英国新闻听力 左拉写给法国总统的公开信

Good morning. Today, January 13th is the anniversary of the publication of a famous letter by the French writer Emile Zola to the President of France. This letter, written in 1898, demanded justice for Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer languishing¹ on Devil’s Island for passing military secrets to the Germans. Zola told the President that the case against Dreyfus was a tissue of lies concocted² by the French military and based on false testimony³. It ended with a string of denunciations: J’accuse. I first heard about the Dreyfus affair when I was doing history ‘O’ level but it wasn’t until last summer that I really understood what it was about – and that was when I read Robert Harris’s treatment of it in his novel, an Officer and a Spy.

Harris tells the story from the point of view of the Head of French Counter Espionage⁴, George Picquart. He was no supporter of the Jews but he came to see that the evidence against Dreyfus was weak and he conducted an investigation⁵ of his own. It was Picquart who identified the real traitor⁶, Ferdinand Esterhazy. But nobody wanted to know. In an atmosphere of casual anti-semitism the shame of truth was simply unendurable. National pride and honour was at stake. Military officials tried to engineer the killing⁷ of Picquart, eventually he was sacked and disgraced. The evidence that would have exonerated⁸ Dreyfus was suppressed. The military had public opinion on their side. The government, the Catholic Church and the press were united in their determination to find Dreyfus guilty. Zola’s letter, though, could not be ignored. He was eminent⁹, he was influential¹⁰, he exemplified the values of the Republic. You cannot bury truth, he said. The case split France into two opposing camps. Finally Dreyfus was summoned back re-tried and released. Loyal, as ever, to France he lived to fight in the First World War.

Robert Harris’s treatment of the Dreyfus scandal helped me to see how easy it is for institutions and governments to protect themselves from inconvenient¹¹ truths. We like to feel that we are on the side of virtue¹² and most of the time we expect the truth to conform our assumptions. But truth is not prejudiced. It confronts us in the sheer otherness of the other who lives differently, believes differently and has a different vision of reality from our own. We can opt¹³ for a superficial acceptance which is only half meant, an acceptance which all too often breaks down under pressure; or we can return to our own spiritual sources and strive to be more honest, to deepen our moral vision. My own faith urges me to see in the face of the stranger, the face of God that is most unfamiliar¹⁴ and that I most fear; but it is also the face that I most need.

1 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

2 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 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。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

7 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。

8 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

9 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

12 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。

13 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

14 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。