2016年经济学人 丘吉尔的多面人生(下)

 

Visiting Cuba in 1895, during its war of independence from Spain, he travelled unperturbed through some of the island's most dangerous territory while writing for the Daily Graphic¹.

1895年，丘吉尔到了正在为脱离西班牙统治而战斗的古巴，他镇定地穿过岛上最危险的地区，同时为《每日画报》撰写稿件。

The next year his regiment² was transferred to India, where he fought Pushtun tribesmen on the border with Afghanistan, penning articles for the Daily Telegraph from a blood-splattered foxhole³ on the battlefield.

次年，他所在的军团调往印度驻防，在印度与阿富汗接壤的地区与普什图部落作战，在战场上血迹斑斑的掩体里，他为《每日电讯报》写通讯。

He was then sent to Sudan, where he took part in the British army's last great cavalry⁴ charge, at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.

他随后被派往苏丹，在那里参加了1898年的恩图曼战役，这是英国陆军历史上最后一次骑兵冲锋。

After narrowly losing a by-election in Oldham, he returned to the journalistic fray⁵ as a war correspondent in South Africa for the Morning Post during the second Boer war of 1899-1902.

丘吉尔在奥尔德姆选区的补选中以微弱差距落败，此后回归新闻记者的行列，在1899年至1902年的第二次布尔战争中，他担任《晨报》驻南非的战地记者。

There he hit the front pages in his own right; he was captured by the Boers while accompanying a scouting⁶ expedition on an armoured train.

他凭借自己的能力登上了报纸头版；他跟随侦察探险队乘坐装甲列车前进，被布尔人所俘获。

Even that could not stop Churchill, who soon escaped from the prisoner-of-war camp, travelling almost 300 miles to safety in Portuguese⁷ East Africa.

即使被俘也无法阻止丘吉尔的脚步，他很快从战俘营中逃脱，跋涉了近300英里的路程，安全抵达葡萄牙统治下的南非。

As Mr Read notes, by the time of his return from Africa, Churchill had saved more than 4,000 from his writing, equivalent to 400,000 today.

正如里德指出的那样，从非洲返回英国的时候，丘吉尔通过写作攒下了超过4000英镑，相当于今天的40万英镑。

With judicious⁸ economy, he told his brother, I shall hope to make that carry me through the lean years.

凭借着精打细算，他告诉自己的兄弟，我指望这笔钱能让我度过艰苦的岁月。

But he returned to old habits in the years to come.

但是他在此后的几年里故态复萌。

Notable extravagances involved losing badly gambling⁹ in Monte Carlo and betting that share prices would continue to rise when the Wall Street crash hit.

值得一提的是，他的生活穷奢极欲，在蒙特卡洛赌博输掉大笔钱财，在华尔街大崩盘的时候押注股价会继续上涨。

Churchill did not continue to write simply for adventure or fun;

丘吉尔继续写作不是为了冒险或乐趣，

he did so to make ends meet.

他这样做只是为了糊口。

But even that was not enough.

但是即便如此也不够。

He required bail-outs from wealthy friends in 1938, 1940 and 1946 to save him from bankruptcy¹⁰.

在1938年、1940年和1946年，他需要富裕的朋友伸出援手，才能使他免于破产。

Both books manage to tell their tales of Churchill the adventurer and gambler elegantly.

两本书都精心讲述了丘吉尔身为冒险家和绅士赌徒的故事。

And for a financial biography, Mr Lough's is a surprising page-turner.

就金融传记而言，戴维·洛的这本书引人入胜、令人惊叹。

But the two authors only briefly¹¹ link their assessments¹² of Churchill's personality to the important decisions he made in office—and even then only in vague terms.

但是两位作者只是草率地把他们对丘吉尔个性的判断与他在政坛所做的重要决定联系起来，甚至只是含糊其辞地谈及此事。

For instance, both fail to mention how his frequent bouts¹³ of depression may have contributed to his impulsiveness¹⁴ and risk-taking.

比如说，两本书都没有提到，他经常发作的抑郁症可能是冲动和冒险行为的罪魁祸首。

Although their stories are worth telling, they have left bigger questions about Churchill to other historians.

虽然他们讲述的故事颇为精彩，却把关于丘吉尔的更多疑问留给其他历史学家去解决。

1 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

2 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

3 foxhole   

n.（军）散兵坑

参考例句：

• On an impulse he kicked some sand into Ridge's foxhole.一时性起，他就提起脚来将一些沙子踢进里奇的坑里。
• The sentry guard dived into his foxhole and closely observed the stranger towards him.哨兵跳入了散兵坑，密切注视着陌生人向他走来。

4 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

5 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

6 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

7 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

8 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

9 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

10 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

13 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 impulsiveness   

n.冲动

参考例句：

• Advancing years had toned down his rash impulsiveness.上了年纪以后，他那鲁莽、容易冲动的性子好了一些。
• There was some emotional lability and impulsiveness during the testing.在测试过程中，患者容易冲动，情绪有时不稳定。