经济学人69:名利赞 Celebration of the vanities

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;New fiction；Celebration of the vanities

　　文艺；书评；新书出炉；名利赞

　　The Privileges. By Jonathan Dee.

　　《高人一等》乔纳森·迪著。

　　AT THE best of times, the self-made rich are usually held up in fiction as shallow, contemptible¹ and undeserving of sympathy even when their wealth leads to misery² and ends in ruin. And these are certainly not the best of times. Yet Jonathan Dee has courageously³ stuck to his guns in writing a novel about the marriage of a gilded⁴ couple of ambitious chancers who not only amass⁵ great wealth from humble⁶ beginnings, but who are neither damaged nor made wretched by their success.

　　最好的时代，小说里白手起家的富人一贯浅薄可鄙，倘若穷困潦倒、破败坍台，也不配得到一丝同情。如今当然不是最好的时代。而乔纳森·迪勇气可嘉、坚持立场，写了一对野心勃勃、富有豪阔的机会主义者的婚姻，两人出身低微、聚敛财富，既没有被自身的成功所害，也没有变得不幸。

　　The story of Adam and Cynthia Morey's life together begins with a bravura⁷ description of their wedding in Pittsburgh. Unusually young to get married, it quickly becomes clear that handsomer, smarter and more self-confident than everyone else around them, they are made for one another and already destined⁸ to be among life's winners. Adam moves smoothly⁹ from investment banking¹⁰ to a small but respected New York private equity¹¹ firm where he rapidly becomes its capricious founder's protégé, heir apparent and the recipient¹² of ever more inflated¹³ bonuses. Meanwhile, Cynthia devotes herself to raising their two young children and encouraging Adam to get on with acquiring the means to give them both the privileged lifestyle and social status she feels is their due.

　　亚当和辛西娅·莫雷的人生故事，始于两人在匹兹堡举行婚礼的宏大描写。两人结婚时异常年轻，一出场就显得比周遭的人漂亮、聪明、自信，两人是天作之合，注定要成为生活的赢家。亚当顺利地从投资银行转投纽约一家规模虽小却体面的私募股权企业，他迅速化身为多变的公司创始人的得意门生和继任者，接收大额红利。与此同时，辛西娅专心致志地抚养两个幼子，鼓励亚当勇往直前、用尽手段，让两人得到高人一等的生活方式和社会地位，她觉得这是理所应当。

　　When Adam decides to push things along with a little insider trading, you expect this will be the couple's undoing¹⁴. But Mr Dee studiously avoids such easy clichés. He presents us with more a celebration of the vanities than a bonfire. Adam regards his risk-taking as noble. When he eventually tells Cynthia how they have become so spectacularly rich so quickly she tells him: “You are a man Adam. You are a man amongst men.”

　　等到亚当决定为一段内幕交易铤而走险，你以为会这对夫妇会失败没落。但是乔纳森·迪有意不落入这种老套情节。他对我们称颂的是富贵名利而不是熊熊烈火。亚当把自己的风险控制奉若神明。他最终告诉辛西娅，他们如何飞黄腾达，辛西娅马上对他说：“你只是凡人亚当。芸芸众生中凡人一个。”

　　In many ways, “The Privileges” is an oddity. Chapters often leap ahead by several years without any explanation of what has happened other than hints of the Moreys untroubled progress, for example when it emerges that the family now has a private jet and that staff are employed to help write cheques for the philanthropic causes Cynthia supports. At the end, doubts are raised about the effects of tremendous wealth on the couple's two grown-up children. But otherwise, it is left to the reader's imagination to wonder what impact (if any) the impending¹⁵ financial crash will have on the couple. Lucidly¹⁶ written and with a pitch-perfect ear both for contemporary mores¹⁷ and dialogue, “The Privileges” is entertaining—and morally ambiguous.

　　从很多方面来看，《高人一等》古怪透顶。各章节常常跳过几年，丝毫不解释情节进展，除了暗示莫雷夫妇一帆风顺的成功，比如说，事实表明，这家人如今有了私人飞机，一班雇员来为辛西娅支持的慈善事业帮忙填写支票。到末了，不免让人怀疑这对夫妇的巨额财富对两个长大成人的孩子有何影响。不过，这要留给诸位读者想象，猜想眼前发生的金融危机对他们有什么冲击。本书写得清晰明了，当代风俗与对话一览无余，《高人一等》足够有趣，道德上却模棱两可。

1 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 courageously   

ad.勇敢地，无畏地

参考例句：

• Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the army and civilians in flooded areas fought the floods courageously, reducing the losses to the minimum. 在中共中央、国务院的正确领导下，灾区广大军民奋勇抗洪，把灾害的损失减少到了最低限度。
• He fought death courageously though his life was draining away. 他虽然生命垂危，但仍然勇敢地与死亡作斗争。

4 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

5 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

7 bravura   

n.华美的乐曲；勇敢大胆的表现；adj.壮勇华丽的

参考例句：

• The music ends with a display of bravura.音乐以一段壮丽的乐章结束。
• This picture has a bravura of execution.这幅画作风大胆。

8 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

9 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

10 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

11 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

12 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

13 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

15 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

16 lucidly   

adv.清透地，透明地

参考例句：

• This is a lucidly written book. 这是本通俗易懂的书。
• Men of great learning are frequently unable to state lucidly what they know. 大学问家往往不能清楚地表达他们所掌握的知识。

17 mores   

n.风俗，习惯，民德，道德观念

参考例句：

• The mores of that village are hard to believe.那村子的习俗让人难以置信。
• We advocate a harmonious society where corruption is swept away,and social mores are cleared.我们提倡弊绝风清，建设一个和谐社会。