A Real Superman（雙語）
他曾是演員、明星、超人、英雄，是兒子、丈夫、父親、朋友，52歲的“超人”因心力衰竭在紐約去世，永遠地閉上了眼睛。他得到了世界各地的人們的尊敬，不僅僅因爲所扮演的角色而受到尊敬，而是因爲他把“超人”的毅力和勇氣帶到了自己的生命中，在銀幕外詮釋了“超人” 的意義，讓我們記住他的名字：克里斯托夫·裏夫！
他“比飛馳的子彈還快，比火車頭更有力，輕輕一躍就能跳上高大的建築物。”他就是全世界最偉大的超極英雄。1977年，克里斯托弗·裏夫出演超人系列電影，全國觀衆歡呼喝彩。克里斯托弗活躍、英俊、強壯，一如影片中的超人，而且似乎戰無不勝。他滑雪，駕船，駕駛飛機，潛水，騎馬，打網球，無一不是技藝高超，揮灑自如。誰也無法想象克里斯托弗會是另外一種樣子。
He was "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound." He was the world’s greatest superhero. When Christopher Reeve was picked to play this role in films in 1977, audiences across the country cheered with approval. Like Superman, Christopher was dashing, handsome, and strong. Like Superman, he seemed nearly invincible. He skied, sailed, flew planes, went scuba diving, rode horses, played tennis——and did it all with skill and ease. No one could imagine Christopher Reeve any other way.
1995年5月27日，一切都改變了。當時克里斯托弗和妻子達納·莫羅西尼帶着年幼的兒子威爾住在弗吉尼亞州。他參加了一項爲期三天的馬術比賽。他的坐騎“東方快車” 看上去狀態頗佳。42歲的克里斯托弗也顯得同樣神采奕奕，氣定神閒。
All that changed on May 27, 1995. Christopher was in Virginia with his wife, Dana Morosini, and their young son, Will. He had entered a three-day horse riding competition there. His horse, Eastern Express, appeared to be in fine shape. The 42-year-old Christopher looked equally fit and relaxed.
對克里斯托弗而言，比賽進行得很順利，雖沒有名列前茅，但也沒有落到最後。但在一場兩英里的障礙賽中，第三次跨越障礙時，馬和騎手之間不知怎麼失去了默契。 “東方快車”突然停了下來，可是克里斯托弗還在繼續前行，他身子飛過馬的頭頂，頭部着地摔了下來：一動不動，甚至沒有呼吸。
The competition was going well for Christopher. He wasn't in the first place, but he wasn't in the last, either. On his third obstacle in a two-mile jumping event, however, the communication between horse and rider broke down somehow. Without warning, Eastern Express stopped short, but Christopher kept going. He pitched forward over the horse's head, landing on his own head——not moving, not even breathing.
克里斯托弗顱腔底部的脊柱折斷了，頸部以下癱瘓。他不能說話，甚至不能自己呼吸。當時醫生們認爲他的生存機率只有百分之五十。
Christopher had broken his spinal cord near the base of his skull, resulting in paralysis from the neck down. He could not speak. He could not even breathe on his own. At the time, doctors gave him only a 50-50 chance of surviving at all.
絕望攫住了克里斯托弗·裏夫的心。他想，也許放棄生存的努力是最佳的方案。死亡似乎是最不費勁、痛苦最少的一件事。他想放棄生存對家人而言也是最佳方案。但這時他看見妻子達納站在他身邊，對他說：“你依然是你。我愛你。”
Despair filled Christopher Reeve's heart. He thought perhaps it would be best if he simply gave up. Dying seemed like the easiest and least painful thing to do. He thought it might be best for his family, too. Then he saw his wife Dana standing next to him, saying, "You're still you, and I love you."
從那一刻開始，克里斯托弗一心只想着活下去。他鼓起勇氣，開始爲生命而戰鬥。幾天以後，克里斯托弗接受了手術，術後他的上半身恢復了一些知覺。不過，醫生們仍然不樂觀。他可能永遠不能再走路了。他也許永遠就只能靠着呼吸器來呼吸了。
From that moment on, Christopher thought only about living. Gathering his courage, he began to fight for his life. A few days later, Christopher underwent an operation that helped restore some feeling to his upper body. Still, doctors emphasized his limitations. He would never walk again. He would never even breathe again without the aid of a respirator.
克里斯托弗要證明醫生們錯了。首先，他想靠自己呼吸。事故過後五個月，他要求拿掉呼吸器。他只勉強地呼吸了十次就得重新連上呼吸管。克里斯托弗毫不氣餒，第二天又多呼吸了幾次。到第四天的時候，他不用幫助可以呼吸七分鐘了。三個月以後，他可以一次持續90分鐘。1995年底，他已經可以回家了。
Christopher set out to prove the doctors wrong. First of all, he wanted to breathe on his own. Five months after the accident, he asked to be taken off the respirator. He managed just 10 feeble breaths before being reconnected to the breathing tube. Refusing to be discouraged, Christopher took a few more breaths the next day. By the fourth day, he was able to breathe seven minutes without assistance. After three months, he could sustain himself for 90 minutes at a time. By the end of 1995, he was able to go home.
在那以後不久，克里斯托弗覺得自己已經做好準備，可以重新面對世界了。他有話要說。他想告訴人們，不論面對怎樣的挑戰，都不能放棄。他開始頻頻在公衆場合出現。在多倫多作過激揚的演說，在波士頓大學畢業典禮上進行過講演。不論克里斯托弗出現在哪裏，人們都起立喝彩，很多人甚至淚流滿面。
Soon after that, Christopher felt ready to face the world again. He had a message to spread. He wanted to tell people that no matter what challenges they faced, they shouldn't give up. Christopher began to make public appearances. He gave a motivational speech in Toronto. He spoke at a Boston University graduation. Wherever Christopher appeared, his speeches met with standing ovations and many teary faces.
與此同時，克里斯托弗也重新開始工作。很顯然，他不可能再去扮演以前的角色了，於是轉而執導。他的處女作影片《暮色如斯》證明創作靈感並沒有離他而去。
Christopher also went back to work. Clearly he couldn't play the roles he'd played in the past. Instead he turned to directing. His first film, In the Gloaming, proved he had not lost his creative spark.
雖然克里斯托弗很堅強，但也還是有不順心的時候。事故後的一年裏，他面臨着血栓問題，後來又得了肺炎。有一天做理療時，他摔在地上，折斷了一條胳膊。
Despite his brave attitude, Christopher has had his share of "down" times. In the year following his accident, he had problems with blood clots. Later, he developed pneumonia. One day while doing physical therapy, he fell to the floor and broke his arm.
每天他都要與自身現實做鬥爭。“早晨，我需要20分鐘去哭泣，”他對一個記者說。在夢中和兒子奔跑玩耍，夢醒之後他需要20分鐘來“清醒和調整...”
Every day he struggled with the reality of his condition. "In the morning, I need 20 minutes to cry," he told a reporter. After nighttime dreams of running and playing with his son, he needed the 20 minutes "to wake up and make that shift..."
但擦乾眼淚後，克里斯托弗總會悄聲說：“好了，前進！” 這些話證明，儘管他無法控制自己的身體，但仍擁有他的勇氣，他的精神，他的內在力量。在這個意義上，他依舊是,也將永遠是超人！But after the tears, Christopher always whispered, "And now, forward!" With those words, Christopher Reeve proved that although he had lost control of his body, he still had his courage, his spirit, and his inner strength. In that sense, he still was,and always would be Superman!
