经济学人10:《经济学人》逝者专栏前编辑基斯·科尔克霍恩

　　Obituary¹;

　　逝者;

　　Keith Colquhoun;

　　基斯·科尔克霍恩;

　　Farewell to an old Asia hand and The Economist²'sprevious Obituaries³ editor;

　　一个写亚洲的老手、《经济学人》逝者专栏前编辑，再见了;

　　In the 20-odd years he worked for The Economist,from 1981 to 2004, Keith Colquhoun never raised hisvoice. He did not need to. His soft, courteous⁴, slightly smiling delivery encouraged people tolisten, as to a favourite uncle. But steel lay behind it. “I've just taken one or two liberties withyour copy,” he would say, meaning that it had been completely rewritten into the best simple,accurate, sparely punctuated⁵ Colquhoun prose. “I would like to do X,” he would say gently,announcing the week's Obituary candidate, who was often a complete unknown; and neitherwild horses, nor the deaths of great celebrities⁶, could persuade him to change his mind.

　　1984年-2004年，在基斯·科尔克霍恩为《经济学人》工作的这20多年里，他从不提高声音说话。他不需要这样。他轻柔、谦恭、略带微笑的讲话风格使人们愿意聆听，就像听一个可爱的叔叔讲话一样。但是话语背后透着坚决。他会说，“我把你的稿子做了一两处处理”，意思是，稿子已经改成最简洁、最准确、标点最少的科尔克霍恩风格。当他宣布当周的逝者人选时，他会轻轻说，“我想做某某人”，通常是一个完全不为人知的名字；无论是野马，还是大明星的去世，都不能改变他的主意。

　　Keith came into journalism⁷ the old-fashioned way, through provincial⁸ papers and Fleet Street,but got as far as Hong Kong, where he worked for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He lovedAsia, though his view of it was really that of a 19th-century colonial administrator⁹. He had asoft spot for geishas. Of one correspondent, non-productive though enjoying a lavishretainer, he once remarked: “I think perhaps if we do not hear from him next year, we shouldsend him a note.” Though no stripling, he would hunger to get to Siam, Sinkiang or Tartary. Hedeveloped a fondness for the Pacific islands, and actually found stories there.

　　基斯进入记者圈是那种很老套的方式，先在地方报纸做，然后进入伦敦报业街，但是他最远到了香港，供职于《远东经济评论》。他热爱亚洲，尽管他对亚洲的看法还像是一个19世纪的殖民地官员。他喜欢艺妓。他曾这样评论一个不出活却享受高价聘用金的记者：“我想也许这样，假如我们明年收不到他的信的话，我们应该给他寄一封。” 他虽然不是小伙子，却渴望去暹罗、新疆和鞑靼。他还对太平洋诸岛产生了兴趣，而且真的在那里找到了故事。

　　When he took over the Obituaries in 1995, just after their launch, he kept the Asian flag flying.He also set an extraordinary standard for clear, dry, witty¹⁰ writing. The openings of hisObituaries were a particular delight. “One of Walter Lini's minor¹¹ pleasures was to get thebetter of the French.” “The achievement of Karl Kehrle, a Benedictine monk¹², was to breed avery decent British bee.” Or this:

　　就在“逝者”诞生后不久的1995年，他接手了这个栏目，并且一直高举亚洲大旗。他清晰、朴素、诙谐的写作风格树立了一个卓越的标准。他逝者文章的开头能带给读者一种特别的愉悦。“沃尔特·里尼的一个小乐趣是盖过法国人。” “本笃会修士卡尔·科赫尔的成就是培育一只品种非常优良的英国蜜蜂。” 或是下面这个：

　　Hunting around for something not too brutal¹³ to say about Tiny Rowland now that he is dead,those who knew him have remarked on his charm. The English language is helpful with theevasive word.

　　认识泰尼·罗兰的人在脑中搜寻他那些不是太过残酷之处——因为他已经不在了，他们于是说起了他的魅力。英语这种语言很会描述这个含糊的词。

　　It was an open secret, however, that Keith's dearest occupation was not The Economist. Itwas his own writing, at which he could be seen tapping eagerly for as long as he dared beforeboarding the homeward train to Mersea Island. He produced 11 blackly comic novels, the last ofthem (“Five Deadly Words”) this April. Those disarmed¹⁴ by his gentleness could never quiteforget that in Keith's world guns would be suddenly drawn¹⁵, blood spilt on the carpet and bulletslodged in a desk, “reducing its value a little should it ever come to auction¹⁶.”

　　然而，基斯最钟爱的职业不是他在《经济学人》的工作——这是一个公开的秘密。他最爱的是为自己写作。你能看见他在登上回家乡莫西岛的火车之前，热切地敲着他自己的作品，直到该上车的最后一刻。他创作了11部黑色幽默小说，最后一部（《五个致命单词》）在今年四月出炉。那些被他的温和缴械的人从来不会忘记，在基斯的世界里，枪会突然被拔出，血会溢到地毯上，颗颗子弹会固着在桌子里，“假如哪天把这桌子拿去拍卖，价钱也就微折。”

1 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 obituaries   

讣告，讣闻( obituary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Next time I read about him, I want it in the obituaries. 希望下次读到他的消息的时候，是在仆告里。
• People's obituaries are written while they're still alive? 人们在世的时候就有人给他们写讣告？

4 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

5 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

8 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

9 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

10 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

11 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

12 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

13 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

14 disarmed   

v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The swordsman disarmed his opponent and ran him through. 剑客缴了对手的械，并对其乱刺一气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

16 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。