世界上最幸运的倒霉蛋：英语精读讲义

This episode is brought to you by Skillshare.

本期节目由 Skillshare 赞助播出。

The first 1,000 people to sign up using the link in the description

前1000名使用简介中链接注册的用户

will get their first two months free.

将获得前两个月的免费体验。

On a cold January morning in 1962,

1962年1月一个寒冷的清晨，

32-year-old Croatian Frane Selak

32岁的克罗地亚人 Frane Selak

was minding his own business 習語

正在做着自己的事，

when suddenly his train derailed.

突然，他乘坐的火车脱轨了。

Disconnected from the rest of the train, 語法

他的车厢与其他车厢脱节，

his train car plunged

坠入了

down a narrow canyon

狭窄的峡谷中，

and into an icy river.

掉进冰冷的河里。

Desperately fighting to escape the sinking train car,

拼命想逃出下沉的车厢的 Selak，

Selak made his way to the shore 短語搭配

奋力游到了岸边，

before being pulled to safety by a bystander.

随后被一名旁观者拉到了安全地带。

While 17 other people drowned in that tragic accident,

尽管有17人在那场悲惨的事故中溺亡，

Selak suffered nothing more than a broken arm and hypothermia. 短語搭配

Selak 却只受了手臂骨折和失温之苦。

Yet this was the day life would take a strange turn for Selak, 習語

然而，正是这一天，Selak 的人生发生了奇妙的转折，

throwing the mild-mannered music teacher

把这位温文尔雅的音乐老师，

into a curious roller coaster of fate. 習語

抛入命运奇妙的过山车中。

Welcome to this episode of the Infographics Show,

欢迎收看本期《信息图表秀》，

Frane Selak,

讲述 Frane Selak，

the luckiest unlucky man in the world.

世界上最幸运的倒霉蛋。

Prior to his train accident,

在发生火车事故之前，

Frane Selak led a quiet and unassuming life 短語搭配

Frane Selak 过着平静低调的生活，

as a local music teacher.

他是一名当地的音乐老师。

It seems though that life,

似乎生活，

or more accurately death, 表達脈絡

或更准确地说是死亡，

had plans for Selak.

对 Selak 另有安排。

Miraculously escaping death in his train accident,

在火车事故中奇迹般死里逃生后，

Selak counted his lucky stars and continued about his life, 習語

Selak 暗自庆幸自己的好运，并继续过着他原本的生活，

chalking up the incident to a stroke of bad luck. 講解

将这次事故归结为一时倒霉。

But one year later,

但一年后，

Selak's mother fell ill.

Selak 的母亲病倒了。

Gravely concerned,

由于非常担忧，

Selak,

那个，

who had always been too nervous to fly, 語法

一直不敢坐飞机的 Selak，

immediately booked a plane ticket from Zagreb to Rijeka.

立即订了一张从萨格勒布飞往里耶卡的机票。

The earliest flight being fully booked, 語法

最早的航班客满了，

Selak managed to persuade a sympathetic airline employee 語法

Selak 设法说服了一位富有同情心的航空公司员工，

to let him ride in the rear of the aircraft

让他坐在飞机的后部，

along with the single flight attendant.

和仅有的一名空乘人员在一起。

Nervous,

紧张不安的

Selak took to the skies without incident, 習語

Selak 顺利升空，

chatting up the friendly flight attendant 短語動詞

他跟友好的空乘人员聊天，

and sharing tea to take his mind off his nerves. 習語

边喝茶边缓解紧张的情绪。

Minutes before landing though,

然而，就在降落前几分钟，

the rear door to the aircraft suddenly blew open,

飞机后门突然被吹开，

the pressure difference between the interior and exterior of the plane

飞机内外压力差

sucking Selak and the flight attendant clear out of the airplane.

把 Selak 和空乘人员直接吸出了机舱。

Plunging to a certain death,

在必死无疑的坠落中，

Selak miraculously survived by landing in a haystack, 語法

Selak 奇迹般地掉进了一个干草堆里幸存下来，

suffering nothing more than minor injuries.

仅仅受了点轻伤。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

there were no other survivors of the terrible accident.

这场可怕的事故中没有其他幸存者。

Two brushes with death are enough for a single lifetime, 習語

两次与死神擦肩而过，对一个人的一生来说已经足够了，

but fate wasn't done with Selak. 習語

但命运对 Selak 的考验还没结束。

Four years later,

四年后，

Selak was commuting on a local bus

Selak 正乘坐当地的一辆公交车通勤，

when the bus suddenly skidded into a river.

