Gambling on OUr Future（当明天成为筹码）
名称：Gambling on OUr Future（当明天成为筹码）
内容简介：
世界英语散文精卒
[00:02.94]当明天成为筹码
[00:05.89]All I know is thatI would probablychange
[00:07.47]我只知道我很可能会变。
[00:09.05]and with my pastgambling experienceI know
[00:10.56]而根据我以往的赌博经验,
[00:12.06]that this changewould not be forthe better.
[00:13.95]这种改变没可能朝着好的方向发展。
[00:15.84]Gambling on OurFuture
[00:16.92]当明天成为筹码
[00:18.00]By J. G. Fabiano
[00:23.87]詹姆斯.费比阿诺
[00:29.74]About 90 percentof the 258 Yorkcitizens votedagainst
[00:32.26]在被采访的258位约克市市民中大约有九成的人投了反对票.
[00:34.79]the developmentof a casino
[00:35.57]关于约克商会
[00:36.34]at a straw pollsponsored by theYork's Chamber ofCommerce.
[00:38.67]就在市区内兴建赌场这一提案进行的一次民意测验.
[00:41.00]In fact, businesseswere encouraged tovote separately
[00:43.07]事实上，尽管商家们被鼓励进行单独投票，
[00:45.13]and of the twenty-nine voting, 75percent voted againstcasino development.
[00:48.42]在总共的29个投票中，75%的商家还是投了反对票。
[00:51.71]According toprinted reports,
[00:52.85]在一份出版的报告中，
[00:53.98]Cathy Goodwin,who is executivedirector of thechamber,
[00:55.81]商会执行董事长凯西·贾荣指出，
[00:57.63]stated that manyvoters noted onballots specificareas of concern
[01:00.04]很多教票的市民就赌场可能带来的影响表示了关注，
[01:02.45]including trafficcongestion.loss of quality oflife in the region,
[01:04.97]其中包括：交通堵塞,生活质量下降
[01:07.49]and the belief acasino would presentthe wrong image forthe State.
[01:09.77]以及州的整体形象遭破坏等。
[01:12.05]As I sat in my carwaiting for thetraffic to let meenter onto Route One
[01:14.60]我在车上等着前面的车走完好让我转入第一车道，
[01:17.14]I remembered atime when I barelysaw a car on theroad.
[01:19.42]这时，我记起以前马路上几乎没有什么车辆的情景。
[01:21.70]I remember one timeabout 25 years ago
[01:23.47]我还记得在25年前，
[01:25.24]when I drove outon Broadway from myhome on Iris Avenue.
[01:27.24]有一次我开车从我家的艾莉丝路往百老汇路驾驶，
[01:29.24]Back then I neverlooked for trafficand because of this
[01:31.15]在那个时候我根本不用关注路面情况,也就是因为这样,
[01:33.05]I almost ran intothe only other caron the road.
[01:34.89]我差点和那条路上唯一的另一辆车相撞。
[01:36.73]The accident scenewould have lookedlike a bowling ballhitting a tenpin.
[01:39.66]如果车祸真的发生的话,车祸现场一定会惨不忍睹,跟保龄球打出全中一样。
[01:42.59]I took the time toreminisce about someof my experiences with
[01:44.45]不经意间,我想起自己的一些赌博经历。
[01:46.32]the wonderful worldof gambling.
[01:47.64]在奥妙的博彩世界里
[01:48.96]The first time Ihad eve walked intoa casino happenedabout 20 years ago
[01:51.06]我第一次入赌场是在20年前,
[01:53.17]when my and Idecided tovacation inLas Vegas.
[01:55.43]当时我太太和我决定在赌城拉斯维加斯度假。
[01:57.70]Actually it was justtwo-day stopover
[01:59.43]但实际上我们只是在那里停留了两天,
[02:01.16]because the bulkof our vacationwas in Hawaii
[02:02.79]我们假期的大部分是在夏威夷度过的。
[02:04.42]Flying into the citywas an experience initself.
