ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ann Morgan - Writer, blogger, author
Ann Morgan challenged herself to read a book from every country in the world.

Why you should listen

One day British writer Ann Morgan realized that most books in her bookshelves were by British or American authors. She undertook to read, over the course of a year, at least one book from each of the world's 196 countries -- texts often suggested by bibliophiles from all over the world.

Her experience inspired her book Reading the World (US title: The World Between Two Covers). She blogs about international literature, and her first novel, a psychological literary thriller called Beside Myself, will be published in January 2016.

More profile about the speaker
Ann Morgan | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal>London

Ann Morgan: My year reading a book from every country in the world

安.摩根: 我用閱讀環遊世界的一年

Filmed:
1,694,699 views

安.摩根認為自己擅於閱讀,直到她在自己的書架上發現到不得了的文化盲點;在眾多的英、美作家之列,極少作品出自英語世界以外的作家。所以她訂出一個豪情萬丈的目標-「在一年的歷程閱讀世界各國的一本書」;現在她鼓勵其他的崇尚英風者們去閱讀翻譯作品,如此一來出版商們就會費心把海外的文學瑰寶帶回國內,探索閱讀之旅的互動地圖請參考:go.ted.com/readtheworld
- Writer, blogger, author
Ann Morgan challenged herself to read a book from every country in the world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
It's often經常 said that you can tell
a lot about a person
0
1000
2903
常言道「你可以看出一個人很多東西,
00:15
by looking at what's on their bookshelves書架.
1
3927
2495
就看看在他們的書架上有著什麼」,
00:19
What do my bookshelves書架 say about me?
2
7679
1987
我的書架又透露出我什麼事呢?
00:22
Well, when I asked myself
this question a few少數 years年份 ago,
3
10402
3684
當我幾年前問自己這個問題的時候,
00:26
I made製作 an alarming驚人 discovery發現.
4
14110
2301
有了一個令人憂心的發現;
00:29
I'd always thought of myself
as a fairly相當 cultured培養的,
5
17131
3004
我一直自認算是個相當有文化修養、
00:32
cosmopolitan大都會 sort分類 of person.
6
20159
2425
見多識廣的那種人,
00:34
But my bookshelves書架 told
a rather different不同 story故事.
7
22608
3096
但是我的書架上卻訴說著
甚是不同的故事。
00:38
Pretty漂亮 much all the titles標題 on them
8
26439
1652
它們書身全部的名銜極大多數
是英國與北美的作家,
00:40
were by British英國的 or North American美國 authors作者,
9
28115
2859
00:42
and there was almost幾乎
nothing in translation翻譯.
10
30998
2536
而幾乎沒有翻譯品,
00:46
Discovering發現 this massive大規模的,
cultural文化 blind spot in my reading
11
34327
3850
發現我在閱讀上這個不得了的
文化盲點相當晴天霹靂。
00:50
came來了 as quite相當 a shock休克.
12
38201
1801
00:52
And when I thought about it,
it seemed似乎 like a real真實 shame恥辱.
13
40026
3493
當我一想到這兒,
真是有點不好意思,
00:55
I knew知道 there had to be lots
of amazing驚人 stories故事 out there
14
43543
3372
我知道此外有著許多作者
00:58
by writers作家 working加工 in languages語言
other than English英語.
15
46939
3377
是用非英語的語言寫出
令人嘖嘖稱奇的故事,
01:02
And it seemed似乎 really sad傷心 to think
that my reading habits習慣 meant意味著
16
50340
3302
想到我的閱讀習慣意味著
01:05
I would probably大概 never encounter遭遇 them.
17
53666
2357
我極可能永遠無法與他們交會,
真的很令人傷心。
01:08
So, I decided決定 to prescribe規定 myself
18
56435
2866
所以我打定主意要給自己排定
01:11
an intensive集約 course課程 of global全球 reading.
19
59325
2618
一個閱讀全球的扎實歷程。
01:14
2012 was set to be a very
international國際 year for the UK聯合王國;
20
62602
3738
2012 年被英國訂定成
大國際化年-
01:18
it was the year of the London倫敦 Olympics奧運會.
