CATTI二级笔译：完型填空（经济学人）（四）
Bridge across the Bosporus
MORE than 80 years after being supplanted[1] by the Turkish republic, the Ottoman empire will not die. Bloodshed in the Balkans; Arab and Kurdish nationalism across the Middle East; Turcophobia[2] in Armenia; (1)all are echoes of a dynasty that survived for 600 years and whose dominions e____ ① ____ from the Danube through the Levant to Algiers. Few historians have dared compress the story of this extraordinary enterprise into a single volume. “Osman's Dream” shows why.
Osman led one of several Turcoman tribes, of Central Asian descent, that were competing for control of Anatolia at the beginning of the 14th century. (The dream in question was interpreted to mean that Osman would found an imperial house; (2)“Ottoman” is the European corruption of his name). By the mid-16th century, Osman's descendants had killed off the Byzantine Empire and t____ ② ____ its capital, Constantinople (renamed Istanbul), into the world's greatest mosque city. They also had control of the Muslim holy places, Mecca and Medina, in Arabia.
The empire's expansion was driven in part by Islamic notions of a just war against the infidel[3], but the Ottomans were also notable for their relative tolerance. Jews fleeing the Spanish inquisition[4] were welcomed to Istanbul. Christian converts became key figures in the bureaucracy, armed forces and the harem[5]. Even at the empire's peak, however, the tide of history was turning in Europe's f__ ③ .___ Challenged by the Europeans' intellectual and military prowess[6], hampered by the fiscal ineptitude of its leaders, and powerless to suppress the petty nationalisms that infected its Balkan possessions, (3)the empire began to unravel—at times abruptly, at others imperceptibly.
With her doctorate in the fiendishly[7] complex discipline of Ottoman studies, (4)Ms Finkel is ideally placed to make sense of this. But “Osman's Dream” leaves one with the impression that the author's scholarship—she includes a 30-page bibliography—could have been put to better use. Her apparent desire to record every event of significance sometimes r___ ④ ___ in a dispiriting succession of military campaigns and diplomatic intrigues; (5)one would have preferred a pruning[8] of the thicket[9] of events and more discussion of what it all means.
(6)The author offers glimpses of a more satisfying book. She includes a suggestive aside on the blending of French and Persian inspirations in the Ottoman palace-building of the early 18th century—as good an emblem for the empire's strained multiculturalism as you could wish for. There are tantalising[10] allusions to both the fascination and the repulsion which animated the later Ottomans' ambivalence[11] t___ ⑤ ___ Europe. And one wishes that (7)Ms Finkel had developed her intriguing defence of the empire in the 19th century, “multi-confessional, geographically incoherent and economically backward”, in the face of demands, on the part of impertinent[12] Europeans, that it reform internally.
The limitations of Ms Finkel's approach are most apparent in her perfunctory[13] treatment of the empire's final, tumultuous[14] years. She deals no more than cursorily with the Armenian massacres during the first world war, preferring to observe that scholarship has suffered from the highly-charged contemporary d___ ⑥ ___ over whether the killings constitute genocide. This point would have made a worthwhile footnote[15].(8) As a substitute for an account of what happened, it is a cop-out[16].
注释：
[1]supplant：vt.取代，排挤
如：The word processor has largely supplanted electric typewriters. Word处理程序已很大程度上取代了电动打字机。
It is my view that the new historical disciplines complement rather than supplant traditional history.我认为这些新的历史学科对传统历史学起到了补充而非排挤作用。
近义词辨析
replace， supplant， supersede
这些动词在用来指把某人或某物辞退或搬走并用他人或他物代替他、她或它时具可比性。
Replace是指成为或提供代替他人或他物的物或人的相等物或替换物， 尤其是对已经丢失、耗尽、用竭或被辞退：
“A conspiracy was carefully engineered to replace the Directory by three Consuls” (H.G. Wells).
“细心策划密谋以三个执政官取代督政府” (H.G,威尔斯)。
“I succeed him [Benjamin Franklin, as envoy to France] ; no one could replace him” (Thomas Jefferson).
