2021年经济学人 大英帝国日不落(1)

Books & arts

文艺板块

Book review

书评

Britain’s past and present

英国的过去和现在

The sun never sets

日不落

Empireland. By Sathnam Sanghera.

《帝国》，作者：萨瑟南·桑赫拉

As Britain’s global role has shrunk, so the island’s politics have become increasingly insular¹. But occasionally wider concerns intrude—as in the Brexit saga², or during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year. Both led to anguished³ debates about Britain’s place in the world, and over British identity more generally.

随着英国的国际角色日渐萎靡，这一岛国的政治也变得愈发孤立。但英国偶尔也会受到国际社会的广泛关注，比如英国脱欧事件，或者乔治·弗洛伊德去年在明尼阿波利斯死亡后引发的抗议活动。这两大事件都导致了有关英国的国际地位，以及英国身份的痛苦争议甚嚣尘上。

In these discussions, the British Empire has been fingered as the culprit for many of the country’s problems and neuroses, from racism⁴ to a sense of exceptionalism that fuelled Brexit. Statues have been toppled and punches thrown. If, in the past, much of the thinking about empire was blinkered and jingoistic⁵, these days it is often lacerating. British imperialism⁶ is identified as the source not only of militarism and hooliganism, but of the irresponsibility of high finance and much besides. In contrast to such polemics⁷, Sathnam Sanghera’s new book is nuanced, intelligent and even entertaining.

在这些讨论中，人们将怀疑的矛头指向大英帝国，认为它是英国许多问题和焦虑（例如：推进英国脱欧的种族主义以及例外主义）的罪魁祸首。英国民众推倒雕像并拳打脚踢。如果说，在过去，人们大多认为帝国狭隘且大国主义；那么到了如今，人们通常持有抨击态度。人们认定英帝国主义不仅是军国主义和流氓行为的根源，也是巨额融资和其他诸多方面的无责任化的根源。萨瑟南·桑赫拉的新书与这样的激烈论辩截然不同，他的书细致入微，充满智慧，甚至富有娱乐性。

It is also refreshingly⁸ honest. The son of Punjabi immigrants, Mr Sanghera was born in the mid-1970s in Wolverhampton, an industrial town in the West Midlands and a focal point of anti-immigrant politics. He learned nothing about the British Empire at school, he writes. But as wrangles⁹ about Brexit and racism swirled¹⁰ around him, he resolved to read up. “Empireland” is the result.

这本书同样坦率真诚，令人耳目一新。桑赫拉是旁遮普移民的儿子，20世纪70年代中期出生于沃尔弗汉普顿，那里是英国中西部的一座工业城镇，也是反移民政治的焦点。他在书中写道，自己在上学时对大英帝国一无所知。但当他身边充斥着有关脱欧和种族主义的争论时，他决心要深入钻研。而“帝国”就是他得到的结果。

1 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

2 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

3 anguished   

adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式)

参考例句：

• Desmond eyed her anguished face with sympathy. 看着她痛苦的脸，德斯蒙德觉得理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The loss of her husband anguished her deeply. 她丈夫的死亡使她悲痛万分。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 jingoistic   

adj.强硬外交政策的，侵略分子的

参考例句：

• In tackling this issue, both governments must deal with national pride and jingoistic media. 要解决这种事端，两国政府在事端的处理中必须要维护国家荣誉，并采取强硬外交手腕。 来自互联网

6 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

7 polemics   

n.辩论术，辩论法；争论( polemic的名词复数 )；辩论；辩论术；辩论法

参考例句：

• He enjoys polemics, persuasion, and controversy. 他喜欢辩论、说服和争议。 来自辞典例句
• The modes of propaganda are opportunistic and the polemics can be vicious. 宣传的模式是投机取巧的，诡辩是可恶性的。 来自互联网

8 refreshingly   

adv.清爽地，有精神地

参考例句：

• Hers is less workmanlike than the other books and refreshingly unideological. 她的书不像其它书那般精巧，并且不涉及意识形态也让人耳目一新。 来自互联网
• Skin is left refreshingly clean with no pore-clogging residue. 皮肤留下清爽干净，没有孔隙堵塞残留。 来自互联网

9 wrangles   

n.（尤指长时间的）激烈争吵，口角，吵嘴( wrangle的名词复数 )v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We avoided wrangles and got down to business. 他们避免了争吵开始做正事。 来自辞典例句
• They hope to see politicians in exciting wrangles and to get some fun out of politics. 他们期望政治人物进行有趣的战斗，期望从政治中获得娱乐。 来自互联网

10 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。