今天我们要听到的是电影《返老还童》片段。“假如”，我们最常说的一个词之一。假如，当初我怎样，也许现在又如何如何。只是，“假如”只是“假如”，有些事情，在我们假设之后，突然动心真的想去再做一次，也许还有可能得到我们预期的结果。还有些“假如”却是无论如何也无法改变的。

Sometimes we're ①on a collision course and we just don't know it. Whether it's ②by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it. A woman in Paris was on her way to go shopping. But she had forgotten her coat, went back to get it. When she had gotten her coat, the phone had rung. So she had stopped to answer it and talked for a couple of minutes. While the woman was on the phone, Daisy was rehearsing for a performance at the Paris Opera House. And while she was rehearsing, the woman, off the phone now, had gone outside to get a taxi. Now, a taxi driver had ③dropped off a fare earlier, and had stopped to get a cup of coffee. And all the while, Daisy was rehearsing. And this cab driver, who dropped off the earlier fare and had stopped to get the cup of coffee, he picked up the lady who was going shopping and had missed getting the earlier cab. The taxi had to stop for a man crossing the street, who had left for work five minutes later than he normally did because he forgot to set his alarm. While that man, late for work, was crossing the street, Daisy had finished rehearsing and was taking a shower. And while Daisy was showering, the taxi was waiting outside a boutique for the woman to pick up a package which hadn't been wrapped yet, because the girl who was supposed to wrap it had broken up with her boyfriend the night before and forgot. When the package was wrapped, the woman, who was back in the cab, was blocked by a delivery truck. All the while, Daisy was getting dressed. The delivery truck pulled away, and the taxi was able to move while Daisy, the last to be dressed, waited for one of her friends who had broken a shoelace. While the taxi was stopped, waiting for a traffic light, Daisy and her friend came out the back of the theater. And if only one thing had happened differently, if that shoelace hadn't broken or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier or that package had been wrapped and ready because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend, or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee or that woman had remembered her coat and got into an earlier cab, Daisy and her friend would have crossed the street and the taxi would have driven by. But, life being what it is, a series of intersecting lives and incidents ④out of anyone's control, that taxi did not go by, and that driver was ⑤momentarily distracted. And that taxi hit Daisy.
有时候 我们的人生轨道会与别人的交错，只是不自知罢了。无论是意外还是天意，我们都无力改变。巴黎，一名女子正要出门购物，却发现忘带了外套，于是回家去取。她拿起外套时电话铃响了。她接起电话聊了一会。与此同时，黛西正为一场巴黎歌剧院的演出彩排。不久，女子聊完，挂了电话，下楼去招出租车。另一边，出租车司机刚刚送完一位客人，便停了车去买咖啡。而黛西还在继续排练。那位送完了客人便去买咖啡的司机正巧接了要去购物的那位女子，而那位女子因为一番延误，刚好错过了之前的车。车子中途停了一下，因为有人横穿马路。这位男子那天比平时晚起了五分钟，因为他忘了定闹钟。那个没定闹钟，早上迟到的人横穿马路的时候，黛西已经排练结束，开始冲澡。她在洗澡的时候，出租车停在一家糖果店门口，等女客人去取包裹。可包裹还没备好，因为打包的女孩昨晚刚刚与男友分手， 太过伤心而忘了打包。包裹打好之后，女子回到车上，又被一辆货车挡住了去路。与此同时，黛西换上了衣服。货车开走之后，出租才重新上路。而黛西最后一个才穿好衣服，又等了一会断了鞋带的朋友。出租在路灯处停下时，黛西和她朋友正从剧场后门出来。如果有一件事 有一点点不一样，如果那鞋带没断，如果那货车早一点儿开走，或者包裹早早备好，因为男孩没和女孩分手，又或者那男子定了闹钟，和平时一样起床，再或者司机没有停车喝咖啡，而那女子也带了外套上了之前的出租，那么，黛西和她朋友就会平平安安地穿过马路，那出租也只是和她们擦身而过。但是，生活没有如果，只有一连串互相交错的意外，无人能够控制。那辆出租没有和她们擦身而过，而就在那时，司机分了一下神。黛西！车子撞倒了黛西！

电影《返老还童》讲的是一个男孩出生的时候身体机能和外貌都和八十岁老人一样，可是随着时间的推移，他却越来越年轻。如此异于常人，甚至诡异的状况让父亲不得不遗弃他。尽管养老院的职员收养了他，但从小被嘲笑戏弄的命运却无法改变。我们听到的这一段中最终被车撞伤的女孩Daisy是小时候为数不多肯与主人公结交的朋友之一。来看看旁白中的几处用法：

①on a collision course：collision，指“碰撞；冲突”；course, “过程”。On a collision course，处于碰撞冲突的过程。这里指我们的活动不经意间会和完全和自己不想干的人发生关系。也就是之后说到的一连串活动的发生。

②by accident or by design：这是两个固定短语。By accident, “偶然地”；比如：The gun went off by accident. 那把枪走火了。By design, 正好相反，“有意地”。比如：He made that remark by design. 他故意那样说。

③dropped off a fare：fare, 有“乘客”的含义。Drop off a fare, 一位乘客到站下车。

④out of anyone's control：out of control, 比较常用的短语“不受控制的；失去控制”。再比如：The children are out of control. 管不住这些孩子了。

⑤momentarily distracted：distracted, 精神不集中的。Momentarily, 以moment为词根衍生出的一个副词。意思是，“瞬间地；短暂地”。短语意思是“瞬间的注意力不集中”。

如同电影对白中所说，我们的生命以及其他的一切都在我们不自知的状态下和无数人的生命挂上了钩。我们可以控制自己，却无法控制所有的其他人。既然这样，那就在依然平安，健康的日子里，尽量让自己开心些吧。下期，我们继续电影《返老还童》。