Prose
今天美文看点：第一篇，爱的回忆，让人心痛。第二篇，阿里巴巴与四十大盗，童年的记忆。第三篇，珍稀动物的灭绝。
重要通知：8月8日晚上7:30，（南京著名高校）首席国家注册心理咨询师-张老师将来苏派名师爱心授课群 264883904群直播讲座，并回答群里的家长们在孩子成长和学习上存在的心理问题。
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Yellow Post-Its By Ishita Vora
佚名／Anonymous
Can you still find this day, my dear, among your possessions【possession [pə′zeʃən] n.拥有；占有；所有物；财产】?
Among the souvenirs【souvenir [′su:vəniə] n.纪念品；纪念物】 of your trips to faraway lands, the textbooks from those halcyon days when you walked the hallowed【hallowed [′hæləud] adj.神圣的】 portals of that engineering college, the cassettes whose covers were left behind after one of those bacchanalian sessions in the hostel, the photographs of those classmates whose names you can’t remember? Or is it hidden in the darkness, put out of sight along with the book you bought but never read, the gift you never quite found a use for and the letters you never finished or sent.I can still find it here, in the city, in the house, which you have never visited, in the kitchen where I have imaginary【imaginary [i′mædʒinəri] adj.想象中的；虚构的；幻想的】 conversations with you. It ishere even when I am not, for I go out now, leaving the light on and the music playing, so I can return home to the illusion【illusion [i′lu:ʒən] n.错觉；幻想；错误观念】 of company.
I am probably better off now. Without secrets to keep from my parents. Without someone to come between me and my friends, me and my pastimes, me and my work, me and my sensible, understandable, utilitarian【utilitarian [,ju:tili′tεəriən] adj.功利主义的；功利的；实利的】 life. The life that I keep trying, keep failing to bring in line with the expectations that I keep trying, keep failing to make my own. It is not that I always feel like this, sometimes I yearn for those days when tears and laughter both came easy. Those easy and quick transitions from ecstasy【ecstasy [′ekstəsi] n.狂喜；出神；入迷；(宗教的)入迷状态】 to despair. When a compliment could keep my mind occupied for hours on end and a harsh word could prick like a pin the same skin which now seems dry and insensitive. Like probably millions around the world, I look outside the window of a crowded bus, lost in my own thoughts and wonder how it could happen to me.
Was I not supposed to be different from the rest? Not for the silly schoolgirl infatuation【infatuation [in,fætju′eiʃən] n.热恋；着迷；令人醉心痴迷的事物】 with the football team captain or the fascination with the good for nothing, pot-smoking aspiring poet. Ours was a mature friendship that had blossomed into more. How could I feel a pang of envy then, when you lent a helping hand to another girl, when you spoke about someone who’s far away and about to be married, when you were so involved in the book you were reading that you did not notice that we never met all day?When we decided that it had been too long and that we should meet, I carefully started preparing a package for you. A small poem, that book you always wanted but never found, an old photograph and a bar of chocolate for us to share. What would I wear and what would we talk about? The package still remains in my drawer waiting for the phone to ring again.
It was a rainy Sunday afternoon when we sat in my tiny hostel room, discussing capitalism【capitalism [′kæpitəlizəm] n.资本主义（制度）】 and campus gossip with equal fever. When it seemed as if those conversations could last forever and we would never tire of them. When Joni Mitchell sang “California” seven times on continuous play before we thought of getting out.
Then one day suddenly we were looking for each other. You were always somewhere else, doing something else and strangely enough, so was I. Those new people I met on that trip and that junior guy who loved the same movies I do. That girl next door who took math lessons from you. My room was almost always locked and yours was no different. We seemed to have discovered a whole world outside of ourselves all of a sudden. The tragedy【tragedy [′trædʒidi] n.悲剧体裁；悲剧性事件；惨案；灾难】 was we had also lost the world we had before.
Then came the rescue mission. The loud fights in the hostel wing, the long silences and the desperate angry notes. Frustration, anxiety and even love revealing itself in the ugliest possible ways. Then indifference【indifference [in′difərəns] adj.漠不关心；冷淡；不重要】,complacency【complacency [kəm′pleisnsi] n.自满；自得；自鸣得意】 and resignation. Calm, dispassionate discussions on how we could stay friends. The decision that we should always let the other know when we would be around. That’s when I startedleaving those yellow post-its on the door. Those yellow post-its which by the time I came back would have your coordinates【coordinate [kəu′ɔ:dneit] n.同等的人（或物）】 that I never used. If we had all of them now, they would be telling this tale a lot better than I am now.
