45 · 新闻报道的威力
The Power of the Press
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In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned. However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves. Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives. Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota. As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty. They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity. But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.
The rise to fame was swift. Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country. Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs. Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but from baby food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products. The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500,000 home. Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences. While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame. It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives. They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value. Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.
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整篇课文
In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned. However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves. Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives. Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota. As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty. They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity. But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives. The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.
The rise to fame was swift. Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country. Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs. Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but from baby food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products. The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500,000 home. Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences. While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame. It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives. They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value. Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.
在民主国家，任何限制新闻自由的做法，都会受到理所当然的谴责。然而，这份自由也很容易被滥用。有关个人的报道，往往比政治事件更能吸引公众。我们或许喜欢读别人的生活故事，可如果被写进报道的是自己，还能不能同样开心，就很值得怀疑了。记者抱着“事实神圣不可侵犯”的信念，披露他人的私生活细节，可能给当事人带来难以言说的痛苦。报纸的影响力如此巨大，不仅能彻底改变普通人的生活，甚至可以推翻一个政府。
一个穷苦家庭一夜间名利双收的故事，鲜明地说明了新闻报道的力量。这个家庭住在南达科他州的阿伯丁小城，那里有23,000名居民。夫妻俩已经有五个孩子，日子始终在与贫困搏斗。如今他们正等着第六个孩子出生，经济压力更加迫切。如果只是再添一个孩子，这件事本不会引起任何注意，他们仍会默默无闻地为生计苦撑。可结果却是一胎生下了五胞胎，四个女孩、一个男孩，这一下彻底改变了全家的命运。孩子出生的第二天，一架飞机便把六十名记者和摄影师送到了阿伯丁。
这个家庭迅速出了名。电视和报纸把消息传遍全国，报刊杂志愿意支付巨款，购买他们故事和照片的独家发表权。礼物源源不断，不仅来自素不相识的人，也来自想借机宣传产品的婴儿食品和肥皂厂家。他们原本住的旧农舍，将被一座价值五十万美元的新房子取代。记者们不停追着采访，一家人只好雇请律师，在新闻发布会上替他们发言。五个婴儿还在医院育婴室的氧气帐里安睡时，父母已经开始付出成名的代价。他们再也无法过正常生活，姓名一旦有了市场价值，人就成了商业化的受害者。这些孩子还来不及只是家里新添的五个成员，就已经被当成了商品。
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用 Though we enjoy…, it is doubtful whether… 揭示一个态度矛盾。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第155—158页，2022年2月第3版。