纽约时报 我想生活在《后翼弃兵》的现实里(1)

It's no accident that this year's most popular fairy tale is about a woman celebrated¹ for her genius.

今年最受欢迎的童话故事讲述的是一位以天才著称的女性，这绝非偶然。

By Carina Chocano

文/卡丽娜·乔卡诺

There's a surprising scene near the end of the second episode of "The Queen's Gambit" when things take a disorienting turn for the better.

在《后翼弃兵》第二集快结束的时候，有一个令人惊讶的场景，事情发生了令人迷惑的好转。

Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), an eerily² stoic³ orphan⁴ recently adopted by a lonely, alcoholic⁵ housewife, has just won the Kentucky State Chess Championship, and Alma (Marielle Heller), her new adoptive mother, struggles to process the information.

贝丝·哈蒙（安雅·泰勒-乔伊饰）是一个怪诞的孤儿，最近被一个孤独、酗酒的家庭主妇收养，她刚刚赢得了肯塔基州国际象棋锦标赛的冠军，而她的新养母阿尔玛（玛丽埃尔·海勒饰）则在努力消化这些信息。

She'd had no idea how serious Beth was, or how gifted.

她不知道贝丝有多严肃，或者说是她有巨大的天赋。

For a moment, it's unclear how she'll take it.

暂时还不清楚她会怎么接受。

Alma is herself a talented pianist who never had the courage to play in public.

阿尔玛自己就是一个天才钢琴家，从来没有勇气在公共场合演奏。

It's intimated that she lost a child.

据说她失去了一个孩子。

Her husband has just abandoned her.

她丈夫刚刚抛弃了她。

The series has spent the better part of two episodes piling traumas⁶ on Beth.

在这部连续剧两集的大部分时间里，贝丝遭遇了许多创伤。

Her unstable⁷ birth mother was killed in a crash with Beth in the car.

贝丝与她不稳定的生母乘坐同一辆车时遭遇车祸，母亲不幸身亡。

She was placed in an orphanage⁸ where the kids were given tranquilizers along with their vitamins.

她被安置在一所孤儿院，孩子们在那里服用镇定剂和维生素。

The show is suffused⁹ in a gloomy, gothic atmosphere.

这部剧弥漫着阴郁的哥特式氛围。

Certain expectations have been set.

该剧还设定了某些预期。

Surely, fresh disasters lurk¹⁰ around the corner.

当然，新的灾难就在眼前。

Instead, one by one, they are averted¹¹.

但他们一个接一个地避免了。

We've already watched, in the first episode, as Beth wanders downstairs to the basement to find a taciturn janitor¹² with a haunted expression brooding over a chessboard, but rather than molest¹³ her, he teaches her to play.

我们已经看过了，在第一集里，贝丝在楼下的地下室里徘徊，发现一个沉默寡言的看门人在棋盘上沉思，但他没有骚扰她，而是教她玩。

We've already seen her adoption¹⁴, at age 15, by Alma and her husband, Allston, who radiates bad vibes but mostly leaves her alone.

我们已经看到过阿尔玛和她的丈夫奥尔斯顿在她15岁时收养了她，奥尔斯顿的情绪不太好，但大部分情况下都让她一个人待着。

After he deserts them, in Episode 2, it seems almost certain that the show will foist¹⁵ Alma into the role of mother-as-emotional-anvil who will hold Beth back from her dream, but again our expectations are foiled.

在第二集里，在他遗弃他们之后，几乎可以肯定的是，这部剧将使阿尔玛扮演扮演情感上母亲的角色，这将使贝丝放弃自己的梦想，但我们又想错了。

Alma instead suggests they go to a tournament in Cincinnati.

阿尔玛建议他们去辛辛那提参加比赛。

They'll lie to the school. They'll make a fun adventure of it.

他们会对学校撒谎，他们会做一次有趣的冒险。

You don't see this turn coming, and you don't quite trust it.

你们看不到这一转变的到来，而且也不太相信它。

Next time, you think, Beth won't be so lucky.

你们觉得下次贝丝就不会这么幸运了。

And yet she almost always is.

但她几乎总是这样。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句

3 stoic   

n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者

参考例句：

• A stoic person responds to hardship with imperturbation.坚忍克己之人经受苦难仍能泰然自若。
• On Rajiv's death a stoic journey began for Mrs Gandhi,supported by her husband's friends.拉吉夫死后，索尼亚在丈夫友人的支持下开始了一段坚忍的历程。

4 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

5 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

6 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

7 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

8 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

9 suffused   

v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was suffused with colour. 她满脸通红。
• Her eyes were suffused with warm, excited tears. 她激动地热泪盈眶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

11 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

12 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

13 molest   

vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏

参考例句：

• If the man continues to molest her,I promise to keep no measures with the delinquent.如果那人继续对她进行骚扰，我将对他这个违法者毫不宽容。
• If I were gone,all these would molest you.如果没有我，这一切都会来骚扰你。

14 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

15 foist   

vt.把…强塞给，骗卖给

参考例句：

• He doesn't try to foist his beliefs on everyone.他不会勉强每个人接受他的信念。
• He tried to foist some inferior goods on me.他企图把一些劣质货强售给我。