经济学人142:英国政治 一本记录撒切尔夫人传奇人生的传记

　　British politics
英国政治
She came, she saw, she conquered
她来过，领略过，征服过
A great biography of an extraordinary life
一本记录撒切尔夫人传奇人生的传记
Margaret Thatcher¹—The Authorised Biography, Volume I: From Grantham to the Falklands. By Charles Moore.
玛格丽特撒切尔授权传记，卷一：从格兰瑟姆市到福克兰群岛》作者：查尔斯摩尔
IT HELPS to be lucky if you are a politician and Margaret Thatcher was luckier than most: lucky that she came to power when the old order was crumbling² and lucky that her opponents were so feeble. Now she is proving to be lucky in death. First came a semi-state funeral that had the British establishment on bended knee and the British public out on the streets; now comes the first volume of an authorised biography that may well turn out to be one of the great lives of modern times.
政客运气总是比常人要好。玛格丽特撒切尔比大多数的政客运气都还要好：在她上台之际，旧秩序正值崩溃，而她的对手也不堪一击。现在，她连死亡都是幸运的。首先是一个准国葬，葬礼上英国政要皆屈膝以示敬意，而英国民众纷纷在沿街表达他们的悼念之情。现在则是她授权的传记第一卷的出版发行，这部传记很有可能成为现代最伟大的著作之一。
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This first volume takes the story from Mrs Thatcher's childhood above a grocer's shop in Grantham to victory in the Falklands war in 1982. A second volume, “Herself Alone”, will tell the rest of the story. Charles Moore, a veteran journalist and former editor of the weekly Spectator magazine and the Daily Telegraph, is proving the ideal biographer. He has spent 16 years reading Mrs Thatcher's private papers, to which he had unique access, and interviewing everyone who mattered. But he also possesses the literary panache³ to bring the dullest sources to life. He is close to his subject both ideologically⁵ and personally. But he also acknowledges that she could be impossible, and often was: hectoring, bullying⁶ and interfering⁷.
在传记中，第一卷讲述了撒切尔夫人从格兰瑟姆市一个零售商女儿成长为赢得1982年马岛战争的铁娘子的故事。第二卷《她自己》将讲述之后的故事。作为周刊《旁观者》和《每日电讯报》的资深记者兼前任编辑，查尔斯摩尔就是一个完美的传记作者。充分利用自己查阅撒切尔夫人私人文件的特权，摩尔花费了16年的时间来研究这些文件，并采访每一个相关人员。但（所幸）他也拥有卓越的文学才华，能够将最枯燥的材料写得栩栩如生。无论在思想上，还是私人交情上，摩尔都与撒切尔夫人十分亲近。但他也承认，她有时候的确很难应付，并且她通常喜欢颐指气使、恃强凌弱、事事干涉。
The first 200-odd pages are hard-going. As a person rather than a politician she is of limited interest. She had no intellectual hinterland and was quite content to repeat the clichés of the stockbroker⁸ belt. If she had a sense of humour, nobody has ever found it. Mrs Thatcher's early career—from the scholarship to Oxford⁹, an early love affair, a job as an industrial chemist and her first forays into Conservative politics—is hardly the stuff of high drama. Mr Moore does a good job of evoking¹⁰ the atmosphere of post-war Britain. He reveals that Denis Thatcher, whom she married in 1951, once repaired to South Africa for two months and contemplated¹¹ divorcing her. Still, few readers will wish this section were longer.
最开始200多页的内容读起来索然无味。褪去政治家身份的撒切尔，与常人并无异处。她没有任何科研成果，并且满足于重复富人区的陈词滥调。她没有幽默感。她的早年生涯—拿到牛津大学奖学金，年轻时的爱恋，工业化学家的工作，第一次闯进了保守党阵营——都不是多少精彩的故事。在讲述这段时间内的事情过程中，摩尔很好地营造了一种二战后英国的氛围。他大爆料， 1951年娶了她的丹尼斯撒切尔，曾经在南非呆过两个月，考虑着是否要与她离婚。尽管如此，很少有读者想继续探究下去。
Things really take off with Mrs Thatcher's election as Conservative Party leader in 1975. Mr Moore brilliantly reconstructs the drama of those years. He reminds the reader of how big the stakes were in everything from industrial relations to the Falklands war. Mrs Thatcher was in an extraordinary position: “the oldest, grandest, in many people's eyes the stuffiest¹² political party in the world had chosen a leader whose combination of class, inexperience and sex would previously¹³ have ruled her out.” But Mr Moore avoids the luxury of hindsight. Political events tumble over each other. Politicians grope about in the dark. Patterns emerge slowly.
1975年，撒切尔夫人被选为保守党领袖，从这开始故事才变得有意思起来。摩尔十分精彩地重现了这段流光岁月。他向读者展示了，从工业革命到马岛战争，所有事情都充满着巨大风险。与其他首相相比，撒切尔夫人的处境不同寻常：“世界上历史最悠久的、规模最庞大的、在许多人眼里最死板僵化的政党，选择了一位这样的领导人：在此之前她会因为来自底层阶级、缺乏经验、身为女性，而被直接排除在外。”不过摩尔避免了大篇幅的“后知后觉”。毕竟，政治问题之间总会有冲突，政客们也是摸着石头过河，政治模式的出现总需要时间。
Margaret Thatcher grows with the turning of the pages. She summons up extraordinary personal resources not just to break with the old order but to put a new one in its place. None of this was easy. The entire Thatcherite project was frequently in danger of faltering¹⁴, as unemployment soared, cities burned and the ditherers conspired¹⁵. The situation became so dire¹⁶ in 1981 that Mrs Thatcher's advisers¹⁷ sent her a memo¹⁸ castigating¹⁹ her management style and warning that she would soon be joining Edward Heath on the backbenches.
随着时间的推移，玛格丽特撒切尔也在变得更加老练成熟。她以常人少有的勇气与旧秩序决裂，同时打造新秩序。这两件事都不容易。所有这些撒切尔主义项目经常面临各种垮台的危险，因为失业率急速增长，各大城市情况堪忧，反对者纷纷密谋反叛。情况发展到1981年已经十分危急，连撒切尔夫人的顾问也都向她寄去一份简报，激烈指责她的管理方式，并警告说她可能很快就加入爱德华希思成为后座议员了。
How did she manage all this Mr Moore shows that it took more than ideological⁴ certainty and personal stubbornness. Mrs Thatcher had a gift for seeing when the time was ripe and when it was not. She had a natural bond with what Richard Nixon called the silent majority. She had an actor's gift for putting on a good show. Mrs Thatcher's opponents repeatedly played into her hands: Heath, the titular²⁰ leader of the Tory ditherers, known as the “wets”, was a repulsive²¹ figure who grew more repulsive with age and Michael Foot, the Labour leader, had an unfortunate habit of dressing²² like a scarecrow.
然而她是怎样应对这些的呢？摩尔将其描述为远非坚定的意志和倔强的个性就足够。撒切尔夫人有着判断时机的良好禀赋。她与理查德尼克松所说的“沉默的大多数”之间有着天然纽带。她就像是一个天生的演员，与生俱来就擅长上演一出精彩的戏。撒切尔夫人的对手总会正中她的下怀：名义上保守党反对派的领袖希思，是著名的“温和派”，他的为人令人厌恶，而且越老越惹人烦，还有工党领袖迈克尔福特，他喜欢把自己打扮得像个稻草人一样，有这个习惯实在是不幸啊。
The book ends on a high note. Britain's victory in the Falklands war consolidated²³ Mrs Thatcher's hold over the Tory Party. The economy began to recover. And the Labour Party rendered itself unelectable. At the same time the seeds of her self- destruction were already apparent. It is not often that you can say of a 900-page book that it leaves you wanting to read more. But in this case it is true.
该书在高潮部分收了尾。英国在马岛战争中的胜利有效地巩固了撒切尔夫人对保守党的控制。经济也开始复苏。工党的糟糕表现也致使它们自身无法赢得选举胜利。不过，与此同时，撒切尔夫人也开始走下坡路了。人们很少会说，读完一本900页的书还觉得意犹未尽，但是这本传记就做到了。