Back home, I still continue【continue [kən′tinju:] v.继续；持续；仍旧】 leaving those post-its to this day, hoping that someone will write their whereabouts【whereabout [′hwεərə,baut] n.行踪；下落；所在】on them as well.
亲爱的，在你的记忆宝库里，还能找回这一天吗？
在你从遥远的异乡带回的诸多纪念品中，记载着你跨入神圣的工学院门槛后的青春岁月；在那些大学课本当中，在那些一盒盒旧磁带当中，以及那一张张老照片当中——上面好多同学的名字你已不记得；你还记得么？而那黄色便条是否在这些旧物中呢？是不是暗藏在别处，与那本你买了但一直没看的书放在一起呢，或许与那些毫无用处的礼品和从没写完或没寄出的信放在一块儿？
我的便条仍在，就在这座城市里，在这所你从没来过的房子里。我曾在厨房里，回想与你谈话的情景。即使我不在家，它们也一直在那儿。如今，即便我上街了，也会开着房间的灯，放着音乐，这样当我回来时，就会有种错觉——家里有人在等我。
现在，我改变了很多——不再有需要瞒着父母的秘密，不再有人过问我和朋友，不再有人关心我如何打发无聊时光，不再有人愿意倾听我对工作的看法，也不再有人理解我对生活的感受，我知道现实生活就是这样。我不断地努力，试着让日子过得简单有序而又充满希望，试着寻找真正属于自己的生活。 当然，我并不总这么想。偶尔，我会特别渴望回到那些大喜大悲的日子。记得从前，我的情感可在瞬间从狂喜转至绝望。别人的几句奉承话会让我兴奋几个小时，而一句恶语能让我有如针扎般刺痛。但如今，原本敏感的我早已干涩麻木。也许跟世上数百万普通人一样，我会从拥挤的公交车上向外张望，茫茫然，不知所措。
我是不是不该与众不同？我既没像一般小女生那样迷恋校足球队长，也没有对那个一无是处、烟不离手的未来诗人念念不忘。我们之间有着足以升华的成熟友谊。可是，当你向别的女孩伸出援助之手，当你提到远方的某人快要结婚，当你只顾看书而没意识到我们已一整天没见面时，为什么我都会感到一种莫名的嫉妒？ 当我们太久没见，而你终究与我见面时，我为你精心准备了一个大礼包。一首小诗、一本你一直想要但没找到的书、一张旧照片、一块可供两人分享的巧克力。我该穿什么衣服呢？我们该谈论些什么话题呢？这个礼包至今还放在我的抽屉里，期待着电话的再次响起。
那是一个星期天下午，下着雨，在我那间狭小的宿舍里，我们充满激情地谈论资本主义，谈论校园里的八卦新闻。这些话题似乎永无止境，而我们也永远都不倦怠。，我们才想起该出去走走了。
但是，突然有一天，我们开始互相找寻。你总是在别的地方，做着别的事情，奇怪的是，我也一样。在一次旅途中我结识了一些新朋友，遇到了一个跟我喜欢一些同样电影的男生。你也结识了那个向你请教数学题的邻家女生。我的房门总是锁着，你的也一样。我们似乎突然都找到了彼此以外的另一个世界，可悲的是，以前属于我们俩之间的世界就这样被遗弃了。
于是，我们试图补救。我们常会在宿舍侧楼上大吵大闹，相互僵持好久，然后气愤而绝情地留言。沮丧、焦虑，甚至是爱，都以最丑陋的方式表现出来。继而是冷漠、自负和放弃。我们冷静而理智地商量着彼此仍继续做朋友，还决定继续告知对方自己的行踪。也就那时，我开始在门上贴那些黄色便条。当我回到家时，就会发现便条的空白处有你的新留言。如果现在我们都还保留着这些便条，它们一定会更完整地叙述我们的故事。
如今，我回家后依然会在门上贴便条，希望有人将他们的行踪写在上面。
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
阿里巴巴和四十大盗
很久很久以前，在古代波斯国住着一对兄弟。哥哥叫卡西姆，是个贪婪的有钱人。弟弟叫阿里巴巴，贫穷却善良，家中除了一间破屋，就只有三头毛驴，平日以砍柴为生。
有一天，阿里巴巴在森林里遇到一群强盗。他害怕极了，赶紧爬到树上躲了起来。“一、二、三……”他数了数，一共有四十个强盗。这群强盗来到一堆山石前，强盗首领对着山石念道：“芝麻，开门。”
刹那间，不可思议的事情发生了，大石头竟然缓缓移开了，出现了一个门。原来，这里竟然有个山洞！强盗们一个接一个地走进洞里，洞门自动关上了。
Long long ago, a young man named Ali Baba lived in Persia. He was poor and kind. His elder brother, Cassim, was very rich.
