An astronaut's story of curiosity, perspective and change | Leland Melvin

翻译人员: Eng Hao Soo 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

[This talk contains mature content]

（本演讲含成人内容）

In 1969, I was standing behind

1969年，我站在一台

a Sylvania black-and-white television set.

欧司朗的黑白电视机后面。

Hearing about these things happening on the set in the front,

听着前面电视机里发生的事情，

I was the guy, you know,

我就是那个负责帮我家人

moving the rabbit ears for my dad, and my sister and my mom.

调弄电视机天线的人。

"Move over here, turn over here, move this way, we can't see the screen."

“往这边挪，转过来，朝这边儿， 我们看不到画面了。”

And what they were watching

而那个时候他们在看的是：

was: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

“我的一小步，是人类的一大步。”

Neil [Armstrong] and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the Moon.

尼尔（阿姆斯特朗）和 巴兹·奥尔德林正在月球上行走。

And I was five years old in Lynchburg, Virginia,

我那时五岁，是个瘦巴巴的黑人小孩， 住在弗吉尼亚州的林奇堡，

a skinny black kid in a kind of somewhat racist town.

那里的人多少都有些种族歧视。

And I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

我那时还在思索 我长大了应该做什么。

And my parents, you know, they were educators,

而我身为教育家的父母

they'd said that you can do anything.

会说，你可以做任何事。

But after that moon landing, all the kids in the neighborhood

但自从那次登陆月球之后， 邻里的所有小孩

were like, "You're going to be an astronaut?"

都会问：“你将来要当太空人吗？”

而我只会答：“不。”

I'm like, "No."

I don't want a buzz cut, and I don't see someone who looks like me.

我不想剪平头，也没有看见 和我同样肤色的人，

因为外表确实很重要。

Because representation does matter.

And I knew that there was a guy

那个时候我也知道有一个人

five blocks down the street on Pierce Street

住在离我家五个街区的皮尔斯街，

who was training to play tennis.

正接受网球训练。

And it was Arthur Ashe.

他就是亚瑟·阿什，

And my dad talked about his character, his discipline,

我爸爸时常说起他的性格、他的自律、

his intelligence, his athleticism.

他的智慧、他的运动精神。

I wanted to be Arthur Ashe,

我那时想要成为亚瑟·阿什，

I didn't want to be one of those moon guys.

而不是那些在月球上漫步的家伙。

And as I went on through this journey,

而在我的人生旅途中，

my dad, who was a school teacher, he played in a band,

我爸爸，他是学校教师，还是个乐手，

he did all these things to make money for my sister and I

他什么都做，只为了 赚钱让家里孩子可以

to take piano lessons

上钢琴课

and do these different things with education.

和接受各个方面的教育。

And he one day decides to drive up into the driveway with this bread truck.

有一天，他突然将一辆 送面包的车开上我们的车道。

And I'm thinking, "OK, bread truck,

我心想：“哦，面包车，

me delivering bread while my dad's driving the truck."

我送面包，我爸爸开车。”

I'm like, "OK, I'm going to be a bread guy now."

我当下以为：“我要成为 一个送面包的小伙子了。”

But he says, "This is our camper."

但我爸爸说：“这是我们的露营车。”

I'm like, "Dude, come one, I can read: 'Merita Bread and Rolls'

我说：“爸，别闹了， 我可是识字的，车上明明写着

on the side of this truck.

‘玛丽塔面包和卷饼。’ ”

And he says, "No, we're going to build this into our camper."

他又说：“不，我们要把它 改造成我们的露营车。”

And over that summer, we rewired the entire electrical system.

于是那年夏天，我们把 整个电气系统都重新做了布线。

We plumbed a propane tank to a Coleman stove,

我们把一个丙烷罐 改装成了一个赫尔曼炉，

we built bunk beds that flip down.

打造了可以翻下来的床铺。

We were turning this into our summer vacation launch pad, escape pod,

我们把它改造成了暑假用的 发射台，逃生舱，

this thing that could take us out of Lynchburg.

它能带我们离开林奇堡。

And before that,

在那之前，

I was actually raped at five by some neighbors.

