2015年经济学人 赫尔穆特施密特 烟与火

 

Obituary¹: Helmut Schmidt Smoke and fire

赫尔穆特·施密特 烟与火

Helmut Schmidt, Social Democrat² chancellor³ of West Germany, died on November 10th, aged⁴ 96

赫尔穆特·施密特，西德的社会民主党总理，逝于11月10日，终年96岁

HE WAS so clever, and so rude with it, that his listeners sometimes realised too late that they had been outwitted and insulted. Helmut Schmidt did not just find fools tiresome⁵. He obliterated⁶ them. The facts were clear and the logic⁷ impeccable. So disagreement was a sign of idiocy⁸.

他的聪明和粗暴时常会让听众意识到自己上当受骗和受到羞辱的时候已经太晚了。赫尔穆特·施密特不仅发现了傻瓜令人讨厌，他还消灭了他们。既然事实清楚，逻辑不可辩驳，那么，再有不同的意见就是白痴的表现。

He was impatient, too, with his own party, which failed to realise the constraints⁹ and dilemmas¹⁰ of power. It wanted him to spend money West Germany did not have, and to compromise with terrorists who belonged in jail. He was impatient with the anti-nuclear left, who failed to realise that nuclear-power stations were safe, and that the Soviet¹¹ empire thrived on allies' weakness. And he was impatient with post-Watergate America, which seemed to have lost its will to lead.

他还对没能意识到权力的约束和困境的他的政党感到不耐烦。这个政党曾经想让他花西德没有的钱，同应当被关在监狱里的恐怖分子妥协。他对没能认识到核电站是安全的、苏联帝国是靠着盟友的软弱才繁荣起来的反核左派感到不耐烦。最后，他对似乎已经失去了领导意愿的后水门时代的美国感到不耐烦。

In good causes and in bad he was imperious. His addiction¹² to nicotine¹³ trumped¹⁴ convention and courtesy. He smoked whenever and wherever he felt like it, even in non-smoking compartments¹⁵ of railway carriages. “Can you ask Mr Schmidt to put his cigarette out?” a passenger asked the conductor. “Would you mind telling him yourself?” came the timid reply.

不管在不在理，他都希望别人听命于他。他的烟瘾胜过了公德和礼貌。只要想抽，他就会不分时间场合地来上一根，哪怕是在火车的非吸烟车厢中。“你能让施密特先生把烟灭了吗？”一位乘客问乘务员。“对不起，麻烦你自己给他说好吗？”得到却是一个怯生生回答。

Yet his brains, eloquence¹⁶ and willpower were unmatched in German politics. They brought him through the Nazi¹⁷ period, thrown out of the Hitler Youth for disloyalty but with an Iron Cross for bravery. He was one-quarter Jewish, which he concealed¹⁸ when he married his wife Loki and needed to prove his Aryan background. Only late in his career did an army document emerge which described him as ideologically¹⁹ sound.

然而，在德国政坛，他的头脑、口才和毅力却是独一无二的。它们让他走过了纳粹时代，因为不忠诚而被开除出希特勒青年团，却因为勇敢而得到了铁十字勋章。他是四分之一的犹太人，他在与妻子 Loki 结婚并需要证明他的的雅利安人背景时隐瞒了这一点。直到一份描述他意识形态可靠的军方文件出现为止。

In post-war West Germany he flourished, making a successful career in Hamburg's city government. By commandeering army units to deal with the floods of 1962 he broke a taboo²⁰, and the law, but gaining a deserved reputation as a doer.

在战后的西德，他名声大震，在汉堡市政府走上了一条成功之路。他以征调军队应对1962年的洪水的行为打破了当时的一项禁忌，违反了法律，却赢得了实干家的美誉。

He replaced Willy Brandt (the victim of an East German espionage²¹ operation) in 1974, at a time when the West was reeling from the oil-price shock, terrorism and America's humiliation²² in Vietnam. With his friend Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (another fluent English-speaker), he launched the idea of summit governance to deal with the world's economic woes²³. G7 meetings in those days were brief, informal affairs with real conversations and real decisions, not the micromanaged showpieces of today. Agreements made then laid the foundations for the modern European Union.