1 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

2 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

3 panache   

n.羽饰；假威风，炫耀

参考例句：

• She dresses with great panache.她穿著十分浮华。
• Her panache at dealing with the world's media is quite astonishing.她应付世界媒体的派头非常令人吃惊。

4 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

5 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

6 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

8 stockbroker   

n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构）

参考例句：

• The main business of stockbroker is to help clients buy and sell shares.股票经纪人的主要业务是帮客户买卖股票。
• My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me.我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。

9 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

10 evoking   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中，但不发生症状。
• Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前，全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。

11 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。

12 stuffiest   

adj.空气不好的( stuffy的最高级 )；通风不好的；（观点、举止）陈腐的；鼻塞的

参考例句：

13 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

14 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

15 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

16 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

17 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

18 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

19 castigating   

v.严厉责骂、批评或惩罚（某人）( castigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Do not overdo your privilege of reproving or castigating me. 不要过分使用责备我的特权；不要对我倚老卖老。 来自互联网
• He is capable of castigating his own country. 他也会痛诋他的祖国。 来自互联网

20 titular   

adj.名义上的，有名无实的；n.只有名义（或头衔）的人

参考例句：

• The Queen is titular head of the Church of England.英国女王是英国国教名义上的领袖。
• He is titular head,and merely signs laws occasionally.他是名义上的首脑，不过偶尔签字批准法律法规。

21 repulsive   

adj.排斥的，使人反感的

参考例句：

• She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
• The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。

22 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

23 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。