21
66364
2072
「倫敦奧運年」。
01:20
And so I decided決定 to use it
as my time frame
22
68460
3522
所以我決定把那年當作是我的期限表,
01:24
to try to read a novel小說,
short story故事 collection採集
23
72006
3207
嘗試閱讀來自世界各國的小說、
短篇故事集或是傳記,
01:27
or memoir傳記 from every一切 country國家 in the world世界.
24
75237
4317
01:32
And so I did.
25
80771
1333
而且我就照這樣去做了。
01:34
And it was very exciting扣人心弦
26
82128
1627
這非常刺激!
01:35
and I learned學到了 some remarkable卓越 things
27
83779
1896
而且我學到了一些非同小可的事情,
01:37
and made製作 some wonderful精彩 connections連接
28
85699
2115
以及產生一些我今天想要
與你分享的美好牽連。
01:39
that I want to share分享 with you today今天.
29
87838
1869
01:42
But it started開始 with some
practical實際的 problems問題.
30
90088
3198
不過一起步就有著一些現實的問題,
01:45
After I'd worked工作 out which哪一個 of the many許多
different不同 lists名單 of countries國家 in the world世界
31
93849
4667
在我已經計算好世界各國
眾多的不同清單裡哪一張
01:50
to use for my project項目,
32
98540
2206
要用在我的計畫裡之後,
01:52
I ended結束 up going with the list名單
of UN-recognized聯合國認可 nations國家,
33
100770
3150
我最終照著聯合國所認定的國家清單,
01:55
to which哪一個 I added添加 Taiwan台灣,
34
103944
1223
其中我加進了「台灣」,
01:57
which哪一個 gave me a total of 196 countries國家.
35
105191
3356
給了我總共196 個國家。
02:01
And after I'd worked工作 out
how to fit適合 reading and blogging寫博客
36
109143
2855
而在我計算出如何恰足以
閱讀和寫部落格後-
02:04
about, roughly大致, four books圖書 a week
37
112022
2310
大概一個禮拜四本書、五個工作天;
02:06
around working加工 five days a week,
38
114356
3111
02:09
I then had to face面對 up to the fact事實
that I might威力 even not be able能夠
39
117491
3704
我接著得要面對-
也許我沒辦法從每個國家去取得
02:13
to get books圖書 in English英語
from every一切 country國家.
40
121219
2728
用英文翻譯好了的書-這個事實,
02:16
Only around 4.5 percent百分
of the literary works作品 published發表
41
124546
3745
在英國每年所出版的著作
02:20
each year in the UK聯合王國 are translations譯文,
42
128315
2651
只有 4.5 % 左右是翻譯品,
02:22
and the figures人物 are similar類似 for much
of the English-speaking英語會話 world世界.
43
130990
3626
該數字相當於世界上
說英語之地方的多寡,
02:26
Although雖然, the proportion比例
of translated翻譯 books圖書 published發表
44
134640
2953
即便在許多其他國家
02:29
in many許多 other countries國家 is a lot higher更高.
45
137617
2792
翻譯書籍被出版的比例是高出許多,
02:33
4.5 percent百分 is tiny enough足夠 to start開始 with,
46
141101
3308
4.5 %雖少但在起頭時是夠了的;
02:36
but what that figure數字 doesn't tell you
47
144433
1835
但是那個數字所沒告訴你的是-
02:38
is that many許多 of those books圖書
will come from countries國家
48
146292
2673
許多那些書會是來自有著
茁壯之出版通路的國家,
02:40
with strong強大 publishing出版 networks網絡
49
148989
2174
02:43
and lots of industry行業 professionals專業人士
primed to go out and sell those titles標題
50
151187
4167
而且眾多該業界之專業人才
準備好要向外走出
以及販賣那些書目給英語出版商。
02:47
to English-language英語 publishers出版商.
