2020年经济学人 重播"六号特殊犯人"--他不只是一个数字(1)

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Rewatching “The Prisoner”

重播《六号特殊犯人The Prisoner》

He was not a number

他不只是一个数字

Confinement¹ is not all that makes a cult² TV series timely

禁闭主题并不会使一部cult电视剧合乎时宜

A man angrily quits his job in London and drives his sports car home. He awakes the next morning, draws the curtains— and finds himself in a fantastical Italianate village. Confused, then indignant, he tries to leave. But the taxis and telephones provide “local service only”. The village and its inhabitants are nameless. Number 2 is in charge, though he answers to an unseen superior. The man is told: “You are Number 6.”

一个男人愤怒地辞去了自己在伦敦的工作，开着他的跑车回家。他第二天早上醒来，拉开窗帘——发现自己身处一个奇特的意大利风格的村庄。他先是很困惑，然后十分愤怒，他尝试离开。但是这里的出租车和电话只提供“本地服务”。这个村庄和村庄里的居民都没有名字。2号负责这个村庄，尽管他需要回应一个看不见的上级。有人告诉他：“你是6号。”

A British television drama first screened in 1967, “The Prisoner” is either perfect lockdown viewing or the opposite, depending on your disposition³. Over 17 episodes, Number 6 rages against his confinement and the village’s stifling⁴, sinister⁵ bureaucracy. “We have a saying here,” says a villager. “A still tongue makes a happy life.” The hero demurs⁶. He gets out by helicopter, and later in a boat fashioned from his winning entry to the village art show, in which all the exhibits exalt⁷ Number 2. But he is foiled. His handlers were in control all along.

《六号特殊犯人The Prisoner》是1967年首映的一部英国电视剧，它可以是禁闭期间的完美观影之作，或者完全相反的作品，这取决于你的性格。在本剧的17集中，村子对6号的禁闭以及这里令人窒息和阴险的官僚作风使他大发雷霆。一位村民说，“我们这里有句谚语。沉默的舌头能让人幸福。”英雄反抗过。他先乘坐直升飞机，然后乘着一艘船出村，这船是自己获奖的乡村艺术展参赛作品，这场比赛中所有的展品都要歌颂2号。但他失败了。他的管理者掌控着全程。

You never learn exactly what his job was, but it was plainly secret, official and important. Why did he resign? The task of successive Number 2s is to trick, cajole, bully⁸ or torture him into telling. One tries to manipulate his dreams. Another confronts him with his double. Still others dangle⁹ damsels in distress¹⁰. None of your damn business, he tells them.

你永远不会确切地知道他的工作是什么，但这份工作显然是秘密的、官方的而且很重要。他为什么辞职？历任的2号的任务是去对他进行欺骗、哄骗、胁迫和折磨，让他说出真相。一个人尝试操控他的梦。另一个人用他的替身对付他。还有一些身处危机中的少女。他告诉他们，不关你的事。

1 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

2 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

3 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

4 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

5 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

6 demurs   

v.表示异议，反对( demur的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

7 exalt   

v.赞扬，歌颂，晋升，提升

参考例句：

• She thanked the President to exalt her.她感谢总统提拔她。
• His work exalts all those virtues that we,as Americans,are taught to hold dear.他的作品颂扬了所有那些身为美国人应该珍视的美德。

8 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

9 dangle   

v.(使)悬荡，(使)悬垂

参考例句：

• At Christmas,we dangle colored lights around the room.圣诞节时，我们在房间里挂上彩灯。
• He sits on the edge of the table and dangles his legs.他坐在桌子边上，摆动著双腿。

10 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。