【英语语言学习】双重间谍

ARUN RATH, HOST:

What does it take to be a double agent, to convince a foreign government that you're working for them when you're actually spying on them? Years of special study and training, right?

NAVEED JAMALI: I had none. It consisted of probably some "Magnum, P.I." episodes and, you know, a few movies here and there. And that was about it.

RATH: In spite of that, Naveed Jamali traded secrets with the Russians for years, while secretly working for the FBI. He shares the crazy story in his book, "How To Catch A Russian Spy: The True Story Of An American Civilian¹ Turned Double Agent." The story begins when Naveed was just a kid. A well-dressed Russian came into his parents' bookstore to place an order.

JAMALI: The man left. And not five minutes later, another knock on the door, and this time it was two FBI agents who said the man who just came in here was Soviet² intelligence, and we'd like to know what he wanted. And my father said he wanted to buy some books. And they said, well, get him his books.

RATH: Nothing top-secret, but defense-related materials the Soviets³ couldn't get directly on their own. The exchanges went on for decades, even after the end of the Cold War. The Jamalis would get the documents the Russian's officials asked for, then pass on the reading list to the FBI. After college, Naveed took over the bookstore, and he spied an opportunity.

JAMALI: I had applied⁴ to a program in the Navy and not gotten in. I was told that I had to beef up my resume. So knowing that I had this connection with the FBI, I naively⁵ said, hey, do you guys think you would write me a letter of recommendation if I help you with the Russians? And they probably - you know, they looked at me and said, we'll check into it. And, probably, when they got back in the car, they're like, wow, awesome⁶. We got someone who's willing to help us. We don't have to get him out of jail or intervene with any legal prosecution⁷. We just write him a letter of recommendation. So that's essentially⁸ how my innocent foray into this begun.

RATH: The first step was gaining the trust of a Russian diplomat⁹ named Oleg.

JAMALI: People think of espionage¹⁰ as this sort of very, very, very glamorous¹¹ - you know, with fast cars and exotic drinks and great food and in faraway locations. But the reality is, it's more like sales (laughter). You know, the real gold of any intelligence agency is a spy - is a human asset. So these agencies - these intelligence agencies here in the United States and abroad, they go and knock on doors, and they cold-call people. And, say, they take 20, maybe one is something that is both worthwhile, is willing and is able to deliver information. You know, with the FBI, it's so rare that you get a senior person, sort of which Oleg, my handler, was.

RATH: Oleg is your - he's your Russian contact - the guy that you're working with.

JAMALI: And he was my spy handler. He was the person who the Russians had appointed to run me as a spy. They knew that just having access was a great start, that this is someone who's going to come back. We know that it's not going to be one shot and he's gone. We have a chance to reel him in. So they knew that that there was a unique opportunity here. And then it was just me convincing them that I was able to deliver the Russians to kind of grow the relationship.

RATH: And then - so, talk about how you convinced the Russians that you're the real deal. I mean, do you have to talk bad about America or act like you're desperate for money?

JAMALI: Right. No, it's - it wasn't so much about politics or I hate United States and that stuff. It was, hey, I'm this young kid who's into material things, and I want to make money. And you know what? I'm smarter than the rest of the people out there. I can fool them. I can't get caught.

So the Russians' endgame was to develop a long-term asset, which was me, you know, someone who's going to operate in 5, 10, 15 years. They knew that I was applying to the military and, you know, they assumed that I was going to have access to more and more information.

RATH: So we talked at length about how you were able to, from this unlikely position, pull off this double agent thing. What about the why, though? Why did you want to do this? It was your idea.

JAMALI: You know, after Sept. 11, I really, you know - I felt a need to do something more than working in technology. And I was sort of devastated¹² when I applied to this program as an intelligence officer in the Navy - did not get in. So the first motivation was the Navy. And then, when I started doing it, the challenge of kind of going head-to-head with Oleg - it became a challenge of trying to outsmart, outmaneuver Oleg and the Russians. And that became sort of a major incentive¹³ in its own. It was a real rush to kind of take these guys on.

RATH: So we won't give away the ending. I'll say it's pretty entertaining. Hooters comes into play (laughter).

JAMALI: Of course, what espionage story isn't complete without Hooters?

RATH: But one thing we can skip to is how are you regarded in Russia now? Will you be able to go on a holiday there anytime soon?

JAMALI: Yeah. I don't think the Russians - no. I mean, look, if anyone wants to send me there, I can promise it'll be cheap because you just have to pay airfare one way, right? Room and board is included. No - it's - I don't - I mean, it's unfortunate, but I don't think Putin's going to be - you know, Anna Chapman got over there and he gave her a medal. I don't think that's going to be the same with me.

RATH: Naveed Jamali is co-author of the new book, "How To Catch A Russian Spy: The True Story Of An American Civilian Turned Double Agent." It comes out this Tuesday. Naveed, thanks very much.

JAMALI: Thank you.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 naively   

adv. 天真地

参考例句：

• They naively assume things can only get better. 他们天真地以为情况只会变好。
• In short, Knox's proposal was ill conceived and naively made. 总而言之，诺克斯的建议考虑不周，显示幼稚。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

10 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

11 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。