51
155378
1960
02:49
So, for example, although雖然 well over 100
books圖書 are translated翻譯 from French法國
52
157711
4572
舉例來說雖然每一年有超過
100 本書是從法文翻譯過來
02:54
and published發表 in the UK聯合王國 each year,
53
162307
1903
以及在英國出版,
02:56
most of them will come from countries國家
like France法國 or Switzerland瑞士.
54
164234
4413
其中大部份將會是來自法國和瑞士;
03:01
French-speaking法語區 Africa非洲, on the other hand,
55
169107
2738
另一方面來說使用法文的非洲國家
將會很少有機會來出線。
03:03
will rarely很少 ever get a look-in在看.
56
171869
1642
03:06
The upshot結果 is that there are
actually其實 quite相當 a lot of nations國家
57
174284
3323
結果就是實際上相當多國家
03:09
that may可能 have little or even no
commercially商業 available可得到 literature文學
58
177631
3631
也許只有少許甚或沒有商務上
買得到的英文著作,
03:13
in English英語.
59
181286
1153
03:15
Their books圖書 remain invisible無形 to readers讀者
60
183074
3066
它們的書對世界上出版
最大宗之語種的讀者而言
03:18
of the world's世界 most published發表 language語言.
61
186164
2838
還是連個影子都沒有。
03:22
But when it came來了 to reading the world世界,
62
190002
1818
但是當講到了「閱讀世界」,
03:23
the biggest最大 challenge挑戰 of all for me
63
191844
1770
對我來說最大的難關
03:25
was that fact事實 that I didn't
know where to start開始.
64
193638
3134
就是我不知道從哪裡做開端的事實;
03:29
Having spent花費 my life reading
almost幾乎 exclusively British英國的
65
197201
3358
已經花了我一輩子的時間在閱讀幾乎
不外於英國和北美的書籍,
03:32
and North American美國 books圖書,
66
200583
1649
03:34
I had no idea理念 how to go about
sourcing採購 and finding發現 stories故事
67
202256
3589
我根本不清楚要如何去獲取、找到故事
03:37
and choosing選擇 them from much
of the rest休息 of the world世界.
68
205869
2711
和從世界更多其他各處去挑選,
03:40
I couldn't不能 tell you how to source資源
a story故事 from Swaziland斯威士蘭.
69
208604
3385
我沒辦法跟你說要如何
從瑞士取得一本小說、
03:44
I wouldn't不會 know a good novel小說 from Namibia納米比亞.
70
212013
2635
我不會知道納米比亞的一本好小說,
03:47
There was no hiding it --
71
215125
1593
不諱言讓你知道
03:48
I was a clueless無知 literary xenophobe排外.
72
216742
3323
我是個漫無頭緒的文學輕外者,
03:52
So how on earth地球 was I
going to read the world世界?
73
220541
2454
我究竟憑什麼打定主意「閱讀世界」呢?
03:55
I was going to have to ask for help.
74
223777
1857
我打定主意得去請人幫忙,
03:57
So in October十月 2011, I registered註冊 my blog博客,
75
225658
3499
所以在 2011 年的十月
我註冊了自己的部落格-
04:01
ayearofreadingtheworldayearofreadingtheworld.comCOM,
76
229181
1771
ayearofreadingtheworld.com,
04:02
and I posted發布 a short appeal上訴 online線上.
77
230976
2485
我在網路上張貼了簡短的訴請,
04:05
I explained解釋 who I was,
78
233863
1229
我說明了我是什麼人、
04:07
how narrow狹窄 my reading had been,
79
235116
2008
過去以來我的閱讀是如何的狹隘、
04:09
and I asked anyone任何人 who cared照顧 to
80
237148
1857
以及我懇請任何有心人
04:11
to leave離開 a message信息 suggesting提示
what I might威力 read
81
239029
2565
留下訊息來建議我可以讀些
來自世界各角落的什麼書。
04:13
from other parts部分 of the planet行星.
82
241618
1684
04:15
Now, I had no idea理念 whether是否
anyone任何人 would be interested有興趣,
83
243913
4073
我不清楚到底有沒有人會有興趣嗎?
