研究生英语阅读教程第三版课文Lesson2

研究生英语阅读教程第三版课文Lesson2Lesson2HumbledbyNature,HumeblebyCultureSusannaJones[1]Thescaleofthe11MarchJapaneseearthquakeandtsunamiisaprofoundreminderofjusthowsmallwehumanbeingsare.ButitalsocarriesamessageofhopeaboutJapan’slongstrugglewiththenaturalworld.[2]NewsreportsdescribethescenesfromnorthernJapanasbeingfromahorrorfilm.Watchingtelevisionfootageoftheeventsanddiscussingitwithfriends,Ifindthesamephrasecomestomind.Itisacliché,asitistotalkofapocalypseandnightmare,butwhensomethingisbeyondourexperience,wereachforthepointsofreferencewehave.InBritain,wheresuchvastnaturaldisasterisunknown,perhapsthisistheonlyconnectionwecanmakewhenweseewholecommunitiesrippedawaybyatsunami,helicoptershoveringoverragingfiresthatgoonformiles.WarnerBrothershaspulledscreeningsofClintEastwood'sfilmHereafterfromcinemasinJapanbecauseofits"inappropriate"tsunamiscenes.Thehorrorhasbecomerealityanditishardtocomprehendthescaleofit.[3]Noonecouldprepareforanearthquakeofthismagnitude,yetnoonewasbetterpreparedthantheJapanese.TheearthquakeandtsunamiarecrucialtounderstandingJapan'srelationshipwithnature.Throughouthistory,theJapanesehavehadtoworkthelandandseahardtosurviveandenablecommunitiestothrive.[4]Itisunforgiving,mountainouscountry.Naturebringsfrequentquakesandtyphoons.Lestyoushouldeverforgetthesmallnessofbeinghuman,theiconicMountFuji,instantlyrecognisableyetsomehowdifferentoneveryviewing,isanextinctvolcano.[5]Thisrelationshipwithnatureisnotallabouthardshipandfear,asIdiscoveredwhenIlivedinthecountryforlongperiodsduringtheEightiesandNineties.Thereiscelebration,too,temperedwithrespect.MyJapaneseteacherusedtotakeoutadifferentsetofplateseachseason,withcoloursthatmatchedtheseason'smood:disheswithbandsofredandgoldinautumn,pinkflowersinspring.Amealcontainednotonlytheflavoursofaseason,butitsveryatmosphereandthememoriesthatitevoked.Inthecities,peoplewaitforandcelebratethecherryblossomsandautumnleavesthatspringupfromtheearthasthoughtoremindusthattheconcreteandneonareamereoverlay.[6]TheJapanesehavealwayslivedwiththeknowledgethatnaturaldisastercanoccuratanymomentand,forthepastcoupleofdecades,withtheknowledgethatanearthquake,"thebigone",wasdue.Smalltremors,mostofwhichareharmless,haveprovidedfrequentreminders.Tobeteachingaclass,payingabillatthebank,fastasleepinbed,andthenbroughttoattentionbecausethegroundbeneathyouisshaking,leavesyoususpendedmomentarily.It'sastateofuncertainty,humility.Evenifyouneverexperienceonethatpullsthebuildingdownaroundyou,theearthquakeoccupiesapartofyourimagination,yourconsciousness.[7]IwaslivinginJapanin1995atthetimeoftheKobeearthquake.Morethan6,000peoplewerekilledinthequakeandsubsequentfires.Justtwomonthslater,AumShinrikyo,abizarrereligiouscultledbyShokoAsahara,leftpackagescontainingsaringasontheTokyosubway.Twelvepeoplediedfromtheeffectsofthegasandmanymorewereinjured.Itsurprisedme,overthefollowingmonthsthatthegasattackseemedtodominatethenationalmediacoverage,whereasKobe,aftertheinitialweeksofhorrifyingfootage,slippedsomewhatintothebackground.TheJapaneseattitudeofbeingstoicalinadversitybecauseshiyouganai("nothingcanbedone",or"itcan'tbehelped")perhapsgoessomewaytowardsexplainingthis.However,thesarinattackwasanew,unexpectedkindofterrorbutitwasalsosomethingthatcouldbeinvestigatedanddissected.andtherewerepeopletoblame.Therewerenamesandphotographs.EventhoughtheemergencyservicesinKobewerecriticisedforbeingunderpreparedandslowtorespondtotheearthquake,theeventitselfwasinevitable.[8]Kobewasahorrorstorythatpeopledidnotwanttokeepreliving.IntheUKwehavetheluxuryofbeingabletoconsider,forexample,theconsequencesofglobalwarmingthroughapocalypticvisionsofthefutureinfilmandtheatre,knowingthatwe'llbeallrighttodayandforthenearfuture.InJapanthecatastropheisinthepastandthepresentandwillbeinthefuture.Allpracticalconsiderationsrelatingtoearthquakes---quake-proofbuildings,emergencydrills-arehandledwithmatter-of-factefficiency,buttheevent,whenithappens,isoftenkeptatsomedistance.[9]Itwilltakegenerationsforthenorth-easterncommunitiestorecover.WhatwillbetheeffectonJapanasawhole?Ratherthanimmersingourselvesinthelanguageofhorrorfilmsandtheendoftheworld,whenthetimeisrighttotrytoglimpsethisnewterritory,wemightforthoughtreachforabookbyJapan'smostpopularcontemporarynovelist.HarukiMurakami'sslimcollectionofshortstoriesAftertheQuake,publishedinEnglishin2002,waswritteninresponseto,butnotdirectlyabout,theKobeearthquake.Fromthepainfultothesurrealtothegentlytouching,theanthologypresentsaseriesofpsychologicalaftershocks.[10]In"HoneyPie",asmallgirlhasrecurringnightmaresafterwatchingthedisasterfootageontelevisionandissoothedbystoriesfromhermother'sfriendwho,inturn,iscomfortedbyhisownstory.In"LandscapewithFlatiron",amanspendshistimecollectingdriftwoodforbonfiresonthebeach.IsthisconnectedwiththefiresthatburnedthroughKobe?Wedon'tknow,butwesensethattheearthquakeissomewhereunderneathitall.[11]Muchoftheterrorisexploredthroughdreams,asthoughrealityistoomuchtobearornotenoughtohelp.Thestoriesendwithhope.ItisinMurakami'snatureasawritertobeupbeat,buttheseareplausibleglimpsesofoptimism.[12]ThereistalkofpanicinTokyonow,butthenewsI'vehadfromfriendsthere-phonecalls,emails,Facebookupdates-paintsasombreyetcalmerpicture.Theyareworriedbutnothysterical.Atschoolsaroundthecity,classescontinueandstudentsintheirfinalyeararehavingtheirgraduationceremoniesastheacademiccalendarcomestoitsend.TheyareawareofradiationlevelsfromtheblastsattheFukushimanuclearplantandthatsofarthereisnorisktohealth.Theyaregoingabouttheirbusiness,gettingonwithit.[13]Perhapsnoteveryoneissocalm,whyshouldtheybe?Butweshouldresistthetemptationtoimaginepanickinghordesbuyingupallthefoodandfleeingthecapitalasthenextpartofourhorrornarrative.OnFriday11March,whenthequakeshookTokyo,afriendwashostingareadinggroupinherapartmentforagroupofJapanesewomen.Itwasmid-afternoonand,afterlearningthatthetrainswerenotrunning,sheofferedbeddingforthenigh