不得不说,叶子南的文章都极具挑战性,这是第8篇练习,已经开始感觉非常吃力,原因不是句型结构复杂,而是每篇文章都有非常深厚的文化背景和现实背景,而且文章都来源于诸如“外交”、“TIMES”等国际刊物,编者文笔功力深厚、对背景事件的视角独特、分析深入,再加上大量的buzz
word和约定俗成的说法,给翻译造成了很大的困难。因此每篇翻译之前都需要花大把时间在查阅资料上。
本篇文章作者阐述的是在英国戴安娜王妃以外早逝后,英国王室该以何种方式行事,从法国大革命的攻占巴士底狱,到凡尔赛中走投无路的路易十六;从波旁王朝的复辟,到英国温莎王朝如何在充满革命的时代中维系摇摇欲坠的君主制度;从爱美人不爱江山的爱德华八世,到坚守白金汉宫的乔治六世。核心都围绕着戴安娜王妃的死带给英国王室和英国人民的种种思考。在翻译之前,务必参考历史资料,对文章中的历史事件、人物有一个相当的了解,才可能知道文章在讲些什么。原文中划线句子为比较难处理的句子。
008 – The Men Who Would Be King
When the news of the storming of the Bastille reached Versailles,
the hapless Louis XVI expressed the hope that this was a mere
revolt. “No, sir,” replied the Duc de la Rochefoucauld – Liancourt,
“it’s a great revolution.” For
the sake of the House of Windsor, we must trust that those
advising the royal family at this unhappy time will also be blunt.
The national outpouring of affection and grief for the “people’s
princess” could be dismissed as a form of collective hysteria that
will die away as surely as the echo of muffled funeral
bells. No
tumbrels loom for a monarchy that still
figures centrally in the British psyche and way of
life. But
if the monarchy is to survive and thrive in the new millennium, it
will be because it has listened to its subjects and
responded, not with mere tactical concessions –a
waiving of protocol here, a letting slip of the mask
there –but with the courage to think and
act strategically.
Listening to the will of the people shouldn’t be difficult, even
for a royal family with a propensity to shelter behind the carapace
of tradition and ceremony. With
voluble outrage and grief to match our confessional age,
editorial writers and citizens on the streets told their royal
family that business as usual is not an acceptable
reaction. Once
upon a time it may have been enough. When
George VI and his Queen remained stoically at Buckingham Palace to
share with Londoners the horrors and dangers of the wartime blitz,
he sealed
the affections of his people and prepared
the ground for the new Elizabethan era. But this, now, is a
revolutionary era, and
like the Bourbons it has caught the Windsors by surprise.
Call it the era of Diana, who
revolted against the “firm” and
revolutionized the people’s perceptions, not only of what the
monarchy is, but what it could become. Even as the Windsors grieve,
they and the country should thanks that Diana has shown them the
way. Anddreadful
irony as it may be, her untimely death creates the
opportunity for the Windsors to take charge of the
revolution.
The Prince of Wales, who
once said the realization that he was heir to the throne hit him as
a “ghastly, inexorable sense,” must lead
the way. The
British want the evidence that the chilly
Charles is the right man for the job –the job not only of King but
also of father to the young princes, William and Harry. The
decisions that he makes now will
give him a critical opportunity to resolve
his country’s doubts. The monarchy will probably survive –it has,
after all, endured wars and divorces, beheadings and exile. But in
the wake of Diana’s death, the
House of Windsor must settle back down on its foundation quite
differently.
