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MarkForsyth_2012X-_什么叫“snollygoster”_一堂政治语境的短课_
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| One of my favorite words in the whole of the Oxford English Dictionary is "snollygoster." |
我很喜欢的词之一 在整个牛津英语词典里叫“snollygoster”。 |
| Just because it sounds so good. |
不仅因为它听起来很不错。 |
| And what snollygoster means is "a dishonest politician ." |
而且它的意思是 “一个诡诈的政客”。 |
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dishonest:adj.不诚实的;欺诈的; politician:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;
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| Although there was a 19th-century newspaper editor who defined it rather better when he said, "A snollygoster is a fellow who seeks office regardless of party, platform or principle , and who, when he wins, gets there by the sheer force of monumental talknophical assumnancy." |
尽管这只是一个19世纪的 报纸编辑给出的一个很好的定义,他的原话: “‘snollygoster’是一个这样的家伙,他会为了谋求高位 而不在乎任何政党、任何舞台或任何原则, 他会用其三寸不烂之舌 口若悬河而赢得高位。” (笑声) |
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defined:adj.有定义的,确定的; v.使明确; seeks:v.寻求;寻找;探索;搜索; regardless:adj.不管的; v.不顾后果地; platform:n.平台; v.把…放在台上[放在高处; principle:n.原理,原则;主义,道义;本质,本义;根源,源泉; sheer:adj.纯; v.十足地; n.透明薄纱; v.[航海](使)偏航; (使)转向; monumental:adj.不朽的;纪念碑的;非常的;
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| (Laughter) |
(笑声) |
| Now I have no idea what "talknophical" is. |
我一点儿也不明白“talknophical”是什么意思。 |
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I have no idea:我没有头绪…;
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| Something to do with words, I assume . |
大概是和言语词汇相关的词汇,我假设。 |
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assume:v.承担;假定;采取;呈现;
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| But it's very important that words are at the center of politics , and all politicians know they have to try and control language. |
但是言语词汇对于政治中心之作用是非常重要的, 并且所有的政客都明白他们必须尝试着控制他们的话语言论。 |
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politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数) politicians:n.政治家;(蔑)政客;(美)政治贩;(politician的复数)
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| It wasn't until, for example, 1771 that the British Parliament allowed newspapers to report the exact words that were said in the debating chamber . |
举例来说,一直到1771年, 英国议会才允许新闻报纸报道 在辩论会上政客们说的真实话语。 |
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Parliament:n.议会,国会; debating:v.讨论,辩论;仔细考虑;思考;盘算;(debate的现在分词) chamber:n.(身体或器官内的)室,膛; adj.室内的; vt.把…关在室内;
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| And this was actually all down to the bravery of a guy with the extraordinary name of Brass Crosby, who took on Parliament. |
而且实际上这全是因为一个勇敢的人, 这个伟大的名字叫布艾斯·克若斯比 (Brass Crosby), 在议会上提议。 |
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bravery:n.勇敢;勇气; extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
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| And he was thrown into the Tower of London and imprisoned , but he was brave enough, he was brave enough to take them on, and in the end he had such popular support in London that he won. |
他被丢到了伦敦塔里 遭到囚禁, 但是他还是很勇敢 拥有足够的勇气在议会上提议, 并且到最后他在伦敦拥有众多的支持声音而赢得了胜利。 |
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imprisoned:v.监禁;关押;(imprison的过去分词和过去式)
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| And it was only a few years later that we have the first recorded use of the phrase " as bold as brass ." |
而且仅仅几年后 我们有了第一次记录使用短语 “as bold as brass” （意译:敢作敢为） |
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as bold as brass:厚颜无耻;鲁莽;
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| Most people think that's down to the metal. |
很多人认为这个短语出自于金属什么的。 |
