ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Billy Collins: Two poems about what dogs think (probably)

比利▪柯林斯: 两首诗--有关狗狗思维的猜想（大概）

Filmed:
1,748,151 views

当狗看着我们的时候在想什么呢？诗人比利▪柯林斯用想象展现了两个性格完全不同的宠物的内心世界。这是一个很有魅力的简短演说。最适合短暂休息和进入梦想世界...
- Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable." Full bio

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

不知你们是否已经注意到，
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I don't know if you've noticed注意到,
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but there's been a spate泛滥 of books图书
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近来陆续
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that have come out lately最近
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出版了很多新书
00:17
contemplating考虑 or speculating投机
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是关于猜测和解读
00:20
on the cognition认识 and emotional情绪化 life of dogs小狗.
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狗的认知和情绪的。
狗是否会思考，它们能否感知，
如果有，是怎样做到的？
00:24
Do they think, do they feel and, if so, how?
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So this afternoon下午, in my limited有限 time,
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那么今天下午，
在有限的时间里
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I wanted to take the guesswork猜测 out of a lot of that
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我想通过介绍你们认识两条狗
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by introducing引入 you to two dogs小狗,
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来做与其有关的一些猜想。
00:34
both都 of whom谁 have taken采取 the command命令 "speak说话"
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这两条狗都真正懂得“说话”
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quite相当 literally按照字面.
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的意思。
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The first dog狗 is the first to go,
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让第一条狗先来吧，
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and he is contemplating考虑 an aspect方面
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他想要对他和主人的关系
00:50
of his relationship关系 to his owner所有者,
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做一个分析，
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and the title标题 is "A Dog狗 on His Master主."
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标题是
“狗与主人。”
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"As young年轻 as I look,
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“我看起来很年轻，
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I am growing生长 older旧的 faster更快 than he.
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但我比他更容易变老。
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Seven七 to one is the ratio比, they tend趋向 to say.
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比率是七比一，
他们这样说到。
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Whatever随你 the number数, I will pass通过 him one day
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无论是什么数字，
总有一天我会超越他
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and take the lead铅,
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成为主导，
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the way I do on our walks散步 in the woods树木,
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就像我们在林间散步那样，
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and if this ever manages管理 to cross交叉 his mind心神,
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如果这个念头会在他脑中出现
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it would be the sweetest甜蜜 shadow阴影
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它会是我在雪地或草地上
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I have ever cast投 on snow雪 or grass草."
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投下的最甜蜜的影子。
01:25
(Applause掌声)
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（掌声）
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Thank you.
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谢谢你们。
01:31
And our next下一个 dog狗
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下一只狗
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speaks说话 in something called叫 the revenant亡灵,
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说的事情叫做亡灵，
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which哪一个 means手段 a spirit精神 that comes来 back
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意思是一个亡魂
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to visit访问 you.
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回来探望你。
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"I am the dog狗 you put to sleep睡觉,
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“我是被你送进沉睡的狗，
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as you like to call the needle针 of oblivion遗忘,
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而你喜欢把它叫做遗忘之针，
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come back to tell you this simple简单 thing:
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我回来是为了告诉你
这个简单的事实：
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I never liked喜欢 you."
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我从来都没有喜欢过你。“
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(Laughter笑声)
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（笑声）
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"When I licked舔 your face面对,
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“当我舔着你的脸，
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I thought of biting尖刻 off your nose鼻子.
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我想咬掉你的鼻子。
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When I watched看着 you toweling毛巾 yourself你自己 dry干,
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当我看见你用毛巾擦干身子，
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I wanted to leap飞跃 and unman令人愁闷 you with a snap卡.
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我想在瞬间扑过去阉割你。
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I resented不满 the way you moved移动,
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我讨厌你走动的样子，
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your lack缺乏 of animal动物 grace恩典,
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因为你缺乏动物的优美，
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the way you would sit坐 in a chair椅子 to eat吃,
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你坐在椅子上吃东西的模样，
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a napkin餐巾 on your lap膝部, a knife刀 in your hand手.
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膝上盖着餐巾，
手里握着餐刀。
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I would have run跑 away
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我宁愿跑开
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but I was too weak弱,
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但我实在太软弱，
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a trick招 you taught教 me
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你教会我一个诡计
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while I was learning学习 to sit坐 and heel脚跟
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当我学着坐和蹲的时候，
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and, greatest最大 of insults侮辱,
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最大的侮辱，
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shake摇 hands手 without无 a hand手.
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是没有手却要握手。
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I admit承认 the sight视力 of the leash皮带 would excite激发 me,
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我承认看见皮带会让我兴奋
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but only because it meant意味着 I was about to smell闻 things
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但这只因为它意味着我可以去嗅闻
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you had never touched感动.
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你从未触及的东西。
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You do not want to believe this,
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你不会相信
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but I have no reason原因 to lie谎言:
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但我没有理由撒谎：
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I hated恨 the car汽车, hated恨 the rubber橡胶 toys玩具,
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我讨厌汽车，讨厌橡皮玩具，
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disliked不喜欢的 your friends朋友, and worse更差, your relatives亲戚们.
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不喜欢你的朋友，更不喜欢你的亲眷
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The jingling玎 of my tags标签 drove开车 me mad狂.
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玎玲响的标签促使我发狂。
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You always scratched划伤 me in the wrong错误 place地点."
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而你，为我搔痒总是挠错位置。“
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(Laughter笑声)
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（笑声）
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"All I ever wanted from you was food餐饮 and water水
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“我只想从你那里得到食物和水
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in my bowls碗.
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放进我的碗里。
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While you slept睡, I watched看着 you breathe呼吸
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当你睡觉，我看着
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as the moon月亮 rose玫瑰 in the sky天空.
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你的呼吸随着月亮升起
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It took拿 all of my strength强度
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它带走了我所有的力气
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not to raise提高 my head头 and howl嗥.
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而不能抬起头对着月亮狂吠。
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Now, I am free自由 of the collar领,
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现在，我不再有项圈，
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free自由 of the yellow黄色 raincoat雨衣,
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也没有黄色的雨衣，
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monogrammed会标 sweater毛线衣,
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和绣着名字的外套
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the absurdity荒谬 of your lawn草坪,
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你的草坪有多荒谬
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and that is all you need to know about this place地点,
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就是你所需要知道的
这个地方的一切
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except除 what you already已经 supposed应该
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除了你那些假想的
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and are glad高兴 it did not happen发生 sooner早,
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庆幸它没有早点儿发生
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that everyone大家 here can read读 and write写,
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这儿的每一个都能读和写，
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the dogs小狗 in poetry诗歌,
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狗陶醉在诗歌中，
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the cats猫 and all the others其他
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猫的和其它的动物
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in prose散文."
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则潜心于散文。“
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Thank you.
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谢谢你们
03:54
(Applause掌声)
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（鼓掌）
Translated by Yuanqing Edberg
Reviewed by Zhiting Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM