2021年经济学人 司法的抉择--夫妇因间谍罪被处以死刑(2)

The picture of Ethel that emerges is of a tough, clever autodidact and would-be opera singer growing up in genteel poverty with an indifferent mother.

埃塞尔的形象逐渐浮现出来，她是一个坚强、聪明、自学成才的人，想成为歌剧演唱家，在温文尔雅的贫困环境中长大，有一个冷漠的母亲。

She becomes a union activist¹, a committed communist and then a passionate² wife and over-anxious parent.

她成为了一名工会积极分子，一名忠诚的共产主义者，并且是一位热情的妻子和过度焦虑的母亲。

The victim of serial³ betrayals herself, she puts the principle of loyalty⁴ to her husband and the communist cause above all else,

作为一系列背叛的受害者，她把对丈夫和共产主义事业的忠诚置于一切之上，

even though co-operating with her accusers would have saved her life and stopped her children becoming orphans⁵.

尽管与指控她的人合作本可以挽救她的生命，也可以避免使她的孩子成为孤儿。

It is impossible not to sympathise with her terrible plight⁶, but she is by no means a wholly attractive figure.

人们无法不同情她的糟糕处境，但她绝不是一个完全迷人的人物。

There is something of the fanatic⁷ about her.

她有几分狂热。

Was she innocent, at least morally, as the author maintains?

她是否如作者所维护的那样，至少在道德上是无辜的？

The answer is probably not.

答案可能是否定的。

In 1995 the American government released a cache of documents decrypted by the Venona project,

1995年，美国政府公布了一组由“维诺那计划”解密的文件。

a second-world-war counter-intelligence operation that intercepted⁸ messages from Soviet⁹ intelligence sources, which continued into the cold war.

“维诺那计划”是第二次世界大战期间的反情报行动，拦截来源于苏联情报的信息，该计划一直持续到冷战时期。

The material provides powerful evidence that Julius was indeed the linchpin of a prolific¹⁰ spy ring that gave Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union a valuable trove¹¹ of military secrets.

这些材料提供了强有力的证据，证明朱利叶斯确实是一个活跃的间谍网的关键人物，这个间谍网为约瑟夫·斯大林领导的苏联提供了宝贵的军事机密。

It seems inconceivable that Ethel was not fully¹² aware of his activities; she probably helped him, including in recruiting her brother and Ruth.

令人不可思议的是，埃塞尔没有完全意识到他的活动；她可能帮过他，包括招募她的弟弟和露丝。

But that does not legitimate¹³ her trial and execution.

但这并不意味着对她的审判和处决是合法的。

Crucial evidence was withheld¹⁴ from the defence.

辩方没有提供关键证据。

One of the prosecutors¹⁵ was the young Roy Cohn, who went on to work for Joe McCarthy and Donald Trump¹⁶;

其中一名检察官是年轻的罗伊·科恩，他后来为乔·麦卡锡和唐纳德·特朗普工作；

his role in securing perjured¹⁷ witness testimony¹⁸, and in secretly pushing the judge into handing down the death penalty, was disgraceful.

他在确保证人作伪证和秘密推动法官判处死刑方面所扮演的角色是可耻的。

The Venona evidence was never submitted and was anyway ambiguous about Ethel's involvement.

维诺那计划中的证据从未提交，而且埃塞尔方面的参与也含糊不清。

Government lawyers knew their case was flimsy but thought that, if they threatened Ethel with execution, she would put pressure on Julius to reveal his network.

政府的律师知道他们的案子站不住脚，但他们认为，如果他们以死刑威胁埃塞尔，她就会向朱利叶斯施压，让他公开他的间谍网络。

They did not want to kill a young mother.

他们不想杀死一个年轻的母亲。

As William Rogers, the deputy attorney-general, admitted, "She called our bluff¹⁹."

就像司法部副部长威廉·罗杰斯承认的那样，“她揭穿了我们的虚张声势。”

Ms Sebba rightly sees this as a great miscarriage²⁰ of justice.

赛巴女士认为这是一次巨大的司法失败，这一想法是合理的。

But in exculpating²¹ Ethel almost entirely²², she goes too far.

但在几乎完全为艾瑟尔开脱时，她做得太过头了。

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

4 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

5 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。

8 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

9 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。

10 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

11 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 perjured   

adj.伪证的，犯伪证罪的v.发假誓，作伪证( perjure的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The witness perjured himself. 证人作了伪证。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Witnesses lied and perjured themselves. 证人撒谎作伪证。 来自辞典例句

18 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

19 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

20 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

21 exculpating   

v.开脱，使无罪( exculpate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

22 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。