Matt voiceover: As if Liz's coma¹ weren't enough already, the whole goddamn state is following my decision on who's gonna buy 25,000 pristine² acres on Kauai that my family has owned since the 1860s. A lot of my cousins are broke, and the sale will make us all very, very rich. My family meets in six days to approve a buyer. But ever since my father died, I'm the sole trustee which means I alone hold all the cards. My great-great-grandmother was Princess Margaret Ke'alohilani one of the last direct descendants of King Kamehameha. She was originally supposed to marry her cousin but she fell in love with Edward King, her haole banker whose parents had been missionaries³. Between his land deals and her huge inheritance generations of their descendants, all of us have watched the past unfurl millions into our laps through leases and sales. Now something called the rule against perpetuities is forcing us to dissolve the trust and we're selling our last huge parcel of virgin⁴ Hawaiian land. Unlike a lot of my cousins, I haven't blown my share of the trust money. Just like my father before me, I live only on the income from my law practice. I don't want my daughters growing up spoiled and entitled. Liz always accuses me of stinginess, but I agree with my father. You give your children enough money to do something, but not enough to do nothing.

 

Secretary: Matt. Your cousins are here.

 

Matt voiceover: Not only am I the sole trustee, but I specialize in real-estate transaction law so a few of the more involved cousins have been meeting with me regularly to analyze⁵ bids.

 

Cousins: Hey. How's it, Matt?

 

Matt voiceover: Cousin Hal, Cousin Milo, Cousin Stan, Cousin Six, Cousin Wink⁶, Cousin Connie.

 

Cousin Connie: How you doing? Okay?

 

Matt voiceover: And Cousin Dave, both of whom oppose the sale entirely⁷.

 

Cousin Dave: Good to see you.

 

Matt voiceover: Don't be fooled by appearances. In Hawaii, some of the most powerful people look like bums⁹ and stuntmen.

 

Matt: All right, so where are we?

 

Matt voiceover: The proposals are virtually the same. Hotels, shopping centers, condos and golf courses.

 

Cousin Connie: I have some major concerns...

 

Matt voiceover: A Chicago group is offering half a billion dollars. But we're leaning towards a lower bid from a guy named Don Holitzer. He's actually from Kauai. Made a fortune in Silicon¹⁰ Valley. Old Cousin Hugh is pushing us in that direction, and I say, why not? The money would come from Hawaii and stay in Hawaii.

 

Cousin: There's nothing about saving the Heiau. You know, it's ridiculous. And there's no beach access like they say, and that's really, really...

 

Matt thinking: Elizabeth's gonna make it out okay. I know it. It's not her time yet. She'll wake up. Scottie and Alexandra will have their mother back. And we'll talk about our marriage. I know I can make things right. I'll sell the land, quit my practice, and buy her whatever she wants. A big boat. A house in France. We'll take a trip around the world, just the two of us. We'll get close again, like the early days.

 

Doctor: I wish I had better news, Matthew. But Dr Chun and Dr Mueller and I agree that her condition it's deteriorating¹¹. She has no eye movement. She has no pupillary responses. She has no brain-stem reflexes whatsoever¹². I mean, the machines can keep her alive but, the quality of her life would be so poor, basically the way it is now. She'll never be the way she was, Matt. Never. We know that now. Look, uh I can't tell you how sorry I am to tell you this. And you do have your daughters. There's just nothing more that we can do.

 

Matt: So if we do go ahead and take her off the machines...

 

Doctor: There's no "if". It's "when". I have a legal obligation. You know that.

 

Matt: How long will she last?

 

Doctor: Well, it's hard to say. It could be a few days, it could be a couple of weeks. For planning purposes, I think you should work off the shortest possible scenario¹³. I know I've gotta get the ball rolling on the organ donations right away. Matt. Elizabeth has many friends. She has a big life. If you're gonna let everybody know to say goodbye which is the typical protocol¹⁴ for these situations, you start now. Then when the last day comes they'll feel more ready. Or as ready as they can feel for something like this. I'm so sorry, Matt.

 

 

1. pristine acres: 处女地，生荒地。Pristine的意思是“原始的”。

 

2. Kauai: 考艾岛（夏威夷群岛之第四大岛）。

 

3. trustee: 托管人。

 

例句：Her request for money was turned down by the trustees.

 

她要钱的请求被托管人拒绝了。

 

4. hold all the cards: 掌控整个局势。

 

例句：He holds all the cards in his hands.

 

他稳操胜券。

 

5. missionary¹⁵: 传教士。

 

6. leases: 租赁协议。

 

例句：No one knows what will happen when those leases expire.

 

没有人知道这些租约期满后将会发生什么。

 

7. perpetuity: 永久所有权。

 

8. dissolve: 解散，使终结。

 

例句：They dissolved their marriage.

 

他们已解除婚约。

 

9. blow: 挥霍。

 

例句：I blew fifty dollars on the lobster¹⁶ dinner.

 

为这顿龙虾宴我花去五十元。

 

blow也有“因笨而失去（良机等）”的意思。

 

例句：We had our chance and blew it.

 

我们曾有一次机会但却失去了。

 

10. entitled: 享有特权的。

 

11. stinginess: 吝啬。

 

例句：Such stinginess came from my side of the family.

 

这种吝啬是我这边的祖先遗传下来的。

 

12. bum⁸: 流浪汉。

 

13. stuntmen: 杂技演员。

 

14. condo: 各户有独立产权的公寓（大楼）。

 

15. papillary: 瞳孔的。

 

16. work off the shortest possible scenario: 按最短的光景来做准备。

 

17. get the ball rolling on: 开始（做某事）。

 

例句：I think this is a perfect plan. Let's get the ball rolling!

 

我认为这是个完美的计划，我们开始行动吧！

 

18. protocol: 礼节。

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