選自：American Beauty《美國麗人》

■ 這是該片結束時的一段獨白，凄厲，朦朧，包含著人生的哲理。對事物的形容簡練、深刻、意境深遠。秋天的黃葉、母親如紙般的皮膚……，短短幾句就道出無限凄涼。這樣富有文學性的獨白，用現代的語言說出來，別有一番滋味。

單詞通緝令

1. flash vi.閃現

2. second n.秒;瞬間

3. stretch vi.伸展

4. Boy Scout 美國一學生組織，宗旨是訓練未成年人的生活能力

5. piss off 惱怒

6. fill up 填補;裝滿

7. burst vi.爆裂

8. to hold onto… 堅持

9. gratitude vi.感激;感謝;感恩

Lester Burnham: I’d always heard your entire life 1)flashes in front of your eyes the 2)second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all. It 3)stretches on forever like an ocean of time. For me it was lying on my back at 4)Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars and yellow leaves from the maple trees that lined our street or my grandmother’s hands and the way her skin seemed like paper. I guess I could be pretty 5)pissed off about what happened to me, but it’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once and it’s too much. My heart 6)fills up like a balloon that’s about to 7)burst. And then I remember to relax and stop trying to 8)hold onto it. And then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but 9)gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure, but don’t worry, you will some day.

萊斯特?伯翰姆：我常聽人說人臨死前的一瞬間，他的整個一生都會閃現在眼前。首先那一瞬間根本就不是一秒一刻。那一瞬間綿延無限，象是時間的海洋。對我而言，那一瞬間就是在男孩訓練營仰臥看星星墜落;看黃葉從楓樹上飄落，灑滿街頭;或看奶奶的手，那像紙一樣的皮膚。我以為對于發生在自己身上的事會很惱怒，但這世界充滿美麗，我又怎能忿忿不休。有時候，我覺得一下子看到了全部，太多太多。整顆心鼓漲得像個氣球，隨時都會爆破。然后我記得要放松，不要過于執著。然后，它就像雨水流過我身上，我沒別的感覺，只覺得對我這愚蠢的一生中的每一刻時光充滿感激。我肯定你不會知道我在說什么，但不用擔心，有一天你會的