我其实在五岁时被一些邻居强暴了，

And I didn't tell anyone,

而我没告诉任何人，

because I had friends that didn't have fathers.

因为我有些朋友没有爸爸，

And I knew that my father

而我知道我爸爸要是知道了

would have killed the people that did that to his son.

就一定会杀了 对他儿子做这种事的人。

And I didn't want my father to be gone.

我不希望我也没有了爸爸。

So as we got in this bread truck and escaped from Lynchburg,

所以，当我们进入 这台面包车，逃离林奇堡，

it was my time with my dad.

那是属于我和我爸的时光。

And we went to the Smoky Mountains

我们去了大烟山，

and looked at the purple mountains' majesty.

观赏紫色山岳的雄伟。

And we walked along the beach in Myrtle Beach,

我们在默特尔比奇的海滩散步，

and this thing was transformative.

而这些给我带来了转变。

It showed me what it meant to be an explorer, at a very early age.

它让我在很小的年纪 就见识到作为探险家的意义。

And I suppressed all that negativity,

我压抑了所有的负面情绪，

all that trauma,

所有的创伤，

只因为我正学习着 如何成为一个探险家。

because I was learning to be an explorer.

And a little bit later, my mother gave me an age-inappropriate,

不久后，我妈给了我 一个不符合我年龄，并且没经过

non-OSHA-certified chemistry set,

OSHA (美国职业安全与卫生管理局) 认证的化学实验工具箱。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

where I created the most incredible explosion in her living room.

也正因为如此，我在她的客厅 创造了最惊人的爆炸。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so I knew I could be a chemist.

所以，我知道我可以成为化学家。

So as I went on this journey through a high school,

当我继续读完了高中，

and I went to college,

上了大学，

and I got a football scholarship to play football in college.

我拿到了大学的橄榄球奖学金，

And I knew that I could be a chemist, because I'd already blown stuff up.

并且相信自己能成为一个化学家， 因为我已经造成过爆炸了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And when I graduated,

我毕业后，

I got drafted to the Detroit Lions.

被底特律雄狮选召入队。

But I pulled a hamstring in training camp,

但我在训练营拉伤了大腿后腱，

and so what every former NFL player does, they go work for NASA, right?

通常前NFL（国家橄榄球联盟）球员退休后， 都会去NASA（美国太空总署）工作对吧？

所以我也去那里工作了。

So I went to work for NASA.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And this friend of mine said, "Leland, you'd be great astronaut."

那时我一个朋友就说：“里兰，我觉得 你可以成为一个出色的太空人。”

I just laughed at him, I was like, "Yeah, me, an astronaut?"

我只是嘲笑他异想天开，说： “你确定？我？太空人？”

还记得69年尼尔和 巴兹（登月）的事吗？

You know that Neil and Buzz thing from back in '69?

And he handed me an application, and I looked at it,

他递给我一个申请表格，我看了一下，

可是却没去填写。

and I didn't fill it out.

And that same year, another friend of mine filled out the application

同一年，我的另一个朋友 填写了那份申请表格，

and he got in.

然后入选了。

And I said to myself,

于是我不禁心想：

"If NASA's letting knuckleheads like that be astronauts,"

“如果美国太空总署都能让 那种蠢货做太空人的话，”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

“那也许我真的也能成为一个太空人。”

"maybe I can be one, too."

So the next selection, I filled out the application, and I got in.

所以在下一次选拔时， 我填了申请表，然后入选了。

And I didn't know what it meant to be an astronaut:

我当时不知道当太空人意味着什么：

the training, the simulations,

无穷无尽的训练、模拟，

all these things to get you ready for this countdown:

一切只为了让你在 倒数升空时做好充分的准备：

three, two, one, liftoff.

三，二，一，发射。

And in 2007, I was in Space Shuttle "Atlantis," careening off the planet,

2007年，我在亚特兰蒂斯号 航天飞机上，以极高的速度离开地球，

traveling at 17,500 miles per hour.

时速两万八千多公里。

And eight and a half minutes later,

而八分钟半之后，

the main engines cut off, and we're now floating in space.

