英译汉同传练习——评述新加坡资政李光耀

发布时间： 2022-06-23 09:16:15 作者：etogether.net 来源：网络浏览次数：

One way Lee Kuan Yew cleaned up Singapore was by shaming corrupt officials. In fact, one of his cabinet ministers took his own life due to “loss of face” from corruption charges. “We have established a climate of opinion which looked upon corruption in pubic office as a threat to society.” Lee laments that in much of Asia, corruption has become a way of life for government officials. He said, “The higher they are, the bigger their homes and more numerous their wives or mistresses, all bedecked in jewelry appropriate to the power and position of their men.” Another method Lee used to stamp out corruption was that, in 1960, his government allowed the courts to treat proof that an accused was living beyond his means or had property his income could not explain as corroborating evidence that the accused had accepted or obtained a bribe,” Lee explains.

公开揭发贪污官员是李光耀保持新加坡廉洁的方法之一。一位部长因为贪污指控感到“丢脸”而自杀。他说：“我们已经建立起这样的舆论氛围：人们把公职人员贪污受贿看成社会公敌。”对于在亚洲大部分地区，政府官员贪污已经成为一种生活方式，他感到可悲。“他们的地位越高，妻妾情妇便越多，房子也越大。女人们佩戴的首饰都跟男人的权力和地位相配。”另外，李光耀的政府在1960年修订法律条文，规定控方一旦证明被告生活奢华，超过他的收入所能允许的程度，或是拥有同收入不相称的财产，法庭就可以以此作为被告已经受贿的佐证。

On a recent visit to Singapore, I called at the office of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew who was then in America. I had requested the statesman to autograph my copy of his latest 778-page memoir entitled From Third World to First, The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. His secretary explained that Lee’s autograph is worth 10,000 Singapore dollars for each signed book, and that the proceeds would be donated to charities. Even in such a seemingly minor detail as the cost of an autographed book, Lee had a specific plan which reflected his pragmatic business-like ways, his efficiency and his public service.

最近一次到新加坡的时候，我打电话到李光耀的办公室，请求这位当时身在美国的政治家为我的一本李光耀回忆录签名。他的秘书向我解释，每本由李光耀亲笔签名的回忆录，价值是一万新元，售书的所有收入将捐给慈善机构。即使是在这样的细节上，李光耀也作了具体的计划，充分反映了他务实和有条不紊的作风、效率和为公共服务的精神。

The memoir is an eloquent chronicle of Lee Kuan Yew’s extensive experiences in statecraft, politics and international diplomacy. In 1965, when the Muslim majority Malaysia expelled Singapore and forced it to exist as a city-State with no natural resources or army, few people gave it much chance of survival. The world has many tiny States, which have languished in obscurity, with even resource-rich small states like Nauru mired in problems. In 1965, the Sydney Morning Herald said, “An independent Singapore was not regarded as viable three years ago. Nothing in the current situation suggests that it is more viable today.” The Sunday Times of Britain in 1965 also predicted the eventual collapse of Singapore without British aid. Today, after decades of good governance and struggle, Singapore is a thriving nation with the world’s fourth highest per capita income.

回忆录对李光耀的治国才能、政治和国际外交的丰富经验有生动流畅的记载。1965年，当新加坡被穆斯林占大多数的马来西亚逐出，成为一个没有资源和军队的城市国家时，没有几个人认为它能生存下去。全球有许多默默无闻的小国家，就算资源丰富的西太平洋岛国瑙鲁，也面临重重困难。那年，《悉尼先驱晨报》写道：“三年前，新加坡独立是行不通的概念。从目前的情况看来，它依然是行不通的。”英国的《星期日泰晤士报》预测，没有英国的援助，新加坡最终将垮掉。今天，经过三四十年的良好管理和奋斗，新加坡已经成为一个繁荣的国家。新加坡公民的人均收入在世界上排名第四。

In this latest book, Lee fearlessly expresses his ideas, seeking “to be correct, not politically correct.” He is unapologetic for his aggressive responses to his political opponents, his often-unorthodox views on Western-style democratic systems, the Western concepts of human rights. Lee also recounts his impressions of nations, leaders an historic events as diverse as Indonesia from Suharto to President Wahid, Thailand, to Sultan of Brunei, Vietnam Myanmar, Cambodia, British leaders, Japan, America to Taiwan, Hong Kong and others. He advised Wahid, “ I said if he expected his ministers to be honest, they had to be paid so that they could live up to their status without corruption.” In acerbic Lee Kuan Yew style, he describes Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, China’s poetry-quoting Jiang Zemin, the late Mao Zedong, the incorruptible Zhu Rongji to the bold reformer Deng Xiaoping (whom he remembers as “a five-footer but a giant among men”).

在回忆录中，李光耀无畏的表达了他的想法，争取“做到凡事正确，但却不是政治上正确”。他对自己对政敌的强烈回应，对西方民主制度和人权观念的独特见解，从来没有感到过不妥。李光耀也在书中谈到他对一些国家、领袖和历史事件的看法，其中涉及从苏哈托到瓦希德之间的印尼、以及泰国、文莱苏丹国、越南、缅甸、柬埔寨、英国、日本、美国、台湾和香港等等。他向瓦希德提出忠告：“我说，他要部长们当清官，就得确保他们获得足够的报酬，不必贪污也能过得合乎身分地位。”他以独特的方式，他描述了撒切尔夫人、里根、喜欢引用诗句的中国国家主席江泽民、已故中共领袖毛泽东、正直廉洁的朱镕基和中国改革开放的总设计师邓小平（在李光耀的记忆中，尽管邓只有五英尺高，却是人中之杰）。

相关词语 Related Words and Expressions

personify 是…的化身；是…的体现

integrity 诚实而正直

equalizer 平衡物

decrepit 贫困衰弱的

incisive 聪明敏锐

tycoon 巨头

outspoken 直言的；坦率的

institutionalize 建立

commensurate with… 与…相称的，相当的

debunk 驳斥

unfettered 无束缚的