“我接替他[本杰明•富兰克林，作为派往法国的特使];没有人能够取代他” (托马斯•杰弗逊)。
Supplant通常指用阴谋诡计或卑鄙的手段来取代他人的位置：
“The rivaling poor Jones, and supplanting him in her affections, added another spur to his pursuit” (Henry Fielding). “对抗的可怜的琼斯，以及用她的影响取代他的位置的举动进一步刺激了他的追求” (亨利•费尔汀)。
Supersede 是指用另一个被认为更优秀、更有价值、更有用或者更年轻的人或物代替某人或某物：
“In our island the Latin appears never to have superseded the old Gaelic speech” (Macaulay). “在我们的岛上古老的盖尔语似乎永远被拉丁语所取代” (麦考利)。
“Each of us carries his own life-form—an indeterminable form which cannot be superseded by any other” (Carl Jung).我们每个人都有自己的生活方式-一种无法查明、不能被其它任何一种方式取代的方式” (卡尔•荣格)
[2]turcophobia：n.憎恶土耳其风俗习惯的人, 憎恶土耳其的人
-phobia：后缀;表示“对某一特定事物的强烈的、不正常的或不合逻辑的恐惧”：
如：xenophobia 仇外，惧外;
Americanophobia 对美国(或美洲)文化的憎恶,美国(或美洲)文化仇视心理
Anglophobia反英, 恐英病
technophobia技术恐惧(指对技术对社会及环境造成不良影响的恐惧)
thanatophobia [心]死亡恐怖(症),死亡恐惧(症)
[3]infidel：adj. & n. 不信教的(人);异端的(人)
[4]Spanish inquisition：西班牙宗教法庭，1480-1834年的天主教法庭，以残酷迫害异端著称。1543年将数以万计再洗礼教派教徒在火刑柱上烧死。西班牙国王伊莎贝拉一世创建。
参考文献：http://www.pep.com.cn/200406/ca416233.htm
[5]harem：n.(伊斯兰教国家中的)闺房，后宫;女眷们
[6]prowess：n. 卓越的技能;杰出的才能;本领
如：He is a football player of great prowess. 他是一名技能卓绝的足球选手。
The young student from the theatrical school showed great prowess at acting in the play.这个戏剧学校的学生在这出戏中显示出了非凡的演技。
[7]fiendishly：adv.恶魔似地, 极坏地;
fiendish：adj.极凶的，极大的;极为讨厌或糟糕的
如：a fiendish blizzard 极大的暴风雪 a fiendish problem 极大的难题
[8]prune：vt.(常与down, off, away连用)修剪(树、花木);(常与of连用)删改;删除
如：prune the slang from a speech删去演说中的俚语
[9]thicket：n.密集生长的灌木或矮树;错综复杂，盘根错节
如： the thicket of unreality which stands between us and the facts of life 在我们和生活的现实之间存在着无法穿越的虚幻
[10]tantalise：(美语tantalize)vt.挑逗，逗弄
如：The very thought that a human being would deliberately starve herself for any reason provoked, intrigued, and tantalized the public.(“Psychobiology and Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa” by Katherine A Halmi)有人认为，不管出于何故，一个人会故意忍饥挨饿。这种想法让公众既生气，又好奇，还有点着急。(凯瑟琳•A•哈尔米《神经性食欲缺乏和易饿病的精神生物学研究和治疗方法》)
[11]ambivalence：n.矛盾心理，双重人格;摇摆，举棋不定(towards)
ambivalent adj.(对人、事物)有矛盾心理的
如：There is an ambivalent feeling towards rural workers.人们对于民工的心情是复杂的。
[12]impertinent：adj.无关的，不切题的;无礼的，鲁莽的
如：He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit.他认为一个奴隶如此多嘴多舌，是不合礼仪的，很显然这个奴隶还很不安分。(“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass)
近义词辨析
irrelevant， extraneous， immaterial， impertinent
这些形容词共有的核心意思是“与所考虑的问题没有关系的”
an irrelevant comment; 一句不相干的评语;
a question extraneous to the discussion; 与讨论不相关的问题;