主引擎熄火，我们开始在外太空漂浮。

And I push off and float over to the window,

我把自己推向窗户，

and I can see the Caribbean.

从那里看见了加勒比海。

And I need new definitions of blue to describe the colors that I see.

我需要重新定义蓝色， 方能形容我眼前的颜色。

Azure, indigo, navy blue, medium navy blue, turquoise

天蓝色、靛蓝色、深蓝色、 中深蓝色、蓝绿色

don't do any justice to what I see with my eyes.

都无法形容我双眼所看到的景象。

And my job on this mission was to install

我在这次任务中的工作，是安装

this two-billion dollar Columbus laboratory.

价值二十亿美金的哥伦布号实验舱。

It was a research laboratory

它是一间研究实验室，

for materials research, for human research.

供材料研究和人类研究所用。

And I reached into the payload bay of the space shuttle,

我把手伸进太空船的酬载舱内

grabbed out this big module,

取出大型模组，

and I used the robotic arm and I attached it to the space station.

然后我使用机械手臂 将它安装到太空站上。

And the European team have been waiting 10 years for this thing to get installed,

为了这一刻，欧洲的团队等待了十年，

so I'm sure everyone in Europe was like, "Leland! Leland! Leland!"

所以我深信欧洲的每个人 都在欢呼：“里兰！里兰！里兰！”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so this moment happened, this was our primary mission objective,

于是这一时刻发生了， 这就是我们的主要任务目的，

it was done.

大功告成。

And I had this big sigh of relief.

我大大松了一口气。

But then, Peggy Whitson, the first female commander,

但是接着呢，第一位 女性指挥官，佩吉·惠特森，

she invited us over to the Russian segment.

她邀请我们到俄国区。

And the space station's about the size of a football field,

太空站的大小大约有 一个足球场那么大，

with solar panel and trusses and all of these modules.

那里有太阳能板、 桁架和各种各样的模组。

And she says, "Leland, you go get the rehydrated vegetables,

她说：“里兰，你去拿一下再水化蔬菜，

we have the meat."

我们这里有肉。”

So we float over with the bag of vegetables, all rehydrated,

于是，我们带着一袋 再水化蔬菜，一路飘着

and we get there.

到了那里。

And there's this moment

就在这个时刻，

where I get [transported] back to my mother's kitchen.

我仿佛被传送回到我妈妈的厨房。

You can smell the beef and barley heating up,

你能闻到烹饪牛肉和大麦的味道，

you can smell the food, the colors,

能闻到那食物，想像出那颜色，

and there are people there from all around the world.

你还看到了来自世界各地的人们。

It's like a Benetton commercial,

就像一个班尼顿广告，

you know, you have African American, Asian American, French, German, Russian,

有非裔美国人、亚裔美国人、 法国人、德国人、俄国人，

the first female commander,

国际太空站第一位女指挥官，

breaking bread at 17,500 miles per hour,

在时速两万八千多公里的 舱里和我们共餐，

going around the planet every 90 minutes,

每九十分钟我们环绕地球一圈，

seeing a sunrise and a sunset every 45.

每45分钟就能分别 看到一次日出和日落。

And Peggy would say, "Hey, Leland, try some of this,"

佩吉这时就会说： “嘿，里兰，试试这个。”

她就在零重力的环境下 给我抛来了食物，

and she'd float it over to my mouth,

and I'd catch it and we'd go back and forth.

我会用嘴将漂来的食物 接住，然后彼此“礼尚往来”。

And we're doing all of this while listening to Sade's "Smooth Operator."

就这样来来往往， 背景放着莎黛的《调情圣手》。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I mean, this is like blowing my mind, you know.

这感觉真的很让人难以置信。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I float over to the window, and I look down at the planet,

然后我漂向窗户，俯瞰地球，

and I see all of humanity.

看着全世界的人类。

And my perspective changes at that moment,

在那一刻，我的观点改变了，

because, I'm flying over Lynchburg, Virginia, my home town,

我正飞过我的家乡， 弗吉尼亚州的林奇堡，

and my family's probably breaking bread.

