Deadly beauty
致命美景（陈继龙 编译）
Jun 8th 2006 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition
KEVIN HINES, a manic-depressive, was 19 and in one of his weekly downswings on ano_______①Monday morning in 2000. He went to the nearby Golden Gate Bridge to kill himself mostly because, with only a four-foot (1.2-metre) railing to leap, “I figured it was the easiest way.” He dived over, but flipped and hit the water at 75mph with his feet first. His legs were crushed, but he somehow stayed conscious and startedpaddling[1]with hisu_______②body until the Coast Guard fished him out.
凯文·海因斯是一个19岁的躁狂抑郁症患者。在2000年一个天气阴沉的星期一早晨，他像往常一样感到浑身不得劲。于是，他走到附近的金门大桥，之所以选择在那里了断余生，主要是因为只需要翻过一排四英尺（1.2米）高的栏杆，“我觉得这样自杀最简单。”他越过栏杆，纵身跳下，但在空中翻了几个跟头之后，他的脚先碰到了水面，腿摔折了，不过意识还有些清醒，于是上身开始用力扑腾，直到海岸巡逻队队员把他捞上岸。
Mr Hines is one of 26 people who haves_______③suicide attempts at the bridge, but 1,223 are known to have succeeded (ie, were seen jumping or found floating).________________________________（每个月就有两人从这座桥上跳下）,which makes it the most popular place in the world for suicides. （1）One book on the subject says that the Golden Gate is “to suicide what Niagara Falls is to honeymooners”.
在金门大桥自杀未遂的一共有26人，海因斯就是其中之一，不过据知还有1223人都“成功”了（也就是说，人们目睹他们跳入海中或者发现他们的尸体漂浮在海上）。每个月就有两人从这座桥上跳下，它也因此成为世界上最有名的自杀场所。对此，有一本书写道，金门大桥“之于自杀者的意义就如同尼亚加拉瀑布之于度蜜月的人”。（“自杀者就像人们喜欢到尼亚加拉瀑布度蜜月一样喜欢光顾金门大桥。”）
Many San Franciscans think that the solution is toemulate[2]the Empire State Building, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, St Peter's basilica[3] and other such places and put up a simple barrier. （2）This, however, is a decision for the 19 board members of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, an entity that oversees the bridge itself and the buses and ferries that operate in the area.Most of its revenues come fromt______④and fares, and the district loses money. A barrier would cost between $15m and $25m.
许多旧金山人认为，解决这一问题的办法就是要仿效帝国大厦、悉尼港湾大桥、埃菲尔铁塔、圣彼得大教堂和其它一些地方的做法，建造一个简易的防自杀屏障。不过，这得金门大桥高速公路运输行政部门（负责监管大桥以及该地区营运公车和渡船的机构）董事会的19名董事来拿主意。该部门的收入主要来自过路过桥费和车船乘载费，但通常都入不敷出，而修建防自杀屏障将耗资1500～2500万美元。
So the Psychiatric Foundation of Northern California, which has adopted the barrier as its cause, considers it a success that the board has merely allowed a feasibility study, for which various private and public donors have raised $2m. Mel Blaustein, a director at the foundation, has heard several arguments against a barrier over the years—too ugly, too expensive, and so forth—（3）but the most persistent has been that people would simply kill themselves somewhere else, so why bother?This is nonsense, he says; “Most suicides are impulsive and preventable.” A bridge without a barrier, adds Pat Hines, Kevin's father, is “like leaving al_______⑤gun in the psychiatric ward.”