他在西方正在承受油价冲击、恐怖主义和美国在越南失败之苦的1974年，取代了（东德间谍行动的一位受害者）维利·勃兰特。他同他的朋友吉斯卡尔·德斯坦德（另一位能够流利地讲英语的人）首倡了以峰会治理来应对全球经济困境的思想。那时的G7会议，议题简明，气氛随便，有着真正的对话和真正的决策的，不像今天这样净管些不该管的琐事。当时签订的各种协议为当代欧洲联盟打下了基础。

Other leaders did not find him easy to deal with. He detested²⁴ the weakness of Jimmy Carter's administration, and the two men got on badly. His foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, recalled that “Schmidt was of the opinion that the world would be fairer if he was president of the United States and Carter the German chancellor.” The Israeli leader Menachem Begin called him “unprincipled, avaricious²⁵, heartless and lacking in human feeling” after he said that Germans living in a divided nation should feel sympathy for Palestinian self-determination.

其他领导人没有发现他容易相处。他曾对吉米·卡特政府的软弱表示了极大的不满，两人相处的非常糟糕。他的外长汉斯-迪特里希·根舍曾经回忆道，“施密特当时的看法是，要是他是美国总统、卡特是德国总理的话，世界会更加美好。”在他发表了生活在一个分裂国家中的德国人应当对巴勒斯坦人的民族自决表示同情的言论后，以色列领导人贝京称他“没有原则立场、贪得无厌、没心没肺，而且缺乏人类感情“。

Fairness, not fads²⁶

公平而不狂热

His toughness towards the nihilist terrorists of the Red Army Faction²⁷ outraged²⁸ many liberal-minded Germans, who felt that extensive snooping, interrogations and quasi-military justice had dreadful echoes of the Nazi period. They flinched²⁹ when he urged America to beef up its nuclear presence in Europe in response to the Soviet Union's growing stockpile of medium-range missiles. But for him social democracy was based on fairness, not fads. He had no time for greenery, feminism or culture wars. Anyone with a vision should go and see a doctor, he once said. Far more important was bolstering³⁰ the welfare system, building more houses and making Germany safe at home and abroad.

他对西德红军旅恐怖分子的强硬态度曾经惹恼了许多思想开明的德国人，他们认为大范围的监听、审讯和半军事化审判让人想起了纳粹时代的可怕。当他敦促美国增加在欧洲的核存在以应对苏联日渐增加的中程导弹时，他们退缩了。但是，对他来说，社会民主的基础是公平而不是一时的狂热。他没空去关注温室效应、女权主义和文化战争。他曾经说过，有这种愿景的人都应该去看医生。在当时来说，打造福利体系、建造更多的住房，让德国人在国内和国外都有安全感才是最最重要的事情。

Unfortunately his Social Democratic party thought differently, as did, increasingly, his liberal coalition³¹ partner, the FDP. Flexibility³² and charm were not Mr Schmidt's strong points. A bit more of both might have saved him.

不幸的是，他的社会民主党就像信奉自由主义的合作伙伴自由民主党一样，同他有不一样的想法。灵活和魅力不是施密特的强项，如果两样东西多那么一点话，它们也许会救了他。

His nemesis³³ was Helmut Kohl, the beefy Christian³⁴ Democrat leader. Mr Schmidt underestimated his rival, mocking his mumbled³⁵ provincial³⁶ diction. He himself was an accomplished³⁷ music and art critic, as elegant a wordsmith in prose as in speech. Mr Kohl's main interest outside politics was food. But the conservative leader's willingness to listen and do deals made Mr Schmidt look arrogant³⁸ and out of touch. As his coalition disintegrated³⁹, the chancellor, in government since 1969, suddenly found himself in the political wilderness⁴⁰. His party (like many in Europe spooked by Ronald Reagan's unabashed anti-communism) veered⁴¹ leftwards.