| It's not. It's down to a campaigner for the freedom of the press. |
不是的,它是出自于 一个新闻自由卫士。 |
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campaigner:n.竞选者;从军者;出征者;老兵;
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| But to really show you how words and politics interact , |
不过为了真实的表明 词汇和政治怎样互相影响, |
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interact:v.互相影响;互相作用;n.幕间剧;幕间休息;
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| I want to take you back to the United States of America , just after they'd achieved independence . |
我想带你回到过去的美国, 在它刚刚宣布独立的时候。 |
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United States of America:un.美利坚合众国; independence:n.独立;独立性;自恃心;独立不羁的精神;
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| And they had to face the question of what to call George Washington, their leader. |
那时他们有一个问题要面对 就是怎样称号乔治·华盛顿, 他们的领袖。 |
| They didn't know. |
他们不知道, |
| What do you call the leader of a republican country? |
应该尊称一个共和国的领袖为什么？ |
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republican:adj.共和国的;共和政体的;共和主义的;拥护共和政体的;n.共和主义者;
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| And this was debated in Congress for ages and ages. |
就这个问题在国会上争论了很久很久。 |
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debated:v.讨论,辩论;思考;盘算;(debate的过去分词和过去式) Congress:n.国会;代表大会;会议;社交;
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| And there were all sorts of suggestions on the table, which might have made it. |
并且产生了很多建议, 这些建议貌似可行。 |
| I mean, some people wanted him to be called |
我的意思是,一些人想叫他为 |
| Chief Magistrate Washington, and other people, His Highness George Washington, and other people, Protector of the Liberties of the People of the United States of America Washington. |
首席行政官华盛顿, 而另一些人称他为乔治·华盛顿殿下, 还有人叫他美利坚联合政府自由解放的保卫者华盛顿。 |
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Magistrate:n.地方法官;文职官员;治安推事; Highness:n.殿下,阁下;高度,高位;高尚,高贵; Protector:n.保护器;保护者;保护装置;防御者; Liberties:n.自由(liberty的复数);
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| Not that catchy . |
没有一个朗朗上口的名字。 |
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catchy:adj.引人注意的;容易记住的;易使人上当的;
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| Some people just wanted to call him King. |
一些人只是想叫他国王。 |
| They thought it was tried and tested. |
他们认为是个称号是过去用过并经过考验的。 |
| And they weren't even being monarchical there, they had the idea that you could be elected King for a fixed term. |
他们甚至并没有延续君主制, 他们的主意是你可以是选举的国王 有一个固定的任期。 |
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monarchical:adj.君主的,国王的;君主政治的;
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| And, you know, it could have worked. |
你知道的,这样大概会可行。 |
| And everybody got insanely bored , actually, because this debate went on for three weeks. |
而且每一个人都感到神经错乱似地厌烦了,事实上, 因为这场辩论持续了3个礼拜。 |
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insanely:adv.疯狂地;狂暴地;精神错乱地; bored:adj.无聊的;厌倦的;烦闷的;v.使厌烦;钻,凿,挖;(bore的过去分词和过去式)
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| I read a diary of this poor senator , who just keeps coming back, "Still on this subject." |
我读过一个当时可怜议员的日记, 里面持续的记录着,“竟然又是这个议题。” |
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senator:n.参议员;
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| And the reason for the delay and the boredom was that the House of Representatives were against the Senate . |
而致使延期和厌倦的原因是 众议院对战参议院。 |
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boredom:n.厌倦;令人厌烦的事物; House of Representatives:众议院; Senate:n.参议院,上院;(古罗马的)元老院;
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| The House of Representatives didn't want Washington to get drunk on power. |
众议院不想让华盛顿 沉醉于权力。 |
| They didn't want to call him King in case that gave him ideas, or his successor ideas. |
