英语短文名人故事 政界精英 第12期:温斯顿.丘吉尔

 　　Winston Churchill 温斯顿·丘吉尔

　　Winston Churchill began his love affair with painting in his 40's, a mid¹ disastrous² circumstance. 温斯顿·丘吉尔，在他四十多岁时开始迷恋上绘画，当时环境异常恶劣。

　　As First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915, he was deeply involved in a campaign in the Dardanelles that could have shortened the course of a bloody³ world war.  那是在1915年，任海军大臣的他，积极投身于在达达尼尔海峡的一场战役中，这场战役本可以缩短那段血雨腥风的世界大战。

　　But when the mission failed, with great loss of life, Chwchill paid the price, both publicly and privately⁴. 但由于遭受失败，伤亡惨重，丘吉尔于公于私都付出了代价。

　　He was removed from the admiralty and effectively sidelined. 他被从海军部调离且实则坐起了冷板凳。

　　Overwhelmed by the catastrophe⁵, he retired⁶ with his family to Hoe Farm, a country retreat in Surrey.  在灾难的折磨下，他携家带口来到萨利郡的一处乡间静居霍庄园。

　　There, as Churchill later recalled, "The muse⁷ of painting came to my rescue!" 在那儿，丘吉尔后来回忆道:“是绘画中的冥思拯救了我!”

　　Wandering in the garden one day, he chanced upon his sister-in-law sketching⁸ with watercolors.  一天他在花园散步时，偶然看到他的弟媳在用水彩作画。

　　He watched her for a few minutes, then borrowed her brush and tried his hand. 他观察了几分钟，然后向她借了画笔并一试身手。

　　Churchill soon decided⁹ to experiment with oils.  丘吉尔很快就决定试着去画油画。

　　At that time, John Lavery--a Churchill neighbor and celebrated¹⁰ painter-was tutoring Churchill in his art. 那时，约翰·拉威利—丘吉尔的邻居，也是一位有名的画家正教丘吉尔学画。

　　Later, Lavery said of his unusual pupil,  后来提及他的这位特殊的学生，拉威利说:

　　Had he chosen painting instead of statesmanship, I believe he would have been a great master with the brush. 倘若他选择绘画而不是从政，我相信他会是位绘画大师的。”

　　In painting, Churchill had discovered a companion with whom he was to walk for the greater part of the years that remained to him. 在绘画中，丘吉尔找到了能陪他度过余生大部分时光的知己。

　　Historians have called the decade after 1929, when the Conservative government fell and Winston was out of office, his wilderness¹¹ years.  史学家把1929年后的十年，也就是保守党政府垮台而温斯顿下台的时间，称为他的荒凉岁月。

　　Politically he may have been wandering in barren places, a lonely fighter trying to awaken¹² Britain to the menace of Hitler,  政治上，他一直在举步维艰的处境中排徊，是一个孤独的勇士在努力唤起受到希特勒威胁的英国人，

　　but artistically¹³ that wilderness bore abundant fruit.  但在艺术上他在那荒凉岁月却硕果累累。

　　During these years he often painted in the South of France. 那些年他经常在法国南部作画。

　　Of the 500-odd canvases extant, roughly 250 date from 1930 to 1939. 在现存的500多张油画中，大约250张是1930至1939年间的作品。

　　Painting remained a joy to Churchill to the end of his life.  绘画给丘吉尔带来了乐趣，直到他的人生尽头。

　　"Happy are the painters." he had written in his book Painting as a Pastime,  在他所著的《画中的消遣》里说：“画家其乐融融，”

　　for they shall not be lonely. Light and color, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end of the day. 因为他们不会孤独。光与色，和平与希望，会始终伴随他们。

1 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

2 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

8 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

12 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

13 artistically   

adv.艺术性地

参考例句：

• The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
• The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。