英国卫报：萨达姆雕像的倒塌：美军如何制造神话(5)

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As president, Saddam had modelled himself partially¹ on Joseph Stalin.

作为总统，萨达姆在一定程度上效仿了约瑟夫·斯大林。

Both were peasant outsiders who, with exceptional ruthlessness, had made their way to the top.

两人都是外乡人，都是靠自己的冷酷无情爬上了高层。

Saddam imitated Stalin's style of propaganda, promoting images of himself smiling and enriching the Iraqi people: a benevolent² uncle.

萨达姆模仿斯大林的宣传风格，宣传自己微笑的形象，让伊拉克人民觉得他是一位仁慈的大叔。

He even grew a similar moustache. Like Stalin, he also raised vast numbers of statues to himself.

他甚至还留了同款胡子。和斯大林一样，他也为自己建造了大量的雕像。

Many Islamic traditions ban the representation of human figures, particularly religious figures.

许多伊斯兰教传统禁止画人物，特别是宗教人物。

In terms of Iraqi history, though, Islam is a relatively³ recent arrival.

然而，在伊拉克的历史上，伊斯兰教的到来相对较晚。

Mesopotamia, as the region was once known, has ancient and glorious traditions of art, including statuary, stretching back thousands of years.

美索不达米亚这个地区曾经很著名，有着古老而辉煌的艺术传统，包括雕塑，有着几千年的历史。

Representations of figures are deeply embedded⁴ in Mesopotamian culture: there could be no ban on them.

人物形象深深植根于美索不达米亚的文化中：不可能被禁。

Under Saddam's rule, it was possible – even necessary – to make images of him.

在萨达姆的统治下，有可能——甚至有必要——画他的肖像。

All schools, public buildings and businesses had to display his portrait.

所有的学校、公共建筑和企业都必须展示他的肖像。

Saddam's iconography was a distinctive⁵ blend of military swagger and historical references.

萨达姆的肖像很独特，既彰显了军威，又具备历史参考价值。

Some of his equestrian⁶ statues depicted⁷ him with sword drawn⁸, pointed⁹ in the direction of Jerusalem: his rearing horse was flanked by rockets.

他的一些骑马的雕像刻画了“他拔出剑，指向耶路撒冷的方向”的形象：他的马被火箭包围着。

He was occasionally sculpted¹⁰ wearing the Dome¹¹ of the Rock on his head, the Islamic shrine¹² refashioned as a helmet.

他偶尔会被雕刻成头上戴着岩石圆顶的形象，伊斯兰神殿被改设计成了头盔。

His images used costume and props¹³ to link him to Hammurabi, the Babylonian lawgiver; Nebuchadnezzar, enslaver of the Jewish people;

他的形象所使用的服装和道具将他和巴比伦立法者汉谟拉比联系起来；尼布甲尼撒，犹太人的奴隶；

various caliphs; Saladin, the defeater of Christian¹⁴ crusaders (who, like Saddam, had been born in Tikrit); and even Muhammad himself.

各种伊斯兰教主；萨拉丁，基督教十字军的征服者（和萨达姆一样出生在提克里特）；甚至是穆罕默德本人。

The essence of all these historical figures was supposedly distilled¹⁵ down into Saddam, uniting the Iraqi people and Mesopotamian history, reaching out across the whole Middle East.

所有这些历史人物的精髓都被归结为萨达姆，将伊拉克人民和美索不达米亚的历史结合在一起，延伸到整个中东地区。

1 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

2 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

5 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

6 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

7 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

11 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

12 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

13 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

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 government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》