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Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.
大赦國際動員成千上萬沒有因為個人信仰而受到折磨或監(jiān)禁的人，去為那些遭受這種不幸的人奔走。人類的同情心引發(fā)了集體行動，拯救生命，使那些被關(guān)押的人們得以釋放。個人的福祉和安全有保證的普通百姓聚集在一起，攜手挽救那些與他們素不相識，也許永遠不會見面的人。我的參與雖然微不足道，但那卻是我一生中最振奮人心的一次經(jīng)歷。
Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places.
與這個星球上任何其他的動物不同，人類可以學習和理解未曾經(jīng)歷過的事情。他們可能會換位思考，能夠設身處地地去體會他人的感受。
Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.
當然，這種能力就像我在小說里虛構(gòu)的魔法一樣，沒有邪惡之分。有人可能會利用這種能力去操控或者控制別人，也有人選擇用它去了解和同情他人。
And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.
而很多人不愿去運用他們的想象力。他們選擇舒適地生活在自己經(jīng)驗所及的范圍內(nèi)，從來不愿費心去想想如果生活在別處會怎樣。他們會拒絕去聽別人的尖叫，不愿看一眼囚禁的籠子；對于與自身無關(guān)的苦難，他們會封閉自己的內(nèi)心；他們會拒絕了解這一切。
