I Escaped My Kidnapper!
我逃脱了绑匪的魔掌!
My town in Florida is straight out of the movies—smiling people taking strolls[漫步] and little kids riding bikes. So sweet! Every morning, I 8217;d walk the mile on the sidewalk along a main road from my house to my high school. The walk scared me at first because I had to leave while it was still dark, before the sun was fully up, and I passed an empty parking lot[停车场]. But after a few week I relaxed and that creeped-out[奇怪的，不好的] feeling went away.
我生活在佛罗里达的一个小镇，那里活脱脱就是一幅电影风情画——面带笑容的人们在镇上闲逛，小孩子在骑单车。太温馨了!每天早上从家到中学的途中，我都要经过大路上那条人行道。一开始走这段路时我有点怕，因为天还没亮我就要出门，而且还要经过一个空停车场。但几周后我开始放松下来，不适感也消失了。
Grabbed!
被抓住!
Then one day last spring, I was walking by the parking lot with my iPod on, when suddenly my headphones were knocked off my head and a man threw his arm around my neck! It happened fast. I heard a deep, scary voice say, “Just be quiet,” in my ear.
去年春天的某日，我一边听着iPod一边走过停车场。突然，我的耳机被人从头上摘掉，一个男人用胳膊勒住我的脖子!事情发生得很快。我听见一个低沉而可怕的声音在我耳边说：“别出声。”
I was being attacked, and this man 8217;s arm was closing tightly on my neck! I wasn 8217;t about to be quiet. I started yelling my head off and trying to pull his arm away from me, but he squeezed[挤压，握紧] tighter! He was behind me, but when I was able to turn a little, I saw that he had his T-shirt pulled up over half his face. The struggle seemed like an eternity[永远]—he was forcing me to walk toward the back of an auto repair shop and he just kept saying, “Be quiet.”
我被袭击了，而且那个人的手臂正紧紧地勒住我的脖子!我没打算不做声。我开始声嘶力竭地叫起来，并试着将他的手臂从身上拉开，可是他勒得更紧了!虽然他在我身后，但在我能够稍微转身时，我看见他是将T恤衫拉起遮住半张脸。我的挣扎仿佛一直没有尽头——他强迫我走向一间汽车修理店后面，并不停地说：“别出声。”
Cars drove by and we passed two guys at a bus stop across the street, yet no one helped. My mind was frozen with fear. For a few second I couldn 8217;t even see! But then I heard my great-grandmother 8217;s voice in my head. She was talking in her gentle way, saying, “Come on now, I know you 8217;re stronger than that!” She was the rock in our family until she passed away four years ago.
汽车从我们身边驶过，过马路时我们还从车站里的两个人面前经过，但没有人帮忙。我吓得不知所措。有那么几秒，我甚至什么都看不见了!然后我在脑中听见曾祖母的声音。她用那温柔的声音说道：“来吧，我知道你可以更坚强!”直到四年前曾祖母去世以前，她一直是我们家的坚石。
I snapped back[迅速跳回] to reality and adrenaline[肾上腺素] kicked in[开始生效]. I didn 8217;t know what this man wanted to do—kidnap, rape, or rob[抢夺] me, or maybe all three—but I had to get out of the situation alive. I started coaching myself in my head, okay—you need to get calm and figure out what to do.
我猛地回到现实，肾上腺素开始起效。我不知道这个男人想干什么——绑架、强暴还是打劫，或者三样都是——但我必须活着逃出去。我开始对自己说，好吧——你需要冷静下来，想出对策。
Survival Instinct[本能]
求生本能
I 8217;ve never had any self-defense[自卫] training, but I went for it—I pulled his arm off my neck with all my might[力量] and let out a loud scream as I kicked my leg back into his shin[胫骨]! He let go of me and I took off running. When I looked back to see if he was chasing me, he was running the opposite way. At the same time, he looked back at me too, and I saw him clearly—he was short with puffy[胀大的] cheeks and small eyes. Then I turned again and ran like crazy until I got to a nearby drugstore.
我从没参加过自卫训练，但决定放手一试——我用尽全身力气把他的手臂从我脖子上拉开，然后一脚踢向他的胫骨，并发出一声尖叫!他放开了我，我脱身跑开。我回头想看看他有没有追过来，他已经向另一个方向逃跑了。这时候，他也回头看了看我，我清楚地看见他的模样——他身材矮小，脸胖眼小。而后我再次转头，死命地跑，直到来到附近的一间药房才停下来。
My hands were shaking and I couldn 8217;t calm down. I asked the girl at the counter for the phone and I called my mom. I was so scared I could hardly talk. She kept me on the phone with her while she drove to the store to meet me. “You have to calm down,” she pleaded[恳求]. She arrived five minutes later and I was finally able to explain what happened through sobs[哭泣]. “I 8217;m calling the police!” my mom exclaimed.
我的手在颤抖，冷静不下来。我向柜台的女孩借用电话打给妈妈。我害怕得几乎说不出话。她一直保持和我通话，同时开车到药房找我。“你一定要冷静下来，”她劝我说。妈妈五分钟后到达，我终于能够哭着解释发生的事情。“我要报警!”妈妈大声说道。
When we got home, two officers were waiting for us. While one cop[警官] took down my story, the other went looking for the guy. I was heartbroken when he returned and said, “We don 8217;t see him.”
我们回到家时，两名警员在等我们。一名警察在录口供的同时，另一名则出去找那个男人。他回来说：“我们没看见他。”我真是伤心透了。
Inner Strength
内在的力量
I stayed home for a few days after the incident. School officials warned students that someone was assaulted[袭击] and they gave everyone the guy 8217;s description. At first no one knew that it was me who 8217;d been attacked, but as people found out, they asked me tons of questions. I cried every time I had to relive the story, so my close friends formed a protective bubble around me to keep people away.
这件事发生后几天，我一直呆在家里。学校职员警告学生说有人遇袭，并向所有人描述了他的样子。刚开始没有人知道是我遇袭，但人们发现后问了我一大堆问题。每当被迫再次去面对这件事，我都会忍不住哭。于是好友们在我身边建成了“防护罩”，让我远离他们。
At first the attack made me afraid to do anything. I made friends come to my house. Things slowly got better, but I still don 8217;t like anyone to get near my neck.
起初，这次遇袭令我害怕做任何事情。我让朋友到家里来。情况慢慢好转，但我仍然不喜欢任何人碰我的脖子。
The fear isn 8217;t totally gone—after all, the guy is still out there somewhere—but I have a new appreciation for my own strength. I never expected to be able to fight off an attacker; I 8217;m stronger than I realized. Now I know to always listen to my instincts[本能], and everyone else should too. If something seems unsafe or makes you nervou stay away. I 8217;ve learned the hard way that you never know what 8217;s going to happen, but you need to be prepared no matter what.
恐惧还没有完全散去——毕竟那个人依然逍遥法外——但我对自己的力量有了新的认识。我从未想过可以击退袭击者;我比自己意识到的要坚强。现在我知道要聆听自己的本能，每个人都应该这样。如果什么东西看起来不安全或令你紧张，远离它们。我吃过一番苦头才明白了这个道理——你永远不知道接下来会发生什么事情，但无论如何你都必须做好准备。