他们不想称他为国王 以防万一他或他的继任者会产生什么想法。 |
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successor:n.继承者;后续的事物;
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| So they wanted to give him the humblest , meagerest, most pathetic title that they could think of. |
所以他们给他一个他们能够想到的,最低微的、最微不足道的、 最为可悲的头衔。 |
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humblest:adj.谦逊的; v.贬低; (humble的最高级) pathetic:adj.可怜的,悲哀的;感伤的;乏味的;
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| And that title was "President." |
而这个头衔叫“President”。 |
| President. They didn't invent the title. I mean, it existed before, but it just meant somebody who presides over a meeting. |
President （会议主持,总统）。他们没有创造这个头衔。我的意思是,这个头衔以前就有, 但是它是指一个会议的主持人。 |
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presides:vi.主持,担任会议主席;vt.管理;
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| It was like the foreman of the jury . |
同陪审团主席的意思相似。 |
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foreman:n.领班;陪审团主席; jury:n.[法]陪审团;评判委员会;adj.应急的;
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| And it didn't have much more grandeur than the term "foreman" or " overseer ." |
并且它一点也不显得非常极其地位显赫 比起“foreman(陪审团主席)”和“overseer(监工)”来。 |
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grandeur:n.壮丽;庄严;宏伟; overseer:n.监督;工头;
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| There were occasional presidents of little colonial councils and bits of government, but it was really a nothing title. |
虽然偶尔会有一些小型殖民地的会议主持人 并有一丝政府管理的意思,但是它真的是个什么都不是的头衔。 |
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occasional:adj.偶然的;临时的;特殊场合的; colonial:n.殖民地居民;adj.殖民地的,殖民的; councils:n.委员会(council的复数);理事会;
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| And that's why the Senate objected to it. |
而且这也是为什么参议院反对这个头衔。 |
| They said, that's ridiculous , you can't call him President. |
他们说这个真的很荒谬,你们不能叫他会议主持。 |
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ridiculous:adj.可笑的;荒谬的;
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| This guy has to go and sign treaties and meet foreign dignitaries . |
这个人还得去签条约和接见外宾。 |
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treaties:n.条约;协定问题(treaty的复数); dignitaries:n.高官;高僧;显要人物;adj.高位的;地位尊荣的;
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| And who's going to take him seriously if he's got a silly little title like President of the United States of America? |
谁还会认真对待他, 如果他只有一个这样愚蠢的小头衔 比如美利坚联邦政府主持（President of the United States of America）？ |
| And after three weeks of debate, in the end the Senate did not cave in. |
之后经过三周的辩论, 最后参议院也没有屈服。 |
| Instead, they agreed to use the title "President" for now, but they also wanted it absolutely set down that they didn't agree with it from a decent respect for the opinions and practice of civilized nations, |
作为替代,他们同意先用着头衔“President”, 但他们也要求绝对确定下来 他们不同意这个头衔 是出于对文明国家的意见和做法的尊重, |
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absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地; decent:adj.正派的;得体的;相当好的; civilized:adj.文明的; v.教化; (civilize的过去式和过去分词)
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| whether under republican or monarchical forms of government, whose custom it is to annex , through the office of the Chief Magistrate, titles of respectability -- not bloody President -- and that in the intercourse with foreign nations, the majesty of the people of the United States |
无论是民主党还是共和党执政, 他们会自定义它, 通过首席行政官办公室,获得非常体面的头衔称号 - 而不是杯具的“President”- 还有在同外国交际时, 美利坚人们的威严 |
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annex:vt.附加;获得;并吞;n.附加物;附属建筑物; respectability:n.体面;可尊敬;有社会地位; bloody:adj.血腥的;血淋淋的;v.血染; intercourse:n.性交;交往;交流; majesty:n.威严;最高权威,王权;雄伟;权威;
