经济学人407:二战代价几何(2)

 　　Mr Hastings's technique is to mine the written record of those who took part both actively¹ and passively. His witnesses range from the men whose decisions sent millions to their deaths to the ordinary soldiers who carried out their orders and the civilian² victims who found themselves on the receiving end. Cynicism and idealism, suffering and euphoria, courage and terror, brutalisation and sentimentality—all find expression through their own testimony³. From the Burma Road to the Arctic convoys⁴, the killing⁵ fields of Kursk and the London Blitz, their voices are heard. Mr Hastings’s achievement in organising this unwieldy mass of material into a narrative⁶ that sweeps confidently over every contested corner of the globe is impressive.

　　不论是那些积极参与还是被迫卷入二战的人，马克斯·哈斯丁都会搜集他们留下的文字资料，这是他的技巧。他的二战见证者包括决策造成几百万人死亡的人、执行其命令的普通士兵和默默承受苦难的平民，范围极广。犬儒主义与理想主义、苦难与愉快、勇气与恐惧、残暴不仁与多愁善感，以上种种都能在他们留下的文字里读到。从滇缅公路到北极行动、库尔斯克的杀戮战场再到伦敦的闪电战，现在世人已听到了他们的心声。马克斯?哈斯丁将这些浩如烟海的资料整理成了一部叙事体历史，几乎囊括二战时期地球上发生过战事的每一个角落，实在令人惊叹。

　　Less so are some of his judgments⁷. Although delivered with verve and economy (Mr Hastings is, above all, an accomplished⁸ journalist), they are often unfair. For example, he argues that the decision by Britain and France to declare war because of the German attack on Poland was an act of cynicism because they knew they could do nothing to help the Poles. That was never in doubt, but the Allies hoped the stand against Germany’s naked aggression⁹ would persuade Hitler to step back from the brink¹⁰ of all-out war, a motive¹¹ that was neither base nor ridiculous.

　　但相比之下他的一些观点则稍显逊色——措辞简洁，充满激情（毕竟他是个出色的记者），却大多有失偏颇。例如，他认为英法两国因德国闪击波兰而向其宣战是犬儒的表现，因为两国都深知自身无法援助波兰。这点历来毋庸置疑，但当时盟军希望通过采取立场反对德国赤裸裸的侵略行为，以迫使希特勒放弃全面发动战争，这个宣战动机绝不卑劣，也不荒唐。

　　Mr Hastings's repeated admiration¹² for the fighting qualities of German, Japanese and Soviet¹³ soldiers compared with British and American forces is especially trying. Germany and Japan were militarised societies that glorified¹⁴ war and conquest, held human life to be cheap and regarded obedience¹⁵ to the state as the highest virtue¹⁶. Russian soldiers were inured¹⁷ to the harsh brutalities of Soviet rule and driven on by the knowledge that they were fighting “a war of annihilation” against an implacable enemy. If they wavered, they knew they would be shot by NKVD enforcers. More than 300,000 were killed pour encourager les autres.

　　马克斯·哈斯丁多次表示，相较于英军和美军，自己很欣赏德、日、苏军的作战水平。这个观点特别令人讨厌。德日两国都是军事化社会，崇尚征战，视人命如草芥，认为服从国家就是最高的美德。俄罗斯士兵已习惯了严格、无情的苏联纪律，是心怀正在和无法和解的敌人“打一场‘歼灭战’”的想法上战场的。他们知道，一旦退缩，自己就会被内务人民委员部的执行委员枪杀。超过30万人死于督战官以及其他（军纪人员）之手。

1 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

2 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。

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

9 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

10 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

11 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

12 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

13 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。

14 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

15 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

16 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

17 inured   

adj.坚强的，习惯的

参考例句：

• The prisoners quickly became inured to the harsh conditions.囚犯们很快就适应了苛刻的条件。
• He has inured himself to accept misfortune.他锻练了自己，使自己能承受不幸。