04:20
but within a few少數 hours小時
of me posting發帖 that appeal上訴 online線上,
84
248010
3114
不過在張貼訴請的幾個小時內
大家開始來聯絡了;
04:23
people started開始 to get in touch觸摸.
85
251148
2436
04:25
At first, it was friends朋友 and colleagues同事.
86
253608
2498
起先是朋友和同事們,
04:28
Then it was friends朋友 of friends朋友.
87
256466
1551
接著是朋友的友人,
04:30
And pretty漂亮 soon不久, it was strangers陌生人.
88
258383
2277
很快地便是陌生人了。
04:33
Four days after I put that appeal上訴 online線上,
89
261399
2802
在我把訴請放到網路上四天後,
04:36
I got a message信息 from a woman女人
called Rafidah拉菲達 in Kuala吉隆坡 Lumpur吉隆坡.
90
264225
3731
我從名喚「拉菲妲」的吉隆坡女性
那裡收到一則訊息,
04:40
She said she loved喜愛
the sound聲音 of my project項目,
91
268292
2675
她說她喜愛我的計畫給人的感覺,
04:42
could she go to her local本地
English-language英語 bookshop書店
92
270991
2899
她能否去當地的英語書店
04:45
and choose選擇 my Malaysian馬來西亞 book
and post崗位 it to me?
93
273914
3290
挑選我的馬來西亞書並且寄給我嗎?
04:49
I accepted公認 enthusiastically踴躍,
94
277912
1753
我熱切地接受了,
04:51
and a few少數 weeks later後來,
95
279689
1502
幾個禮拜後包裹抵達了,
04:53
a package arrived到達 containing
not one, but two books圖書 --
96
281215
4548
內附不是一本而是兩本書-
04:59
Rafidah's拉菲達的 choice選擇 from Malaysia馬來西亞,
97
287263
2418
拉菲妲來自馬來西亞的選擇、
05:02
and a book from Singapore新加坡
that she had also picked採摘的 out for me.
98
290908
3883
還有一本她也挑給我的新加坡書。
05:08
Now, at the time, I was amazed吃驚
99
296428
2437
當適時我很詫異一個遠在
6,000 哩外的陌生人
05:10
that a stranger陌生人 more than 6,000 miles英里 away
100
298889
3576
05:14
would go to such這樣 lengths長度 to help someone有人
101
302489
1925
會竭盡心力地來幫忙她也許
永遠碰不上的某人!
05:16
she would probably大概 never meet遇到.
102
304438
2059
05:19
But Rafidah's拉菲達的 kindness善良 proved證實
to be the pattern模式 for that year.
103
307100
3651
但是拉菲妲的好心腸
印證了那年的模式-
05:23
Time and again, people went
out of their way to help me.
104
311240
3290
一遍又一遍地大家費盡心思來幫我;
05:27
Some took on research研究 on my behalf代表,
105
315226
2609
有些人代替我接手研考、
05:29
and others其他 made製作 detours少走彎路
on holidays假期 and business商業 trips旅行
106
317859
3023
其他人在渡假或是商務旅行時
繞道去為我購書。
05:32
to go to bookshops書店 for me.
107
320906
1936
05:35
It turns out, if you want
to read the world世界,
108
323526
3236
結果發現假使你想要讀遍世界、
05:38
if you want to encounter遭遇 it
with an open打開 mind心神,
109
326786
3401
你想要帶著敞開的心房去會見它-
05:42
the world世界 will help you.
110
330211
1930
這世界將會幫助你。
當來到只有一些或是商務上無法取得
用英文翻好文學著作的國家時,
05:45
When it came來了 to countries國家
111
333118
1215
05:46
with little or no commercially商業
available可得到 literature文學 in English英語,
112
334357
3506
05:49
people went further進一步 still.
113
337887
1813
人家依然更賣力來幫忙。
05:52
Books圖書 often經常 came來了 from surprising奇怪 sources來源.
