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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
If you've watched the news or followed politics 如果你看新闻或者关注政治,
chances are you've heard the term Orwellian thrown around in one context or another. 那么你很有可能听说过“奥威尔现象”频繁地出现在不同的语境中。
But have you ever stopped to think about what it really means, or why it's used so often? 但是你曾停下来想过这个词究竟是什么意思吗?它为什么被这样频繁地使用?
The term was named after British author Eric Blair known by his pen name George Orwell. 这个词是以英国作家埃里克·布莱尔命名的,他的笔名就是乔治·奥威尔。
Because his most famous work, the novel "1984," depicts1 an oppressive society under a totalitarian government. 因为在他最著名的作品《1984》中描述了一个被极权主义政府压制的社会。
"Orwellian" is often used simply to mean authoritarian2. 所以“奥威尔现象”经常被简单地指代专制主义。
But using the term in this way not only fails to fully3 convey Orwell's message, 但是这样使用它不仅没能完全传达奥威尔的意思,
Orwell was indeed opposed to all forms of tyranny, 奥威尔确实是反对各种形式的专政,
spending much of his life fighting against anti-democratic forces of both the left-wing and the right. 他倾其一生对抗反民主力量,不论是左翼还是右翼。
And one of his most profound insights was the importance that language plays in shaping our thoughts and opinions. 他最著名的一个见解就是语言在塑造思想和意见中起到重要作用。
The government of "1984"'s Oceania controls its people's actions and speech in some ways that are obvious. 《1984》中的大洋国政府用一种明显的方式控制了人们的行动和言语。
Their every move and word is watched and heard, 他们的一言一行都被监视,
and the threat of what happens to those who step out of line is always looming7 overhead. 行为异常的下场时刻威胁着所有人。
Other forms of control are not so obvious. 其他的控制形式没有这么明显。
The population is inundated8 with a constant barrage9 of propaganda made up of historical facts and statistics manufactured in the Ministry10 of Truth. 所有的人民都被蒙蔽在“真理部门”捏造的所谓“史实”和数据中。
Political prisoners are detained and tortured in the Ministry of Love. 政治囚犯被“友爱部”囚禁和折磨。
when words are used not to convey meaning but to undermine it, corrupting13 the very ideas they refer to. 言语不为传达却为扭曲其含义,曲解了每个观点的本意。
The regime's control of language goes even further. 政权的言语控制还有更甚。
Eliminating words from the English language to create the official dialect of Newspeak. 剔除媒体发布中的英语词汇以塑造官方说法。
lacking any words complex enough to encourage nuanced or critical thought. 缺乏能够表达细微和关键观点的复杂词汇。
点击收听单词发音
1 depicts | |
描绘,描画( depict的第三人称单数 ); 描述 | |
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2 authoritarian | |
n./adj.专制(的),专制主义者,独裁主义者 | |
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3 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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4 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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5 ideologies | |
n.思想(体系)( ideology的名词复数 );思想意识;意识形态;观念形态 | |
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6 proliferate | |
vi.激增,(迅速)繁殖,增生 | |
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7 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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8 inundated | |
v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 );(洪水般地)涌来;充满;给予或交予(太多事物)使难以应付 | |
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9 barrage | |
n.火力网,弹幕 | |
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10 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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11 labor | |
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦 | |
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12 irony | |
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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13 corrupting | |
(使)败坏( corrupt的现在分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏 | |
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14 acronyms | |
n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 ) | |
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15 psyche | |
n.精神;灵魂 | |
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