One day, Ali Baba went to the forest. He saw a troop of thieves come to a huge pile of rocks. "One, two, three…" Ali Baba counted. There were forty thieves. The captain said, "Open, Sesame." Then a cave appeared in the rocks. They went in, and the door closed behind them.
阿里巴巴简直无法相信自己的眼睛。很快，洞门又打开了，强盗们从里面走了出来。强盗首领念道：“芝麻，关门。”大石头像之前那样堵上山洞，之后强盗们沿着来路骑马离开了。
强盗走后，阿里巴巴立刻从树上爬下来。他走到那堆山石前，试着念道：“芝麻，开门。”洞门果然开了。令人吃惊的是，山洞里居然藏着成堆的金银珠宝和钱币。阿里巴巴大笑起来，“哈哈，现在我也是个有钱人了！”他立刻装了几袋金子，放到毛驴背上带回了家。
Soon the door opened again, and the thieves came out. The captain said, "Shut, Sesame." And the door closed. The thieves rode away.
Ali Baba climbed down the tree. He went to the rocks and said, "Open, Sesame." The door opened at once. Inside the cave, Ali Baba saw piles of gold and countless bags of money. He loaded many bags of gold on his donkey and went home.
回家后，阿里巴巴将这件事告诉了妻子，妻子喜出望外。阿里巴巴想了想又说：“先别顾着高兴，这件事不能让别人知道，我们得尽快挖个洞把金子埋起来。”
“没错，但是怎么也得先称一下这些金子，好知道咱们到底多富有了呀。”阿里巴巴的妻子提议道。因为家中一贫如洗，没有称量工具，阿里巴巴的妻子便去向嫂嫂借秤。
Ali Baba told his wife of his good luck. She was very happy. "Let's weigh the gold. We should know how rich we are," his wife said. They didn't have scales, so Ali Baba's wife went to borrow one from Cassim's wife.
卡西姆的妻子想：“他们这么穷，能有什么东西要称呢？”她特意在秤的底盘上滴了几滴蜂蜜。称完金子后，阿里巴巴便把秤还了回去，并没有注意到一小片金子粘在了上面。嫂嫂见到这片金子感到很诧异，就告诉了丈夫卡西姆。
卡西姆忌妒极了。他气势汹汹地跑去对阿里巴巴说：“弟弟，你必须告诉我，这些金子是从哪儿来的？”
见哥哥问起，阿里巴巴就将自己的奇遇告诉了他。卡西姆一听，坏主意就来了。“这些财宝应该归我所有。”他暗暗想道。
Cassim's wife thought, "They are so poor. What do they have to weigh?" To find out, she put some honey on the bottom of the scale. After Ali Baba returned the scale, Cassim's wife found a piece of gold stuck to the honey. Then Cassim went to Ali Baba's house and asked, "Where did you get the gold?" Ali Baba told him the story. Cassim thought, "I'll find the gold there."
第二天，卡西姆一大早就赶着一群骡子进了森林。他走到阿里巴巴所说的山石前，念了一声：“芝麻，开门。”洞门应声而开。
天啊，看到这么多金银珠宝，卡西姆激动极了。他挑挑拣拣，把所有袋子都装满财宝，准备离开。谁知到了门口,他却怎么也想不起开门的咒语了。正在这时，强盗们回来了。他们看到卡西姆后十分生气，立刻将他杀死，将尸体留在了洞中。
Early the next morning, Cassim went to the forest and found the cave. He went in and grabbed many bags of gold. But when he was ready to go, he suddenly forgot the magic words. Then the thieves returned. They were very angry. They killed Cassim and left his body in the cave.
夜幕降临，卡西姆的妻子见卡西姆还没有回来，心里非常着急。她跑去向阿里巴巴哭诉：“卡西姆大清早就到森林里去了，现在还没回来，这可怎么办啊？”阿里巴巴听后立刻赶着他的毛驴去了藏宝的山洞。看到哥哥的尸体，阿里巴巴悲痛欲绝。但他还是让自己冷静下来，用毛驴驮着尸体回了家。回家后，阿里巴巴设法安抚嫂嫂：“咱们一定要设法隐瞒这件事，不然麻烦还会找上门来。”
卡西姆家有位聪明能干的女仆叫莫吉安娜，卡西姆死后她便去做了阿里巴巴的女仆。莫吉安娜四处向人散播卡西姆病重的消息。最后，当家人宣布卡西姆的死讯时，没人对这件事产生怀疑。
When the night fell, Cassim's wife got really worried. She told Ali Baba that Cassim went to the forest and hadn't come back. Ali Baba went to the cave and found Cassim's body. He was very sad. He put the body on the donkey and went home quickly. "We must hide the truth," he told Cassim's wife.
