71 Losing It The Meaning of Loss

CHAPTER 1 Lost (and Found) WHAT DOES IT MEAN "TO BE LOST"? Every year people lose things on public transportation in London—the city's buses, taxis, and subways. But 2011 was especially bad. Transport for London, which runs London's public transportation system, collected over 207,000 lost things that year. It was a new record. Most of the lost things Transport for London collects are never claimed by their owners. Only about one third of the things find their owners again. The rest are given away, sold, or recycled. And some of them go to an art gallery.

第一章失物（寻获）“丢失”是什么意思？ 每年人们都会在伦敦的公共交通工具上丢东西——城市的公共汽车、出租车和地铁。 但2011年尤其糟糕。 负责管理伦敦公共交通系统的伦敦交通局在那一年收集了超过20.7万件丢失的东西。 这是一项新纪录。伦敦交通局收集的大多数失物从未被失主认领。 只有大约三分之一的东西能找到它们的主人。 其余的被送人、出售或回收。 他们中的一些人去艺术画廊。

In 2011, Transport for London searched through their collection of lost things. They were looking for art. They found paintings, drawings, photos, and other pieces. They took about 60 interesting pieces of art and put on an art show. The show was called "The Lost Collection." None of the pieces had a signature. Think about an art show of lost art. What is each piece about? Who were the artists? How did they feel about the work? How did they feel about losing their art? Is the work even finished? The Lost Collection invited people to think about these questions. The word "lost" has many meanings. You can lose a piece of art, but you can also lose your mind. To lose your mind means "to go crazy." Both art and minds can be lost on a subway, but only one can be collected and taken to a "lost and found" office! Is losing always a bad thing? People are usually happy when they lose weight. You can even lose yourself in a book, meaning you enjoy it very much. Of course, you can also get lost in real life. That means you no longer know where you are or which way to go, which may not be so pleasant.

2011年，伦敦交通局对他们收集的失物进行了搜索。 他们在寻找艺术。 他们发现了油画、素描、照片和其他作品。 他们拿了大约60件有趣的艺术品，举办了一场艺术展。 这场展览被称为“遗失的收藏”。 这些作品都没有签名。 想象一场关于丢失艺术品的艺术展。 每一件作品都是关于什么的？艺术家是谁？ 他们对这份工作感觉如何？ 他们对失去艺术品有何感想？ 工作完成了吗？ 《失落的收藏》邀请人们思考这些问题。 “lost”这个词有很多意思。 你可能会失去一件艺术品，但你也可能会失去理智。 To lose your mind的意思是“发疯”。 艺术和思想都可能在地铁上丢失，但只有一个可以被收集并带到失物招领处！失败总是一件坏事吗？ 人们减肥的时候通常都很开心。 你甚至可以让自己沉浸在书中，这意味着你非常喜欢它。 当然，你也可能在现实生活中迷路。 这意味着你不再知道你在哪里，也不知道该走哪条路，这可能不是那么令人愉快。

CHAPTER 2 The Biggest Loser SOMETIMES IT'S THE LOSERS WHO END UP WINNING. On April 11, 2001, the small Pacific island nation of American Samoa met Australia in a FIFA soccer match. FIFA is the organization that runs soccer's World Cup. Nobody expected the game would be close. Because of passport problems, most of American Samoa's team was not there. From the original 20-player group, only the goalkeeper had made it. The rest of the team was filled with new players. Some were only 15 years old, and most had never played a full 90-minute competitive game before. American Samoa lost 31 to 0. It was the biggest loss in FIFA history. What did the American Samoa team do after losing so badly? They sang. They put their arms around each other and sang to the crowd.

