经济学人127:闪电战下的生活 死亡威胁

 　　Life during the Blitz

　　闪电战下的生活

　　Death threats

　　死亡威胁

　　Love and literature in the time of bombs

　　战乱中的爱与文学

　　The Love-charmof Bombs: Restless Lives in the Second World War. By Lara Feigel.

　　《战乱情迷》，Lara Feigel著。

　　FEW histories of the British home front during the second world warreally capture the “mood, temper and climate”, lamented¹ Elizabeth Bowen, a novelist who lived in London at the time. Death's constant threat fuelled an apocalyptichedonism. The Blitz was grim, but glorious too, in its way. In addition, the experience left a distinct and enduring literary legacy², writes Lara Feigel,an academic at King's College London, in her new book, “The Love-charm ofBombs”, which came out in Britain in February and is now being published in America.

　　鲜有讲述二战期间英国大后方的故事能真正体现当时的“”心境、性情、风气”，当年生活在伦敦的小说家Elizabeth Bowen哀叹道。持续的死亡威胁燃起了享乐主义热潮。闪电战残酷无情，但另一方面，这也是场荣耀之战。此外，这次经历也带来了非同凡响不可磨灭的文化遗产，伦敦国王学院的学者Lara Feigel在她的新书《战乱情迷》中写道。该作品已于2月在英国面市，现于美国出版发行。

　　战乱.jpg

　　A fast-livingwriting trio Bowen, Graham Greene and Henry Yorke are the main protagonists³. They mucked in with the wareffort, but their Blitz was made unique by love affairs. The passions it aroused, and the sense of timelessness that ensued a “suspended present”, Ms Feigel calls it were fertile muses⁴. “These writers,firefighting, ambulance-driving, patrolling the streets, were the successors of the soldier poets of the firstworld war,” the author argues in her introduction.

　　三剑客 Bowen, Graham Greene 和Henry Yorke即是描写这段放纵生活的主要代表。他们分享各自在战时取得的成果，笔下的那些风流韵事也让他们的闪电战与众不同。被唤醒的热情以及时间的永恒性引发了一种 “现实静止”，Ms Feigel形容为 灵感的源泉。“这些作家，当过消防员，开过救护车，在街上巡逻，是一战时期士兵诗人的继任者”作者在引言中陈述道。

　　Bomb-hit London was surely of a different order to the peerless carnage of Flanders fields, but the literary impact of the war, she convincingly shows, is comparable. Yorke was at his most prolific⁵ then. For the others the experience bore fruit more slowly. The Blitz would provide the setting for Bowen's “The Heat of the Day”, and also for Greene's most passionate⁶ work, “The End of the Affair”.

　　轰炸伦敦造成的伤亡虽没有血流成河的佛兰德战役惨烈，但战争带来的文学冲击，却不相上下，Feigel在书中有力地证明了这点。Yorke当时文思泉涌，而其他作家的产量相对偏少。闪电战为Bowen的《炎日》，Greene最激情的作品《恋情的终结》提供了创作背景。

　　Peace was a disappointment. The democratic spirit ebbed⁷ and life lost its intensity⁸. Bowen, repelled⁹ by the Labour Party's 1945 electionvictory, retreated to Ireland with her sexless husband, but really she lived in a world of letters with a Canadian lover. Yorke, who would never be more than a “writer's writer's writer”, became a drunk. Greene found new love and increased fame, but like the others, Ms Feigel suggests, he would never again “value the present moment so whole heartedly”.

　　和平令人沮丧。民主精神衰退，生活失去张力。1945年工党赢得选举，Bowen就此退出政治舞台，与她性冷淡的丈夫一同移居爱尔兰，但实际上她沉浸在与加拿大情人构筑起的情信世界。York，本可以超越“作家的作家的作家”，却成了酒鬼。Greene有了新欢，声名鹊起，但Feigel认为，就像其他人一样，他再也无法“全心全意地珍视当下”。

　　This is a strikingly original book. It succeeds in itsambitious combination of group biography and literary criticism. But it is notflawless. Ms Feigel focuses too widely on obscure novelists,in particular a melancholy¹⁰ Austrian emigre, Hilde Spiel,while more illustrious contemporaries Virginia Woolf, Anthony Powell and EvelynWaugh haunt the background like ghosts at the feast. The authors are also tooreadily believed. Yorke called his fellow firefighters “absolute heroes”, butWaugh, a marine¹¹, doubted their courage. Did Waugh have a point? The questiongoes unasked.

