文/ 安迪· 威尔　译/Cathysia　绘/ 马豆子

蛋

THE EGG

文/ 安迪· 威尔译/Cathysia绘/ 马豆子

You were on your way home when You di ed. It was a car accident. Nothing part icularly remarkable, but fatal①fatal 英 ［'feɪt（ə）l］ 美 ［'fetl］ adj. 致命的；重大的；毁灭性的；命中注定的eg. This short-sighted policy led to fatal results. 这个目光短浅的政策导致了致命的后果。nonetheless. You lef t behind a wif e and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to②try one’s best to尽全力 eg. Show students the world map. And then have they try best to introduce someplaces to Leo to visit. Just like Hawaii， san francisco and so on.环游世界是每一个人的梦想。此环节不仅能让学生发挥想象力，还能对单元知识进行有效的复习。save you, but to no avail③avail 英 ［ə'veɪl］ 美 ［ə'vel］ n.效用，利益 vt.有益于；使对某人有利 vi 有益于；使对某人有利。. Your body was so utterly④utterly 英 ［'ʌtəlɪ ］ 美 ［'ʌtɚli］ adv. 完全地；绝对地；全然地；彻底地，十足地shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that's when you met me.

"What... what happened?" Y ou asked. "Where am I?" "Y ou died," I said, matter-of-factly⑤matter-of-factly adv. 实事求是地eg. They talk about their dad fondly and matter-of-factly， and have big pictures of him intheir rooms.他们会满怀深情、实事求是地谈论自己的父亲，在他们的房间里挂着他的大幅肖像。. No point in mincing⑥mincing 英 ［'mɪnsɪŋ］ 美 ［'mɪnsɪŋ］ adj. 装腔作势的；矫饰的words.

"Are you god?" You asked. "Yup," I replied. "I'm God." I said. "Walk with me."

Y ou followed along as we strode through the void. "Where are we going?" "Nowhere in particular," I said. "It's just nice to walk while we talk."

"S o what's the point, then?" Y ou asked. "When I get reborn, I'll just be a blank slate,

right? A baby. S o all my ex periences and everything I did in this lif e won't mat t er." "Not so!" I said. "Y ou hav e wit hin you all t he knowledge and experiences of all your

past lives. You just don'tremember them right now." "How many times have I been reincarnated⑦reincarnated reincarnate的过去分词reincarnate英 ［,riːɪn'kɑːneɪt］ 美 ［,riɪn'kɑrnet］vt. 使转世；使转世化身 adj. 转世化身的, then?" "Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives." I said. "This time around, you'll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD."

"Wait, what?" Y ou stammered⑧stammered stammer的过去式 英 ［'stæmə］ 美 ［'stæmɚ］ vi. 口吃；结结巴巴地说 vt. 口吃；结巴着说出 n. 口吃；结巴. "You're sending me back in time?"

"Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from." "Oh," you said, a little let down. "But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point."

"Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don't even know it's happening." "So what's the point of it all?" I looked you in the eye. "The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to m ature⑨mature英 ［mə'tʃʊə］ 美 ［mə'tʃʊr］ adj. 成熟的；充分考虑的；到期的；成年人的vi. 成熟；到期 vt. 使……成熟；使……长成；慎重做出."

"You mean mankind? You want us to mature?" "No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect."

"J ust me? What about everyone else?"“There is no one else," I said."In this universe, there's just you and me."

Y ou stared blankly at me. "But all the people on earth..." "A ll you. Different incarnations of you."

"Wait. I'm everyone!?"

"Now you're getting it," I said, with a congratulatory⑩congratulatory 美 ［kən'ɡrætʃələtɔri］ adj. 祝贺的；庆祝的slap on the back.

"I'm every human being who ever lived?" "Or who will ever live, yes."

"I'm Abraham Lincoln?"

"And you're John Wilkes Booth, too⑪appalled appall的过去式 美 ［ə'pɔl］ vt. 使胆战；使惊骇," I added. "I'm Hitler?" You said, appalled .

"And you're the m illions he killed." You fell silent. "Every tim e you victim ized someone," I said, "you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever "And you're the m illions he killed." You fell silent. "Every tim e you victim ized someone," I said, "you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you."

You thought for a long time.

"Why?" Y ou asked me. "Why do all this?" "Because someday, you will become like me. Because that's what you are. You're one of my kind. You're my child.”

"Whoa," you said, incredulous⑫incredulous 英 ［ɪn'kredjʊləs］ 美 ［ɪn'krɛdʒələs］ adj. 怀疑的；不轻信的. "You mean I'm a god?" "No. Not yet. You're a fetus⑬. You're still growing. Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born."

"So the whole universe," you said, "it's just..."

"An egg." I answered. "Now it's tim e for you to m ove on to your next life."

And I sent you on your way.

你死在回家的路上。

是车祸。没有很离奇，但依旧致命。你丢下妻子和一双子女。你死得并不痛苦。急救人员尽了最大努力，但回天乏术。你的身体四分五裂，还不如死了，相信我。这时候你看到了我。

“怎……怎么回事？”你问，“我在哪儿？”“你死了，”我直接地说，一点也不委婉。“你是上帝吗？”你问。

“是的，”我答，“我是上帝。”我说，“跟我走。”你跟着我在虚空中穿行。“我们去哪里？”“不去哪里，”我说，“我们边说边走就好。”

“那意义何在？”你问，“我转世后，我又会变成白板一块，对吧？一个婴儿。此生中我经历的一切，我做的事，都不再有意义。”“也并非如此！”我说，“所有你前世的知识和经验，都伴随着你。