美国国家公共电台 NPR Secrets Of A Teenage WWII Spy In 'Transcription'

 

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

In 1940, the threat of Nazi¹ Germany brought up a patriotism² in the British, mostly. There were also secret admirers of Hitler who embraced the Iron Cross of the Third Reich over the Union Jack³. And that moment in history is what animates⁴ Kate Atkinson's latest novel.

KATE ATKINSON: Before the British bombed anyone and before we were bombed, France hasn't fallen. The Battle of Britain, the Blitz - none of this has taken place. So there was a good bit of paranoia⁵ around. And the fear was the enemy within, not the enemy without.

MONTAGNE: And to keep these local fascists⁷ from spying on England for Hitler, Britain deployed⁸ its own spies. Kate Atkinson's fictional⁹ spy is 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong. Recruited by MI5, Juliet is initially¹⁰ pressed into service as a typist, transcribing¹¹ secretly recorded conversations of a group of Nazi sympathizers. Atkinson was inspired to write her novel "Transcription" after MI5 declassified¹² documents that gave her one of her other central characters - the mysterious Godfrey Toby, passing himself off as a Gestapo agent.

ATKINSON: In real life, the man that Godfrey Toby is very loosely based on was a man called Jack King, who posed as a Gestapo spy - an agent of the German government. And he had been undercover for quite a long time, I think in fascist⁶ groups. So they knew him. And he invited them to come to a flat where they would have tea and biscuits, giving me my new favorite phrase, which is biscuit interval¹³, because you see that typed in the transcripts¹⁴ quite a lot. And they would try and give him information. They particularly were rooting out other sympathizers. So they would come and say oh, you know, Mrs. Smith in Bolton - she's very pro¹⁵ the German government - all these kinds of things. They were, on the whole, in retrospect¹⁶, harmless. But he would sit there and say, mmm hmm, yes, oh, I see. And all this information would come flowing in. What I thought was really fascinating with these people, these traitors¹⁷, lived and died without ever knowing that the man that they thought was a Gestapo agent was actually an MI5 agent.

MONTAGNE: So this real person, known as Jack King, who you patterned Godfrey Toby after partially¹⁸ - basically, he was telling these people that he would pass their information onto...

ATKINSON: Onto the German (unintelligible).

MONTAGNE: ...Hitler, basically.

ATKINSON: Absolutely. Yes, yes. But they were given - at one point, they were given little medals - the sort of civilian¹⁹ Iron Cross, which they would wear beneath their lapel. And they wore it to conceal²⁰ beneath their lapel so that when the Germans invaded, they could just turn the lapel and quietly show the invading German army that they were actually sympathizers.

MONTAGNE: But there was a great, though, deal of ugliness revealed. I mean, what's really nice in the book - these transcriptions that Juliet does - they're printed in 1940s typeface. You can see them as you might have really read them. And though the conversations are sometimes quite boring and sometimes illuminates²¹ what they're trying to do - but they're shot through with this virulent²² hatred²³ of Jews.

ATKINSON: It's side by side with this really kind of tedium²⁴ of their conversations. And then you suddenly - you're almost lulled²⁵ into not hearing what they're saying. And then you suddenly realize that this hatred is simmering away beneath in their breasts. And they're not - they really could be your neighbor. And I think that's a frightening thing.

MONTAGNE: Well, you know, even so, this - should be said - is something of a spy thriller²⁶ and also threaded through with a great deal of wit, most...

ATKINSON: Yes.

MONTAGNE: ...Of it on the part of Juliet. She's very arch a lot of the time.

ATKINSON: And she's very naive²⁷. But at the same time, she's had an education. She's been a scholarship girl in a good school. And I think that means that Juliet's already been slightly moved out of her natural environment. She's already other, in a way. And also, it should be said that she's a pathological liar²⁸, which is clearly why the secret service would be interested in her because she has an interview. I mean, she's very reluctant. She doesn't want to join MI5 because she's thinks, I'll just be shunted into clerical, which is true. That does happen to her. So she gives a very bad interview in the way that you do when you're being interviewed for something you don't actually want. And, of course, she lies throughout and thinks that they will just, you know, get rid of her. But in fact, her lying is the very thing that makes her attractive to MI5.

MONTAGNE: You know, obviously, it took you a while to write this book. But when we talk about what is real and what is unreal and truth and lies, does it feel to you that it's coming out at a time for this sort of contemplation?

ATKINSON: A lot of people ask me, so, you know, were you very conscious about the referendum about Brexit, about Trump²⁹ being elected and so on? 'Cause I did - this was happening when I was writing it. But I was writing it - I started it before then. And certainly, the germ of the idea was very strong before that. And I just think, of necessity, I'm writing about things that happened - I know in fictional form. So the fact that the same things are happening now - it's just history repeating itself. I'm not actually trying to make a comment because I started the book before that. You know, I wasn't seeing the book is any kind of comment or message or a book about these things. But, you know, those things happen to be happening again. And, you know, I do - I think history is doomed³⁰ to endlessly repeat itself.

MONTAGNE: Kate Atkinson is the author of "Transcription," her latest novel. And thank you very much for joining us.

ATKINSON: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

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1 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

2 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

3 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。

4 animates   

v.使有生气( animate的第三人称单数 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• The soul animates the body. 灵魂使肉体有生命。 来自辞典例句
• It is probable that life animates all the planets revolving round all the stars. 生命为一切围绕恒星旋转的行星注入活力。 来自辞典例句

5 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

6 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

7 fascists   

n.法西斯主义的支持者( fascist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists. 老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 transcribing   

（用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的现在分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音）

参考例句：

• They continue to remove molecules until the cell stops transcribing the gene. 他们继续除去分子，直到细胞不再转录基因为止。
• Q: Can I use Voice-to-Text software to help with the transcribing? 问：我能使用声音-到-本文的软件帮助转换吗？

12 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

13 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

14 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

15 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

16 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

17 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

18 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

19 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

20 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

21 illuminates   

v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明

参考例句：

• The light shines on from over there and illuminates the stage. 灯光从那边照进来，照亮了舞台。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sun illuminates the sky. 太阳照亮了天空。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。

23 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

24 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

25 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

27 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

28 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

29 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

30 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。