114
340689
3212
書籍常常出於意外的取得,
05:56
My Panamanian巴拿馬人 read, for example,
came來了 through通過 a conversation會話
115
344536
3039
舉例而言我的閱讀巴拿馬
來自我和推特上「巴拿馬運河」的對話。
05:59
I had with the Panama巴拿馬 Canal運河 on Twitter推特.
116
347599
3019
06:03
Yes, the Panama巴拿馬 Canal運河
has a Twitter推特 account帳戶.
117
351497
3510
沒錯!推特帳號有「巴拿馬運河」,
06:07
And when I tweeted啾啾 at it about my project項目,
118
355731
2374
在我推文了我的計畫
06:10
it suggested建議 that I might威力 like to try
and get hold保持 of the work
119
358129
3379
它建議說我或許會想要試試和持有
巴拿馬作家「寰大衛.摩根」的作品。
06:13
of the Panamanian巴拿馬人 author作者
Juan胡安 David大衛 Morgan摩根.
120
361532
2579
06:16
I found發現 Morgan's摩根 website網站
and I sent發送 him a message信息,
121
364898
2570
我找到了摩根的網站寄給他一則訊息,
06:19
asking if any of his
Spanish-language西班牙語 novels小說
122
367492
2432
問道是否有任何一本他的西班牙文小說
已經被翻譯成英語的;
06:21
had been translated翻譯 into English英語.
123
369948
1990
06:24
And he said that nothing
had been published發表,
124
372432
2431
而他說沒有英文版作品曾被出版過,
06:26
but he did have an unpublished未公佈 translation翻譯
125
374887
2430
不過他確實有他的小說「黃金馬」
未出版的翻譯本,
06:29
of his novel小說 "The Golden金色 Horse."
126
377341
1984
06:31
He emailed電子郵件 this to me,
127
379887
1338
他電郵給了這個給我,
06:33
allowing允許 me to become成為
one of the first people ever
128
381249
3134
同意我成為至今為止
最先用英文讀過這本書的人。
06:36
to read that book in English英語.
129
384407
1844
06:38
Morgan摩根 was by no means手段 the only wordsmith語言大師
130
386929
2650
摩根絕非是唯一的文學巨擘
用這種方式跟我分享他的作品,
06:41
to share分享 his work with me in this way.
131
389603
1990
06:44
From Sweden瑞典 to Palau帕勞,
132
392015
1762
從瑞典以至於帛琉
06:45
writers作家 and translators譯者
sent發送 me self-published自助出版 books圖書
133
393801
3991
作家和譯者們送給我自印的書
以及未出版的手稿-
06:49
and unpublished未公佈 manuscripts手稿 of books圖書
134
397816
1730
06:51
that hadn't有沒有 been picked採摘的
up by Anglophone講英語 publishers出版商
135
399570
2880
那些沒被輕外的出版商所挑中,
或是再也買不到的書,
06:54
or that were no longer available可得到,
136
402474
2022
06:56
giving me privileged特權 glimpses瞥見
of some remarkable卓越 imaginary假想 worlds世界.
137
404520
4708
給了我令人眼紅的暫瞥
引人入勝的意想世界。
07:02
I read, for example,
138
410008
1151
我讀了好比南非國王「袞袞哈納」
07:03
about the Southern南部的 African非洲人 king國王
NgungunhaneNgungunhane, who led the resistance抵抗性
139
411183
4590
在十九世紀帶頭反抗葡萄牙人、
07:07
against反對 the Portuguese葡萄牙語
in the 19th century世紀;
140
415797
2662
07:11
and about marriage婚姻 rituals儀式
in a remote遠程 village
141
419113
2771
在土庫曼遙遠裏海邊岸
村莊的結婚禮俗、
07:13
on the shores海岸 of the Caspian里海 sea
in Turkmenistan土庫曼斯坦.
142
421908
2998
07:18
I met會見 Kuwait's科威特 answer回答 to Bridget布里奇特 Jones瓊斯.
