经济学人22:核战争的良心反对者约瑟夫·罗特布拉特

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;Nuclear warfare；Conscientious objector；

　　文艺；书评；核战争；良心反对者；

　　Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience: The Life and Work of Joseph Rotblat.

　　持有核良知的人：约瑟夫·罗特布拉特的工作与生活；

　　Many of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, America's programme to build an atom bomb during the second world war, had misgivings¹ about their work. After the detonation² of the first test bomb in 1945, Robert Oppenheimer, the programme's director, later claimed to have recalled a line from Hindu scripture³: “I am become death, destroyer of worlds.” His colleague Kenneth Bainbridge was pithier⁴: “now we're all sons of bitches,” he muttered.

　　在二战期间从事原子弹制造的曼哈顿计划中，有很多科学家对自己所做的事情满怀忧虑。1945年第一课原子弹试爆之后，该计划的执行官罗伯特奥本海默引用了印度经文的一句话：“我将成为死神，万物的毁灭者。” 而他的同僚肯尼斯 班布里奇更为直截了当：“如今我们都是狗杂种了。”

　　Joseph Rotblat, a Polish-born physicist⁵, had stronger reservations than most. He had been disturbed to overhear the American general in charge of the project admit that the real point was not to pre-empt the Nazis—whose own atomic-bomb project had got nowhere—but to intimidate⁷ the Soviets⁸, the Americans' wartime allies. In 1944 Rotblat left the programme to return to Britain, where he had taken refuge from occupied Poland, and resolved to put his expertise⁹ to more humane¹⁰ use. He swapped¹¹ theoretical physics for the medical kind and began a life of vigorous opposition¹² to nuclear weapons. A friendship with Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, led to the founding of the Pugwash conferences on nuclear disarmament.

　　物理学家约瑟夫罗特布拉特出生于波兰，比其他多数人都有更多的保留意见。在无意得知曼哈顿计划将军承认这项计划的真实目的不是对纳粹先发制人，而是恐吓美国战时的盟友苏联时，他心感不安。当然，纳粹的原子弹计划也不了了之。1994年罗特布拉特退出曼哈顿计划回到了英国，在那得到了已被占领的波兰的庇护，便从此致力于人道主义的事业。罗特布拉特从理论物理转向了医用类，开启了自己极力反对核武器的人生。他与好友伯兰特 罗素（英国哲学家）一道开辟了帕格沃什会议核裁军的道路。

　　Andrew Brown's biography traces the history of both Rotblat as a man and Pugwash as a group. That dual¹³ focus is occasionally jarring—at one stage he moves from a discussion about test animals in Rotblat's London hospital to a sweeping¹⁴ history of attempts to ban nuclear testing. Acronyms¹⁵, committees and minor¹⁶ players come thick and fast. Readers can expect to make frequent trips to Wikipedia.

　　安德鲁布朗写的传记就追溯到了洛特布兰特和帕格沃什会议的源头，但是这两者结合起来有时显得不和谐：在一个阶段，作者从讨论罗特布拉特在自己伦敦的医院里进行动物实验，又跳到了他反对核试验的风光历史中。另一层面，作品中频繁穿插出现了大量的缩略词，委员会和不重要的人物的名字。要读下来还要指望维基百科。

　　But the story itself is good enough to shine through. The idea behind Pugwash (named for the remote hamlet in Nova Scotia where the early meetings were held) was that scientists—particularly nuclear scientists—were uniquely suited to grapple with the problems of the nuclear-armed world which they had helped bring into being. They understood the details and were prone¹⁷ to thinking bold thoughts. As an international scientific group, Pugwash was a useful counterpart to the fearful nationalism shaping politics. Delegates debated the theory of nuclear deterrence¹⁸, pondered the potential damage of a nuclear war, and agitated¹⁹ for disarmament and the abolition²⁰ of nuclear weapons.