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| may not be hazarded by an appearance of singularity , i.e., we don't want to look like bloody weirdos . |
可能不会有被这个奇特头衔损害的危险, 即我们不想被后人看成一群杯具的变态。 |
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hazarded:n.孤注一掷; v.使遭受危险; (hazard的过去式) appearance:n.外貌;外观;外表; singularity:n.奇异;奇点;突出;稀有; weirdos:古怪的人;奇怪的人(weirdo的复数);
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| Now you can learn three interesting things from this. |
现在从这个故事里你能够了解到三件有趣的事情。 |
| First of all -- and this is my favorite -- is that so far as I've ever been able to find out, the Senate has never formally endorsed the title of President. |
首先,也是我最喜欢的地方, 到目前为止所有我能找到的资料里, 参议院从来没有正式的认可过“总统”这个头衔。 |
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First of all:adv.首先; so far as:只要;就…而言;在…范围内; endorsed:v.(公开)赞同,支持,认可; (endorse的过去分词和过去式)
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| Barack Obama, President Obama, is there on borrowed time, just waiting for the Senate to spring into action. |
巴拉克·奥巴马,“总统奥巴马”的头衔,到现在还是暂借的, 只是在一直等待参议院的突然正式任命。 |
| Second thing you can learn is that when a government says that this is a temporary measure -- |
第二件事你可以了解到 当美国政府宣称这只是一项临时措施时 -- |
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temporary:adj.暂时的,临时的;n.临时工,临时雇员;
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| (Laughter) -- you can still be waiting 223 years later. |
（笑声）-- 它会持续223年之久。 |
| But the third thing you can learn, and this is the really important one, this is the point I want to leave you on, is that the title, President of the United States of America, doesn't sound that humble at all these days, does it? |
但第三件事你能了解到的, 而且也是非常重要的一件, 我很想让你们记住这个要点, 就是这个头衔,美利坚联邦政府总统（President of the United States of America）, 听起来从来也没有过地位低微的意思,不是吗？ |
| Something to do with the slightly over 5,000 nuclear warheads he has at his disposal and the largest economy in the world and a fleet of drones and all that sort of stuff . |
大概是有着超过5000多的 核弹头被他支配控制着, 还有着全世界最大的经济体, 还有一大群战机及其他军事力量。 |
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slightly:adv.些微地,轻微地;纤细地; nuclear:adj.原子能的;[细胞]细胞核的;中心的;原子核的; warheads:na.弹头;(warhead的复数) disposal:n.处理;清除;去掉;(企业、财产等的)变卖; economy:n.经济;节约;理财; fleet:n.舰队; v.浅; v.掠过; adj.跑得快的; drones:v.嗡嗡叫;嗡嗡响;(drone的第三人称单数) stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
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| Reality and history have endowed that title with grandeur. |
现实和历史赋予了这个头衔高贵的含义。 |
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endowed:v.赋予;捐赠;
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| And so the Senate won in the end. |
所以最后参议院赢了。 |
| They got their title of respectability. |
他们得到了他们要的体面头衔。 |
| And also, the Senate's other worry, the appearance of singularity -- well, it was a singularity back then. |
而且,参议院担心的另一件事,这个头衔听起来很古怪 -- 哦,它曾经在那段时光听起来古怪。 |
| But now, do you know how many nations have a president? |
但是现在,你知道现在有多少个国家有总统吗？ |
| A hundred and forty-seven. |
147个。 |
| All because they want to sound like the guy who's got the 5,000 nuclear warheads, etc. |
这都是因为他们想让自己的头衔听起来 像那个拥有5000多个核弹头的家伙,等等。 |
| And so, in the end, the Senate won and the House of Representatives lost, because nobody's going to feel that humble when they're told that they are now the President of the United States of America. |
所以到最后,参议院胜利了 众议院输了, 因为没有人会感到不体面 当他们被告知他们现在是 美利坚联邦政府总统。 |
| And that's the important lesson I think you can take away, and the one I want to leave you with. |
而且这是很重要的一课我认为你们能够学到的, 也是我想留给你们的要点。 |
| Politicians try to pick words and use words to shape reality and control reality, but in fact, reality changes words far more than words can ever change reality. |
政客们小心翼翼地选择用词,并利用词汇塑造 和控制现实,但是事实上, 现实改变词汇远远超过 词汇能改变的现实。 |
| Thank you very much. |
非常感谢。 |