardstheendofmyquest,whenItriedtogetholdofabookfromthetiny,Portuguese-speakingAfricanislandnationofS?

oToméandPríncipe.Now,havingspentseveralmonthstryingeverythingIcouldthinkoftofindabookthathadbeentranslatedintoEnglishfromthenation,itseemedasthoughtheonlyoptionlefttomewastoseeifIcouldgetsomethingtranslatedformefromscratch.Now,Iwasreallydubiouswhetheranyonewasgoingtowanttohelpwiththis,andgiveuptheirtimeforsomethinglikethat.But,withinaweekofmeputtingacalloutonTwitterandFacebookforPortuguesespeakers,IhadmorepeoplethanIcouldinvolveintheproject,includingMargaretJullCosta,aleaderinherfield,whohastranslatedtheworkofNobelPrizewinnerJoséSaramago.Withmyninevolunteersinplace,ImanagedtofindabookbyaS?

oToméanauthorthatIcouldbuyenoughcopiesofonline.Here’soneofthem.AndIsentacopyouttoeachofmyvolunteers.Theyalltookonacoupleofshortstoriesfromthiscollection,stucktotheirword,senttheirtranslationsbacktome,andwithinsixweeks,Ihadtheentirebooktoread.

　　Inthatcase,asIfoundsooftenduringmyyearofreadingtheworld,mynotknowingandbeingopenaboutmylimitationshadbecomeabigopportunity.WhenitcametoS?

oToméandPríncipe,itwasachancenotonlytolearnsomethingnewanddiscoveranewcollectionofstories,butalsotobringtogetheragroupofpeopleandfacilitateajointcreativeendeavor.Myweaknesshadbecometheproject’sstrength.

　　ThebooksIreadthatyearopenedmyeyestomanythings.Asthosewhoenjoyreadingwillknow,bookshaveanextraordinarypowertotakeyououtofyourselfandintosomeoneelse’smindset,sothat,forawhileatleast,youlookattheworldthroughdifferenteyes.Thatcanbeanuncomfortableexperience,particularlyifyou’rereadingabookfromaculturethatmayhavequitedifferentvaluestoyourown.Butitcanalsobereallyenlightening.Wrestlingwithunfamiliarideascanhelpclarifyyourownthinking.Anditcanalsoshowupblindspotsinthewayyoumighthavebeenlookingattheworld.

　　WhenIlookedbackatmuchoftheEnglish-languageliteratureI’dgrownupwith,forexample,Ibegantoseehownarrowalotofitwas,comparedtotherichnessthattheworldhastooffer.Andasthepagesturned,somethingelsestartedtohappen,too.Littlebylittle,thatlonglistofcountriesthatI’dstartedtheyearwith,changedfromaratherdry,academicregisterofplacenamesintoliving,breathingentities.

　　Now,Idon’twanttosuggestthatit’satallpossibletogetaroundedpictureofacountrysimplybyreadingonebook.Butcumulatively,thestoriesIreadthatyearmadememorealivethaneverbeforetotherichness,diversityandcomplexityofourremarkableplanet.Itwasasthoughtheworld’sstoriesandthepeoplewho’dgonetosuchlengthstohelpmereadthemhadmadeitrealtome.Thesedays,whenIlookatmybookshelvesorconsidertheworksonmye-reader,theytellaratherdifferentstory.It’sthestoryofthepowerbookshavetoconnectusacrosspolitical,geographical,cultural,social,religiousdivides.It’sthetaleofthepotentialhumanbeingshaveto