他的死敌是基督教民主党领导人赫尔穆特·科尔。施密特小看了这位“重量级”的对手，曾经对他混糊不清的地方口音大加嘲笑。他本人是一个颇有成就的音乐和艺术评论家，说起话来，用词文雅。科尔在政治之外的主要兴趣是美食。但是，这位保守派领导人的倾听和合作意愿却让施密特看上去傲慢无礼和不可接近。当他的联合政府解体时，这位自1969年以来就一直是政府总理的人，突然发现自己成了孤家寡人。他的政党（就像当时许多被里根毫不畏惧的反共产主义所吓倒的欧洲政党一样）倒向了左派。

Mr Schmidt, still puffing⁴² away on his beloved menthols (stockpiled in case of a ban) and playing the piano (of which he had a near-professional mastery), varied⁴³ his views hardly an iota⁴⁴. As publisher of Die Zeit, Germany's most heavyweight weekly, he became its leading commentator—more influential⁴⁵ there in shaping opinion, perhaps, than as an embattled chancellor. He deplored⁴⁶ worries about climate change: population growth was a far bigger problem. Intervention⁴⁷ in other countries’ affairs was a mistake (though he made an exception for Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine: that was a justified⁴⁸ response to Western meddling). Unpopular views—but the facts and logic were clear. Anyone who disagreed was stupid.

当时仍在吞云吐雾（他抽剩下来的过滤嘴因为一项禁令都被保存了起来）、仍在弹钢琴（他的钢琴水平接近大师级）的施密特丝毫也没有改变他的观点。作为德国的重量级周刊——《时代周报》的发行人，他成了这家报纸的首席评论员——在形成舆论方面，这个位置也许要比一位苦苦挣扎的总理更有影响力。他探讨了对于气候变化的种种担忧：人口增长是一个更大的问题。介入他国事务的干预是一个错误（尽管他曾经为普京在乌克兰的战争破了一次例：那是对西方干预的一种合情合理的应对）。不受欢迎的观点——但是事实和逻辑都是清晰的。谁不同意，谁就是傻子。

1 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

6 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

8 idiocy   

n.愚蠢

参考例句：

• Stealing a car and then driving it drunk was the ultimate idiocy.偷了车然后醉酒开车真是愚蠢到极点。
• In this war there is an idiocy without bounds.这次战争疯癫得没底。

9 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 dilemmas   

n.左右为难( dilemma的名词复数 )；窘境，困境

参考例句：

• They dealt with their dilemmas by mixing perhaps unintentionally an explosive brew. 他们――也许是无意地――把爆炸性的佐料混合在一起，以此来应付困难处境。 来自辞典例句
• Ten years later we encountered the same dilemmas in Vietnam. 十年后，我们又在越南遇到了同样进退两难的局面。 来自辞典例句

11 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

12 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

13 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

14 trumped   

v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去分词 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• That woman trumped up various baseless charges against him. 那个女人捏造种种毫无根据的罪名指控他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several of his colleagues trumped up a complaint to get him removed from the job. 他的几位同事诬告他，使他丟掉了工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 compartments   

n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层

参考例句：

• Your pencil box has several compartments. 你的铅笔盒有好几个格。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The first-class compartments are in front. 头等车室在前头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

17 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

18 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

19 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

20 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

21 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

22 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

23 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

24 detested   

v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They detested each other on sight. 他们互相看着就不顺眼。
• The freethinker hated the formalist; the lover of liberty detested the disciplinarian. 自由思想者总是不喜欢拘泥形式者，爱好自由者总是憎恶清规戒律者。 来自辞典例句

25 avaricious   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• I call on your own memory as witness:remember we have avaricious hearts.假使你想要保证和证明，你可以回忆一下我们贪婪的心。
• He is so avaricious that we call him a blood sucker.他如此贪婪，我们都叫他吸血鬼。

26 fads   

n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It was one of the many fads that sweep through mathematics regularly. 它是常见的贯穿在数学中的许多流行一时的风尚之一。 来自辞典例句
• Lady Busshe is nothing without her flights, fads, and fancies. 除浮躁、时髦和幻想外，巴歇夫人一无所有。 来自辞典例句

27 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

28 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

29 flinched   

v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He flinched at the sight of the blood. 他一见到血就往后退。
• This tough Corsican never flinched or failed. 这个刚毅的科西嘉人从来没有任何畏缩或沮丧。 来自辞典例句

30 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

31 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

32 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

33 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

34 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

35 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

36 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

37 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

38 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

39 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

40 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

41 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

42 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

43 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

44 iota   

n.些微，一点儿

参考例句：

• There is not an iota of truth in his story.他的故事没有一点是真的。
• He's never shown an iota of interest in any kind of work.他从来没有对任何工作表现出一点儿兴趣。

45 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

46 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

47 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

48 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。