经济学人409:二战代价几何(4)

 　　Mr Beevor is keener than Mr Hastings on detailing the horror. He is particularly vivid in describing the barbarities that became commonplace during the carnage on the Eastern front. Frozen German corpses¹ littering the battlefield were frequently missing their legs, not because they had been blown off, but because Red Army soldiers wanted their boots and could only pull them off after the legs had been defrosted over camp fires. Outside the besieged² city of Leningrad, amputated limbs were stolen from field hospitals and bodies snatched from mass graves as a source of food. Within the city, 2,000 people were arrested for cannibalism³. Those most at risk were children, who were eaten by their own parents.

　　安东尼·比弗也比马克斯·哈斯丁花了更多笔墨详细描述二战所带来的恐惧。他对士兵暴行的描述特别生动，后来这些暴行在东部战线的大屠杀中司空见惯。冻僵的德军尸体遍布战场，其中很多没有腿，但那不是被炸掉的，而是苏联红军想要德军的靴子，但不用火烤脱不下来。在被包围的列宁格勒外，战地医院中被截下来的腿被人偷走，尸体被人争相从乱葬岗中挖出来果腹。在列宁格勒，有2000人因吃人而被捕。受害者大多是被父母吃掉的小孩。

　　The cruelties perpetrated by the Japanese against civilians⁴ in China (Mr Beevor sees the Sino-Japanese conflict that began with the Nanking massacre⁵ in 1937 as the true opening chapter of the second world war) and any of the countries unfortunate enough to come within the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” were nearly as systematic⁶ as any of the crimes committed by the Nazis⁷. Japanese commanders actively⁸ encouraged the dehumanisation of their troops in the belief it would make them more formidable. Prisoners were burned on huge pyres in their thousands and killing⁹ local people for meat was officially sanctioned.

　　日军在中国（安东尼·比弗视1937年南京大屠杀后开始的中日军事冲突为第二次世界大战的真正开端）以及其他不幸被他们纳入所谓“大东亚共荣圈”的国家对无辜平民犯下的暴行与德国纳粹的行径一样是有组织有系统的战争罪行。日军的司令积极鼓励士兵采取灭绝人性的行动，相信这样会使士兵更加勇猛。数千战俘在大柴堆上被烧死，杀死本地人取其肉为食的行为也得到日本军方的认可。

　　Mr Beevor also gives more attention than Mr Hastings to the appalling¹⁰ acts of violence suffered by women when invading armies arrived. Again, it was the Japanese who set about mass-rape with methodical zeal¹¹. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Korean girls were press-ganged into becoming “comfort women”; 10,000 women were gang-raped¹² after the fall of Hong Kong. But revenge-fuelled Red Army soldiers were little better. Soviet¹³ forces looting and pillaging¹⁴ their way through East Prussia on their way to Berlin raped around 2m women and girls.

　　同样，安东尼·比弗也比马克斯·哈斯丁更关注妇女在侵略军到来时所遭受的残忍对待。日军还犯下了有组织有计划的大规模强奸妇女的罪行。数十万的中国和韩国女孩被强征为“慰安妇”；香港沦陷后有一万名妇女被轮奸。不过，为报仇而来的苏联红军也没好到哪去。苏联军队穿过东普鲁士前往柏林时，一路抢掠，还强奸了近两百万名妇女。

　　This is, however, a less satisfying book than Mr Beevor’s earlier, more focused works. There is an unevenness¹⁵ of quality. The author has a tremendous grasp of the things he has written about before, in particular the titanic¹⁶ struggle between Hitler and Stalin. But he is dutiful rather than exhilarating when dealing¹⁷ with some other passages and theatres of the war. The account of the campaign in north Africa plods¹⁸, and American readers may be disappointed by his handling of the war in the Pacific. The battle of Midway, arguably the defining naval¹⁹ engagement between Japan and America, gets two pages. At other times, there is too much detail: a succession of generals, armies and battles come and go. Second world war anoraks and students of military history will get more of what they are looking for from Mr Beevor, but less committed readers will find Mr Hastings’s work easier to get to grips with and a better read. Is there room for both books? Absolutely.

　　不过这本书并不如安东尼·比弗之前的那些内容更为集中的著作，这本书的内容质量参差不齐。安东尼·比弗对他以前所写的主题钻研得十分透彻，尤其是希特勒和斯大林之间的剧烈争斗。不过在处理一些其他章节和战区时，他只是尽了提到的责任，并没有写得出彩。他描写北非战役的笔墨十分沉重，而美国读者可能会他所写的太平洋战争感到失望。被公认为日美两国战事转捩点的中途岛战役只占了两页的篇幅，一些其他内容的细节却太多：一连串的将领、军队和战役如走马灯似地出现。二战发烧友和学军事史的学生会在安东尼·比弗的书中找到更多他们想要的东西，但没那么狂热的读者会觉得马克斯·哈斯丁的书更容易理解，读起来更舒服。能不能两本一起看？当然没问题。

1 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

2 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

3 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 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！

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

7 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 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。

10 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

11 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

12 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

13 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

14 pillaging   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rebels went looting and pillaging. 叛乱者趁火打劫，掠夺财物。
• Soldiers went on a rampage, pillaging stores and shooting. 士兵们横冲直撞，洗劫商店并且开枪射击。 来自辞典例句

15 unevenness   

n. 不平坦，不平衡，不匀性

参考例句：

• This unevenness comes about because topics are developed in a logical order. 所以出现这种不平衡，是因为课题是按逻辑顺序展开的。
• I sanded the corners to take away any unevenness in the joints. 我用砂纸磨边边角角的地方，去除接头处的不均。

16 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

18 plods   

v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的第三人称单数 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）

参考例句：

• He plods away at his lessons until he learns them. 他埋头学习功课直到学会为止。 来自辞典例句
• Mr. Weaver stretches, yawns, rises reluctantly and plods heavily into the bathroom. 韦佛先生伸伸懒腰打了个呵欠，勉强起床，迈着沉重的脚步走进浴室去。 来自辞典例句

19 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。