(流利说)约翰·麦凯恩讣告

今日导读

8 月 24 日，与脑癌抗争了一年半的亚利桑那州资深参议员麦凯恩宣布由于病情不断恶化，他决定放弃治疗。消息传出，震动全美，仅仅一天之后，麦凯恩就与世长辞，走完了 81 年的颠簸历程。放眼今日美国政坛，单是 32 年的参议员任期再加上历任参议院商务、军事两个委员会的主席资历，论位高权重，能超越麦凯恩的人屈指可数。让我们和 Lala 一起来读英国卫报为这位了不起的鹰派政治家写的讣告，一起回顾这位美国共和党大佬的传奇人生。

带着问题听讲解

Q1: 约翰·麦凯恩为什么被视为美国的民族英雄？

Q2: 奥巴马是如何评价约翰·麦凯恩的？

Q3: 文中“conservative but not a conservative”是什么意思？

新闻正文

John McCain obituary

约翰·麦凯恩讣告

Senator John McCain of Arizona, who has died aged 81 after suffering from brain cancer, was for many Americans an authentic national hero. The son and grandson of admirals, he was a pilot who, shot down over North Vietnam, inspired his fellow prisoners by his courage under savage beatings and torture so severe that to the end of his life he could not lift his arms above his shoulders. He refused offers to be sent home, to deny his captors a propaganda victory, and inspired older and higher-ranking prisoners with his exceptional bravery and leadership in jail.

亚利桑那州参议员约翰·麦凯恩因患脑癌去世，享年 81 岁，对许多美国人来说，他是真正的民族英雄。他父亲和爷爷都是海军上将，他自己也是一名飞行员，曾在北越上空被击落，他在残酷的殴打和折磨下仍然保留的勇气激励了他的战友，他饱受折磨之凶残使在他生命的最后阶段都无法把手臂举过肩膀。他拒绝被遣送回家，不让劫持者获得宣传上的胜利，并以其非凡的勇气和在监狱中的领导才能激励了年纪更大、级别更高的战俘。

As a Republican senator and as a candidate for the presidency he combined fierce traditional patriotism with an unpredictable independence of mind. The conservative journalist William Buckley said McCain was “conservative but not a conservative”—conservative, that is, in his instincts and beliefs, but not a member of the conservative movement. Barack Obama, McCain’s victorious rival for the presidency, when he learned that McCain had been diagnosed with cancer, commented: “Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against.”

作为一名共和党参议员和总统候选人，他将强烈的传统爱国主义与深不可测的独立思想结合起来。保守派记者威廉·巴克利说麦凯恩“保守但却不是保守派”，也就是说，他有着从直觉和信仰出发的保守，但却不是保守党运动的一份子。巴拉克·奥巴马，麦凯恩竞选总统时的得胜对手，在得知麦凯恩已被诊断为癌症后，他评论说：“癌症不知道它要对抗的是什么样的人。”

Despite his courage, both physical and moral, he was far from a saint. Capable of great personal charm, he had a volcanic temper and could be enormously rude, even on occasion to his wife in public. This may have been exacerbated by his sufferings in Hanoi, but he was never a model of conventional virtue. As a young man he was a hard-drinking, hard-partying tearaway who excelled at wrestling and boxing.

除却他身体上的和道德上的勇气，他其实远不是圣人。他有很强的个人魅力，但脾气火爆，会待人粗鲁，甚至有时在公共场合对他的妻子也粗鲁不堪。因在河内所遭受的苦难，他的暴脾气可能还加剧了，但他从来都不是传统美德的楷模。年轻的时候，他是个花天酒地的痞子，热衷于摔跤和拳击。

He is survived by his second wife, Cindy, their children, Meghan, John, James and Bridget, the three children of his first marriage, his mother, a sister, Sandy, and a brother, Joe.

病故后他留下了第二任妻子辛迪、他们的孩子，梅根、约翰、詹姆斯和布里奇特，以及第一段婚姻留下的三个孩子，他的母亲，姐姐桑迪，和弟弟乔。

—————  文章来源 / 卫报

重点词汇

obituary/oʊˈbɪtʃueri/

n. 讣告

authentic/ɔːˈθentɪk/

adj. 真正的；可信的；地道的

e.g.

authentic evidence

authentic materials

admiral/ˈædmərəl/

n. 海军上将

fellow /ˈfeloʊ/

adj. 同伴的

e.g.

my fellow Chinese

savage /ˈsævɪdʒ/

adj. 凶残的；凶猛的

e.g.

a savage attack

a savage beast

beating /ˈbiːtɪŋ/

n. 殴打；痛击

e.g.

She gave her son a severe beating. 

torture /ˈtɔːrtʃər/

n. 虐待；折磨

e.g.

Don't torture me! (v.)

captor /ˈkæptər/

n. 劫持者 (capture v.)

propaganda /ˌprɑːpəˈɡændə/

n. 宣传；鼓吹

e.g.

environmentalist propaganda

exceptional /ɪkˈsepʃənl/

adj. 卓越的；不同凡响的

e.g.

an exceptional student

exceptional beauty

presidency /ˈprezɪdənsi/

n. 总统职务；总统生涯

patriotism /ˈpeɪtriətɪzəm/

n. 爱国主义

instinct /ˈɪnstɪŋkt/

n. 本能；直觉

e.g.

Her first instinct was to run.

victorious /vɪkˈtɔːriəs/

adj. 获胜的

e.g.

victorious team

rival /ˈraɪvl/

n. 竞争对手

up against

对抗；对付（困难）

e.g.

l am up against some serious problems. 

saint/seɪnt/

n. 圣人

capable of sth./doing sth.

有能力做...

e.g.

The situation is capable of improvement.

The situation is capable of being improved.

volcanic /vɑːlˈkænɪk/

adj. 火山的；猛烈的 (volcano n.)

enormously /ɪˈnɔːrməsli/

adv. 极其；非常

exacerbate /ɪɡˈzæsərbeɪt/

v. 使恶化；加剧

e.g.

exacerbate the problem

virtue/ˈvɜːrtʃuː/

n. 美德

e.g.

Patience is a virtue.

tearaway /ˈterəweɪ/

n. 小流氓

excel /ɪkˈsel/

v. 善于

wrestling /ˈreslɪŋ/

n. 摔跤

be survived by sb.

遗留下...；先于...去世