精美英文欣赏:用爱筑起一个家

（单词翻译）

A former cabinet minister once infamously¹ described the homeless as "the people you step over when you're coming out of the opera."

一位前内阁部长曾可耻地把无家可归的人形容成"被走出歌剧院的观众从身上跨过的人"。

As reprehensible² a joke as it is, his words are about to be thrown back at him, or rather sung back, by the kind of people he once stepped over.

如今，这些人将对这一应受到谴责的玩笑予以还击，更准确地说，是以歌唱的方式予以回应。

This week, Streetwise Opera, a company made up of homeless and ex-homeless players, is set to perform at the Royal Opera House as part of the London 2012 Festival build up to the Olympic Games.

街头歌剧团由一群无家可归的人和曾经有此经历的人组成。它将参加为庆祝奥运会而举办的2012伦敦文化节，并定于本周在皇家歌剧院进行演出。

And, according to its founder³, it's the first time the homeless have been part of an Olympic Games and not been "overlooked⁴, made unwelcome, or moved on."

据歌剧团的创建人称，这是无家可归的人第一次参与奥运会，而不是"被无视，受到冷眼，遭到驱逐"。

The salutary thing about this story is that the people you and I, or even ministers, might be "stepping over" almost certainly aren't who we think they are.

此故事有益一面是告诉我们：被人们（你、我、甚至是部长们）从身上跨过的人很可能和我们想的不一样。

The Streetwise Opera itself includes three ex-servicemen, an architect, two music teachers, or who for different reasons, found themselves without a home and on the street.

街头歌剧团里有三名退役军人、一名建筑师、两名音乐教师，以及其他出于各种原因没有栖身之所，只能露宿街头的人。

The idea that the homeless are different to the likes of us is really a failure of imagination.

如果你认为无家可归的人和我们是两类人，这样的想象真是大错特错了。

It's also a very dangerous way of thinking.

这也是一种非常危险的思考方式。

As the latest national statistics⁵ released in June show, the number of homeless in England has risen by almost 1/5 compared with the same period last year.

正如最新的国家统计数据显示，英国无家可归的人数与去年同期相比增长了五分之一。

Homelessness isn't something that happens to other people.

无家可归不是一件离我们遥不可及的事情。

A few years ago, I stepped over someone lying in a stairwell in Piccadilly.

几年前，路过毕卡第利广场时，我从一个躺在楼梯井的人的身上跨了过去。

I was so full of my own concerns, I didn't see a person, just an obstacle to get around.

当时我满怀心事，没有注意到那有人，把他当成路障跨了过去。

After walking about 50 yards I thought "what am I doing?" I went back and asked him what he needed.

走了50码后我才开始思考"我做了什么？"我折回去问他需要些什么。

It wasn't a great question. It was minus three degrees.

这并不是个明智的问题。当时的气温只有零下三度。

"A decent⁶ sleeping bag would be a start," he said.

"我想先要个像样的睡袋。"他说。

So I went to Lilywhites and got him a tog factor 12 bag.

于是我走到白百合，给他买了个12码的睡袋。

When I returned we talked and he told me he'd once been a soldier. What he really needed was to work again.

我回到他那里和他聊天。他告诉我他曾经当过兵，现在最想能重新工作。

There's a story in Matthew's gospel that's always kept me guessing.

《马太福音》中有一则故事一直让我对自己充满疑虑。

It's both comfort to those in need and a warning to those who think they've got it sorted.

它不仅安慰了需要帮助的人，也警醒了那些把人分门别类的人。

It's the one where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats.

这就是耶稣分辨绵羊与山羊的故事。

And it suggests that eternal⁷ life isn't dependent on how religious we are, but whether we've actually fed the one who is hungry, invited the stranger into our house, or clothed the person in need of clothes.

它提示我们：永恒并不取决于我们有多么虔诚，而取决于我们是否使饥饿的人吃饱，使无家可归的人得栖身之所，使衣衫褴褛的人有衣穿。

Because, He points out, if we are doing it to them, we are doing it to Him.

因为，耶稣指出，我们如何对待他人，就是在如何对待他。

The next time we pass someone in a stairwell, it's worth thinking about who we might be stepping over.

当下次在楼梯井经过某人的时候，我们非常有必要去思考被跨过去的会是谁。

They may well be homeless. They might also be an ex-soldier, a former teacher, or a future opera singer, but perhaps most crucially of all, they could be you.

他们的确是无家可归的人。但他们也可能是退伍军人、曾经的教师或者是未来的歌剧演唱家。

They could be me, or even God Himself.

但也许最重要的是，他们可能是你，可能是我，甚至可能是上帝。