公交车突然打滑冲进了一条河里。

Once more plunged into icy waters,

再一次坠入冰冷的水中，

Selak managed to swim free of the sinking vehicle

Selak 设法游出了下沉的车辆，

and make his way to safety,

并安全脱险，

suffering nothing more than cuts and bruises.

只受了点割伤和瘀伤。

Four other riders were not so lucky and lost their lives.

另外四名乘客就没有这么幸运了，他们不幸丧生。

Perhaps and very understandably deterred from public transportation, 短語搭配

也许是对公共交通产生了可以理解的阴影，

Selak purchased a car of his own.

Selak 买了一辆自己的车。

In 1970,

1970年，

while driving his vehicle burst into flames and exploded. 短語搭配

在驾驶时，他的车突然起火并爆炸。

Diving for safety,

Selak 跃向安全地带，

Selak managed to escape the burning wreck,

设法逃出了燃烧的残骸，

once more suffering nothing more than minor wounds.

再次只是受了点轻伤。

What should have been a freak accident repeated itself 語法

本应是反常意外的事故却重演了，

three years later

三年后，

with yet another of Selak's vehicles

Selak 的另一辆车

exploding after spontaneously catching fire.

自燃后爆炸了。

Diving for safety once more,

再次跃向安全地带，

Selak escaped this time with minor burns.

这一次 Selak 只受了轻微的烧伤，逃过一劫。

Perhaps giving him a chance to catch his breath, 習語

也许是给了他一个喘息的机会，

life gave Frane Selak 22 years of relative peace 用詞

生活给了 Frane Selak 22年相对平静的时光，

until a bus hit him while walking on a street in Zagreb in 1995.

直到1995年，他在萨格勒布街头步行时被一辆公交车撞倒。

Surviving once more with relatively few injuries,

再一次带着相对较少的伤痛存活下来后，

Selak was then forced off a mountain road a year later.

一年后，Selak 又被逼落山路。

Driving in the Croatian mountains,

在克罗地亚山区开车时，

an oncoming UN truck barreling down a narrow road forced Selak to swerve, 講解

迎面驶来的一辆联合国卡车在狭窄的道路上疾驰，迫使 Selak 猛打方向盘，

sending his car plunging off the mountain ledge and into a ravine. 語法

导致他的车冲出山崖，坠入深渊。

Jumping out at the last second,

在最后一刻跳出车外，

Selak managed to grab onto the branches of a tree and hoist himself to safety 短語動詞

Selak 成功抓住了树枝，将自己拉到了安全的地方，

as his car smashed into the ground below.

而他的车则在下方砸在地上。

That would be the last time death made an attempt on Selak's life, 用詞

那将是死神最后一次企图夺走 Selak 的生命，

at least to date.

至少到目前为止是这样。

As if to make up for his incredible streak of bad luck, 講解

仿佛是为了弥补他不可思议的连续厄运，

Selak caught a break in 2003 when he won a million-dollar lottery. 習語

2003年，Selak 中了百万美元彩票，终于时来运转。

Interviewed by several international publications,

在接受几家国际出版物采访时，

Selak said that you could look at it two ways. 短語搭配

Selak 说你可以从两个方面来看待这件事。

I was either the unluckiest man in the world 語法

我也要么是世界上最倒霉的人，

or the luckiest.

要么是最幸运的。

I prefer to believe the latter. 用詞

我更愿意相信后者。

Lucky or not, 語法

不管幸不幸，

Selak's reputation for tragedy had made it difficult to keep friends. 語法

Selak 在悲剧方面的名声使他很难交到朋友。

People around him are hesitant to get into vehicles with him

身边的人都对他敬而远之，不敢和他一起上车，

or be in his general proximity. 用詞

甚至不敢离他太近。

And who could blame them? 語氣意圖

谁能怪他们呢？

Reflecting on his life,

回顾自己的一生，

Selak told reporters,

Selak 告诉记者，

"There came a stage when I was lucky to have friends at all. 語法

“有一段时间，能有朋友我都觉得很幸运。

Many stopped seeing me,

很多人不再见我，

saying I was bad karma." 文化背景

说我是倒霉鬼。”

A number of Selak's friends also commented,

Selak 的一些朋友也评论道，

"Put it like this. 表達脈絡

“这么说吧。

If I heard Frane had booked a flight or train, 語法

如果我听说 Frane 订了航班或火车，

I would cancel."