008 – 要成为国王的人
当巴士底狱被攻占的消息传到凡尔赛宫时,走投无路的路易十六将希望寄托于这只是一次暴乱。他的一位公爵急忙说道:“不,陛下,这是一场实实在在的大革命。”为了历史不在温莎王朝重演,我们必须相信,那些在不乐观的时期给王室提出建议的人一定是直言不讳的。全国上下对“人民的王妃”流露出的喜爱与悲痛之情可能会以一种集体发泄的形式发泄出来,但最终一定会随着丧钟的声音慢慢消失。法国大革命的胜利不会将英国的君主政体笼罩在阴影下,因为君主制在英国人的心理和生活方式中仍处于核心地位。但倘若君主制想在新千年里继续存在并繁荣下去,就一定要听一听来自人民的声音和反应,不能仅仅是做出策略上的让步——这边放弃一项草案,那边摘下一张面具——而是要有勇气做出战略性的思考和行动。
a)
值此悲哀的时刻,但愿那些为温莎王室禁言献策之士也能以王室的利益为重,说出逆耳的忠言。
b)
眼下不列颠举国上下一片哀伤,悼念“人民的王妃”,这可以被视为只是集体的情绪发泄,随着丧钟声的消逝,这一切都将烟消雾散。
c)
君主制并未面临灭顶之灾。
d)
……,王室就必须倾听臣民的心声,并做出反应。
e)
这种反应不应只是权宜之计的让步,废除一项礼仪,暂时改变一下面目是远远不够的。
f)
王室必须在思维和行动上拿出勇气,显出远见。
听一听人民的心声不应是一件困难的事情,即便是对习惯了躲在传统和仪式背后的皇室家族也应是如此。社论编辑者和人民群众不加掩饰地表现出他们的愤怒和悲痛,算是反映了这个凡事都溢于言表的时代。他们纷纷涌上街头,对王室成员一切照旧的反应表示强烈的不满。在过去这样做也许还过得去。乔治六世和他的王妃坚守在白金汉宫,冒着生命危险为他们的伦敦市民分担战争带来的恐惧,他们在当时赢得了人民的爱戴,也为后来的伊丽莎白时代奠定了基础。但如今是一个革命的时代,正如当年的波旁王朝一样,如今的温莎王朝也被眼前的革命时代搞得措手不及。我们还是称其为戴安娜的时代吧,是她奋起反抗王室这个“公司”,并使人们对何为君主制、君主制该如何改变的观念产生了革命性的转变。温莎王室现在正处于悲痛中,但他们和全国人民都应该感谢戴安娜为他们指出道路。极具讽刺性的是,正是戴安娜的早逝,让温莎王室得到了接管革命的契机。
a)
虽然王室习惯于躲在传统和礼仪的荫庇下,但要倾听人民的心愿毕竟并非一件难事。
b)
他们正告王室,以不变应万变是行不通的。
c)
乔治六世和王后当年曾在二战战火纷飞的危机形势下,毅然留在白金汉宫,与伦敦人民共度战火的煎熬。
d)
且把这一切称之为戴安娜时代,……
威尔士亲王曾将自己不得不继承王位的消息描述成一个可怕的、无法改变的事实,即便如此,他必须带领温莎王室前进。英国人民希望得到保证,这位表情冷漠的查尔斯王子可以做好他的工作——不仅是一国之君,也是年轻的威廉王子和哈里王子的父亲。现在是一个千载难逢的机会,他可以用自己的决定来打消全国人民的疑虑。君主制将有可能延续下去——毕竟,它经历了战火与离婚,砍头与流放,至今仍存在着。但戴安娜死后,温莎王室需要重振旗鼓,展现出不一样的一面。
a)
威尔士亲王曾经对人说,每当他想到王位不可避免地要由他来继承,就感到十分可怕。
b)
但王子必须引路前行。
c)
这个王朝毕竟经历过战火的煎熬,离婚的丑闻,甚至砍头流放的厄运,而毅然不倒。
参考资料:
1. 温莎王朝:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Windsor
2. 戴安娜王妃:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales
3. 攻占巴士底狱:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille
4. 凡尔赛宫:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versaille
5. 白金汉宫:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Palace
6. 乔治六世:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_VI
7. 波旁王朝:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbons
8. Tumbrel:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumbrel Tumbrel原指押送囚犯的囚车,这里泛指
末日。
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