纪录片《文明》 第186期 进步崇拜（18）

And so, when Europe went to war in July in 1914,few ordinary people questioned the prevailing¹ view of Western civilisation² as sophisticated, rational and humane³.

于是 当欧洲在1914年7月开战的时候 普通人鲜少质疑 西方文明是成熟 理性且人性的这一普遍观点

Yet the horror that was unleashed⁴ by new weapons that could slaughter⁵ human beings on an unprecedented⁶ scale

而那些能够致使人类遭受 史无前例规模毁灭的新武器所造成的恐慌

was a product of the same Industrial Revolution that had forged the railways and built the Eiffel Tower.

和铁路与埃菲尔铁塔 却都是同一场工业革命的产物

Now it seemed Europeans were reduced to the same irrational⁷ barbarism...

似乎欧洲人已经堕落成 同样的无理野蛮状态了

..that they'd convinced themselves was the hallmark of other, supposedly primitive⁸, peoples.

而他们曾确信这种状态仅仅是其他那些 所谓原始民族才具有的特质

In the German trenches⁹ of the First World War was an artist who perhaps more than any other created a graphic¹⁰ visual record of the new barbarism.

在第一次世界大战的德军战壕中 出现了一位或许比其他任何人都更深刻地 用画作对这一新野蛮状态进行记录的艺术家

Otto Dix was one of the millions of young European men who enthusiastically rushed to enlist¹¹ at the outbreak of fighting in 1914,

1914年一战爆发时 奥托·迪克斯是 数百万名热忱地应征入伍的欧洲男青年中的其中一位

and he went on to spend three years in the mud and the slime of the trenches,serving on both the Western and the Eastern fronts.

他随后又继续在战壕的烂泥浑水中待了三年时间 在西线和东线都参过战

At one point, he served in a machine gun unit,wielding the ultimate industrial weapon,the literal fusion¹² of the gun and the machine.

有一段时间 他在一支机枪部队里服役 使用的是终极工业武器 名副其实的枪与机器的融合

And throughout all of this,Otto Dix produced sketches¹³, hundreds of them,that graphically¹⁴ recorded what these new weapons did to the flesh and the bone of his doomed¹⁵ generation.

在整个服役期间 奥托·迪克斯创作了数百幅作品 它们以图画的形式记录了这些新型武器对他这不幸的一代人造成了哪些深入骨髓的伤害

Dix drew the broken faces, the mud and the misery¹⁶.

迪克斯描绘了那些破损的脸庞 污泥和痛苦

He chronicled how industrial warfare¹⁷ had transformed the soldier from warrior¹⁸ to victim.

他记录下了工业战争是如何将一位士兵从勇士转变成受害者的

It is perhaps fitting that it was a German artist who most clearly captured the horror of industrial warfare.

或许 也只有德国艺术家才能最清晰地记录工业战争的可怕

1 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

2 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

8 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

9 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

10 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

11 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

12 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

13 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

16 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

17 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

18 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。