Cassim had a clever servant, Morgiana. She wept to everyone, "My master is dying!" So when the family said Cassim was dead, no one was surprised.
几天后，强盗们再次回到山洞，发现尸体竟然不见了。他们的首领勃然大怒，“我们的秘密被发现了！一定要找到那个人并杀了他！”紧接着，他派了一个强盗进城打听最近哪户人家有人过世。这个强盗在大街上听到人们议论卡西姆的葬礼，随后他打听到阿里巴巴的家，并在门上画了个白色的记号。
Several days later, the thieves returned to the cave and found the body gone. "Somebody knows our secret. We must find and kill him," said the captain. He sent one thief to find out who recently died in the town. On the street, the thief heard people talking about Cassim's funeral. He soon found Ali Baba's house. He made a white mark on the door, and then returned to his gang.
第二天早上，莫吉安娜发现了主人家门上的记号。“这一定是强盗的诡计，我可不能让他们得逞。”于是，聪明的莫吉安娜在街上所有人家的门上都画上了同样的记号。晚上，强盗们来到城里，发现每户人家门上都有着相同的记号，根本没法儿找到阿里巴巴的家。强盗首领大怒,下令将做记号的强盗拉下去处死。
Next morning, Morgiana came out of the house. She saw the mark and thought, "It must be made by the thief." So she marked all the doors on the street in the same way. In the evening, the thief led the gang to the street. He couldn't find Ali Baba's house, since there was the same mark on every door.
很快，又有一个强盗进城来打听阿里巴巴的住所，并很快就找到了。这一次，他特意用红笔在房门的拐角处画了个记号，以为这样肯定不会被人发现。但聪明的莫吉安娜再次识破了强盗的伎俩，并同样在每户人家的房门拐角处都画上了记号。强盗们再一次被戏弄。
Another thief came into the town. He also found Ali Baba's house. He made a red mark at the corner of the door. He thought no one would notice it, but Morgiana discovered it again. She marked all the other doors in the same way. As a result, the thieves could not find Ali Baba's house.
强盗首领按捺不住了，他决定亲自到城里来。他找到阿里巴巴的家后，并没有在门上做任何记号，而是仔细地观察了房子的模样，并记在了心里。随后，他在集市里买下十九头骡子和三十八个油桶，其中一个桶里装满油，其他三十七个桶中则各藏了一个强盗。到了晚上，他用骡子驮起这些油桶，再度进城了。
Then the captain went into the town himself. When he found the house, he looked at it carefully and remembered how it looked. Then, he bought nineteen mules and thirty-eight jars. Only one jar was full of oil. There was one thief in each of the remaining jars. He put all the jars on the mules, and went into the town again in the evening.
强盗首领成功地找到了阿里巴巴家。他扮作一位商人，装出友善的样子对阿里巴巴说：“我是从另一个城市来的油商。天色已晚，带着货物找不到住处，方不方便在您家里借宿一晚呢？”善良的阿里巴巴同意了他的请求。强盗首领将油桶堆在墙边，并小声对他的同伙们说：“你们一听到我扔石头，就从桶里跳出来，把这家人全都干掉！”
The captain went to Ali Baba's house. He said, "I'm a merchant from another city. Can I stay in your place tonight?" Ali Baba kindly agreed. The captain set the jars along the wall and whispered to his gang, "When you hear me throw stones, you can come out of the jars and join me. We will kill the family!"
过了一会儿，莫吉安娜从屋子里走出来，听到桶里传出人说话的声音。天哪，原来这群强盗正在讨论怎么杀死阿里巴巴！
“我一定要想办法救出主人。”聪明的莫吉安娜立刻就想到了一个好主意。她从第一个油桶里舀出油，放在火上烧沸，再把油一一倒进其他桶里，藏在桶里的强盗都被热油烫死了。
Then, Morgiana came out of the house, and she heard men's voices from inside the jars. The thieves were talking about how to kill Ali Baba!
Morgiana took a lot of oil from the first jar, and boiled it on the fire. Then she poured the hot oil into each of the other jars. All the thieves were killed.
Shortly afterwards, the captain opened his window. He threw a stone at the jars, but nobody came out. He rushed to the yard and found all his men dead. Now he was both angry and afraid. "Now I am alone! I can't stay here any longer. I may lose my life too!" he thought. Then he climbed over the wall and ran away.
