书城外语英语PARTY——人物风采
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第10章 爱心天使(2)

弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔成功了。全世界都要建立南丁格尔式的医院。同时弗洛伦斯将在今后的四十多年里继续为医院的规划出谋划策。如今的医院鲜花盛开,窗明几净,病房干净和充满欢乐,所有这一切都应归功于她的工作。

Briton Who Saved Jews Remembered

永远铭记拯救犹太人的英国人

A British agent who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis is being remembered with a plaque being placed outside the British embassy in Berlin.

一位英国间谍曾经从纳粹营中救出了数千名犹太人,日前,在英国驻柏林大使馆外竖起一块牌子来纪念这位英雄人物。

Frank Foley was based in Berlin in the 1930s, working as a passport control officer, and using his position to provide papers for Jewish people.

20世纪30年代时,弗兰克·福利在柏林从事护照签发工作,他利用职务之便为犹太人提供(逃离所必需的)证件。

It is believed Mr Foley saved tens of thousands of lives, even hiding people in his own home.

据悉,福利先生挽救了数万名犹太人的生命,他甚至把犹太人藏匿在自己家中。

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described him as “a true British hero”.

英国外交大臣杰克·司特劳称他是 “真正的大不列颠英雄”。

Eyewitnesses recall Mr Foley as an unassuming hero - a small, slightly overweight man with round glasses .

据一些见证人回忆,福利先生是一位谦逊的英雄——一个戴着圆框眼镜、微微有些发胖的小个子男人。

But he was actually Britain,s top spy in the city.

但他实际上是英国派驻柏林市的顶级间谍。

He not only interpreted the rules on visas loosely, enabling Jews to escape to Britain and Palestine, but he also helped to forge passports.

他不仅从宽解释有关签证的法规,使犹太人可以逃往英国和巴勒斯坦,而且还帮助犹太人伪造护照。

And, despite not having diplomatic immunity, he gave shelter to some people in his own home.

而且,尽管没有外交豁免权,他仍然让一些犹太人住在自己家里避难。

Mr Foley,s efforts have already been recognised by Israel, which declared him a righteous gentile, like Oskar Schindler, and he has also been honoured by his home town of Stourbridge in the West Midlands.

福利先生的功绩已经得到以色列的承认,和奥斯卡·辛德勒一样,他也获得了以色列政府颁发的“正义外邦人”勋章。他还受到了来自他的家乡(西米德兰的斯陶尔布里奇镇)的褒奖。

Michael Smith of the Daily Telegraph, who wrote a book about him, said that although it is not known exactly how many lives Mr Foley saved, archive evidence would suggest the number was in the tens of thousands.

《每日电讯报》的迈克尔·史密斯写了一本关于他的书,他说,尽管没人知道福利先生究竟挽救了多少条生命,但相关的档案证据显示这个数字应该是几万。

He said, “With Schindler you had 1,400 people working in a factory, working with him, they worked closely together. Their lives were together.”

他说,“有1400人在辛德勒的工厂干活,他们和他在一起,并肩工作。他们的生命是连在一起的。”

“So when they moved to Palestine, which later became Israel, they are all talking to each other, they are still on the phone to each other even if they are not living in Israel - they have a collective memory of what Schindler did.”

“因此当他们迁移到巴勒斯坦(后来的以色列),他们彼此交流;即使后来他们不在以色列生活了,他们仍然保持电话联系——对辛德勒所做的一切,他们拥有共同的记忆。”

“But with Foley a lot of the people he helped probably didn,t even know he helped them.”

“但是对福利来说,他帮助过的很多人可能根本不知道是他帮助了他们。”

“They were helped in ones or twos or in small family units - five or six people perhaps. They have got to Palestine. They have a visa they know they shouldn,t have - they are not going to talk about it.”

“他们接受帮助时通常是一两个人或是一个小家庭(也许有五六人)。他们去了巴勒斯坦。他们拿到了连自己都清楚本来不该拥有的护照。他们是不会对别人说起这件事的。”

When Love Was the Adventure

爱的艰程

On a cold January morning in 1936, George V was given a king,s burial. Following his coffin was his eldest son, the handsome, much loved, Prince of Wales. He was about to be proclaimed the next king of England. He was that exceptional thing: a model royal. He was at ease in every company. Everyone expected him to shake the stuffiness out of the monarchy. But as time passed, as he span between the royal duties, people began to remark that the prince was approaching 40 and still unmarried. Only a privileged few knew that he,d been stepping out with the mysterious American, a woman who was cheating on her husband with the future king of England. This was the lady known as Wallis Simpson, whom he was determined to marry.

1936年1月一天寒冷的早晨,英国王室为乔治五世举行国葬。跟在他灵柩之后的是他的长子——英俊而深受爱戴的威尔士王子。他将被宣布成为英国的新国王。他是个模范的皇室成员,卓尔不群又平易近人。人人都期望着他会一改王室拘谨沉闷的形象。但时之以日,在他履行王室职责的同时,人们开始注意到王子已年近四十却仍然形只影单。只有少数几人有幸得知他一直在和一位神秘的美国女子约会,她瞒着丈夫和未来的英国国王来往。这位女士就是沃丽斯·辛普森,是王子决意要娶的人。

So now he was king, but no one could persuade him to give up Wallis. Not even Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin who spoke for the nation when he said Britain did not want an American divorcee for a queen. Ministerial car shuttled between Westminster and Buckingham Palace but the king could not be budged. He was forced to abdicate and all over the country flags flew at halfmast.

等他成为国王后,没人能说服他放弃沃丽斯。连首相斯坦利·巴尔德温也不行——他代表国家说英国不想让一个离过婚的美国人成为王后。大臣们的汽车在威斯敏斯特教堂和白金汉宫之间穿梭往返,但国王丝毫不为所动。他被迫让位,为此举国降下半旗。

In the summer of 1937 there was a quiet wedding in France. The couple looked a bit nervous, especially the groom, but only a year before he,d been a king. Now he and his wife would be called the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

1937年夏天,他们静静地在法国举行了一个婚礼。两人看起来有点紧张,尤其是新郎,一年之前他还是个国王。现在他和妻子被称为温莎公爵伉俪。

So now the man who,d given up a kingdom and a woman who,d given up two husbands embarked on their endless round of fun and gaiety. In the war years they,d been trapped in the Bahamas, but emerged every now and then to attend the great cultural festivals where they startled the locals with the brilliance of their attire. But the man who,d been a king found he was now only a celebrity. There were even rumors that he and the duchess were breaking up so they had to parade their devotion for the cameras.

放弃了江山的他和曾经两度离婚的她开始去尽情地享乐。战争时代他们被困在巴哈马群岛,但偶尔会出席一些盛大的文化节庆,他们的华衣美服让当地人惊叹不已。不过曾为国君的他发现自己现在只是个名人。甚至有传言说他和公爵夫人将要离异,于是他们不得不在镜头前表现恩爱一面。

Four years later it was the nation,s turn to mourn the Duke and to reflect on one man,s decision to trade the crown of England for the love of Wallis and the price they had both had to pay.

四年后,全国哀悼公爵的逝世并深思他的抉择——他为了对沃丽斯的爱情放弃了英国王位,他们两人都为此付出了代价。