2020年经济学人 切尔迪好村长拉斯洛·波格丹(4)

Outside the village, he had enemies. He wanted to see Gypsies integrated and living like other Hungarians, for he was proud of being Hungarian too; he dreamed of dark faces in advertisements, his food in national stores, colour-blind political parties and the money that was spent on self-serving, wasteful¹ Roma minority councils spent, instead, on greenhouses. This didn’t suit those who still wanted to be victims. Others felt that his constant reminders² of bad Gypsy ways simply fed the stereotype³: he was a self-hater, racist⁴ to his own skin.

在村子外面，他有敌人。博格丹想看到吉普赛人融入进去，像其他匈牙利人一样生活，因为他也为自己是匈牙利人而自豪;他向往着广告上出现黑人脸庞，他的食品出现在国家商店里，政党不分肤色和把花在自私浪费的罗姆少数民族议会上的钱，都花在温室上。这不合那些仍然想要成为受害者的心意。其他人感觉，他不断地提醒着不好的吉普赛行为，这只会增强这种刻板印象：他恨自己，是一个针对自己肤色的种族主义者。

One way and another, he had learned to watch his back when he crossed the road. Some thought he might make a good Roma leader on the national stage. But he did not want that label. He cared about other minorities too, even inviting⁵ migrants—who were hated more than Gypsies now—to come to Cserdi in 2017. Besides, he had no interest in being a “celebrity bastard”. He disliked talking about himself. He was just a semi-literate “scattered soul” who was trying to make his mark on the world, and was doing it in Cserdi. There, his ambitions were still growing. The “Romburgers” the villagers were making for local restaurants were taking off nicely.

不管怎样，博格丹已经知道在穿过马路时要注意自己的身后。有些人认为，在国家舞台上，他可能会成为一个好的罗姆人领导者。但是他并不想要那个标签。他也关心其他少数民族，甚至在2017年邀请移民-他们比吉普赛人更遭人憎恨-来到切尔迪。而且，博格丹没兴趣成为一个“混蛋名人”。他不喜欢谈论他自己。博格丹只是一个半文盲的“疏散的灵魂”，试着在这个世界上留下他的印记，地点就是在切尔迪。在那里，他的雄心还在增长。村民们为当地餐厅制作的“罗姆汉堡”卖的很好。

He was going to produce a range of Gypsy stews⁶ in the new processing plant, built with state and EU funds and almost finished. But it was there, on July 14th, that he hanged himself. He had given no hint of this before. Or perhaps only one: he had admitted that he cried every day, not because he was afraid, but because he felt powerless to do all that had to be done. In a well-known Hungarian story, two Gypsies were haggling⁷ over the price of a horse. As they argued, the horse galloped⁸ fast towards a brick wall. “Your horse is blind!” complained the would-be buyer. “Not blind,” said the seller. “Brave.”

他打算在新加工厂生产一系列吉普赛人炖菜，该加工厂是由国家和欧盟资助建造的，几乎完工。但就在那里，7月14日，他上吊自杀了。他以前没有出现要自杀的征兆。也许只有一点：他承认他每天都哭，不是因为害怕，而是因为他感到无力完成所有必须完成的事情。在一个著名的匈牙利故事中，两个吉普赛人正在为一匹马讨价还价。就在他们争论的时候，那匹马飞快地朝一堵砖墙跑去。“你的马瞎了！”这位潜在的买家抱怨道。“不是瞎，”卖主说。“是勇敢”。

1 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

2 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

3 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

6 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句

7 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句

8 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。