经济学人06:直率的前第一夫人贝蒂·福特

 　　Obituary;Betty Ford¹;

　　讣告;贝蒂·福特;

　　Betty Bloomer Ford, an outspoken² First Lady, died on July 8th, aged⁴ 93;

　　贝蒂·布鲁姆·福特，直率的前第一夫人，于7月8日逝世，享年93岁;

　　All her life, Betty Ford loved to dance. At ten she was gliding⁵ round to the waltz and the foxtrot at social-dancing classes in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a young woman, she was taught by Martha Graham and danced in her troupe⁶ at Carnegie Hall. (Later she persuaded her husband, Gerald R., to give Martha a medal; if you kept on at a man long enough, he would agree to anything.) In the White House she tried out disco steps, and shimmied to the Bump at dinner-dances. But if you tried to teach her an arabesque⁷ or a jetée，she turned into the worst ballet dancer who ever came down the road. She couldn't bear to be constrained⁸ like that. She was, as she put it once, a booby who only wanted to soar。

　　贝蒂·福特一生中都挚爱舞蹈，十岁时，她就在密歇根的大急流城参加交际舞学习班，自如的跳华尔兹和狐步舞。少女时期，她师从玛莎·葛兰姆，并随团在卡内基音乐大厅演出（后来她说服丈夫福特为玛莎颁发了一枚勋章。如果你纠缠一个男人足够长时间，他什么事情都会同意）。在白宫，她又学习了迪斯科，伴着西迷舞曲在晚宴上尽情摇摆。但如果你想让她学学阿拉贝斯克舞或者吉提，那她可是将是你见过的最差劲的芭蕾舞者了。她可受不了那种束缚，正如她自己说的，她只想做一个自由翱翔的笨鸟。

　　Of course, she could be proper too. In her brief stint⁹ as First Lady, from August 1974 to January 1977, she was always immaculately turned out. She wore white gloves (“these mitts”) whenever she had to do so. But, much as she adored clothes—the room-long rack at her house in Virginia had fallen off the wall, she had so many—all the ladylike public behaviour could be a bit of a strain.So too could the split-second scheduling, when she liked to linger in bed in the mornings till 9.30 or so, putting on her makeup¹⁰ in her own good time. It sometimes happened that she had to greet the public from the balcony with her nightgown tucked up under her coat. “Hi, Betty!” they would shout back.

　　当然，她也会中规中矩的合乎礼仪。从1974年8月到1977年1月，在任第一夫人期间，她总能做到举止得体。必要的场合，她甚至会带上白色手套（“那种露指手套”）。在他们弗吉尼亚州家中，墙上本悬挂着一个与房间一样长的架子上陈列的全是她的衣服，但因为太多，架子都塌了下来。她是如此喜欢衣服，但在各种公共场合装淑女却让她很不自在。她喜欢一直在床上赖到大概九点半，然后悠闲自在地化妆，所以白宫紧凑的公共行程安排也让她郁闷。有好几次，她出现在阳台上向大家问好时，正装下是还未及更换的睡衣。“嗨，贝蒂！”大家总是这样回应她的问候。

　　On Jerry's inauguration¹¹ day she kept quiet, because she had taken advice from her Living Bible that morning to “put a muzzle¹³ on your mouth”. But she made it clear that she didn't intend to change the candid¹⁴ habits of a lifetime just because she was in the White House. Jerry and she were going to keep their sleeping arrangements (not really a double bed, just twins that swung out from one headboard, but the fuss was the same), in which they would have sex “as often as possible!” The flag she had made for her limousine¹⁵ featured a pair of voluminous calico knickers on a blue satin ground, because her maiden¹⁶ name was Bloomer. On “60 Minutes” in 1975, her bouffant¹⁸ hair perfect and her warm smile ever ready, she declared that smoking marijuana was like “having a first beer” and that she wouldn't be surprised if her 18-year-old daughter Susan had an affair. Jerry said: “Honey, you just lost me 20m votes.” Her own ratings soared.