143
426524
3609
我遇見了給布莉姬.瓊斯的科威特答案、
07:22
(Laughter笑聲)
144
430450
2000
(笑聲)
07:25
And I read about an orgy狂歡
in a tree in Angola安哥拉.
145
433301
3566
還有我讀到了在安哥拉
一棵樹上縱情狂歡。
07:32
But perhaps也許 the most amazing驚人 example
146
440870
2152
不過也許大家打定主意竭盡心力
來幫助我閱讀世界
07:35
of the lengths長度 that people
were prepared準備 to go to
147
443046
2404
07:37
to help me read the world世界,
148
445474
1627
最不可思議的例子出現在我探索的結尾,
07:39
came來了 towards the end結束 of my quest尋求,
149
447125
2449
07:41
when I tried試著 to get hold保持 of a book
from the tiny, Portuguese-speaking葡語
150
449598
3834
當我試著從講葡萄牙語的非洲小島國
07:45
African非洲人 island nation國家
of São Tom湯姆é and Príncipencipe.
151
453456
3267
「聖多美普林西比」
得到一本書的時候;
07:49
Now, having spent花費 several一些 months個月
trying everything I could think of to find
152
457364
3649
在持續花了幾個月
試過所有我能夠想到東西
來找到一本該國已經被翻成英語的書,
07:53
a book that had been translated翻譯
into English英語 from the nation國家,
153
461037
3339
07:56
it seemed似乎 as though雖然
the only option選項 left to me
154
464400
2242
看起來好像剩下的唯一選項
07:58
was to see if I could get something
translated翻譯 for me from scratch.
155
466666
3207
就是看看我是否能夠無中生有
取得翻譯好要給我的東西。
08:02
Now, I was really dubious可疑
156
470404
1501
我真的很沒把握
08:03
whether是否 anyone任何人 was going
to want to help with this,
157
471929
2396
到底有誰想要幫忙我這事,
08:06
and give up their time
for something like that.
158
474349
2499
為了像這款事捨棄自己的時間。
08:09
But, within a week of me putting
a call out on Twitter推特 and FacebookFacebook的
159
477525
4263
但是當我對通曉葡萄牙語的人
在推特和臉書上徵求不到一個禮拜內,
08:13
for Portuguese葡萄牙語 speakers音箱,
160
481812
1954
08:15
I had more people than I could
involve涉及 in the project項目,
161
483790
3571
我有了更多我能在計畫裡納進來的人;
08:19
including包含 Margaret瑪格麗特 JullJull Costa哥斯達黎加,
a leader領導 in her field領域,
162
487385
4358
包括了瑪格莉特.茱寇斯塔 -
在其行業裡的一位領袖人物,
08:23
who has translated翻譯 the work
of Nobel諾貝爾 Prize winner優勝者 Jos喬斯é Saramago薩拉馬戈.
163
491767
5301
她翻譯過諾貝爾得主
「若澤.薩拉馬戈」的作品。
08:30
With my nine volunteers志願者 in place地點,
164
498443
1935
有了我的九位志工蓄勢以待,
08:32
I managed管理 to find a book
by a São Tom湯姆éan author作者
165
500402
2588
我順利找到我可以在網路上買到
足夠多份聖多美作家的一本書;
08:35
that I could buy購買 enough足夠 copies副本 of online線上.
166
503014
2510
08:37
Here's這裡的 one of them.
167
505548
1154
這裡是其中一本,
08:39
And I sent發送 a copy複製 out
to each of my volunteers志願者.
168
507268
3564
而我送給了我每一位義工一本。
08:42
They all took on a couple一對
of short stories故事 from this collection採集,
169
510856
3174
他們都從本合集裡承攬了幾個短故事,
08:46
stuck卡住 to their word, sent發送
their translations譯文 back to me,
170
514054
3627
說到做到的把譯本送回來給我,
08:49
and within six weeks,
I had the entire整個 book to read.
