2020年经济学人 拜登--平平无奇的总统小天才(1)

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约翰逊专栏

Average Joe

普通人乔·拜登

The president-elect lacks a silver tongue and makes for poor TV. That may be an asset

这位当选总统没有流利的口才，电视表现也不佳。但这可能恰恰是他的可贵之处。

During the Obama years, the Onion, a satirical online newspaper, carried a series of articles about a man it referred to as “Diamond Joe” and “The President of Vice”. It featured headlines like “Shirtless Biden Washes Trans Am in White House Driveway” and “Biden Huddling¹ With Closest Advisers² on Whether to Spend 200 Bucks³ on Scorpions⁴ Tickets”.

在奥巴马执政期间，讽刺性的网络报纸《洋葱报》刊登了一系列关于乔·拜登的文章，并在文中称他为“钻石乔”和“邪恶的副总统”。它曾发表了多个相关头条新闻，比如“赤裸上身的拜登在白宫车道清洗Trans Am跑车”、“拜登和最亲密的顾问秘密讨论是否要花200美元去看蝎子乐队”。

The real Joe Biden, then vice-president, was a teetotaling and avuncular⁵ elder statesman, not a hair-metal-loving party animal. But the caricature of him as a regular guy drew on an element of truth. The now-president-elect, the son of a second-hand-car salesman, will be the first president since Ronald Reagan to lack an Ivy⁶ League degree, having finished near the bottom of his class at both the University of Delaware and Syracuse University’s law school.

而真正的乔·拜登，也就是当时的副总统，是一位滴酒不沾的慈祥政界元老，决不是一个喜欢微金属摇滚的派对达人。但讽刺漫画中将他描绘成一个普通人确实有理有据。当前的这位总统当选人是二手车销售员的儿子，他将是继罗纳德·里根以来第一位没有常春藤大学学位的总统，而且他在特拉华大学和雪城大学法学院的成绩都接近全班倒数。

And this is reflected in his use of language. In his speech, he is such an everyman as to defy parody⁷. “Saturday Night Live”, which has featured impersonators for every president since Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford⁸, has yet to settle on a memorable⁹ Joe Biden. Forced to name Bidenisms, you might single out “malarkey”, his favoured disparagement¹⁰ for humbug¹¹, or “Here’s the deal”, to signal that he’s about to cut the malarkey. His favourite vocative is the folksy “Folks...”. In his first debate with Donald Trump¹², perhaps the most arresting thing he said was (to his constantly interrupting opponent) “Keep yappin’, man.”

他的平凡反映在他的语言运用上。他在演讲时完全就是一个平平无奇的普通人，根本无法进行模仿。自雪佛兰·蔡斯模仿杰拉尔德·福特之后，《周六夜现场》一直在节目中模仿美国历任总统，但他们至今还未成功地模仿大名鼎鼎的乔·拜登。如果一定要说出拜登的经典语录，你可能会挑出“一派胡言”，这是他在贬抑骗子时最喜欢说的词。或者你会挑出“你看这样行不行”，这句话标志着拜登打算打断骗子的胡言乱语了。他最喜欢用的称呼语是“伙计们……”，这个称呼听起来比较随和。在他与唐纳德·特朗普的第一次辩论中，也许他说的最引人注意的的话是（对不断打断自己的对手说）“继续叫，伙计。”

He is, it is true, known for gaffes¹³, though these are often overstated. Competing with Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination¹⁴ in 2007-08, Mr Biden praised his future boss as “the first mainstream¹⁵ African-American” to run for the presidency¹⁶, “who is articulate and bright and clean”. (A gap before “who” made clear that he did not mean previous African- American candidates lacked cleanliness, just that they had been less “mainstream”.) While vice-president, he stood just a bit too close to a microphone as he said “This is a big fucking deal” into Mr Obama’s ear at the signing ceremony for their health-care reform. He once asked a wheelchair-bound state senator to stand and be recognised.

尽管这些说法常常言过其实，但拜登的确以失态闻名。拜登在2007-08年与巴拉克·奥巴马争夺民主党提名时称赞他未来的老板是“首位竞选美国总统的主流非裔美国人”，“他口齿清晰、聪明伶俐、正派公平”。（“他”之前的停顿明确表示，自己并不是说以前的非洲裔美国候选人不够正派，只是说他们不太“主流”。）担任副总统时，他在医改方案的签字仪式上对奥巴马耳语，“这真是一件该死的大事”，但他站的地方离麦克风太近，以至于所有人都听到了。他还曾经要求一位坐在轮椅上的州参议员站起来发言。

These bloopers give the impression of a mouth running faster than a brain. Mr Obama was famous for long, thoughtful pauses; not so Mr Biden. His campaign speeches, like his questions as a longtime Senate committee chairman, tended to ramble¹⁷. He once mystifyingly called a young student who asked a tough question a “lying, dog-faced pony¹⁸ soldier”. Accused of corruption¹⁹ by a voter in Iowa, a bit of hotheaded “Diamond Joe” came out: he called the man a “damn liar” and challenged him to a press-up contest. And he mused²⁰ that, were they in high school, he would “beat the hell” out of Mr Trump.

这些洋相给人的印象就是拜登动脑之前先动嘴。奥巴马以讲话时长时间的深思熟虑的停顿而闻名，而拜登则不然。他的竞选演说，就像任参议院常任委员会主席时提出的问题一样，漫无目的。曾经有一位年轻的学生问了一个棘手的问题，拜登竟阴阳怪气地称呼她是“撒谎的狗脸小马士兵”。爱荷华州的一位选民指控其子贪污腐败时，性急的“钻石乔”出现了：他称这名男子是“死骗子”，并向他发起俯卧撑挑战。他还曾沉思自语，如果他们是在高中，他会把特朗普“打得屁滚尿流”。

1 huddling   

n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

参考例句：

• Twenty or thirty monkeys are huddling along the thick branch. 三十只猴子挤在粗大的树枝上。
• The defenders are huddling down for cover. 捍卫者为了掩护缩成一团。

2 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

3 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

5 avuncular   

adj.叔伯般的，慈祥的

参考例句：

• He began to talk in his most gentle and avuncular manner.他开始讲话了，态度极其和蔼而慈祥。
• He was now playing the role of disinterested host and avuncular mentor.他现在正扮演着慷慨的主人和伯父似的指导人的角色。

6 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

7 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

10 disparagement   

n.轻视，轻蔑

参考例句：

• He was humble and meek, filled with self-disparagement and abasement. 他谦卑、恭顺，满怀自我贬斥与压抑。 来自互联网
• Faint praise is disparagement. 敷衍勉强的恭维等于轻蔑。 来自互联网

11 humbug   

n.花招，谎话，欺骗

参考例句：

• I know my words can seem to him nothing but utter humbug.我知道，我说的话在他看来不过是彻头彻尾的慌言。
• All their fine words are nothing but humbug.他们的一切花言巧语都是骗人的。

12 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。

13 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

14 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

15 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

17 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

18 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

19 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

20 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史