　　但是故事本身就有很多亮点贯穿始终。帕格沃什（早期会议在新斯科舍省召开时，以一偏远小村庄的名字命名）会议的主旨是让科学家们与他们亲手建起的核武器世界斗争，尤其是这些核专家再适合不过了，因为这些专家对核制造了如指掌，而且他们想法奇特大胆。参会代表们一起讨论核威慑的理论，思考核战争的潜在危险，并倡导核裁军和销毁核武器。作为一个国际科学小组，帕格沃什会议成为恐怖的民族主义塑造政治的有用对口。

　　Many of the attendees had the ear of their national governments. Over the years the Pugwash conferences evolved into a crucial source of backdoor communications between the superpowers, penetrating²¹ the fog of mistrust that characterised the cold war. The foundation of the Partial Test Ban Treaty (which banned aboveground nuclear explosions) and various other nuclear disarmament treaties was laid largely at Pugwash.

　　许多出席者都是国家政府的亲信，会议也多年来演变成超级大国私下互访的重要来源，冲破了由冷战披上的国家之间互不信任的迷雾。“部分核禁试条约”（禁止地面核爆炸）和许多其它核裁军条约主要是在帕格沃什会议上签订的。

　　For Rotblat, though, these were only partial victories. Throughout his life, his goal remained a world free of nuclear weapons. His experience of the second world war had a lasting²² impact (his wife may have been murdered at Belzec, an early Nazi⁶ death camp). He was not convinced by the argument that the threat of nuclear weapons would ultimately prevent war. The logic²³ of deterrence, and later of mutually assured destruction—which presumes that war between nuclear-armed nations is impossible, because the mutual²⁴ annihilation ensures that neither side could win—applies only to rational actors. Had Hitler had the bomb, Rotblat argued, “his last order from the bunker in April 1945 would have been to use it on London even if it meant terrible retribution to Germany. This would have been part of his philosophy of Gotterdammerung.”

　　对于罗特布拉特而言，这些仅是他人生长河中的小小胜利，他的目标是在世界范围内消除核武器。二战经历对他的影响让他久久不能释怀，战时自己的妻子在贝尔塞克一个纳粹死亡集中营被杀害。他从不相信有了核武器的威胁就能最终抑制战争。核威慑逻辑以及同生共亡的理论（该理论持有者认为核武器国家间是不会有战争的，因为相互之间的灭亡会使任何一方都无法赢得战争）只适用于理性行为者。如果希特勒有了核弹，“即使核弹是德国的报应，也许1945年4月希特勒在自己的堡垒发出的最后命令就是用核弹炸掉伦敦。这或许也会成为他‘诸神的黄昏'哲学的一部分。”罗特布拉特争论道。

　　Readers may now find Rotblat's idealism naive²⁵. Talk of total nuclear disarmament seems idle in a world with nine nuclear powers and a simmering crisis over a possible tenth. Yet the pessimism²⁶ of the 1950s has proved overblown as well: nuclear weapons have proliferated²⁷ much more slowly than many feared at the dawn of the atomic age, and stockpiles have dwindled²⁸ since the height of the cold war. For Rotblat, to be accused of idealism was no bad thing. He liked to quote his friend Russell: “do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

　　读后如今可能觉得罗特布拉特的理想简单幼稚，对于一个有九个核电站，还有一个蠢蠢欲动，马上要建的世界，聊聊完全的核裁军简直是一场空谈。然而，20世纪50年代也对核武器的悲观情绪进行了过度渲染，事实证明：核武器扩散速度比在人们担心的原子能初期放慢了许多，核物质储备也自冷战高潮以来减少。对罗特布拉特而言，背上理想主义的罪名也不是个坏事。他喜欢引用好友罗素的话说：“不要为自己持独特看法而感到害怕，因为我们现在所接受的常识都曾是独特看法。”

1 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。

3 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

4 pithier   

adj.简练的，精辟的，简洁扼要的( pithy的比较级 )

参考例句：

5 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

8 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

9 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

10 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

11 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

12 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。

13 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

14 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

15 acronyms   

n.首字母缩略词( acronym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Scratch the subject of defence and acronyms, abbreviations, and buzzwords fly out. 话题触及国防，缩合字，缩写字和行话就满天飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some acronyms as scientific terminology are used as a lexical item. 一些科学术语缩写用作词汇项目。 来自互联网

16 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。

17 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。

18 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

19 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

20 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

21 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

22 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

23 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

24 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

25 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

26 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

27 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

28 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》