Breath_Air | Reading Notes (1)

我觉得作者Paul是是个天才，他大学读的是English and biology major，研究生是English literature，但是毕业转型做physician，博士后读的是神经科学，还获得了美国神经手术学会的最高奖项。

但是很可惜。Bill Gates给的两句评语是：

What a talent. What a loss.

Paul在他壮年去世，正值36岁，刚完成艰苦的医学手术培训，小女儿也即将出生，却在查出癌症的两年后死去。

命运不公么？不知道。可能是纯粹的概率问题。

在他的书评里还有句话也有意思：

One story that will stick with every parent who reads this book involves a young patient with a brain tumor.

这里One story后面有两个从句，第一个的先行词是story，第二个的是parent.

记两个单词：

commiserating about this eternal problem

sympathize

express or feel sympathy or pity

表示同情，怜悯

my piece juxtapose to his 

place or deal with close together for contrasting effect

为形成对照效果而并列摆放

看一些句子：

I recall the sun filtering through the magnolia tree outside my office and lighting this scene: Paul seated before me, his beautiful hands exceedingly still, his prophet's beard full, those dark eyes taking the measure of me.

这是对主人公的回忆描写。

美丽而修长的手，乌黑的眼珠在打量着我

And yet now time was the very thing he had so little of.

然而此刻时间已经是如此稀薄的事物。

very作副词，表示强调

It was not just that I disappeared into my own world of deadlines and responsibilities but also my strong sense that the burden was on me to be respectful of his time.

这不仅是我埋身于自己世界里的无尽的期限和责任

我觉得disappear这个词表达出作者的部分无奈

world of deadlines and responsibilities 这个搭配很好

Out of his pen he was spining gold.

倒装句。

He was spining gold out of his pen.

他在用笔尖绕出流金。

就是在赞叹他写出来的都是好东西啊！

He took form in the shape of his lovely wife and baby daughter, his grieving parents and siblings, in the faces of the legions of friends, colleagues, and former patients who filled that space.

我觉得这样的意思，用中文翻译出来都是不怎么贴切的。

in the shape of 和 in the faves of 也特别对称，但中文里很难找到对应的词汇

In a world of asynchronous communication, where we are so often buried in our screens, our gaze rooted to the rectangular objects buzzing in our hands, our attention consumed by ephemera, stop and experience this dialogue with my young departed colleague, now ageless and extant in memory.

我们埋头于屏幕之间，眼睛长在了这些方方正正的东西上面

我并不觉得这是坏事，至少这本书和文章我就是在这样的条件下写的和读的。哈哈

中文图书中常印的一句话：

如有雷同，纯属巧合。

Any resemblance to persons living or dead resulting from changes to names or identifying details is entirely coincidental and unintentional.