【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 mes sparked in his own large family of talented children.Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977. A few months later, a couple of almost ic body thieves stole his body from the family burial chamber and held it for money. The police recovered it with more efficiency than Mack Sennett39。s clumsy Keystone Cops would have done, but one can39。t help feeling Chaplin would have regarded this strange incident as a fitting memorial—his way of having the last laugh on a world to which he had given so many.查理卓別林他出生在倫敦南部的一個貧困地區(qū)。他穿的短襪是從媽媽的紅色長襪上剪下來的。他的媽媽一度被診斷為精神失常。狄更斯或許能創(chuàng)作出查理卓別林的童年故事，但只有查理卓別林才能塑造出了不起的喜劇角色“流浪漢”，這個使其創(chuàng)作者聲名永駐的衣衫襤褸的小人物。就卓別林而言，其他國家，如法國、意大利、西班牙，甚至日本，都比他的出生地給予了他更多的掌聲（和更多的收益）。在1913年，卓別林永久地離開了英國，與一些演員一起啟程到美國進行舞臺喜劇表演。在那里，他被星探招募到好萊塢喜劇片之王麥克塞納特的旗下工作。令人遺憾的是，20世紀(jì)二、三十年代的很多英國人認(rèn)為卓別林的“流浪漢”多少有點“粗俗”。中產(chǎn)階級當(dāng)然這樣認(rèn)為。勞動階層反倒更有可能為這樣一個反抗權(quán)勢的角色拍手喝彩：他以頑皮的小拐杖使絆子，或用皮靴后跟對準(zhǔn)權(quán)勢者肥大的臀部踢一下。盡管如此，卓別林的滑稽乞丐形象并不那么像英國人，甚至也不像勞動階級的人。英國流浪者并不留小胡子，也不穿肥大的褲子或燕尾服：歐洲的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人和意大利的侍者才那樣穿戴。另外，“流浪漢”瞟著漂亮女孩的眼神也有些粗俗，被英國觀眾認(rèn)為不太正派──只有外國人才那樣，不是嗎？ 而在卓別林大半的銀幕生涯中，銀幕上的他是不出聲的，也就無從證明他是英國人。事實上，當(dāng)卓別林再也無法抵制有聲電影，不得不為他的“流浪漢”尋找“合適的聲音”時，他確實很頭疼。他盡可能地推遲那一天的到來：在 1936 的《摩登時代》里，他第一次在影片里發(fā)聲唱歌。在片中，他扮演一名侍者，滿口胡言亂語，聽起來不像任何國家的語言。后來他說，他想象中的“流浪漢”是一位受過大學(xué)教育，但已經(jīng)沒落的紳士。但假如他在早期那些短小的喜劇電影中能操一口受教育人的口音，那么他是否會聞名世界就難說了，而英國人也肯定會覺得這很“古怪”。沒有人知道卓別林這么干是不是有意的，但這促使他獲得了巨大的成功。他是一個才能非凡的人，他的決心之大甚至在好萊塢明星中也十分少見。他的巨大名聲為他帶來了自由，更重要的是帶來了財富，他因此得以成為自己的主人。在事業(yè)發(fā)展之初，他就感到一種沖動要去發(fā)掘并擴展自己身上所顯露的天才。當(dāng)他第一次在銀幕上看到自己扮演的“流浪漢”時，他說：“這不可能是我。那可能嗎？瞧這角色多么與眾不同??！”這種震驚喚起了他的想象。卓別林并沒有把他的笑料事先寫成文字。他是那種邊表演邊根據(jù)感覺去創(chuàng)造藝術(shù)的喜劇演員。沒有生命的物體特別有助于卓別林發(fā)揮自己藝術(shù)家的天賦。他將這些物體想象成其他東西。因此，在《當(dāng)鋪老板》中，一個壞鬧鐘變成了正在接受手術(shù)的“病人”；在《淘金記》中，靴子被放在鍋里煮，靴底被蘸著鹽和胡椒吃掉，就像上好的魚片一樣（鞋釘就像魚骨那樣被剔除）。這種對事物的轉(zhuǎn)化，以及他一次又一次做出這種轉(zhuǎn)化的技巧，正是卓別林偉大喜劇的奧秘所在。他也深切地渴望被愛，同時也害怕遭到背叛。這兩者很難結(jié)合在一起，有時這種沖突導(dǎo)致了災(zāi)難，就像他早期的幾次婚姻那樣。然而即使是這種以沉重代價換來的自知之明也在他的喜劇創(chuàng)作中得到了表現(xiàn)?！傲骼藵h”始終沒有失去對賣花女的信心，相信她正等待著與自己共同走進夕陽之中；而卓別林的另一面使他的凡爾杜先生，一個殺了妻子的法國人，成為了仇恨女人的象征。令人寬慰的是，生活最終把卓別林先前沒能獲得的穩(wěn)定和幸福給了他。他找到了沃娜奧尼爾卓別林這個伴侶。她的沉穩(wěn)和深情跨越了他們之間37歲的年齡差距。他們的年齡差別太大，以致當(dāng)1942年他們要結(jié)婚時，新娘公布了他們的結(jié)婚日期后，為他們辦理手續(xù)的官員問這位漂亮的17歲姑娘：“那個年輕人在哪兒？”──當(dāng)時已經(jīng)54歲的卓別林小心翼翼在外面等候著。由于沃娜本人出生在一個被各種麻煩困擾的大家庭，她對卓別林生活中將面臨的挑戰(zhàn)也做好了充分準(zhǔn)備，因為當(dāng)時關(guān)于他倆有很多毫無根據(jù)的流言。后來在他那個有那么多天才孩子的大家庭中，卓別林有時會引發(fā)爭吵，而她則成了安寧的中心。卓別林死于1977年圣誕節(jié)。幾個月后，幾個近乎可笑的盜尸者從他的家庭墓室盜走了他的尸體以借此詐錢。警方追回了他的尸體，其效率比麥克塞納特拍攝的啟斯東喜劇片中的笨拙警察要高得多。但是人們不禁會感到，卓別林一定會把這一奇怪的事件看作是對他的十分恰當(dāng)?shù)募o(jì)念──他以這種方式給這個自己曾為之帶去這么多笑聲的世界留下最后的笑聲。Unit 3 Section ALonging for a New Welfare SystemA welfare client is supposed to cheat. Everybody expects it. Faced with sharing a dinner of raw pet food with the cat, many people in wheelchairs I know bleed the system for a few extra dollars. They tell the government that they are getting two hundred dollars less than their real pension so they can get a little extra welfare money. Or, they tell the caseworker that the landlord raised the rent by a hundred dollars.I have opted to live a life of plete honesty. So instead, I go out and drum up some business and draw cartoons. I even tell welfare how much I make! Oh, I39。