an objection that is immaterial after the fact; 和该事实无关的反对意见;
mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming to the point.在最后谈到要点之前先说了几个不相关的事实
[13]perfunctory：adj.草率的，敷衍的，马马虎虎的
如：The operator answered the phone with a perfunctory greeting.接线员接通电话，象征性的打了招呼
[14]tumultuous：adj.骚乱的，喧嚣的，吵闹的，无序的;狂暴的
如：These details have also had a tumultuous effect on the nation of Bolivia. (“Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life” by Jon Lee Anderson)这些详细资料也引起了波利维亚的动乱。(乔恩•李•安德森《切•格瓦拉：革命人生》)
[15]footnote：n.(缩写fn.)脚注(放在书或手稿的页底的注释，对文中的标明的一部分加以评论或引出参考书目);无足轻重的事(与某一大的范畴或事件有关但不重要的事)
如：a political scandal that was but a footnote to modern history.一件对现代历史无足轻重的政治丑闻
[16] cop out：逃避，躲开;临阵退缩 cop-out n.逃避，自首，托词;违约者
如：You've got to take it up. Don't try to cop out of it by telling me you're too busy!"这件事你一定得做,不要推诿说你忙不过来。"
Jimmy was known to the team as a cop-out because he never showed up for important games.(A Concise Collection of College-student’s Slang) 队里都知道吉米是个喜欢临阵脱逃的人，凡是重要比赛都不见他人影。
参考译文
博斯普鲁斯大桥
奥斯曼帝国虽已被土耳其共和国取代逾80年之久，但它永远都不会销声匿迹。巴尔干半岛上血流成河，中东弥漫的阿拉伯和库尔德民族主义情绪，亚美尼亚人对土耳其的憎恶，无不显现出一个存续了600年、疆域囊括从多瑙河经黎凡特(地中海东部自土耳其至埃及地区诸国)至阿尔及尔广阔土地的王朝所遗留下来的痕迹。一直以来，几乎没有哪位历史学家能贸然地用一本书来记述这一超凡之事。《奥斯曼之梦》对此作出了解释。
14世纪初，几个从中亚衍生而来的土库曼人部落，为控制安纳托利亚(译者注：土耳其的亚洲部分，一般认为等同于小亚细亚)而干戈相向，此时奥斯曼成了其中一个部落的首领。(曾有人认为奥斯曼的 “梦想”就是要兴建一座王宫;“Ottoman”一词是欧洲人在使用奥斯曼名字时的讹误。)到16世纪中叶，奥斯曼的后人消灭了拜占庭帝国，并将其首都君士坦丁堡(后改名为伊斯坦布尔)建设成为世界上最著名的清真寺城市。与此同时，阿拉伯半岛上的穆斯林圣地麦加和麦地那也为其所统治。
伊斯兰教主张发动一场反对异教徒的正义战争，这对奥斯曼帝国的扩张起到了一定的推动作用，但是奥斯曼人同样以善于包容而著称。从西班牙宗教法庭逃离出来的犹太人在伊斯坦布尔受到欢迎，基督教信徒也在帝国官僚机构、武装部队乃至后宫中扮演举足轻重的角色。然而，历史的潮流还是转而朝着有利于欧洲的方向发展，即便是在帝国鼎盛时期也是如此。聪明才智和军事才干不如欧洲人，受制于自身领导人拙劣的财政管理能力，对巴尔干半岛上蔓延的一小撮民族主义分子又无能为力，奥斯曼帝国开始分崩离析——有时会发生一些突如其来的震荡，但多半却在不知不觉中衰微。
芬克尔女士拥有奥斯曼帝国历史研究的博士学位，对奥斯曼曾进行过极为复杂、严谨的研究。从理论上讲，弄清“奥斯曼梦想”的真实含义当然非她莫属。不过，《奥斯曼之梦》一书却让人觉得作者的学识并未得到充分发挥——书后列出了长达30页的参考书目。作者显然希望把所有重要事件都一一记录下来，结果有时无外乎对那些战争和外交阴谋活动的简单罗列，令人味同嚼蜡。其实，我们只需扼要叙述一下那些错综复杂的事件，更多的笔墨应当放在对其意义的讨论中。
相比之前，这本书还是有不少出彩之处。作者在文中特意提到，18世纪初期奥斯曼兴建王宫时，曾融合了法国人和波斯人的灵感——这种糅合再好不过地寓示了奥斯曼帝国牵强的多文化主义色彩。书中引经据典描述了奥斯曼人对外来文化的着迷和排斥，生动再现了奥斯曼人后期对欧洲的矛盾心态，很是引人入胜。芬克尔女士辩解说，对于作为旁观者的欧洲人而言，19世纪的奥斯曼帝国“教义信仰多样化、地域不连贯，甚而经济倒退”，完全是为形势所迫。这一观点令人感到好奇，有人希望芬克尔女士应当进一步展开阐述。(文中的that it reform internally令人匪夷所思，尤其是主语为单数it，而reform又给出复数形式，为什么呢?)
芬克尔的记述方式还是有其局限性的，最明显的是关于奥斯曼帝国末期动荡岁月的描写过于草率。她对第一次世界大战期间亚美尼亚大屠杀一事只是一笔带过，却对当代学术界关于这场杀戮是否等同于种族屠杀的激烈争议详加评述。这一点若作为脚注应当合情合理，可用来取代对事件真相的记述，就只能是一种回避事实的托词而已。
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