⊙ By Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

翻譯：T Boy

說起紐約，我們往往只會(huì)想起它光鮮的一面，而忽視了陰暗面的存在；即使見到了，也不太愿意正眼去看，更不會(huì)去細(xì)想。但是，無論是乞丐，還是臟亂差的街道，都是紐約的有機(jī)組成部分。下面，我們一起走近紐約的拾荒客，聽聽他們的故事吧。

Walter: I’m a 60-year-old Vietnam2)veteran. I’ve been collecting cans eight, ten years, and this is a full-time job, because if you don’t do it full

time, you ain’t gonna get what you need. So,we have five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five,thirty, fourty-five, fifty, fifty-five cents. Alright!

There are people out here totally3)dependent on what they make canning.They are out here day and night, canning to survive. There was a time when you can get any kind of4)odd job over here, and we didn’t think about canning or anything like that.There’re always new faces, you know. They come. I don’t know where they come from,but they sure do come. Yeah, everybody used to have a job. Now, getting a job, man, is like hitting the5)Lotto.

Susan: I’m…I’m slow at this. When I first started, I hoped that nobody saw me that I knew.

a6)bachelor of science and then I got into the computer industry. I’ve worked with Microsoft, I’ve worked with Compaq. I…I won what was considered the most7)prestigious award in the industry at the time. In 1990, I was one of the winners of the IBM Winners’ Circle, which was given to 20 of the top sales and marketing people in the country, and now I’m helping keep the city clean.

Joe (Susan’s Friend): Susan, how did you get started out collecting all these cans and bottles?

Susan: I needed money, and I started watching people on the street.

Joe: You don’t look like the ordinary people that comes [sic] here all the time.

Susan: Those of us who’re on Social Security don’t get enough money to…to live on, you know? I guess it’s survival of the fittest. That’s“Cuban Joe.” My…my friend Cuban Joe.

Joe: What’s a nice Jewish lady like you doin’out here?

Susan: Because…

Joe: You’re one of the chosen ones注. you know?

Susan: Has nothin’ to do, I told you, it’s got nothin’ to do with being Jewish, it has nothing to do with anything. You do what you have to do to survive, OK? And if you don’t get enough money from your Social Security or your income…

Joe: Right, OK.

Susan: …or you have no income, so then…then this is what you do.

Joe: I’m not against the rich, I’m against injustice; greed and injustice. That’s what I’m against. There are more people out here than ever before and they all over the place.All over the place, tryin’ to make a dollar,and that, you know? This is like everybody is down on their luck, man, just about, you know?

百科

◆ Social Security 社會(huì)保障機(jī)制：這是美國政府根據(jù)1935年的《社會(huì)保障法》建立的一項(xiàng)全國性制度。據(jù)此制度，政府每月要向因退休、失業(yè)、傷殘等原因而無工資收入的人提供社會(huì)保障金，向老人及殘障者提供醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)。退休老人每月得到的社會(huì)保障金相當(dāng)于我國的社保養(yǎng)老金，金額大小與退休前繳納的社保金金額和繳納時(shí)間的長短有關(guān)。在美國人的生活中，這種養(yǎng)老金通常就叫Social Security或Social Security Bene fi ts。

1) canning [?k?n??] v. & n. <口> 拾罐子

2) veteran [?vet?r?n] n. <美>退役軍人

3) dependent [d??pend（?）nt] adj. 依賴的，依靠的

4) odd job 零工，零活兒

5) Lotto 樂透彩票，美國一種合法的賭博形式，頭獎(jiǎng)可贏得巨額獎(jiǎng)金。

6) bachelor of science 理學(xué)士

7) prestigious [pre?st?d??s] adj. 有威信的，有名望的

注：猶太教相信猶太民族與上帝有個(gè)約定，他們是一個(gè)特別的民族，是上帝選民。

參考譯文沃爾特：我是一名60歲的越戰(zhàn)老兵。我撿罐子已經(jīng)有八年、十年了。這是一份全天的工作，因?yàn)槿绻悴蝗旃ぷ?，你就換不到足夠的錢。好了，這里有5、10、15、20、25、30、45、50、55美分。太好了！

這里有很多人完全靠在街上撿罐子過活，他們晝夜都在街上，靠撿罐子維持生計(jì)。曾幾何時(shí)，你總能在城里找到一份零工，不會(huì)去想撿罐子之類的事。你知道嗎，現(xiàn)在這里總會(huì)出現(xiàn)些新面孔，他們就這樣出現(xiàn)了，我不知道他們從哪兒來的，但他們確實(shí)出現(xiàn)了。對(duì)啊，以前人人都有份工作，現(xiàn)在要找一份工作，天啊，簡直跟中彩票差不多。

蘇珊：我……我手腳很慢。剛開始干這個(gè)的時(shí)候，我希望不會(huì)有熟人看到我。

我在拿到理學(xué)士學(xué)位后就投身計(jì)算機(jī)產(chǎn)業(yè)了。我曾在微軟工作，曾在康柏電腦公司工作，我……我還曾經(jīng)贏得計(jì)算機(jī)產(chǎn)業(yè)最負(fù)盛名的獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)。IBM有一項(xiàng)頒給全國最強(qiáng)的20名銷售和市場營銷從業(yè)人員的獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，我是1990年的獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)咧?；而現(xiàn)在，我在幫助城市保潔呢。

喬（蘇珊的朋友）：蘇珊，你是怎么開始撿罐子和瓶子的？

蘇珊：我需要錢，我就開始觀察街上的人。

喬：你看上去和經(jīng)常來這里拾荒的人不一樣。

蘇珊：我們這些人雖然有社保養(yǎng)老金，但沒有足夠的錢來……維持生活，你知道嗎，我覺得這樣做就是適者生存吧。那是“古巴喬”，他是我的朋友。

喬：像你這樣優(yōu)雅的猶太女人在大街上干什么呢？

蘇珊：因?yàn)椤?/p>

喬：你可是上帝選民的一員啊，對(duì)吧？

蘇珊：我跟你說過，那不相干，這和我是不是猶太人沒關(guān)系，這和任何事情都沒關(guān)系，我只是為了生計(jì)在做必須做的事，好吧。如果社保養(yǎng)老金或其他收入給你的錢不夠……

喬：嗯。

蘇珊：……或者你沒有收入，那你就只能做這個(gè)了。喬：我并不是對(duì)有錢人心懷不滿，我反對(duì)的是不公平——貪婪與不公的現(xiàn)象，我反對(duì)的是這個(gè)。這里的拾荒客比以前多了很多，到處都看得到他們，到處都有，他們都是在討生活而已，你知道吧。似乎所有人都時(shí)運(yùn)不濟(jì)，天啊，可以這么說吧，你知道嗎？