　　在杰拉尔德·福特就职时，她参照《新版圣经》的训诫，整个早晨都“保持缄默”。但即使入住白宫，她也没有改变从前的生活方式，这一点很明确。她和杰拉瑞德保持从前的作息时间（白宫没有双人床，他们的床只不过拼起来的一对小床加上一个双人床床板，不过拼床和弄进一个双人床进来一样都挺麻烦的），“只要有机会就做爱”；她为给自己的豪华轿车做了一面旗子，蓝色缎子打底，上面画着一条显眼的大号白棉布灯笼裤，只因为她自己的姓氏是布鲁姆（Bloomer：灯笼裤）.1975年做客“60分”节目，她一头膨松的美发恰到好处，脸上始终挂着笑容。直言吸大麻的感觉像“当年初尝啤酒时”一样美妙，还有，如果她18岁得女儿苏珊在谈恋爱，她也不会觉得诧异。杰拉尔德开玩笑道：“亲爱的，你刚刚让我失去了2000万张选票”，但贝蒂自己的人气却在飙升。

　　She had no preparation for the White House. When Spiro Agnew resigned the vice¹²-presidency in 1973 Jerry became Veep; when Richard Nixon resigned the next year, he was suddenly president. There was no election. She felt terrified, but ended up enjoying it. She had never known what she was in for since she had met Jerry, the big, blond, handsome football hero who walked beside her at their wedding in 1948 in awful dusty brown shoes that didn't match his suit. He had seemed such a relief after Bill, her first husband, who sold furniture and was an alcoholic¹⁹. But Jerry too had a secret vice, and that was politics.

　　她没想过能入住白宫。1973年，斯皮罗·阿格纽辞去副总统职务，杰拉尔德接替他成为美国副总统；第二年，时任美国总统的理查德·尼克松辞职，杰拉尔德升职为美国总统，这个过程，甚至都未曾经历过一场选举。这一切来得太快，让她有点恐慌，但是最终却欣然享受第一夫人的身份。有着一头金发的杰拉尔德是她心中高大帅气的足球英雄，在他们婚礼上，他穿着一双与礼服极不相称、沾满灰尘的棕色鞋子走在她身旁。她从未料到遇见杰拉尔德会有怎样的命运等待着她。她有前夫比尔是嗜酒如命的家具销售代表。遇见杰拉尔德对她而言则是一种解脱。当然，杰拉尔德也有一个不为人知的缺点，那就是太专注于政治。

　　He was elected to Congress the year they got married, and they stayed in Washington for 28 years. For more than half that time he was away from home while she raised Mike, Jack²⁰, Steve and Susan, tripping over bags of marbles and toy trucks, burying pet alligators²¹, visiting the emergency room, measuring out her life in Pablum spoons. She was a den¹⁷ mother for cub²² scouts²³ and taught Sunday School, but by 1965 she couldn't be Bionic Woman any more. A psychiatrist²⁴ told her she had to believe she was important again.

　　在他们结婚当年，杰拉尔德入选国会，他们在华盛顿待了28个年头，这期间杰拉尔德有一半时间都不在她身边，她一人将4个孩子——麦克，杰克，斯蒂芬和苏珊拉扯大：会被一大袋的弹子儿和玩具卡车绊倒；埋葬宠物短吻鳄；带着孩子看医生；在乏味的碗筷之间经营着自己的生活。她还是童子军女训导，在主日学校上课。但1956年，她再也无法扮演“无敌女金刚”的角色了，精神医生告诉她必须得开始关注自己了。

　　She went to him for almost two years, and openly admitted it later. Why not get help if you needed it? It was the same when breast cancer struck her as First Lady. She spoke³ “breast” aloud and “cancer” aloud, had a mastectomy and urged others to do the same. Why, she told the world, she could even wear her evening clothes. When she became addicted²⁶ to pills for neck pain and, over martini-filled years, started drinking too much, she publicly booked into a clinic to recover, sharing a room with three other women, and then in 1982 founded the Betty Ford Centre for addiction²⁷ in Rancho Mirage²⁸, California. There she would tell patients: “Hi, I'm Betty. I'm an addict²⁵ and an alcoholic.”

