At one time we dared not even to whisper. Now we write and read samizdat, and sometimes when we gather in the smoking room at the Science Institute we complain frankly to one another: What kind of tricks are they playing on us, and where are they dragging us? gratuitous boasting of cosmic achievements while there is poverty and destruction at home. Propping up remote, uncivilized regimes. Fanning up civil war. And we recklessly fostered Mao Tse-tung at our expense-- and it will be we who are sent to war against him, and will have to go. Is there any way out? And they put on trial anybody they want and they put sane people in asylums--always they, and we are powerless.
有一段時間，我們不敢說話，只是偷偷地通過地下出版物交流思想。我們偶爾會聚在科學院的吸煙室，互相抱怨：“政府到底在玩什么把戲？到底想把我們怎樣？”周圍是鋪天蓋地的對全宇宙最高成就的吹噓，而現(xiàn)實中的貧窮和墮落卻隨處可見。這個政府還扶植那些落后國家的傀儡政府，煽動內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。我們還傻乎乎地出錢，把毛澤東培育起來。最終，還是我們這些人被送上戰(zhàn)場，去與他作戰(zhàn)，他們逼著你去。我們有出路嗎？他們想審判誰，就審判誰。他們把正常人關(guān)進瘋?cè)嗽?。他們掌握一切，我們無能為力。
Things have almost reached rock bottom. A universal spiritual death has already touched us all, and physical death will soon flare up and consume us both and our children--but as before we still smile in a cowardly way and mumble without tounges tied. But what can we do to stop it? We haven't the strength?
情況已經(jīng)糟到不能再糟了。一場全面性的精神死亡，正降臨到我們所有人頭上。肉體的死亡很快也會來臨，我們和我們的子孫都無路可逃。但是我們一如既往，還在怯弱地裝出笑容，毫不費力地表示順從。我們能夠阻止這一切嗎？我們真的沒有力量嗎？
We have been so hopelessly dehumanized that for today's modest ration of food we are willing to abandon all our principles, our souls, and all the efforts of our predecessors and all opportunities for our descendants--but just don't disturb our fragile existence. We lack staunchness, pride and enthusiasm. We don't even fear universal nuclear death, and we don't fear a third world war. We have already taken refuge in the crevices. We just fear acts of civil courage.
為了得到自己那份吃不飽的口糧，我們無可救藥地就把人性拋棄了，把我們所有的原則、我們的靈魂、前人的所有抗爭、后人的所有機會都拋棄了，只為了讓自己能夠可憐地生存下去。我們?nèi)狈χ艺\、自豪感和熱忱。我們不害怕核武器，也不害怕第三次世界大戰(zhàn)，我們已經(jīng)是廢墟中的難民了。我們只害怕作為一個公民，做出有勇氣的行為。