中英對照:和奧巴馬學(xué)習(xí)美國幽默
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周六晚上,奧巴馬參加了一年一度的白宮記者協(xié)會晚宴,秉承歷屆總統(tǒng)的傳統(tǒng),既嘲弄他人,也拿自己開涮,盡顯美國式幽默。要說搞笑,奧巴馬知道自己比不上前任小布什,所以他先聲明:
I must confess I really did not want to be here tonight. But I knew I had to come. That's one more problem that I inherited from George W. Bush.(我必須承認(rèn),今晚我其實(shí)不怎么想來這里。但是我知道我不得不來,這是我從喬治·W·布什那里繼承下來的麻煩之一。)
說到麻煩,最近美國總統(tǒng)空軍一號和一架護(hù)航戰(zhàn)機(jī)在紐約市曼哈頓區(qū)低飛拍照引起市民恐慌,奧巴馬就此開玩笑,把飛機(jī)低飛歸咎于他的兩個(gè)女兒調(diào)皮搗蛋:
Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded. You can't just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan. I don't care whose kids you are(沙沙和瑪麗亞今晚沒有來,因?yàn)樗齻円呀?jīng)被就地停飛了。誰都不能把"空軍一號"當(dāng)成飛車游戲在曼哈頓來玩,我可不管他們是誰家的孩子)
說完了自己的孩子,奧巴馬又提起希拉里·克林頓的墨西哥之行,拿豬流感開玩笑:
The second she got back from Mexico, she pulled me into a hug and gave me a big kiss and told me I better get down there myself.(她剛剛從墨西哥回來,就給我一個(gè)擁抱和一個(gè)大吻,還告訴我說最好最好親自去那里一趟)。
下一個(gè)調(diào)侃的對象是美國前副總統(tǒng)切尼,曾在2006年一次打獵中開槍誤傷朋友,他當(dāng)時(shí)以為打中一只鵪鶉。此外,在副總統(tǒng)任內(nèi),切尼還提倡在審問恐怖嫌疑人時(shí)對犯人用刑。關(guān)于打獵誤傷朋友的事,布什總統(tǒng)當(dāng)年在參加記者協(xié)會晚宴上已經(jīng)調(diào)侃過一次,當(dāng)時(shí)他指出,“副總統(tǒng)的全名是理查德·B·切尼(Richard B. Cheney),而B代表靶心。仁慈的上帝啊,你早就料到他會開槍擊中某個(gè)人或什么東西”。當(dāng)時(shí)連切尼夫人對老公也不放過,她在發(fā)言中抱怨說,因?yàn)樗齺硗砹?,所以“打獵的笑話已經(jīng)被別人用了”。這次奧巴馬還是舊事重提:
Dick Cheney was supposed to be here, but he is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, 'How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People(迪克·切尼本該來這里,可是正忙著寫他的回憶錄呢。而這本書的名子打算取名為:如何槍擊朋友和審問他人)。
奧巴馬還提到了眾議院少數(shù)黨領(lǐng)袖John Boehner,他膚色黝黑,但其實(shí)不是非洲裔:
We have a lot in common: He is a person of color, although not a color that appears in the natural world(我們有許多共同點(diǎn):他是一個(gè)有色人,但是他的顏色不是自然世界中的一種)。
奧巴馬沒有忘記第二天是母親節(jié),他拿白宮辦公廳主任Rahm Emanuel打趣:
This is a tough holiday for Rahm. He's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother'(對Raham來說,這是一個(gè)艱難的日子。他不習(xí)慣在“母親”這個(gè)詞后面加一個(gè)“節(jié)”字)
當(dāng)然,就職百日乏善可陳的奧巴馬也要自嘲一番,談起未來百日的宏圖大計(jì):
During the second 100 days, we will design, build and open a library dedicated to my first 100 days. I believe my next hundred days will be so successful that I will be able to complete them in 72 days," he said to a roar of laughter. "And on my 73rd day, I will rest(在第二個(gè)百日內(nèi),我們將設(shè)計(jì)、修建一座專門用來紀(jì)念入主白宮100天的圖書館。我相信,我的第二個(gè)百日也會異常出色,以至我在72天內(nèi)就可完事。因此,從第73天起,我就可以退休了)
說了這么多笑話,他最后轉(zhuǎn)向記者所說的一番嚴(yán)肅的結(jié)束語讓人們聽起來都不知道是真還是假了:
A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the United States of America… We look to you for truth, even if it's always approximation(一個(gè)沒有報(bào)紙的政府,一個(gè)沒有嚴(yán)厲、富有活力的各種媒體的政府不是美利堅(jiān)合眾國的選項(xiàng)…我們期待你們實(shí)事求是的報(bào)道,即便是事實(shí)的近似值也罷)。
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