　　这是本非常具有创建性的作品。它成功地完成了集体传记与文学评论的宏伟结合。但也并非十全十美。Feigel过于专注冷门小说家，特别是忧郁的奥地利移民Hilde Spiel，而那些杰出的同代作家 Virginia Woolf, Anthony Powell和Evelyn Waugh 却像鬼魂般游离在盛宴之下。同时，作者对一些史料过于轻信。Yorke称他的消防伙伴“绝对是英雄人物”，但身为海军的Waugh却怀疑他们的勇气。Waugh的话是否中肯，我们也不得而知。

　　But these are minor¹² complaints. For the ageing Rose Macaulay, another British novelist of the period, the war was shattering. Shelost a secret lover to cancer, and his letters to a bomb. The need to conceal¹³ the mourning deepened the grief. “The Love-charm of Bombs” excels in demonstrating that these years of bleakness¹⁴ and loss were also, for a fortunate few, a time of extraordinary excitement and literary inspiration.

　　但这些都是小瑕疵。对于另一位英国小说家，当时年迈的Rose Macaulay来说，战争粉碎了一切。她失去了身患癌症的秘密情人，炸弹摧毁了他们所有的情信。她必须隐藏这份悲伤，这反而加深了心中的痛楚。《战乱情迷》极力证明了那个不断失去的阴郁年代也是激情荡漾，充满文学启发的时代，多么难能可贵。

　　1.come out 出来；出现

　　These tests could have come out either way, but they came out very favourably¹⁵.

　　这些测试本应该呈现出各种不同的结果，但是得出的结果总是有利于假说成立的。

　　New viruses come out daily.

　　新的病毒每天都会出现。

　　2.love affair 风流韵事；恋爱关系

　　Wow, what a love affair.

　　哇，真是场了不起的爱情。

　　Too many people relocate based on a nice job offer or love affair without considering the significance of the geographical¹⁶ decision.

　　太多人根据好的工作机会和爱情安排生活，却没有考虑地理位置决策的重要性。

　　3.provide for 为…提供

　　It takes a lot to provide for 7 billion humans.

　　地球为了供养70亿人口付出了很多代价。

　　For example, evolutionary¹⁷ theories suggest females are attracted to male displays of pride because they imply status, competence¹⁸ and an ability to provide for a partner and offspring.

　　例如，进化理论认为女性更易被具有骄傲表情的男性吸引，是因为这些男性表现了地位、才干和供养伴侣和后代的能力。

　　4.focus on 集中

　　That's all you want to focus on.

　　你只需将你的注意力集中于此。

　　The project also will focus on key secreted¹⁹ pathogenic proteins.

　　该项目也将集中于主要分泌性致病蛋白质。

1 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 protagonists   

n.（戏剧的）主角( protagonist的名词复数 )；（故事的）主人公；现实事件（尤指冲突和争端的）主要参与者；领导者

参考例句：

• Mrs Pankhurst was one of the chief protagonists of women's rights. 潘克赫斯特太太是女权的主要倡导者之一。 来自辞典例句
• This reflects that Feng Menglong heartily sympathized with these protagonists. 这反映出冯梦龙由衷地同情书中的这些主要人物。 来自互联网

4 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 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。

7 ebbed   

（指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• But the pain had ebbed away and the trembling had stopped. 不过这次痛已减退，寒战也停止了。
• But gradually his interest in good causes ebbed away. 不过后来他对这类事业兴趣也逐渐淡薄了。

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

9 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

10 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

14 bleakness   

adj. 萧瑟的, 严寒的, 阴郁的

参考例句：

• It forgoes the bleakness of protest and dissent for the energizing confidence of constructive solutions. 它放弃了bleakness抗议和持不同政见者的信心，激发建设性的解决办法。
• Bertha was looking out of the window at the bleakness of the day. 伯莎望着窗外晦暗的天色。

15 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

16 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

17 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

18 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

19 secreted   

v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏

参考例句：

• Insulin is secreted by the pancreas. 胰岛素是胰腺分泌的。
• He secreted his winnings in a drawer. 他把赢来的钱藏在抽届里。 来自《简明英汉词典》