m tempted to get paid under the table. But even if I yielded to that temptation, big magazines are not going to get involved in some sticky situation. They keep my records, and that information goes right into the government39。s puter. Very highprofile.As a welfare client I39。m expected to bow before the caseworker. Deep down, caseworkers know that they are being made fools of by many of their clients, and they feel they are entitled to have clients bow to them as pensation. I39。m not being bitter. Most caseworkers begin as collegeeducated liberals with high ideals. But after a few years in a system that practically requires people to lie, they bee like the one I shall call Suzanne, a detective in shorts.Not long after Christmas last year, Suzanne came to inspect my apartment and saw some new posters pasted on the wall. Where39。d you get the money for those? she wanted to know.Friends and family.Well, you39。d better have a receipt for it, by God. You have to report any donations or gifts.This was my cue to beg. Instead, I talked back. I got a cigarette from somebody on the street the other day. Do I have to report that? Well, I39。m sorry, but I don39。t make the rules, Mr. Callahan.Suzanne tries to lecture me about repairs to my wheelchair, which is always breaking down because welfare won39。t spend money maintaining it properly.You know, Mr. Callahan, I39。ve heard that you put a lot more miles on that wheelchair than average.Of course I do. I39。m an active worker, not a vegetable. I live near downtown, so I can get around in a wheelchair. I wonder what she39。d think if she suddenly broke her hip and had to crawl to work.Government cuts in welfare have resulted in hunger and suffering for a lot of people, not just me. But people with spinal cord injuries felt the cuts in a unique way: The government stopped taking care of our chairs. Each time mine broke down, lost a screw, needed a new roller bearing, the brake wouldn39。t work, etc., and I called Suzanne, I had to endure a little lecture. Finally, she39。d say, Well, if I can find time today, I39。ll call the medical worker.She was supposed to notify the medical worker, who would certify that there was a problem. Then the medical worker called the wheelchair repair panies to get the cheapest bid. Then the medical worker alerted the main welfare office at the state capital. They considered the matter for days while I lay in bed, unable to move. Finally, if I was lucky, they called back and approved the repair.When welfare learned I was making money on my cartoons, Suzanne started visiting every fortnight instead of every two months. She looked into every corner in search of unreported appliances, or maids, or a roast pig in the oven, or a new helicopter parked out back. She never found anything, but there was always a thick pile of forms to fill out at the end of each visit, accounting for every penny.There is no provision in the law for a gradual shift away from welfare. I am an independent businessman, slowly building up my market. It39。s impossible t