2021年经济学人 枪支与种族--双重标准(2)

This double-barrelled interpretation¹ contributed to centuries of brutality² against defenceless black Americans.

这种双重解释导致了，长达几个世纪对手无寸铁的美国黑人的残酷镇压。

Ms Anderson recounts a South Carolina militia's grisly response to a slave uprising in 1739

安德森女士讲述了南卡罗来纳州民兵组织对1739年奴隶起义的可怕行径，

in which the enslaved were "tortured, shot, hanged and gibbeted alive".

奴隶们被“折磨、枪杀、活活绞死”。

White militias³ "made Swiss cheese of [black] men's backs, especially those who had surrendered" during a massacre⁴ in Colfax, Louisiana, in 1873.

1873年，在路易斯安那州科尔法克斯的一场大屠杀中，白人民兵“用黑人的脊背做了瑞士奶酪，尤其是那些投降的黑人”。

President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the dishonourable discharge of 167 black soldiers in 1906,

1906年，西奥多·罗斯福总统下令开除167名黑人士兵，

on the baseless suspicion that some in their ranks had shot whites in Brownsville, Texas.

理由是怀疑他们中的一些人在得克萨斯州布朗斯维尔枪杀了白人，而这怀疑毫无根据。

The emptiness, for black Americans, of the right to bear arms is amply documented in Ms Anderson's vivid retelling.

安德森女士在她的书中生动且充分地讲述了，对于美国黑人来说，持枪权是多么的空虚无用。

No landmarks⁵ of racial progress—neither Reconstruction⁶ in the 19th century, nor the civil-rights movement of the 20th—made a difference.

无论是19世纪的重建运动，还是20世纪的民权运动，种族运动都没有取得里程碑式的进步。

Nor has the National Rifle Association (NRA), the zealous⁷ defender⁸ of gun rights that came to the fore⁹ in the 1960s, targeted this prejudice.

美国步枪协会在20世纪60年代崭露头角，热衷于捍卫持枪权利的组织，就连他们也没有站出来反对这种偏见。

In 1967 the NRA helped draft a bill in California to disarm¹⁰ the Black Panthers, a black self-defence organisation¹¹ that "had broken no firearms laws".

1967年，全国步枪协会在加州协助起草了一份解除黑豹党武装的法案，而黑豹党作为一个黑人自卫组织并“没有违反枪支法”。

Ms Anderson notes that the association has been slow to respond to police violence against black men in recent years,

安德森指出，该协会近年来对警察针对黑人男性的暴力行为反应迟缓，

including in 2016 when an officer shot and killed Philando Castile in St Paul, Minnesota, after Castile disclosed that he was (legally) carrying a gun.

包括2016年发生在明尼苏达州圣保罗的事件，菲兰多·卡斯蒂尔公开自己(合法)携带枪支后，一名警察开枪打死了他。

Yet as a contribution to the contemporary debate over gun rights, "The Second" comes up short.

然而，作为对当代枪支权利辩论的一项贡献，《第二》缺少了一点东西。

The book makes no mention of Justice Clarence Thomas's long concurrence¹² in McDonald v Chicago (2010), which covers much of the same historical ground.

书中没有提及克拉伦斯·托马斯法官在麦克唐纳诉芝加哥案(2010年)中长时间的判决，这些事几乎发生在相同的历史背景下。

Like Ms Anderson, Justice Thomas, himself African-American, lamented¹³ as tragic¹⁴ the white supremacy¹⁵ that has persistently¹⁶ denied gun rights to black citizens.

同安德森女士一样，身为非裔美国人的托马斯大法官也哀叹，白人至上主义一直剥夺黑人公民拥有枪支的权利，这是一场悲剧。

But the right to bear arms, in his eyes, remains¹⁷ key to their salvation¹⁸.

但在他看来，携带武器的权利仍然是拯救他们的关键点。

Ms Anderson could have grappled with that reading to hone her contrary view:

安德森女士本可以运用这一发声使她的反抗观点更加锋利:

that the amendment¹⁹ is "so inherently, structurally²⁰ flawed" that it can "never be a pathway to civil and human rights" for black Americans.

修正案“内在的、结构上的缺陷如此之大”，它永远不可能成为美国黑人“获得公民权利和人权的途径”。

1 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

2 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

3 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

4 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

5 landmarks   

n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址）

参考例句：

• The book stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. 这部著作是现代科学发展史上著名的里程碑之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The baby was one of the big landmarks in our relationship. 孩子的出世是我们俩关系中的一个重要转折点。 来自辞典例句

6 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

7 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

8 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

9 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

10 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

11 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

12 concurrence   

n.同意；并发

参考例句：

• There is a concurrence of opinion between them.他们的想法一致。
• The concurrence of their disappearances had to be more than coincidental.他们同时失踪肯定不仅仅是巧合。

13 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

15 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

16 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

19 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

20 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。