十二月份记事

绫子(12/30/09)

1.公司减肥运动圆满结束, 全公司共减肥167磅.

2。在一个周末, 观看了一次残疾人游泳比赛. 本来我是主动要求去赛场义务服务的，结果服务名额让圣查中学的学生都占满了。于是， 我按比赛组织者的要求买了一大包薯片，纸盘，纸巾，带去捐献给比赛。来参加游泳比赛的附近给城镇的弱智残疾人，年龄从少年儿童到成年都有，男的居多。他们都穿着统一的运动服装。由家长陪同，并有专门的领队教练带领，乘坐白色专车前来比赛。车的形状和普通校车一样，只是颜色是白的，让人联想到医护车辆。我从来没有见过这么多智障者聚集在一起。我很快发现。很多中学年龄的智障者的外表都十分相似。头颅较小，五官都很相似，这使我联想到，胚胎在最后发育成熟前，大概都是一样的，只是最后几周才赋予了各自的长像。

比赛是以娱乐和健身为宗旨的。有些初学的队员，比赛时，可以穿救生服。 有些智障较严重的队员，有义务服务的女中学生专门陪同，比赛时，也需要这些女中学生在前方引导和鼓励。

总之，他们受到良好的关心和爱护，个个显得整洁愉快。想到网上刚刚看到的国内智障者被买卖，被杀害，不是摘取器官，就是为了假冒矿难索赔而被加害。心里万分感慨。什么时候国内的残疾人也能受到这样的保护呢

3.黑熊  （摄影并撰文: Tom Sears     绫子   译）

（热爱动物的同事凯伦转给我这篇文章， 很喜欢。由此想到那些在中国被用来取胆汁的熊们。特与朋友们分享。希望大家都不要用熊胆治病吧。）

Black bears typically have two cubs; rarely, one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear Sow gave birth to five healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as  4 cubs, but five was,  and is, very extraordinary.. I learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set myself a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom – no matter how much time and effort was involved. I knew the trail they followed on a fairly regular basis, usually shortly before dark. After spending nearly four hours a day, seven days a week, for more than six weeks, I had that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and photographed them. I used the equivalent of a very fast film speed on my digital camera. The print is properly focused and well exposed, with all six bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait. 

通常黑熊一胎生两个仔,  生一个,三个都不常见。2007年，在新罕布什尔州北部，一只黑雄妈妈生了一窝五只健康的小熊。曾经有过两三次黑熊生四胞胎的新闻报道，而五胞胎，实为奇闻。小熊们刚出窝， 我就听说了。我决定不惜一切时间和精力去拍摄一张熊母子全家福照片。我知道它们经常在黄昏时出没的一条小路。我每天花四个小时等候，等了整整六个星期， 平生难遇的机会终于来了。我用快速胶片摄影速度，用我的数码像机拍下了它们的照片。聚焦和暴光都恰好合适。六只熊好象在摄影室摆好姿势拍全家福照。

I stayed in touch with other people who saw the bears during the summer and into the fall hunting season. All six bears continued to thrive. As time for hibernation approached, I found still more folks who had seen them, and everything remained OK.   I stayed away from the bears as I was concerned that they might become habituated to me or to people in general, and treat them as `approachable friends’.  This could easily become dangerous for both man and animal. 
夏天和秋天，我与其他看见黑熊一家的人们保持联系。六只熊生长良好。直到冬眠期来临，仍有人看见它们的踪迹。我故意避开它们， 以免它们太习惯接近人类，误认为我们是“可接近的朋友”，这对人和熊都是很危险的。 
After Halloween, I received no further reports and could only hope the bears survived until they hibernated. 
万圣节后，再没有听到过关于它们的报告，我只能期望它们安全过冬。
This spring, just before the snow disappeared, all six bears came out of their den and wandered all over the same familiar territory they trekked in the spring of 2007.. 
今年春天，残雪犹存时，六只熊出来了，仍在2007他们熟悉的领地游荡。
I saw them before mid-April and dreamed nightly of taking another family portrait, a highly improbable second once-in-a-lifetime photograph. 
我在四月中早些时候看见它们，还梦见有给它们拍全家福，第二次拍生平仅有的一次机会拍的照片，这个想法太不可能了。 
On 25 April 2008, I achieved my dream.  在2008年四月二十五日，我实现了我的梦想。

When something as magical as this happens between man and animal, Native Americans say, "We have walked together in the shadow of a rainbow".  And so it is with humility and great pleasure that I share these exhilarating photos with you.

当这种人与动物之间发生了这样的奇迹，印地安人说，“我们在彩虹下同行。” 因此，我心怀谦卑和莫大的幸福，与你分享这两张美妙的照片。