2019年经济学人 书评--《一个不可能实现的梦想:里根,戈尔巴乔夫和一个没有原子弹的世界》(2)

 

Mr Serina’s account, first published in French three years ago, draws on declassified¹ archives and interviews with witnesses to paint a vivid and valuable picture of the two-day meeting in the Icelandic capital, despite the occasional redundant² flourish and some unfamiliarity³ with the technology he mentions. He is a leading French correspondent dealing⁴ with the United States, not the Soviet⁵ Union, which sometimes shows. Moreover he blithely⁶ assumes the anti-nuclear case is self-evident, and is prone⁷ to unthinking moral equivalence between the communist empire and the free world. Dialogue indeed helps clarify disagreements and build trust. All the same, Reagan’s views of a malevolent⁸ Kremlin were well-founded.

瑟利纳的报告三年前首次以法语出版，报告利用解密档案和目击者的采访，生动而有价值地描述了在冰岛首都为期两天的会议，尽管偶尔会出现描述繁冗以及对于提及的技术不够熟悉的情况。瑟利纳是一位法国记者，主要与美国而非苏联打交道。而且，他乐于认为反核理由不言自明，而且很倾向于在共产主义帝国和自由世界之间的不多思考的道德平衡。对话确实有助于澄清分歧，建立信任。尽管如此，里根对恶毒的克里姆林宫的看法是有根据的。

If, just if, the summit could have gone on one more day…that might have given the two leaders time to build their burgeoning⁹ rapport¹⁰ and overrule sceptics in their delegations¹¹. Mr Gorbachev, accompanied by his wife Raisa, was willing to give the talks another 24 hours. Lonesome and exhausted¹², Reagan was not. “How might the world have changed if Nancy had come along for the ride?” asks Mr Serina.

如果，仅仅是如果，峰会能再持续一天……那也许能给两位领导人时间来建立迅速发展的友好关系，并推翻他们代表团中的怀疑论者。在妻子赖莎的陪同下，戈尔巴乔夫愿意再进行24小时的会谈。里根并不孤独，也不疲惫。“如果南希也来凑热闹，世界会发生什么变化呢？”瑟利纳先生问道。

Probably not a lot, in truth. The two big superpowers would hardly scrap¹³ their nuclear arsenals¹⁴ without the Chinese, Indians, Israelis and others doing the same—and how would that be verified? Still, despite the false start in Reykjavik, the negotiations¹⁵ continued, with the elimination¹⁶ of intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe and deep, verified cuts in the strategic arsenals on both sides. Happy days, by contemporary standards.

事实上，没有那么多如果。如果中国、印度、以色列和其他国家不这么做，这两个超级大国几乎不会销毁其核武库。然而，尽管雷克雅未克的谈判开局不利，但谈判仍在继续，双方都消除了欧洲的中程核武器，并对双方的战略武库进行了深入的、经过核实的削减。以当代的标准来看，这是值得欢呼的日子。

1 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

2 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

3 unfamiliarity   

参考例句：

• And unfamiliarity with a new electoral system may also deter voters. 而对新的选举体系的不熟悉，也会妨碍一些选民投票。 来自互联网
• Her temporary shyness was due to her unfamiliarity with the environment. 她暂时的害羞是因为对环境不熟悉。 来自互联网

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 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。

6 blithely   

adv.欢乐地，快活地，无挂虑地

参考例句：

• They blithely carried on chatting, ignoring the customers who were waiting to be served. 他们继续开心地聊天，将等着购物的顾客们置于一边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He blithely ignored her protests and went on talking as if all were agreed between them. 对她的抗议他毫不在意地拋诸脑后，只管继续往下说，仿彿他们之间什么都谈妥了似的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

8 malevolent   

adj.有恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。

9 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

10 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

11 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

12 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

13 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

14 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

15 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

16 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。