我的家人说不定也正在吃饭。

And five minutes later, we're flying over Paris,

五分钟后，我们飞过巴黎，

where Leo Eyharts is looking down at his parents,

轮到里欧·艾哈特斯 往下看着自己的父母，

probably having some wine and cheese,

他们也许在喝葡萄酒配奶酪，

and Yuri's looking off to Moscow,

然后轮到尤里看着莫斯科，

and they're probably eating borscht or something else.

那里的人也许就在吃 “罗宋汤”或者其他东西。

可是我们各自都拥有这样一个 从远处观看各自家人的时刻，

But we're all having this moment where we see our respective families

working together as one civilization,

大家秉承着同一个文明，

at 17,500 miles per hour.

以两万八千公里的时速团结协作。

My perspective shifted cognitively,

我的认知改变了，

it changed me.

这也改变了我。

And when I think about being that little skinny boy,

当我回想起当年那个瘦小的男孩时，

from sometimes racist Lynchburg, Virginia,

来自时不时会有种族歧视的 弗吉尼亚州的林奇堡小镇，

I would never have had that perspective

我绝对不会改变我那时抱持的观点，

to think about myself of being an astronaut,

觉得自己能当上太空人。

if my father hadn't taken us on a journey

要不是当年我爸 带我们踏上探险的旅程，

in this radical craft that we built with our own two hands.

搭着当年靠自己的双手 彻底翻新的露营车。

When I came home,

回来后，

I realized that perspective is something

我了解到，观点这种东西

that we all get and we all have.

是我们每个人都拥有的。

It's just how far do we open up our blinders

差别只在于我们是否愿意把眼罩掀开，

to see that shift and that change.

以发现各式各样的转换和改变。

And going back to the space station,

而回到那个太空船，

I think of, you know, Germans and Russians fighting Americans.

我想到，德国和俄国正与美国对抗，

We have these people living and working together.

可是我们这里有他们的人民 一起生活和工作着。

White folks, black folks, Russian folks, French folks, you know.

白人、黑人、俄国人、法国人等等。

All these different people coexisting in harmony as one race.

这些不同国家的人能够 情同手足地和谐共处。

And I think about the colors that I saw, the design of the modules,

我想到我所见的颜色， 以及不同模组的设计，

the way that things fit together,

一切都那么协调，

the way that it made us a community, our home.

也让我们成为了一个社区， 一个属于我们的家园。

And so when I look up to space now,

现在，当我抬头望向天空，

and I have this newfound perspective

我会对头上飞过的太空站

on the space station going overhead and looking there,

抱持着全新的观点。 而我看着那里，

and then looking back at my community

再看向我所在的社区，

and seeing the people that I'm living and working with,

看到和我一起生活和工作，

and coexisting with,

和平共处的人们，

I think it's something that we all can do now, especially in these times,

我想这是我们所有人现在所能 做到的，尤其在这个时代，

to make sure that we have the right perspective.

以确保我们拥有 正确的态度来看待彼此。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Chee Pearlman: If you don't mind, could I just chat with you for a minute,

切·佩尔曼：如果你不介意， 我能不能和你聊一下，

因为他们还得在台上做些布置，

because they're going to set up some things here.

而我也有这个机会和你交流，好吗？

And I get to have you all to myself, OK.

Leland Melvin: Alright.

里兰·马尔文：好的。

CP: You guys don't get to hear this.

切：你们可没法听到这些。

So I have to tell you

我得告诉你，

that in my family, we watch a lot of space movies

在我家，我们会看很多太空电影，

about astronauts and stuff like that.

有关太空人这类的。

I can't tell you why, but we do.

我也不知道为什么，但就是如此。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The thing that I wanted to ask you, though,

不过，我想问你的是，

is that we were seeing this movie the other day,

有一次，我们在看其中一部电影，

and it was about one of the astronauts, one of your colleagues,

讲的是一位太空人，你的一位同事，

and before he went up into space,

就在他出发上太空之前，

they actually wrote an obituary, NASA wrote an obituary for him.

美国太空总署给他写了一片讣文。

And I was like, is that normal?

我心想，这是正常的吗？

And is that part of the job?

是不是工作的一部分？

Do you think about that peril that you're putting yourself in

你们会去思考身处外太空时，

as you go into space?