[02:06.46]飞入这个城市本身就是一次奇特的体验。
[02:08.49]Most of the timeI couldn't seeanything
[02:09.68]大多数时候我根本看不到任何东西。
[02:10.87]because it was anighttime flight
[02:12.17]由于是夜间飞行,
[02:13.48]All of a sudden Inoticed some lighton the horizon
[02:15.29]可就在突然间,先是在地平线上出现一些灯光，
[02:17.10]and then withinminutes we wereflying into
[02:18.38]接着短短的几分钟内我就觉得自己好像飞进了
[02:19.66]what seemed to meto be somethingeither on fire orradioactive.
[02:22.54]灯与火的海洋。
[02:25.43]Driving from theairport to our hotel
[02:26.61]机场开车到我们旅馆，
[02:27.80]was like wanderingthrough a Christmastree on ChristmasEve.
[02:29.69]就像是在平安夜观赏圣诞树一般新奇
[02:31.59]Lights,chrome,andglass wereeverywhere.
[02:33.46]沿途灯彩琉璜感觉
[02:35.32]Slot machines werealso everywhere.
[02:36.80]到处都是老虎机，
[02:38.28]They met us at theairport, along thesides of the road,
[02:40.10]机场、路边、
[02:41.93]and at small storesand gas stations.
[02:43.46]小百货店、加油站，
[02:44.99]I even noticed somein the lobby of ourhotel.
[02:46.95]甚至在旅馆的大堂里我也发现了老虎机
[02:48.91]Hell, they wereeven in the hallsof the motel thatled up to our room.
[02:51.23]在我住的汽车旅馆，就连房间外的过道都放了老虎机。
[02:53.55]I was surprisedthere weren't anyin the elevator
[02:55.42]到处都是老虎机,最后我甚至觉得没有在电梯里放上老虎机倒是令人奇怪的事情。
[02:57.28]Another thing Inoticed was thatnone of the machineswere vacant.
[02:59.48]另外一件事就是所有的机器都是满的，
[03:01.68]They all had someonepouring in coins andpulling the arm
[03:03.73]人们一边往机器里倾倒着硬币，一边在摇晃着控制杆，
[03:05.78]that supposedly wasa key to theirfortune.
[03:07.64]好像那就是他们通向富贵之门的钥匙．
[03:09.51]When we got into ourroom I just wantedto run down to thecasino.
[03:11.89]当我走进我们的房间后，我满脑子想的就是去赌一把。
[03:14.28]Every motel in LasVegas had a casino.
[03:15.96]反正拉斯维加斯每个旅馆里帮有一个赌场。
[03:17.64]My wife told me toslow down so shecould organizeour stuff.
[03:20.16]我太太要我慢一点，她得把行李整理好。
[03:22.68]About a half an hourlater I was walkinginto
[03:24.05]半小时后，我步入了
[03:25.42]what I thoughtat the time wasfantasy land.
[03:27.30]我当时认为是仙境乐土的赌场。
[03:29.18]There were lightseverywhere and thesounds of bells
[03:30.87]到处都是灯火辉煌，铃铃声
[03:32.56]and buzzersguaranteed in mymind
[03:33.63]与嘟嘟声
[03:34.70]that my fortunewas not that faraway.
[03:36.27]让我觉得富贵与我只是咫尺之遥而已。
[03:37.84]My wife decided tocheck out the showswhile I decided toexplore.
[03:40.48]我太太想知道表演节目的内容，而我则决定试试手气。
[03:43.12]Wandering throughthe casino I noticedan empty slotmachine
[03:45.02]在闲逛中，我居然发现了一台空机器。
[03:46.93]next to a ratherrobust woman
[03:48.06]旁边坐着一位相当健硕的女人，
[03:49.20]who wasconcentrating onher own machine.
[03:50.65]她正在聚精会神地玩她的那台机器。
[03:52.11]In fact, this wasa bit odd
[03:53.03]事实上，当时的情形有点奇怪，
[03:53.95]because there wereempty slot machineson both sides ofher.
[03:55.81]她两边的机器都是空着的。
[03:57.67]I wondered if shehad a personalhygiene problem!
[03:59.71]我那时猜想她是不是有点洁癖!
[04:01.75]Because there werefew empty machines Ijumped into thechair
[04:03.72]由于当时没有空的老虎机剩下，于是我就跳上了那张椅子，
[04:05.69]and immediatelythrew my quarterinto the slot.
