中英双语新闻——151 Don’t become cynical

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　　那是一场童话婚礼。来宾们原本以为自己是来参加普莉希拉?陈从医学院毕业的庆祝会的。

 

　　Instead it was to witness Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wed¹ Priscilla, his longtime Chinese American sweetheart.

 

　　然而，他们却见证了Facebook CEO马克?扎克伯格与相恋已久的美籍华裔女友普莉希拉的婚礼。

 

　　The ceremony was held on May 19 in the backyard of the couple’s modest house in Palo Alto, California.

 

　　5月19日，两人在位于加州帕洛阿尔托市，一栋不起眼的私宅后院举行了婚礼。

 

　　But soon commentators³ were making cynical⁴ remarks about the timing⁵ of the wedding.

 

　　但很快，评论人士就开始对婚礼举办的时间冷嘲热讽。

 

　　Here’s what the Atlantic Wire, an online newspaper, said: “The sweet story about a young couple seeing all their dreams come true has quickly turned into a different tale of cold, convenient, calculation that could only warm the heart of a tax accountant.”

 

　　网络报纸《大西洋连线》如此评述：“这个讲述一对新人美梦成真的甜蜜故事很快幻灭，沦为一场冰冷务实的算计，这样的故事恐怕也只能温暖税务会计师的心房了。”

 

　　And The Huffington Post said: “It was cute and romantic until everyone, including The New York Times, noticed that by waiting until the day after cashing in his fortune, Zuckerberg conveniently protected his billions from California’s communal⁶ property law.”

 

　　打离婚官司的律师们很快便表示这是一个明智之举。来自加州纳帕郡的律师罗伯特?比万斯在《大西洋连线》上说：“在加州，不通过结婚获利的同居情侣可以声明，称夫妻双方已经为共有资产签署了协议。”

 

　　What happened was that the couple wed the day after Facebook’s public flotation on the stock market which netted Zuckerberg a cool $19 billion.

 

　　到底发生了什么？Facebook上市当日，扎克伯格身价达190亿美金，而他的婚礼就于公司上市次日举行。

 

　　Divorce lawyers were quick to comment on what they considered a smart move. Robert Bievans, a lawyer based in Napa, California, said on the Atlantic Wire, “In California people who live together without the benefit of marriage could claim they had an agreement to pool resources and efforts.”

 

　　离婚律师们很快便表示这是一个明智之举。来自加州纳帕郡的律师罗伯特?比万斯在《大西洋连线》上说：“在加州，无利益关系的结婚者可以声明，称夫妻双方已经为共有财产与成就签署了协议。”

 

　　He went on: “Although they are hard to prove these claims can get really ugly.”

 

　　他继续说：“不过他们难以证明这些声明真的会很讨厌。”

 

　　Property magnate Donald Trump⁷ was reported to have advised Zuckerberg to draw up a “prenuptial agreement”.

 

　　有报道称，房地产大亨唐纳德?特朗普建议扎克伯格起草一份“婚前协议”。

 

　　Another attorney, Garret Dailey, was quoted saying: “One of the primary reasons that wealthy people enter into prenups is to prevent the kind of carnage that can come with divorce.”

 

　　也有报道援引另外一位律师盖瑞特?戴利的话：“有钱人签署婚前协议的主要目的之一便是为了避免离婚后的血腥争夺战。”

 

　　Any prenuptial agreement signed by Zuckerberg and his bride would have forced them to agree exactly how to split assets, including his Facebook stock, if their marriage broke up in future.

 

　　不管扎克伯格和妻子签署了一份什么样的协议，将来两人一旦婚姻破裂，该协议就会迫使他们就分割包括Facebook股权在内的所有财产达成共识。

 

　　A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment on whether the couple signed such an agreement.

 

　　对于扎克伯格夫妇是否签署此类协议这件事，Facebook新闻发言人拒绝作出回应。

 

　　What are we to make of all this? Well, you could say that it demonstrates how cynical the media and society as a whole have become.

 

　　对此我们应该怎样看待？好吧，你可以说这证明了媒体与社会是多么地愤世嫉俗。

 

　　According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, a cynic is someone who believes that people are motivated in their actions by selfishness.

 

　　《韦氏新世界大学生词典》对愤世嫉俗者(cynic)的解释是：那些坚信人的行为全由自私心理驱使的人。

 

　　A cynic denies the sincerity⁸ of people’s motives¹⁰ and actions. A cynic reckons that people generally have an ulterior motive⁹ for what they do. Cynics tend to be distrustful and disparaging¹¹ of other people’s behavior. They are bitterly or sneeringly¹² distrustful, contemptuous or pessimistic.

 

　　愤世嫉俗者否认人们行为和动机的真诚度。他们认为通常情况下，人们做事都是别有用心的。对于他人的行为，他们往往充满怀疑与蔑视。他们用或尖刻或轻蔑的态度表达怀疑、轻蔑和悲观的看法。

 

　　Maybe you know someone like that?

 

　　或许你也认识这样的人？

 

　　I did. She was a hard-bitten journalist who was suspicious of all forms of authority.

 

　　我认识一个。她是名倔强的记者，质疑任何形式的权威。

 

　　This is not a bad trait in a journalist. Reporters should adopt a skeptical¹³ attitude to politicians who often talk the talk, but don’t deliver.

 

　　这对一名记者来说并非坏事。记者应对那些光说不干的政客们持怀疑态度。

 

　　However this woman’s cynical attitude toward everything, at once refreshing¹⁴, soon became corrosive¹⁵ and irritating. Her rants¹⁶ against government, bosses, anyone in authority bordered on paranoia¹⁷.

 

　　然而这位女士怀疑一切的态度，开始时令人耳目一新，但很快就让人觉得刻薄且恼人。她对政府、老板等权威人士的炮轰近乎偏执。

 

　　The opposite of cynicism is optimism tinged¹⁸ with naivety²⁰. There is nothing wrong with being naive¹⁹.

 

　　而与愤世嫉俗相反的则是近乎天真的乐观派。天真并没有错。

 

　　We all start out that way and as we gain experience of the world we become more circumspect²¹ about people and things. Better be nonjudgmental rather than cynical.

 

　　我们生来便如此，随着处世经验的不断积累，我们接人待物都开始小心谨慎起来。你最好摒除偏见，而不是愤世嫉俗。

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