尽管董事会只是同意就修建防自杀屏障开展可行性研究，而且许多私人和政府也为此捐助了200万美元。但是热衷于修建防自杀屏障的北加利福尼亚精神病基金会认为，这说明事情有了进展。多年来，基金会主管梅尔·布劳斯特恩屡次听到反对修建防自杀屏障的声音，说那样太不美观、太昂贵等等，不过说的最多的还是，人们完全可以在别的地方自杀，何必管太多呢？他说，这是一派胡言，“大多数人自杀都是出于一时冲动，完全是可以阻止的。”凯文的父亲帕特·海因斯也说，一座没有防自杀屏障的桥，就“好比把一支装好子弹的枪丢到精神病房里。”
[QUIZ]
1. 根据首字母以及括号内的词性提示和英文释义填入单词（注意复数、时态形式变化等）：
②u________（adj. in a higher position than something else）
③s________（v. to continue to live after an accident, war, or illness）
④t________（n. the money you have to pay to use a particular road, bridge etc）
⑤l_________ （adj. containing bullets）
2. 英译汉（将划线部分英文翻译成中文）： 3．汉译英（根据译文提示和上下文，在空白处填入相应英文）： [NOTES](LONGMAN)
1. paddle v.to swim with short, quick movements（以短暂而快速的动作）游水
2. emulate vt.to do something or behave in the same way as someone else, especially because you admire them [= imitate]仿效
3. basilica n.长方形基督教堂
[word focus]
WEATHER天气
good weather：sunny /fine
nice/lovely/glorious：天气非常好，阳光充足
bright：阳光明媚；光芒四射
there isn't a cloud in the sky：天空晴朗
dry：天气干燥的，不下雨的
fair：晴朗的（无风无雨），常用于天气预报
rain: wet/rainy/damp 多雨的
unsettled：天气多变的（常下雨）
drizzle：细雨，毛毛雨
shower：阵雨
downpour：倾盆大雨，暴雨
it's pouring down （British English）/it's pouring rain（American English） 下着瓢泼大雨
it's drizzling：下着毛毛细雨
snow: snowy 多雪的
sleet：雨夹雪
slush：雪泥；部分融化了的雪和冰混合物
hail/hailstones：冰雹
blizzard：暴风雪
frost：霜
wind: windy 刮风的，多风的
blustery ：风特别大的
breeze：微风，和风（breeze and drizzle和风细雨）
hurricane(in the Atlantic Ocean) /typhoon(in the Pacific Ocean)：飓风（大西洋）/台风（太平洋）
cloudy: 多云的
GREy/dull：灰蒙蒙的；阴沉的
overcast：多云的，阴沉的（要下雨）
hazy：烟雾弥漫的，雾蒙蒙的
hot: boiling /scorching /sizzling/blazing/burning/baking/broiling (hot) 都表示“非常热”
sweltering 闷热的，湿热的
warm 暖和的
balmy 温和的，和煦的
heatwave 热浪；酷暑期
cold: freezing (cold) 特别寒冷
arctic 极为寒冷的（常常冰天雪地）
wintry 严寒的，像冬天的
crisp 清新的，干冷的
chilly 比较冷（让人感觉不舒服）
cool 凉快的；凉爽的
cold snap/cold spell 寒流/春寒
[TIPS & BACKGROUND]
金门大桥（the Golden Gate Bridge）：Joseph B. Strauss在1917年提出建造金门大桥的构想，但由于渡口船家担心生计，军事领袖和工商业界关心造桥影响港口运输等因素影响，在历经十二年的强烈反弹之后，到1930年才通过了建桥计划。1933年开工，造价约3300万美元, 于1937年5月27日开放通车. 它不仅能承受21英呎(水平)及10英尺(垂直)幅度的摇晃，亦能在一口气承载满满六线车道的各式大小车辆，以及站满了行人步道的人群之后，屹立于狂风巨浪而不摇。金门大桥是加州唯一不受州法管辖的桥梁. 它目前由Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District 管理与维护， 所收取的3元美金过桥费主要用于大众交通运输, 渡口及公交车等服务，从而减少交通堵塞.
[KEY TO QUIZ]
[replyview]1. ①overcast 多云的；晦暗的；②upper 上面的；③survived 幸存；④tolls 过路费，过桥费；⑤loaded 装填子弹的
2.（见译文，仅供参考，欢迎指正）
3．People are throwing themselves off the bridge at the rate of two a month（注：答案肯定不是唯一，但至少你可以学习作者的写法）
