2019年经济学人 法国前总统雅克·希拉克(2)

 

At home, he was better at campaigning than governing. The candidate who had vowed¹ to mend the "social fracture" bequeathed worse public finances and deeper social divisions. His disillusioned² people lost faith both in the European ideal (voting against a draft constitution in 2005) and largely in their own governing class—not least, in him. He won a second presidential term by a fluke landslide³: a first-round upset meant that his opponent was a far-right extremist, Jean-Marie Le Pen.

在法国，他更擅长竞选而不是执政。 这位发誓要修补“社会裂痕”的候选人留下了更糟糕的公共财政和更深层次的社会分裂。他的幻灭的人民不仅对欧洲理想失去了信心(2005年投票反对宪法草案)，而且很大程度上对他们自己的统治阶级失去了信心——尤其是对他。希拉克的第二次总统竞选侥幸地获得了一场大胜：首轮失利意味着他的对手让-玛丽·勒庞是极右翼极端分子。

His one-time reformist zeal⁴ mutated into a fear of upsetting the status quo. By the end of his ill-starred second term, Mr Chirac was the Fifth Republic's most unpopular president (though Fran?ois Hollande later beat that dismal⁵ record). It was easy to see why. The country was suffering from what he himself admitted was a "profound malaise", playing a humiliating second fiddle⁷ to a resurgent Germany in European politics. His nadir⁸ came when he lay low for a week while rioting engulfed⁹ the big cities in 2005. He was prone¹⁰ to petulance¹¹ and rudeness in official meetings, bore mammoth¹² grudges¹³, and took some spectacularly bad gambles, notably¹⁴ calling a parliamentary election in 1997 which the opposition¹⁵ Socialists¹⁶ won easily.

他曾经的改革热情变成了打破现状的恐惧。在他不幸的第二任期结束时，希拉克成为第五共和国最不受欢迎的总统(尽管弗朗索瓦·奥朗德后来打破了这一糟糕记录)。原因很简单。这个国家正遭受着他自己所承认的“严重的弊病”，在欧洲政坛上，德国的复兴让法国颜面扫地。2005年，当骚乱席卷各大城市时，他潜伏了一个星期，陷到了人生最低谷。希拉克在正式会议上脾气暴躁，举止粗鲁，而且满是怨言，希拉克还进行了一些非常糟糕的赌博，尤其是在1997年举行议会选举时，反对党社会党轻松获胜。

Much of his energy was devoted¹⁷ to dodging¹⁸ impertinent questions, of which there were many. In his 18-year stint¹⁹ running Paris he bloated the city payroll²⁰ (particularly with jobs for party workers). He threw huge, lavish²¹ parties for his supporters, while cultural notables and other influential²² friends gained chic²³ municipal apartments. Hence the caustic²⁴ slogan from the 2002 election, "Vote for the crook²⁵, not the fascist²⁶". The stink²⁷ rose with him. Even the most world-weary could not shrug²⁸ away the stories of bundles of cash, foreign bank account sand murky²⁹ quid pro⁶ quos.

他的很多精力都用来躲避很多无礼的问题。在他管理巴黎的18年里，希拉克增加了市政人员的工资(特别是政党的工人)。他为自己的支持者举办了盛大奢华的派对，而文化名人和其他有影响力的朋友则住进了时髦的市政公寓。然后就有了2002年的刻薄的竞选口号“给骗子投票，而不是法西斯”。他的坏名声越来越大。即使是最厌世的人，也无法对成捆的现金、外国银行账户和暗箱操作的交易不闻不问。

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

3 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

4 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。

5 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

6 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？

7 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

8 nadir   

n.最低点，无底

参考例句：

• This failure was the nadir of her career.这次失败是她事业上的低谷。
• The demand for this product will reach its nadir within two years.对此产品的需求在两年内将达到最低点。

9 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

11 petulance   

n.发脾气，生气，易怒，暴躁，性急

参考例句：

• His petulance made her impatient.他的任性让她无法忍受。
• He tore up the manuscript in a fit of petulance.他一怒之下把手稿撕碎了。

12 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

13 grudges   

不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
• They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。

14 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

17 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

18 dodging   

n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避

参考例句：

• He ran across the road, dodging the traffic. 他躲开来往的车辆跑过马路。
• I crossed the highway, dodging the traffic. 我避开车流穿过了公路。 来自辞典例句

19 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

20 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

21 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

22 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

23 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

24 caustic   

adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的

参考例句：

• He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
• He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。

25 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

26 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。

27 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

28 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

29 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。