[04:07.30]急不可待地把一个25美分的硬币塞进了机器。
[04:08.91]The woman nextto me turned herhead and started toscream.
[04:10.97]可那女子突然转头尖叫起来。
[04:13.02]This shocked me tothe point ofscreaming back ather,
[04:14.56]我不由自主地也尖叫起来，
[04:16.11]like E.T. didwhen he wasdiscovered insidethe closet.
[04:18.21]就像在电影《外星人(ET)》里外星人在被人从衣柜里发现时一样大声尖叫
[04:20.32]After a few secondsof staring at eachother,
[04:21.92]我们互相瞪了对方一番，
[04:23.51]she started yellingat me that I haddestroyed her system
[04:25.50]然后她开始冲我吼，说我败了她的赌运
[04:27.48]and that if Ididn't get out ofthat chair withina microsecond
[04:29.49]她还恶狠狠地警告说，如果我不立刻从那张椅子上滚下来，
[04:31.49]something veryunpleasant wouldhappen to me.
[04:33.40]她会对我不客气。
[04:35.32]I also noticed thateveryone in thatparticular row ofslot machines
[04:37.51]同时我还注意到那一排老虎机上的其他人
[04:39.71]was staring at me.
[04:40.65]都在盯着我，
[04:41.59]They weren'tpleasant stares.
[04:42.67]那眼神一点也不友善。
[04:43.75]I decided toevacuate thearea and findmy wife.
[04:45.82]于是我决定立刻离开这个是非之地，顺便去找找我的太太。
[04:47.90]As I was wandering Inoticed that therewas an empty seat ata blackjack table.
[04:50.56]在闲逛中，我看见在21点的台边有个空位。
[04:53.22]The person sittingnext to the seatwas an elderlygentleman
[04:55.24]空位旁边坐着位年老的绅士，
[04:57.26]who was wearing thelargest ring I hadever seen.
[04:58.84]他手上戴着一只我所见过的最大的戒指，
[05:00.41]It was jade, or atleast I thinkit was,
[05:01.88]应该是翡翠，如果我没看走眼。
[05:03.35]but I wondered ifhe wore if forlooks
[05:04.56]他戴这戒指是为着赏心悦目
[05:05.76]or for the exerciseof carrying itaround on his hand?
[05:08.09]还是拿来做手部运动我就不得而知了。
[05:10.41]I sat down and threwout my ten dollarsin order to play afew hands.
[05:12.99]我坐了下来，甩出了我10美元的钞票，想好好玩几把
[05:15.58]Everyone at thetable startedto stare at me.
[05:17.00]桌上的人又开始盯着我看。
[05:18.42]The rest of thetable was filledwith grandmother-type women
[05:20.32]桌上其他的人都是祖母型的女人，
[05:22.21]who looked like theyshould be sitting insome senior citizenbingo game
[05:24.18]我当时想,这些长者应该坐在休闲的宾果游戏桌上，
[05:26.15]instead of beinglocked in combatat a gamblingtable.
[05:28.49]而不是被禁锢在如同战场般的赌博台上。
[05:30.83]This time I was notyelled at.
[05:31.96]这次没人对我尖叫，
[05:33.09]I was just staredat until I askedif I had takensomeone's seat.
[05:35.49]她们只是盯着我看，直到我问是不是我坐了别人的位置。
[05:37.88]The dealer musthave seen theterror on my face
[05:39.40]庄家一定看到了我脸上惊惶失措的神情，
[05:40.93]because shecompassionatelyexplained
[05:42.29]她用同情的口吻跟我解释说，
[05:43.66]that I had justsat down at the$100 table.
[05:45.79]我坐到了100美元一次的桌上。
[05:47.91]Afterhyperventilating,
[05:48.82]我猛吸了几口气，
[05:49.72]I smiled andcontinued my searchfor my wife.
[05:51.95]然后嘶带笑容地继续寻找我的太太。
[05:54.18]As I walked throughwhat I could onlyexplain as being acircus
[05:56.45]我好像在马戏团里游荡一般走来走去，
[05:58.72]I remembered thatI had a small camerain my jacket.
[06:00.69]突然我想起我的夹克里有个小型照相机。
[06:02.66]So, naturally Idecided to take itout
[06:04.02]很自然地我决定把它拿出来，
[06:05.38]and take somepictures of mysurroundings.