是处在什么样的危险之中吗？

LM: Yeah.

里兰：好。

So, I don't remember anyone writing my obituary,

我不记得是否有人给我写讣文，

也许是阿波罗时期的事。

maybe that was an Apollo-day thing.

But I do know that in the 135 shuttle flights that we've had,

但我确实知道，在我们 进行过的135趟太空飞行中，

the shuttle that I flew on,

我搭乘过的航天飞机

we had two accidents that killed everyone on that mission.

曾发生过两次意外，导致 执行该任务的所有人的不幸殉职。

And we all know the perils and the risks that go along with this,

我们都很清楚这份工作的危险和风险，

but we're doing something that's much bigger than ourselves,

但是我们做的事情， 其意义远远超过我们本身，

and helping advance civilization,

它会协助人类文明的进步，

so the risk is worth the reward.

所以冒这样的险是值得的。

And we all feel that way when we get into that vehicle

而当我们进入航天飞机， 系上安全带，与几百万吨的火箭燃料

ans strap into those million pounds of rocket fuel and go up to space.

一同飞上外太空，自始至终 我们都抱持着这样的想法。

CP: Yeah, I've only seen the Hollywood version --

切：是啊，我只看过好莱坞的版本——

it looks pretty terrifying, I have to tell you.

我得说，看起来是挺吓人的。

LM: You should go.

里兰：你应该去试试。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

CP: Yeah, my husband's told me that a few times.

切：是啊，我老公也这么说过几次。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

LM: One-way trip or two-way?

里兰：单程吗？还是来回？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

CP: That’s a bit of a debate in our house.

切：我们家内部倒是争论过几次。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I wanted to, if I may ...

如果可以的话，我想——

You did touch on something that was very powerful and difficult,

你刚刚提到了一个非常强大 而且难以启齿的话题，

which is, you spoke about this incident

那就是，你谈到了你五岁时

that had happened to you when you were five years old,

遭遇过的不幸，

你说你被强暴了。

and that you were raped.

And I just think that for you to be able to say those things,

我只是在想，你能够 把这些事情说出来，

you know, on the TED stage,

而且是在TED的讲台上，

to be able to talk about that at all,

能够开诚布公地谈论这件事

is pretty fearless.

是相当勇敢的。

And I wanted to get a sense from you,

而我想要听听你的感受，

is that something that you think is important for you to share that now,

你是否觉得你现在分享这件事，

to speak about it?

谈论这件事很重要？

LM: It's so important, especially for men, to talk about things that have happened,

里兰：非常重要，特别是对于男性， 要勇于谈论以前发生过的事，

because we've been trained

只因为我们以前都被社会

and told by our society that we have to be so tough and so hard

塑造成一个必须要坚韧的强悍形象，

and we can't tell of things that are happening to us.

以至于我们无法说出 发生在自己身上的事情。

But I've had so many men contact me and tell me that,

可是有很多男性联系了我，并告诉我：

"You came through that, you got over that,

“你经历过了这些事，挺过去了，

而我现在也要克服我的酗酒问题。”

I'm going to get over my alcoholism,"

这些因为他们的遭遇

and these things that are going on in them,

because of what happened to them.

而产生的内在挣扎。

And so we must share these stories, this is part of storytelling,

所以我们必须把这些事情 分享出来，这是说故事的一部分，

to heal us and to make us whole as a community.

来帮助我们治愈，帮助我们大家 制造一个完整的社会。

CP: That's wonderful.

切：说得太棒了。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And you know, quite honestly, you spoke about perspective shift,

还有，老实说， 你谈到了观点上的改变，

and that is a shift that I think we've been very slow to accept

而我认为，我们花了 很多时间才能慢慢地接受它，

and to be able to speak about that, so we thank you for that.

能够去谈论这类事， 所以我们想对你表达感谢。

We thank you for being the amazing astronaut that you are,

谢谢你，作为一个那么出色的太空人，

and thank you for coming to the TED stage, Leland.

也感谢你来到TED的讲台上，里兰。

LM: Thank you so much, Chee.

里兰：非常感谢，切。

(Applause)

（掌声）