171
517705
3789
六個禮拜內我有了整本書好讀。
08:54
In that case案件, as I found發現 so often經常
during my year of reading the world世界,
172
522422
4462
因為這樣在我一年裡讀遍世界的期間,
08:58
my not knowing會心 and being存在 open打開
about my limitations限制
173
526908
4085
經常發現到我的無知以及
做到不遮掩我的侷限
09:03
had become成為 a big opportunity機會.
174
531017
2141
已經變成一個大大的良機,
09:05
When it came來了 to São Tom湯姆é and Príncipencipe,
175
533935
2187
當著手閱讀聖多美普林西比時,
09:08
it was a chance機會 not only
to learn學習 something new
176
536146
3346
那是一個機會-不但學到新東西、
09:11
and discover發現 a new collection採集 of stories故事,
177
539516
2675
發現新的故事集,
09:14
but also to bring帶來 together一起
a group of people
178
542215
2946
而且把一群人湊在一塊
09:17
and facilitate促進 a joint聯合 creative創作的 endeavor努力.
179
545185
3229
促成一個集結催生的奮鬥,
09:20
My weakness弱點 had become成為
the project's項目 strength強度.
180
548901
3900
我的不足變成了該計畫的強項。
09:25
The books圖書 I read that year
opened打開 my eyes眼睛 to many許多 things.
181
553929
3556
我在那一年所讀的書大開我的眼界,
09:29
As those who enjoy請享用 reading will know,
182
557509
2187
如同喜愛閱讀的人所知道-
09:31
books圖書 have an extraordinary非凡 power功率
to take you out of yourself你自己
183
559720
3780
書本有股超凡的力量帶你脫離自己
進到某人的思維裡,
09:35
and into someone有人 else's別人的 mindset心態,
184
563524
2144
09:37
so that, for a while at least最小,
185
565692
1842
所以起碼有一陣子的時間
09:39
you look at the world世界
through通過 different不同 eyes眼睛.
186
567558
2225
你透過了不同的眼光看待這世界。
09:42
That can be an uncomfortable不舒服 experience經驗,
187
570390
2463
那可以是一個不好受的體驗
09:44
particularly尤其 if you're reading a book
188
572877
1772
特別是假使你閱讀一本書-
09:46
from a culture文化 that may可能 have quite相當
different不同 values to your own擁有.
189
574673
3424
可能來自價值觀與你自己
有相當大差異的文化;
09:50
But it can also be really enlightening啟發.
190
578601
2149
但是它也可以是確實啟發人的,
09:53
Wrestling摔角 with unfamiliar陌生 ideas思路
can help clarify澄清 your own擁有 thinking思維.
191
581402
3914
與陌生的想法角力可以幫助
釐清自己的思考,
09:57
And it can also show顯示 up blind spots斑點
192
585742
2167
而且它也可以彰顯出盲點-
09:59
in the way you might威力 have
been looking at the world世界.
193
587933
2642
你一直用來看世界的方法可能會有的。
10:03
When I looked看著 back at much
of the English-language英語 literature文學
194
591072
2882
當我回顧好比說眾多
伴隨我成長的英文著作時,
10:05
I'd grown長大的 up with, for example,
195
593978
1686
10:07
I began開始 to see how narrow狹窄 a lot of it was,
196
595688
3037
我開始看見那有多麼地窄淺,
10:10
compared相比 to the richness豐富
that the world世界 has to offer提供.
197
598749
2812
相較於這世界所提供之豐盈。
10:14
And as the pages網頁 turned轉身,
198
602886
2162
而且當頁數跳轉也開始發生一些事情了,
10:17
something else其他 started開始 to happen發生, too.
199
605072
2466
10:20
Little by little,
200
608150
1151
一點一滴的
10:21
that long list名單 of countries國家 that
I'd started開始 the year with, changed
201
609325
4285
那一長串我起步那一年持有的國家列表,
從一個比較枯燥、學理上登錄的地名
10:25
from a rather dry, academic學術的
register寄存器 of place地點 names
202
613634
4359
10:30
into living活的, breathing呼吸 entities實體.
203
618017
2681
轉變成有生命般的實體。
10:33
Now, I don't want to suggest建議
that it's at all possible可能
204
621475
2723
此時我不是要建議單單透過讀本書
10:36
to get a rounded picture圖片 of a country國家
simply只是 by reading one book.