[06:06.96]拍一些周围的景色。
[06:08.54]I then feltsomething veryheavy on my rightshoulder.
[06:10.31]突然间我觉得我的右肩被重重地压着
[06:12.08]It started tosqueeze.
[06:13.00]简直像是被挤压一般
[06:13.93]I looked aroundand saw one of thelargest man
[06:15.49]我回过头来，看见一个巨人，
[06:17.05]I have ever had theexperience ofmeeting.
[06:18.49]一个我从来没见过的大个子
[06:19.92]At least I think hewas a man.
[06:21.11]起码，我还知道他是个人。
[06:22.29]Again, I was beingstared at and all Icould do was stareback.
[06:25.06]我又一次被人盯着，而我能做的只是回望着他。
[06:27.82]He then broke hissilence by asking,"What the hell areyou doing?"
[06:30.59]他首先质问我起来，"你到底在搞什么鬼?"
[06:33.35]All I could answerwas that I had noconcept of
[06:34.98]我能回答的只是，
[06:36.61]what I was doing butif I was supposedto do it,
[06:38.43]我都不知道自己在干什么，但如果我必须做的话，
[06:40.26]I will do itlater or if I wasnot supposed to doit, I didn't.
[06:42.57]我以后也会再做的。而如果我不是必须去做的话，我刚才就不会去做了。
[06:44.87]The giant in frontof me did not enjoymy humor
[06:46.50]那大个子巨人一点都小觉得我的话好笑，
[06:48.13]and immediatelytook my cameraaway from me.
[06:49.94]劈手就把我的相机给抢了过去。
[06:51.75]A better descriptionof this was that hepried my hand open
[06:53.68]说得好听一点，他只足把我的手掰开，
[06:55.61]and crushed mycamera in the vicehe called his hand.
[06:57.49]把我的相机放在他老虎钳一样的手上，然后开始挤压。
[06:59.37]He then told me thatI could pick up mycamera when I leftthe casino
[07:01.69]他接着跟我说我可以在离开赌场时取回我的相机。
[07:04.01]but I doubted ifwhat was left inhis hand
[07:05.45]但我却知道，当我取回相机时
[07:06.88]had any resemblanceto what used to be acamera.
[07:09.15]早就面目全非。
[07:11.42]I then found my wifeat the front desk
[07:12.72]我终于在前台处找到了我的太太，
[07:14.01]looking through aschedule of showsthat were takingplace in the hotel.
[07:16.37]她正在浏览这个旅馆上演的节日单。
[07:18.72]She asked me if Iwas enjoying myself
[07:20.04]她问我玩得开不开心，
[07:21.35]and I asked her ifshe found a showwe could immediatelyenjoy.
[07:23.76]我反问她可不可以立刻看场表演找点快乐。
[07:26.17]She took that as a'no' and off to abasically mediocreshow we went.
[07:29.17]她明白了我的意思，然后俩人一起看了一场差劲的表演。
[07:32.16]As I was watchingthe show I rememberedanother experienceI had with gambling.
[07:35.01]在看表演时，我又想起了我的另外一次赌博经历
[07:37.86]My wife and I werein Aruba andbecause the sun wasincredibly hot
[07:40.32]当时我和我的太太在阿卢巴岛，由于天气异常炎热，
[07:42.79]she decided to takea nap in our roombefore we went outto dinner.
[07:44.97]我太太就想回房间里小睡一下，然后再出来一起吃饭。
[07:47.15]Since I was nottired I toldher that I wouldtake $10
[07:49.47]而我却是毫无倦意，于是我就告诉她说，我想花10美元
[07:51.79]and spend a fewseconds at thesmall casino thatwas in the motel.
[07:54.06]在我们住的汽车旅馆的小赌场里消磨一下。
[07:56.33]I sat down at ablackjack table.
[07:57.66]我坐在2l点的台边
[07:58.99]I was given my chipsand to my absoluteshock I won thefirst hand.
[08:01.85]买了我的筹码。真没想到，我居然赢了第一把。
[08:04.70]My God, I actuallywon! In fact,
[08:06.84]哎呀，我真的赢了，
[08:08.98]I defeated thehouse on the nextten hands.
