美国国家公共电台 NPR Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

Clive James, Writer, TV Host And Cultural Critic, Dies At 80

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Fiction is life with the dull bits left out - that's just one of the many clever observations of the writer, TV host and cultural critic Clive James. James died at his home in Cambridge, England, on Sunday. He suffered multiple illnesses in recent years, including leukemia. He was 80 years old. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation¹.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE²: Here's another scorching³ gem⁴ from a Clive James review of a politician's memoir⁵ - here is a book so dull that a whirling dervish could read himself to sleep with it.

P J O'ROURKE: The man had a way with a phrase.

BLAIR: Satirist⁶ and writer P.J. O'Rourke was a friend of Clive James. He says he was that rare person who could do any kind of writing, from memoirs⁷ to poetry to satire⁸.

O'ROURKE: And often a critic of sort of trivial things.

BLAIR: Here's Clive James from his days as a TV host. He's coming out of a "Saturday Night Live"-style mock commercial that ends with a close-up of a man eating a lemon.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLIVE JAMES: If that made you feel like a defenseless oyster⁹, it did so in just 15 seconds.

BLAIR: And then James delivers his thoughts about TV commercials.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES: In Britain, commercials interrupt the programs; in America, programs interrupt the commercials.

(LAUGHTER)

BLAIR: Erudite but playful, Clive James did not seem to take himself too seriously introducing guests on his variety show.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES: And now to end the show and probably my career, will you once again put your seats in the upright position and your head between your knees for Margarita Pracatan.

(APPLAUSE)

BLAIR: Clive James was one of Britain and Australia's best-known wits. He loved language and read everything. P.J. O'Rourke, who is not a regular TV viewer, even delighted in his writing about that.

O'ROURKE: His television criticism was so good that I have read all of it, even though I haven't the likeliest idea what he's talking about...

BLAIR: (Laughter).

O'ROURKE: ...Because I've never seen any of the shows.

BLAIR: Clive James' childhood in Sydney, Australia, was rooted in tragedy. His father was a prisoner in a Japanese war camp. When he was finally released, he was killed when the plane carrying him home crashed.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JAMES: That was the cruelty of it because my mother had waited all that time and she'd received notification he was alive after all, then all that was taken away from her when the plane crashed on the way back.

BLAIR: This is James talking to NPR's Renee Montagne in 2009.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JAMES: But I didn't know any of that, you know. Five-year-old boys know nothing, and I just didn't know what was going on. I just knew that my mother was unhappy, and that's always unsettling.

RENEE MONTAGNE, BYLINE: Well, as it turns out, she was in some senses unprepared to be - to take you on as a project.

JAMES: It's quite remarkable¹⁰ that I did not become, first, a delinquent¹¹, then a felon¹² and then a prisoner because I had absolutely no qualifications for ordinary life, except, luckily, I had a certain gift for the English language, a knack¹³ But without that, I would have been a real problem.

BLAIR: That gift for the English language, he said, is what saved him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

JAMES: Telling stories was crucial to my existence and, indeed, to my survival. I was actually the kind of boy who was born to be picked on. I was snotty, know-it-all, and I was ganged up on and chased and ragged¹⁴, until I hit on the scheme of, when I was being chased, I was suddenly sitting down and organizing a discussion group and telling stories.

BLAIR: In 2010, Clive James was diagnosed with leukemia. He also suffered from emphysema and kidney failure. A statement from his agent reads that he endured his ever-multiplying illnesses with patience and good humor, knowing that he had experienced more than his fair share of this great, good world.

Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF TESLA BOY'S "GLOW")

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

4 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

5 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

6 satirist   

n.讽刺诗作者，讽刺家，爱挖苦别人的人

参考例句：

• Voltaire was a famous French satirist.伏尔泰是法国一位著名的讽刺作家。
• Perhaps the first to chronicle this dream was the Greek satirist Lucian.也许第一个记述这一梦想的要算是希腊的讽刺作家露西安了。

7 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

9 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

12 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

13 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

14 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。