　　她看了两年的精神病医生，后来大方的承认了此事。如果有需要，为什么不接受帮助呢？她在当第一夫人期间患上了乳腺癌，把“乳腺”和“癌”说的响亮，她接受了乳房切除手术并鼓励其他病人也接受手术治疗。为什么不呢？她告诉全世界她依然可以穿着自己的晚礼服。她因颈椎病依赖药品和鸡尾酒疗法而染上酒瘾，这时她又公开预定诊所接受治疗，甚至还和其他三位女性共用一个病房。1982年，在加州的兰乔米拉市成立了贝蒂·福特中心，在这里，她会和病人们打招呼：“嗨，我叫贝蒂。曾经沉溺于药品，嗜酒成性”。

　　That secondary feeling

　　次要感

　　Her impulse to speak out shockingly and usefully extended into politics, too. Though she tried not to get in Jerry's way, she realised that First Ladies had power to make waves. She thought Roe²⁹ v Wade³⁰, which legalised abortion³¹, a great decision, and said so. She lobbied hard for a woman on the Supreme³² Court, though pillow-talk had no effect in that case. Naturally she supported the Equal Rights Amendment³³, but since Jerry opposed it she waited until 1977 to get out in front of the sisterly protests with her placard. She had spent so much of her life feeling secondary (though to a man she adored) that she burned to undo³⁴ the laws that hemmed³⁵ women in.

　　她把直率敢言、语出惊人却字字珠玑的风格也带到了政治上。尽管她试着不给杰拉尔德添麻烦，但是第一夫人还是有足够威力引起风波。她认为罗伊案促使堕胎合法化，这是个不错的决定，于是加以肯定；她为一名妇女在最高法庭上努力游说众人，虽然在那个案子中，即使吹枕边风福特也帮不上忙。当然她也支持《平等权利修正案》，但由于杰拉尔德反对这项法案，直到1977年她才得以与姐妹般得抗议者们站在一起，高举标语牌。在她一生的大部分时间中，她总感觉自己作为女性得不到重视（虽然她受到一个男人的宠爱），于是尽自己所能解除那些禁锢女性的法律。

　　She was only an ordinary woman, she liked to say. She'd worked in a department store, had an unlucky marriage, could only make scalloped potato out of a box, never got a college degree. But she was caught up in extraordinary times. And when they ended—as she blissfully contemplated³⁶ getting both life and husband back, as they packed up to leave the White House—she took just a moment to climb on the Cabinet table, so beautifully set, and dance.

　　如她所言，她只是一名普通女性：曾在百货公司工作，经历过一次不幸的婚姻，只会用烤盘做焗薯仔，更没有大学学历，但是她却赶上了特殊时期。当这一切都结束了——当她幸福的预计到生活和丈夫都能回到自己身边、打点好行李准备离开白宫时，她用一眨眼的功夫跃上精美的议会餐桌，翩然起舞。

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 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。

5 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

6 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

7 arabesque   

n.阿拉伯式花饰；adj.阿拉伯式图案的

参考例句：

• I like carpets with arabesque patterns.我喜欢带有阿拉伯式花饰的地毯。
• The Arabesque solution is the answer to a designer's desire for uniqueness.阿拉伯风为设计师渴望独一无二给出了答案。

8 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

9 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

10 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

14 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

15 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

16 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

17 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

18 bouffant   

adj.（发式、裙子等）向外胀起的

参考例句：

• Her short brown hair was curled in a puffy bouffant hairdo.她棕色的卷卷的短发蓬松鼓起。
• For example,in the late 1960 s women became tired of bouffant hairstyles and sought new looks.例如在20世纪60年代后期，妇女开始对蓬松的发型感到厌倦,开始追求新的形象。

19 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

20 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

21 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

22 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

23 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

24 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

25 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

26 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

27 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

28 mirage   

n.海市蜃楼，幻景

参考例句：

• Perhaps we are all just chasing a mirage.也许我们都只是在追逐一个幻想。
• Western liberalism was always a mirage.西方自由主义永远是一座海市蜃楼。

29 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

30 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

31 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

32 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

33 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

34 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

35 hemmed   

缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围

参考例句：

• He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的，就是不说句痛快话。
• The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。

36 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。