2019年经济学人 记录别人的生活(2)

 

His biggest solo project to date came about when Channel 4 asked him to write a trilogy of shows about modern Britain. “National Treasure” (2016) was inspired by Operation Yewtree, a police investigation¹ into sexual misconduct by media personalities²; the smash hit “Kiri” (2018) explored transracial adoption³. Caroline Hollick, the channel’s head of drama, praises the balance in Mr Thorne’s writing between brutal⁴ honesty and warmth, even humour: “That’s why he can dig into these huge state-of-the-nation ideas and make them so appealing to watch.” The trilogy’s final instalment will be a mini-series about corporate⁵ manslaughter, which will draw on real-life incidents including the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.

迄今为止，他最大的个人项目是英国第四台邀请他创作一部关于现代英国的电视剧三部曲。《国家淫才》（2016）的灵感来自于“杉树行动”，“杉树行动”指代警方对传媒人士不当性行为的调查；第二部又名为《姬芮》（2018），一度热播，讲述不同种族间收养的故事。该频道戏剧主管卡罗琳?霍利克称赞索恩在写作中保持了残酷的诚实与热情、甚至幽默之间的平衡:“这就是为什么他能深入挖掘这些宏大的国家理念，使其如此有吸引力。” 三部曲的最后一部将是一部关于公司过失杀人的迷你剧，取材于真实事件，其中包括2017年格伦费尔大厦大火事件。

Mr Thorne, who is 40, tends to anchor his stories in families (sometimes unconventional ones), scrutinising the relationships between siblings⁶ or between parents and their children. These families have a veneer⁷ of unity⁸ but, underneath⁹, they tend to be fractured by lies and betrayals. Much is left unsaid. In “National Treasure” Dee (Andrea Riseborough) wonders whether her drug-addiction and memory loss is linked to the predatory behaviour of which her father is accused. In “The Virtues”, to mask his slide back into the bottle, Joseph (Stephen Graham, pictured left) spins a story about a workplace accident to his son. Mr Graham, who also starred in “This is England”, reckons that “no one catches truth and reality the way Jack¹⁰ does”. Mr Thorne’s shows do “more than make you look at pretty pictures,” Mr Graham says; they come “into your living room and make you think”.

索恩今年40岁，他的故事多以“家庭”为题材 (有时是非传统的)，审视兄弟姐妹之间或父母与孩子之间的关系。这些家庭表面上团结一致，但实际上往往被谎言和背叛弄得支离破碎。还有很多话没说。在《国家淫才》中，迪伊(安德里亚·瑞斯伯勒饰)怀疑她的毒瘾和失忆与她父亲被指控的掠夺性行为有关。在《德性》中，为了掩饰自己又回到瓶子里，约瑟夫(斯蒂芬·格雷厄姆饰，图左)给儿子讲了一个关于工作场所事故的故事。同样在《英格兰》中担任主角的格雷厄姆认为，没有人能像杰克那样捕捉真相和现实。格雷厄姆表示，索恩的作品“不仅仅是让你看漂亮的画面”；它们“走进你的客厅，让你思考”。

Other threads knit the writer’s disparate subjects into a coherent oeuvre. Many of his stories feature loss or violence, exploring how such experiences calcify¹¹ into trauma¹²; several of his characters are dependent on booze or sex. He is an acute observer of nuances of affluence¹³ and class, that eternal British theme. Typically, Mr Thorne avoids the temptation to provide easy moralising and neat conclusions, considering those unrealistic and therefore dishonest. He says he wants his work to lead “to people asking questions rather than giving them answers”.

其他线索将作者不同的主题编织成连贯的作品。他的许多故事都以失去或暴力为特色，探索这些经历是如何变成创伤的；他的几个角色都依赖于酒精或性。他敏锐地观察到了富裕和阶级之间的细微差别，这是英国永恒的主题。通常情况下，考虑到那些不现实、因而不诚实的结论，索恩避免了提供简单的道德说教和简洁结论的诱惑。他表示希望自己的工作能让人们提出问题，而不是给出答案。

1 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。

2 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

3 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

7 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 calcify   

v.变成石灰质,钙化

参考例句：

• Old folks can calcify.老年人可能出现钙化现象。
• The rock calcified over the centuries.经过几个世纪，石头发生了钙化。

12 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

13 affluence   

n.充裕，富足

参考例句：

• Their affluence is more apparent than real.他们的富有是虚有其表。
• There is a lot of affluence in this part of the state because it has many businesses.这个州的这一部分相当富有，因为它有很多商行。