2019年经济学人 法国前总统雅克·希拉克(1)

 

Jacques Chirac, twice president of France, died on September 26th, aged¹ 86

Fans praised his wit and tactile² warmth (unlike most French politicians, he enjoyed hobnobbing with the voters, preferably over a beer or slice of saucisson in an unpretentious zinc-clad bar). Jacques Chirac was successful, too: mayor of Paris, twice prime minister and twice president, from 1995 to 2007. He may have bought a chateau³ in la France profonde, but it was a "little one", sniffed⁴ a snobbish⁵ predecessor⁶, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

雅克·希拉克曾担任两次法国总统。他于9月26日去世，享年86岁。粉丝称赞了他的智慧和亲民（不像其他的法国政客，他喜欢和选民亲切交谈，最好是在一家朴实无华的镀锌酒吧里，一边喝啤酒，一边吃着酱汁）。雅克·希拉克也很成功:在1995年至2007年间，他担任过巴黎市长，两次总理和两次总统。他可能在法兰西普罗旺斯买了一座城堡，但是是一个“小的城堡”，自命不凡的前任瓦勒里·季斯卡·德斯坦对此嗤之以鼻。

For the French, his love of France and its people made him sympa. Yet cynicism was also his hallmark. Abroad, he seemed to favour dictators over democrats⁷. He told African strongmen not to worry about elections. He sold a nuclear reactor⁸ to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. A Russian-speaker (as a student, he translated Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"), he counted Vladimir Putin as a personal friend and loathed⁹ the "badly brought up" east Europeans with their high-minded talk and Atlanticist outlook. Where others had principles, he had prickles.

对法国人来说，他对法国和法国人的热爱使他产生了同情。但是愤世嫉俗也是他的标志。在国外，他似乎支持独裁者而不是民主主义者。他告诉非洲独裁者不要担心选举。他把一个核反应堆卖给了萨达姆·侯赛因统治下的伊拉克。他会讲俄语（他在学生时代翻译了普希金的作品叶甫盖尼·奥涅金），他把普京当做一个私人朋友，憎恨教养差的东欧人的高谈阔论和大西洋主义的观点。其他人有原则，他却有刺。

A proud defender¹⁰ of the French language, he stormed out of a summit meeting when a French businessman dared to use English (he also said, only half-jokingly, that Britain's deplorable cuisine¹¹ made it inherently untrustworthy). Despite a happy student summer at Harvard, he bridled¹² at America's overweening ways, arguing for a "multi-polar world" as a way to counter its post-war dominance. Equally, he setup France 24 to rival the "Anglo-Saxon imperialism¹³" of the BBC and CNN. He was contrarian too, resuming nuclear testing in the Pacific to international dismay.

他是一位法语的坚定维护者，当一个法国商人在峰会中竟然使用英语时，他愤然离开了峰会。（他还半开玩笑地说，英国糟糕的烹饪方式让它从本质上就不值得信赖）。尽管他在哈佛度过了一个愉快的学生暑假，但他对美国傲慢的行事方式感到愤怒，主张建立一个“多极世界”，以抗衡美国在战后的主导地位。同样，他让法国24小时新闻台与BBC和CNN的“盎格鲁-撒克逊帝国主义”相抗衡。他也违反了民意，在太平洋地区重启核试验，令国际社会感到沮丧。

1 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。

2 tactile   

adj.触觉的，有触觉的，能触知的

参考例句：

• Norris is an expert in the tactile and the tangible.诺里斯创作最精到之处便是，他描绘的人物使人看得见摸得着。
• Tactile communication uses touch rather than sight or hearing.触觉交流，是用触摸感觉，而不是用看或听来感觉。

3 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

4 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 snobbish   

adj.势利的，谄上欺下的

参考例句：

• She's much too snobbish to stay at that plain hotel.她很势利，不愿住在那个普通旅馆。
• I'd expected her to be snobbish but she was warm and friendly.我原以为她会非常势利，但她却非常热情和友好。

6 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

9 loathed   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

10 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

11 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

12 bridled   

给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。
• He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

13 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。