第2章最大的输家有时候，输家最终会成为赢家。 2001年4月11日，太平洋小岛国美属萨摩亚与澳大利亚在一场国际足联足球比赛中相遇。 国际足联是管理世界杯足球赛的组织。 没有人预料到这场比赛会势均力敌。 由于护照问题，美属萨摩亚的大部分队员都没有到场。 在最初的20名球员中，只有守门员入选。 球队的其他队员都是新队员。 有些人只有15岁，大多数人之前从未打过一场90分钟的正式比赛。 美属萨摩亚以31比0落败。 这是国际足联历史上最大的损失。 美属萨摩亚队在输得这么惨之后做了什么？ 他们唱的。他们手挽着手，对着人群唱歌。

David Smith, the Samoans' Australian representative, said later, "They are fantastic singers. If it was a singing competition, everyone else would have given up by now. Great people, great voices, but they just can't play." Losing is a part of sports. In almost all competitions, there must be a loser. Most of the time, the loser leaves the field quickly while the winner stays and celebrates. But sometimes, as with American Samoa's wonderful singers, the loser is the important story. One of the most famous losses of all time didn't take place in the world of sports but in the world of war. In 480 BCE, Greece was at war with Persia. King Xerxes I of Persia set out with a very large army to control all of Greece. Historians from the time said the Persian army had over one million soldiers, but modern writers say the number was probably lower— between 100,000 and 360,000.

萨摩亚队的澳大利亚代表大卫·史密斯后来说：“他们是很棒的歌手。 如果这是一场歌唱比赛，其他人早就放弃了。 很棒的人，很棒的声音，但他们就是弹不了。” 失败是运动的一部分。 几乎所有的比赛都有输家。 大多数情况下，失败者会迅速离开赛场，而胜利者会留下来庆祝。 但有时，就像美属萨摩亚的优秀歌手一样，失败者才是重要的故事。 有史以来最著名的失败之一并不是发生在体育界，而是发生在战争世界。 公元前480年，希腊与波斯交战。 波斯国王薛西斯一世率领一支庞大的军队开始控制整个希腊。 当时的历史学家称波斯军队有100多万士兵，但现代作家认为这个数字可能更低，在10万到36万之间。

Xerxes led the Persian army to Thermopylae. Thermopylae was a narrow path in central Greece. Only a few people could travel on the path at one time. On one side of the path was the sea and on the other side were tall mountains. To meet them at Thermopylae, King Leonidas of Sparta took an army of only about seven thousand soldiers. The Persian army had far more soldiers than the Spartan army. The Persian army was like a large, traveling city! When Xerxes sent someone to speak with King Leonidas, he offered them friendship and better lands if they allowed the Persian army to pass. If not, however, he promised his army would shoot so many arrows, the Spartans would not be able to see the sun. Leonidas did not agree to let the Persians through, and the fighting began.

薛西斯率领波斯军队攻打塞莫皮雷。 塞莫皮雷是希腊中部一条狭窄的小路。 一次只有几个人能走这条路。 路的一边是大海，另一边是高山。 为了在塞莫皮雷迎战他们，斯巴达国王列奥尼达率领的军队只有大约七千人。 波斯军队的士兵比斯巴达军队多得多。 波斯军队就像一个庞大的旅行城市！薛西斯派人去和列奥尼达国王谈话，他说如果他们允许波斯军队通过，他将给予他们友谊和更好的土地。 然而，如果他不这样做，他承诺他的军队将射出如此多的箭，斯巴达人将看不到太阳。 列奥尼达不同意让波斯人通过，战斗开始了。

The Spartans stopped the Persian army for seven days. On the seventh day, the Persian army found a secret way over the mountains and around the Spartans. When Leonidas learned the Persians had gone around them, he sent most of his small army away. He stayed, along with just a few hundred soldiers. They fought while the rest of his army traveled back to Greece to fight another day. Even though the Greeks lost the battle of Thermopylae, they later won the war. Though the Persian army did control much of Greece, Xerxes had to return home to stop problems in his own lands. The small army he left in Greece lost, and the war for control of the land ended.

斯巴达人阻挡了波斯军队7天。 第七天，波斯军队找到了一条翻山越岭绕过斯巴达人的秘密通道。 当列奥尼达得知波斯人已经绕过他们时，他派遣了他的大部分小军队。 他留下来了，只带了几百名士兵。 他们继续战斗，而他的其余军队则返回希腊，改日再战。 尽管希腊人输掉了塞莫皮莱战役，但他们后来赢得了战争。 虽然波斯军队确实控制了希腊的大部分地区，薛西斯不得不回到自己的家乡，以阻止自己土地上的问题。 他留在希腊的小军队失败了，争夺这片土地控制权的战争结束了。