读者文摘:改变历史的意外时刻(5)

A clerical oversight¹ makes It’s a Wonderful Life a classic.

一个文书的疏忽使《生活多美好》成为一个经典。

Despite its reputation as one of the most cherished works in American cinema, Frank Capra’s 1946 film was a financial disaster.

尽管弗兰克·卡普拉1946年的电影被誉为美国电影史上最受珍视的作品之一，但它却是一场票房灾难。

It failed to earn back its $2.3 million budget at the box office, and its losses helped drive its production company, Liberty Films, out of business.

该片在票房上未能收回230万美元的预算，导致其制片公司自由影业破产。

Capra later said that Liberty’s financial woes² proved “fatal to my professional career.”

卡普拉后来表示，事实证明，自由影业的经济困境“对我的职业生涯造成了致命打击”。

And yet today It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic. How is that possible? Carelessness.

但是今天《生活多美好》已经成为了经典之作。这怎么可能呢？粗心大意。

After Liberty Films went broke, no one involved thought to monitor the movie’s copyright, which lapsed³ in 1974.

在自由影业破产后，没有人想到要监督电影的版权，该版权已于1974年失效。

That meant television stations were free to broadcast it without paying any royalties⁴.

这意味着电视台可以免费播放它，而无需支付任何版税。

And for many years, they took that no-lose deal.

多年来，他们都做着这稳赚不赔的事情。

It wasn’t until a 1990 Supreme⁵ Court ruling on the ownership of Rear Window, another Jimmy Stewart movie, that the rights were effectively locked up again.

直到1990年，最高法院对吉米·斯图尔特的另一部电影《后窗》的所有权做出裁决，版权才再次被有效地锁定。

But by then, Americans couldn’t face Christmas without George Bailey, Clarence, and the town of Bedford Falls.

但到那时，没有乔治·贝利、克拉伦斯和贝德福德瀑布镇，美国人就无法面对圣诞节。

A note from Mom secures women’s right to vote. The road to women’s suffrage⁶ in the United States was long and difficult.

母亲的一封信确保了妇女获得投票权。在美国，妇女获得选举权的道路漫长而艰难。

After the passage of the 19th Amendment⁷ in 1919, the measure needed to be ratified⁸ by 36 states to become law.

1919年第19条修正案通过后，这项措施需要得到36个州的批准才能成为法律。

By the summer of 1920, the amendment’s advocates were one state from victory.

到1920年夏天，该修正案的拥护者差一个州就能获得胜利。

Unfortunately, almost all the southern states opposed the amendment, and Tennessee was poised⁹ to join them because of a 48–48 tie in its state legislature.

不幸的是，几乎所有南方的州都反对这个修正案，田纳西州也准备加入他们的行列，因为该州议会的票数是48比48。

A 24-year-old man named Harry¹⁰ Burn, the youngest representative in the state,

24岁的哈里·伯恩是该州最年轻的众议员，

was expected to be among those to vote “nay”—he was even wearing a red rose in his lapel, the symbol of the antisuffragists.

他甚至在翻领上佩戴了一支红玫瑰，这是反妇女参政论者的象征。

However, on the morning of the Tennessee roll call, Burn received a letter from his mother, Phoebe “Miss Febb” Burn.

然而，在田纳西州计票的那天早上，伯恩收到了他母亲“菲比·伯恩小姐”的一封信。

She implored¹¹ him to “be a good boy” and support the measure.

她恳求他做个好孩子，支持这个举措。

When Burn’s name was called, he voted “aye” in a voice that was barely audible and yet shocking.

当人们叫到伯恩斯的名字时，他用一种几乎听不见却令人震惊的声音投了“赞成”票。

He later declared, “I believe we had a moral and legal right to ratify” the amendment.

后来他表示，“我相信我们在道义上和法律上都有权批准”这个修正案。

He quickly fessed up to his mother’s influence on his vote.

他很快承认了他母亲对他投票的影响。

“I know that a mother’s advice is always safest for her boy to follow,” he said, “and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification¹².”

我知道，对儿子来说，听从母亲的建议总是最安全的，”他说，“我母亲希望我投票赞成。”

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 suffrage   

n.投票，选举权，参政权

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance.妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• The voters gave their suffrage to him.投票人都投票选他。

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

9 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

10 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

11 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

12 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。