又过了一会儿，强盗首领认为时机已经成熟，就得意洋洋地打开窗子向外面扔了一块石头。强盗首领等了半天，却没听到任何动静。他跑到院子里，发现所有的手下都已经丧命了。他既生气又害怕，心想：“太可怕了！阿里巴巴难道会巫术？现在只剩下我一个人，可不能再在这里呆下去，别像他们似的丢了性命。”于是，强盗首领翻墙逃跑了。
第二天，莫吉安娜将之前发生的一切都告诉了阿里巴巴。阿里巴巴吃惊极了。他看着眼前这位美丽的女子，心中满是感激，“莫吉安娜，你救了我们的性命，帮助我们摆脱了这么大的危险，你真是个聪明又勇敢的女孩儿！”
由于古代波斯国有着一夫多妻的风俗，阿里巴巴便娶了莫吉安娜为妻。
从此，他们一起过上了富裕又幸福的生活。
The next day, Morgiana told Ali Baba what had happened. Ali Baba was very grateful to her. "You saved my life! You are such a smart and brave girl!" Since in ancient Persia, one man was allowed to have more than one wife, Ali Baba married Morgiana. They lived a happy life together.
CNN-地球只剩4只了CNN-leaving only 4 on Earth now.
CNN - Nabire, a female northern white rhino, has just died of a ruptured cyst at a Czech Republic Zoo, leaving only four known northern white rhinos on Earth.
The 31-year-old rhino's cyst was so huge, it was untreatable, a rhino curator at the Dvur Kralove zoo said in a statement.
"It is a terrible loss… Her death is a symbol of the catastrophic decline of rhinos due to senseless human greed," the zoo's director Rabas said in a statement.
The northern white rhino has been hunted to the brink of extinction for its horn, fueled by the belief in Asia that it cures various illnesses. The highly prized horn is made of keratin -- the same material that makes up human hair and fingernails.
Now the only living male, 42-year-old Sudan, lives in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, under 24-hour armed guard. His horn has been cut off to deter poachers.
The fate of the subspecies rests on Sudan’s armored shoulders, and on the two female northern white rhinos at the conservancy, Fatu and Najin, who also once lived at the Czech Republic Zoo.
“Sudan is currently old and may not be able to naturally mount and mate with a female." In addition, he has a low sperm count. Najin could conceive, but her hind legs are so weak, she may be unable to support a mounted male.
Nabire's potentially healthy ovary and other tissue has been taken to an Italian laboratory, where her eggs may be harvested for future in vitro fertilization, the zoo said.
"It is our moral obligation to try to save them. We are the only ones… who have enough of collected biological material to do so. We are aware that our chances are slim, but the hopes are still alive," said Rabas.
CNN新闻 – 一只雌性的北方白犀牛纳比尔刚刚在捷克共和国一家动物园死于囊肿破裂。从此，已知的北方白犀牛，在地球上只剩下4只了。
这只31岁的犀牛，由于囊肿太大，无法治疗。一名克拉罗夫动物园的犀牛管理员发表声明说。
“这是巨大的损失…… 她的死，就是犀牛因人类愚昧贪婪而灾难性锐减的象征，”动物园园长拉巴斯发表声明称。
北方白犀牛，因其犀牛角，而被猎捕至濒临灭绝 – 亚洲人认为犀牛角能治多种疾病，起到了推波助澜的作用。昂贵的犀牛角的成分是角蛋白 – 就是构成人类头发和指甲的材料。
现在，唯一在世的雄性，42岁的苏丹，生活在肯尼亚的佩捷塔保护区里，受到一天24小时的武装护卫。为了打消偷猎者的念头，它的犀牛角已被锯掉。
北方白犀牛亚种群的命运，就落在了苏丹“穿着铠甲的”肩膀上了，还有佩捷塔保护区里的两只雌性北方犀牛 – 法图和纳金了。她们也曾在捷克共和国动物园居住过。
“苏丹目前已经老了，也许已无能力骑上雌犀牛并与之自然交配了。”另外，它的精子数量低。纳金还可以受孕，但它的后腿太弱了，可能无力支撑雄犀牛骑在她身上了。
纳比尔的卵巢和其它组织，可能健康无疾，已被带到意大利某实验室，以提取卵子，供将来试管授精之用，该动物园表示。
“我们有道义上的义务努力拯救它们。也只有我们……才拥有足够的收集起来的生物材料去这样做了。我们知道，我们的概率很渺小，但希望还没有破灭。”
(原文选自CNN新闻）