English Original
Although he will always be remembered for portraying "Superman," the greatest role of actor Christopher Reeve's life was as a champion of sufferers of spinal cord injuries and an advocate of stem cell research.
Unlike the man of steel, he wasn't faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and he couldn't leap tall buildings in a single bound. But the courage and determination Reeve displayed in trying to overcome his paralysis from a 1995 horse-riding accident far surpassed any of the feats of the comic book hero.
"He became a real-life Superman. His heroism, his courage was extraordinary," Colin Blakemore, the chief executive of Britain's Medical Research Council said.
Reeve, 52, died on October 10 of heart failure after having treatment for an infected pressure wound without realizing his dream of walking again. But in the nine years since his accident, he made personal progress to regain some feeling, established the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, a non-profit research organization, and used his fame to raise millions of dollars for research into spinal cord injuries.
He also provided hope and inspiration to other patients and lobbied for scientists to be allowed to conduct stem cell research in the hopes of eventually curing paralysis and other illnesses such as diabetes and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
"He has been our champion. If you think of spinal injuries you automatically conjure up a picture of Christopher Reeve," said Paul Smith, executive director of the Spinal Injuries Association in England.
Reeve did not live long enough to see whether stem cell research could help restore movement to the paralyzed. The research is still in its early days and no one knows what advances it may bring.
中文翻译
尽管克里斯托弗·里夫将因其饰演“超人”一角而被永远铭记，但他一生中扮演的最伟大角色，是作为脊椎损伤患者的斗士和干细胞研究的倡导者。
与钢铁之躯不同，他并非快过子弹、强过火车，也无法一跃跳过摩天大楼。但里夫在1995年骑马事故导致瘫痪后，为克服瘫痪所展现出的勇气和决心，远远超越了漫画英雄的任何壮举。
英国医学研究理事会主任科林·布莱克莫尔说：“他成为了现实中的超人。他的英勇，他的勇气是非凡的。”
52岁的里夫于10月10日因心力衰竭去世，此前他因伤口严重感染接受治疗，最终未能实现再次行走的梦想。但在事故后的九年里，他取得了个人康复进展，建立了非营利性研究组织“克里斯托弗·里夫瘫痪基金会”，并利用自己的名声为脊髓损伤研究筹集了数百万美元。
他还为其他患者带来了希望和鼓舞，并游说允许科学家进行干细胞研究，以期最终治愈瘫痪以及糖尿病、阿尔茨海默症和帕金森病等其他疾病。
英国脊髓损伤协会执行主任保罗·史密斯说：“他一直是我们（患者群体）的斗士。一想到脊髓损伤，你脑海中就会自动浮现出克里斯托弗·里夫的形象。”
里夫未能活着看到干细胞研究是否能帮助瘫痪者恢复行动。这项研究仍处于早期阶段，无人知晓它将带来何种进展。