我会取消的。”

Selak's long streak of bad luck seems to be over,

Selak 长久的厄运似乎已经结束了，

but with so much international attention falling on the man,

但随着如此多的国际关注落在此人身上，

doubt about some of his claims have begun to spring up.

围绕他的一些说法开始产生质疑。

Many doubters point to a lack of official records documenting any fatal plane or train crashes

许多怀疑者指出，缺乏记录致命飞机或火车坠毁事故的官方记录，

in 1962 or 1963,

无论是1962年还是1963年；

and in an interview with the BBC,

在接受 BBC 采访时，

either Selak misstated his original

要么是 Selak 误说了他的初衷，

or a reporter miswrote it,

要么是一名记者写错了，

giving the first year of his accident as 1957 and not 1962

把他发生第一场事故的年份说成了1957年，而不是1962年，

and saying it took place on a bus instead of a train.

并且说那是在公交车上，而不是火车上。

Inconsistencies have also popped up in Selak's own telling of his stories, 短語動詞

Selak 自己讲述的故事中也出现了不一致的地方，

with Selak claiming in 2003 that he'd been playing the lottery consistently 語法

他在2003年声称，自己一直坚持买彩票

for years before finally winning,

多年后才中奖，

but when re-interviewed in 2010,

但在2010年再次接受采访时，

he claimed he'd won the jackpot on his very first time playing.

他又称自己是第一次买彩票就中了头奖。

Details tend to become murkier the longer a story is retold, 語法

故事流传得越久，细节往往就变得越模糊，

and with Selak now in his late 80s, 語法

加上 Selak 现已年近九旬，

it's understandable if there are some inconsistencies.

出现一些不一致的情况也是可以理解的。

The nature of Selak's incredible escapes from death

Selak 不可思议的死里逃生的本质

also makes them fodder for skeptics. 習語

也让这些故事成为了怀疑论者的谈资。

Yet Selak and those close to him stick by each story, 短語動詞

尽管如此，Selak 和他身边的人依然坚持着每一个故事，

and real or not,

不管是真是假，

Selak has had to bear the stigma of being incredibly unlucky 短語搭配

Selak 都不得不承受着“极度倒霉”的烙印，

from friends and family 用詞

无论是来自朋友还是家人

alike.

皆是如此。

If

可是，

real

如果

though,

真是这样的话，

Selak is truly the unluckiest man in the world,

Selak 确实是世界上最倒霉的人，

and it's nice to see that life finally granted him a consolation prize 短語搭配

很高兴看到生活终于给了他一个安慰奖，

for trying to kill him,

算是对试图夺走他性命的补偿，

even if it took 70 years. 語法

即使这花了70年的时间。

What are the odds a man could live a life of such good and bad luck? 短語搭配

一个人一生中遇到如此好运和厄运的概率有多大？

Well, if math interests you,

如果你对数学感兴趣，

why not take one of the many mathematics courses available on Skillshare

为什么不参加 Skillshare 上提供的众多数学课程之一

and calculate those odds yourself.

自己计算一下这些概率呢。

With classes on basic multiplication rules all the way to set theory,

从基本的乘法规则到集合论的课程都有，

relations and functions,

再到关系和函数，

you can become a math wiz in no time.

你很快就能成为一个数学高手。

The first 1,000 people to visit skillshare.com/infographics34

前1000名访问 skillshare.com/infographics34

or to click the link in the description

或点击简介中链接的用户，

will receive premium membership for two months completely free.

将获得两个月的完全免费高级会员资格。

Join Skillshare and start learning today.

加入 Skillshare，今天就开始学习吧。

So, what do you think about Selak's life?

那么，你对 Selak 的人生有什么看法呢？

Too incredible to be true?

不可思议到令人难以置信？

Let us know in the comments.

请在评论区告诉我们。

Also, be sure to check out our other video

另外，别忘了查看我们的其他视频，

called Most Evil Popes in the History of Mankind.

叫做《人类历史上最邪恶的教皇》。

Thanks for watching,

感谢观看，

and as always,

和往常一样，

don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

别忘了点赞、分享和订阅。

See you next time.

下次见。