PBS高端访谈:透过圣母院大火审视其它人造危机

JUDY WOODRUFF: Protesters took to the streets of Paris and other French cities this weekend, asking why billionaires and the government have rushed to the aid of the Notre Dame¹ Cathedral after its terrible fire, while millions of ordinary French citizens are being squeezed economically. Income inequality is just one issue that may gain momentum² in the aftermath of the fire. Stephane Gerson is the English-language editor of France in the World: A New Global History. In his Humble³ Opinion, the fire that ravaged⁴ Notre Dame should force us all to take a look at our other human-made crises.

STEPHANE GERSON, Institute of French Studies, NYU: This past Monday, my son sent me a text that read simply: Notre Dame. I didn't know what he meant. So he wrote again: It's on fire. Terrible. I turned on the TV and saw the cathedral burn, the spire⁵ collapse⁶, the roof crash down. I watched Parisians and others cry along the Seine. For a while, I thought of moments in French history that involved the cathedral, 1287, the masons of Notre Dame traveling across Europe to show their excellence⁷ in stonecutting, or August 1944, Charles de Gaulle coming under sniper fire inside Notre Dame. This is what historians do in moments like these. We go to the past. But that night, I also thought about our present and our future. We are horrified⁸ because Notre Dame is the most poignant⁹ reminder¹⁰ in this brittle¹¹ age of ours, this age of accelerating climate change and mass displacement¹², that nothing is eternal. Hasn't Notre Dame always been with us? Hasn't it always stood strong, stone rising into the skies, tower standing¹³ guard, its spire inviting¹⁴ us to aim for something higher? Monuments such as these enter our collective heritage.

The mythic cathedral is eternal and indestructible. We are eternal and indestructible. But, no, look, Notre Dame is burning. The spire is collapsing¹⁵. The roof is crashing down, unless it is our roof, our collective roof that is crashing down. A century ago exactly, in 1919, the writer Paul Valery provided reflected on the massive destruction science had wrought¹⁶ during World War I. We civilizations, he wrote now know that we are mortal. Valery was telling us that our civilization can precipitate¹⁷ its own undoing¹⁸. His warning is not mere¹⁹ history. We watched a cathedral burn. And though we know that cathedrals can rebuilt, we feel something deeper. Could it be the premonition that some disasters, some fires are so incandescent²⁰ that nothing remains²¹ afterwards, not even civilization? There is a theory that disasters can shake the status quo. By suspending the usual order, by displaying its failures, they can open up new solidarities²² and maybe, in this case, collective responses to environmental destruction and forced migration²³. The emotions we experienced before a shared ordeal²⁴, shock and sorrow, empathy, immersion²⁵ in the moment, can bring us together around a vision of the common good. I had been skeptical²⁶ about this theory in the past, but the emotion we felt watching the cathedral burn, the emotion we felt imagining a world burning, might this emotion then allow us to avert²⁷ further destruction, to work together towards a different future, not only for the cathedral, but also for human civilization? Notre Dame, it's on fire. Terrible. As I reread my son's texts, I have to hope that this time will be different.

JUDY WOODRUFF: French historian Stephane Gerson.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：本周末，巴黎等多个法国城市的抗议者们纷纷走上街头，质问各亿万富翁和政府可以在巴黎圣母院发生大火后第一时间赶去救援，却无视无数法国的平民老百姓还过着捉襟见肘的日子。收入不平等只是巴黎圣母院大火后愈演愈烈的一个问题。史蒂芬·格尔森是《从法国看世界：不同的全球史》的英语编辑。在今晚的《我之拙见》中，巴黎圣母院遭遇的这场大火应该促使我们审视人类造成的其他危机。

史蒂芬·格尔森，纽约大学法国研究学院：在刚刚过去的周一里，我儿子给我发来一条信息，写着：巴黎圣母院。我那时还不知道他是什么意思。于是他又发了一条信息：巴黎圣母院着火了，火势很大。我随机打开电视，看到了火灾的景象，看到塔尖坍塌，看到屋顶坠落。我看到巴黎民众和其他民众沿着塞纳河哭嚎的场景。有那么一晃的时间，我想到了法国历史上的一些时刻，也与巴黎圣母院有关，即1287年。那时候，建造巴黎圣母院的工匠们走遍欧洲各地，彰显自己在石器方面的雕琢经验。我还想到了1944年8月，戴高乐在巴黎圣母院内遭遇狙击手的猛烈攻击。历史学家在这样的时刻会做这样的事——我们会回顾过去。但那一晚，我还想到了现在和未来。我们感到十分震惊，因为巴黎圣母院的存在以让人难受的方式提醒着我们这个时代的脆弱，因为这是一个气候变暖不断加剧的时代，一个许多人无家可归的时代，一个不提永远的时代。巴黎圣母院不是一直与我们同在吗？巴黎圣母院不是一直坚挺地屹立吗？它高耸入云霄，好似我们的守卫。它的塔尖也在鼓舞我们志存高远。这样的建筑物是人类共同的遗产。

这个神话版的教堂是永垂不朽、不可毁灭的。我们也是永垂不朽、不可毁灭的。但事实并非如此，你看啊，巴黎圣母院处在火海之中，塔尖也在崩塌。屋顶也在毁坏，如果上升到全人类的意义上，那就是属于全人类的屋顶在坍塌。一个世纪前，也就是1919年，作家保尔·瓦雷里就曾反思过科学在一战期间造成的大规模毁坏。他写道，我们人类文明现在终于知道自己并非不朽。瓦雷里告诉我们：人类文明会因不当行为而坠入万劫不复。他的警示不只是历史而已，曾经的他就预见了巴黎圣母院的大火。虽然我们都知道巴黎圣母院正在重建之中，但我们能感受到更深切的东西。这是不是在警示我们：会不会有某种灾难或者大火会让一切消失，甚至是人类文明？有一个理论说：灾难可以改变现状。在打破了常态后，在经历了失败后，他们可以更加稳固。以巴黎圣母院大火为例，大家对环境破坏和被迫迁徙有了共同的响应。我们经历了共同的灾难、震惊、悲痛、感同身受，我们沉浸于当下，这样的经历让我们为共同的美好而一起努力。我以前对这个理论是感到怀疑的，但我们在看到巴黎圣母院大火时、在看到一个小世界灼烧时确实有这样的共情。那么，这样的共情是否能让我们避免今后出现破坏事件，是否能让我们同心协力，为有所不同的未来而努力，不只是为了巴黎圣母院，也为人类文明而努力？巴黎圣母院着火了，火势很大。在我阅读儿子的信息时，我也希望这一次真的会有所不同。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：让我们感谢法国历史学家史蒂芬·格尔森。

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

5 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

8 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

9 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

12 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

15 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

16 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

17 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

18 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

19 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

20 incandescent   

adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的

参考例句：

• The incandescent lamp we use in daily life was invented by Edison.我们日常生活中用的白炽灯，是爱迪生发明的。
• The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen.他炽热的语言点燃了他本国同胞的勇气。

21 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

22 solidarities   

团结( solidarity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

23 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

24 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

25 immersion   

n.沉浸；专心

参考例句：

• The dirt on the bottom of the bath didn't encourage total immersion.浴缸底有污垢，不宜全身浸泡于其中。
• The wood had become swollen from prolonged immersion.因长时间浸泡，木头发胀了。

26 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

27 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。