205
624222
4206
就有絲毫可能獲取一國周密的圖像;
10:41
But cumulatively累計, the stories故事
I read that year
206
629010
3589
但是累積下來我在那年讀過的故事
10:44
made製作 me more alive than ever before
207
632623
3060
使得我比以前對我們
引人入勝之地球的豐盈、
10:47
to the richness豐富, diversity多樣 and complexity複雜
of our remarkable卓越 planet行星.
208
635707
6074
多元性、複雜度要更清醒,
10:54
It was as though雖然 the world's世界 stories故事
209
642654
1993
這就好像世界的故事
10:56
and the people who'd誰願意 gone走了
to such這樣 lengths長度 to help me read them
210
644671
3900
和已經竭盡心力幫助我閱讀它們的大夥
11:00
had made製作 it real真實 to me.
211
648595
1905
把它變得實在。
11:04
These days, when I look at my bookshelves書架
212
652086
2535
這些日子以來當我看著我自己的書架,
11:06
or consider考慮 the works作品 on my e-reader電子閱讀器,
213
654645
3125
或是深思我電子閱讀器上的作品時,
11:09
they tell a rather different不同 story故事.
214
657794
2115
它們訴說出了更不一樣的故事;
11:12
It's the story故事 of the power功率
books圖書 have to connect us
215
660649
3346
是書本擁有力量的故事-
連結我們橫跨政治、地理、文化、
社會、信仰的劃分,
11:16
across橫過 political政治, geographical地理,
cultural文化, social社會, religious宗教 divides分歧.
216
664019
4745
11:21
It's the tale故事 of the potential潛在
human人的 beings眾生 have to work together一起.
217
669422
4142
那是人類有著共事潛力的故事。
11:26
And, it's testament遺囑
218
674320
1342
這對我們所依存別開生面的
時代是個考驗,
11:27
to the extraordinary非凡 times we live生活
in, where, thanks謝謝 to the Internet互聯網,
219
675686
4623
感謝網際網路-
11:32
it's easier更輕鬆 than ever before
220
680333
1917
讓陌生人來分享故事、世界觀、一本書
11:34
for a stranger陌生人 to share分享 a story故事,
a worldview世界觀, a book
221
682274
4429
給她也許從未見過地球上
在其他地方的某人
11:38
with someone有人 she may可能 never meet遇到,
on the other side of the planet行星.
222
686727
3793
比以前還要更容易。
11:43
I hope希望 it's a story故事 I'm reading
for many許多 years年份 to come.
223
691595
3098
我希望這是個我將長年閱讀的故事,
11:47
And I hope希望 many許多 more people will join加入 me.
224
695074
2849
而且我希望更多人會來加入我,
11:49
If we all read more widely廣泛,
there'd這紅色 be more incentive激勵
225
697947
2614
要是我們所有人閱讀得更廣博,
對出版商就會有更多誘因
來翻譯更多的書,
11:52
for publishers出版商 to translate翻譯 more books圖書,
226
700585
2547
11:55
and we would all be richer更豐富 for that.
227
703156
1939
而我們全都會為此更為淵博。
11:57
Thank you.
228
705713
1157
謝謝大家!
11:58
(Applause掌聲)
229
706894
3734
(掌聲)
Translated by Harry Chen
Reviewed by Hayley Kang

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ann Morgan - Writer, blogger, author
Ann Morgan challenged herself to read a book from every country in the world.

Why you should listen

One day British writer Ann Morgan realized that most books in her bookshelves were by British or American authors. She undertook to read, over the course of a year, at least one book from each of the world's 196 countries -- texts often suggested by bibliophiles from all over the world.

Her experience inspired her book Reading the World (US title: The World Between Two Covers). She blogs about international literature, and her first novel, a psychological literary thriller called Beside Myself, will be published in January 2016.

More profile about the speaker
Ann Morgan | Speaker | TED.com