2020年经济学人 家庭娱乐专栏--"高原"病(2)

Yet though the disease is everywhere, it is discussed euphemistically. Newcomers are diagnosed as anaemic. As is still the case in the rich world, death is hidden. “You hear nothing of them, or only by chance afterwards,” Joachim says of patients who succumb¹. “Everything is kept strictly² private.”Hans learns that corpses³ are brought down the mountain by bobsleigh.

尽管这种病无处不在，人们还是委婉地讨论它。新来的人会被诊断为贫血。与发达国家情况一样，死亡要隐藏起来。“你不会听说过他们，或者只是事后偶然会听说。”阿希姆谈到死亡的病人时说，“一切都要严格保密。”汉斯得知尸体是由大雪橇运下山的。

Surprisingly for a tale of fatal lung disease, however, the tone is gently ironic⁴, a levity⁵ that offsets⁶ the symbolism and philosophy. Officially, Hans is a visitor, but he lives the life of a patient, which revolves⁷ around gossip, walks, infatuations, intellectual discussions, five hearty⁸ meals a day and a strict regimen of bed rest, temperature- taking and alcohol rubs. Hans takes to this high-altitude life better than Joachim, an officer who longs to return to the army. He does—and comes back to the mountain even sicker. Hans, by contrast, seems cured, and at the close leaves for the even deadlier battlefield.

然而，令人惊讶的是对于这样一个致命的肺病的故事，讲述的语气中带有温和的讽刺意味，是一种可以弥补象征主义和哲学的轻浮。从官方角度讲，汉斯是一个来访者，但他过着病人的生活，他的生活围绕着闲聊、散步、热恋、学术讨论、一天五顿丰盛的饭菜以及严格的卧床休息、量体温和酒精按摩。比起渴望重返军队的军官阿希姆，汉斯更渴望这种高原上的生活。他的确是这样——回到山上，病得更重。相比之下，汉斯似乎已经痊愈，即将奔赴更加惨烈的战场。

As with his elongated⁹ stay at the sanatorium, so with the novel itself. Based on Mann’s own impressions of Davos, where his wife was treated, it was conceived as a short story, a humorous companion piece to “Death in Venice” (itself set during an outbreak of cholera). The author expected “The Magic Mountain” to find only a small audience. But in one of the strange transformations¹⁰ that illness can effect, it grew into an elegant, 900-page reflection on mortality, read and revered¹¹ by millions.

就像他长期待在疗养院一样，小说本身也是如此。根据曼恩自己对达沃斯的印象，他的妻子在那里接受治疗，这本书被以为会是一部短篇小说，是“威尼斯之死”（背景是霍乱爆发期间）的幽默姐妹篇。作者预计“魔山”只能有一小部分观众。但是疾病的影响给这部小说带来了奇怪的转变，它发展成一部优雅的、思考死亡的900页小说，被数百万人阅读和崇敬。

1 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

2 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

3 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

5 levity   

n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变

参考例句：

• His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
• At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。

6 offsets   

n.开端( offset的名词复数 )；出发v.抵消( offset的第三人称单数 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• The following paragraphs deal with intra-source offsets and the so-called \"bubble\" concept. 下面讨论污染源内部的补偿和所谓的“泡泡”概念。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The preceding paragraphs were concerned with inter-source offsets. 前文牵涉到污染源之间的补偿。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

9 elongated   

v.延长，加长( elongate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Modigliani's women have strangely elongated faces. 莫迪里阿尼画中的妇女都长着奇长无比的脸。
• A piece of rubber can be elongated by streching. 一块橡皮可以拉长。 来自《用法词典》

10 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句

11 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句