[08:10.60]我连赢了庄家10把，
[08:12.21]All of a suddenmy little pile ofchips had begun toresemble
[08:14.21]我身前的筹码渐渐堆得
[08:16.22]Mount Agamenticusbut I wanted more.
[08:18.32]像约克市的阿德曼克斯山一般高了。但我还想赢得更多，
[08:20.43]I wanted MountEverest!
[08:21.96]希望筹码能堆得像喜马拉雅山一样高。
[08:23.48]I spent the nexttwo hours at thattable.
[08:24.90]接下来的两个小时我都陷在赌桌上，
[08:26.32]All I could thinkabout was when afterI finished at thetable
[08:28.57]满脑子想的都是要赢钱。
[08:30.82]and went back tothe room
[08:31.49]我满脑子里幻想的尽是赌完钱回旅馆房间时
[08:32.17]I would bury my nowsleeping wife withour new fortune.
[08:34.24]用刚赢到手的大把银子把我那沉睡着的老婆埋起来的情景，
[08:36.31]She would foreverthink of me as aKing of Chance
[08:37.99]她一定会把我当成幸运之王，
[08:39.68]and both of us wouldnever have to workanother second inour lives.
[08:41.86]我们俩从此再也不用工作了。
[08:44.04]Then it happened.I lost my lastdollar.
[08:46.43]于是到了最后，我输了个精光。
[08:48.83]This wouldn't havebeen so bad had itnot been for thefact
[08:50.64]事情也不会那么糟糕。
[08:52.44]that I left mywife sleeping in ourroom for two hours.
[08:54.33]如果我没让我老婆在房里睡两个小时的话
[08:56.23]This was not a goodthing because shehad been looking forme
[08:57.98]糟糕的是她提前起来并找我
[08:59.74]for the past halfhour and found methe second I lost mylast dollar.
[09:02.33]找了半个多小时，却在我输掉最后一个铜板的那一秒发现了我，
[09:04.92]I tried to describethe immense fortuneI had acquired.
[09:06.90]我尝试着跟她解释说。我也曾经赢过一笔为数不小的财富。
[09:08.89]She just shook herhead and off todinner fled.
[09:11.14]她只是摇了摇头，自个吃饭去了。
[09:13.39]That night atdinner,
[09:14.18]那晚吃饭时，
[09:14.98]we sat next to acouple who werehaving a seriousconversation.
[09:17.14]我们边上坐着另一对夫妇，他们争执得很凶。
[09:19.31]They were dressed inclothes that wouldmake a lot more sensein some other city.
[09:21.77]他们的穿着显然和这个城市并不太协调，
[09:24.24]They were youngbut they had an oldfeeling to them.
[09:25.95]俩人都很年轻，可是显得很苍老。
[09:27.67]They were also notvery happy.
[09:28.84]他们都很不开心，
[09:30.01]She was cryingand he was yelling
[09:31.30]女的正在哭泣，而男的却吼着
[09:32.60]that they shouldhave brought moremoney.
[09:33.68]说他们该带多点钱出来。
[09:34.76]She looked awayfrom him and thenglanced at me.
[09:36.48]女的把眼光从男的身上游离开去．瞥了我一眼。
[09:38.20]She looked asthough she had aneed to plead withanyone to ask
[09:39.94]她看上去好像在请求着周围的随便什么人告诉她
[09:41.68]how she could changeher reality of whatthey had become.
[09:43.88]该如何脱离他们所陷入的这种现状。
[09:46.07]I was not part ofthe straw poll that
[09:47.23]我并没有参与
[09:48.38]The York's Chamberof Commerce had onSaturday.
[09:50.02]周六由约克商会组织的民意测验，
[09:51.67]If I had been there,I would haveprobably votedwith the majority.
[09:53.87]如果我参与了。我想我也会和大多数人一样投反对票。
[09:56.07]I can't honestly saywhat would happen tomy town if gamblingwere to become legal
[09:58.65]如果赌博在我们的城市合法化，我实在不知道会带来怎样的后果。
[10:01.24]All I know is thatI would probablychange
[10:02.90]我只知道我很可能会变，
[10:04.57]and with my pastgambling experience
[10:06.57]而根据我以往的赌博经验．
