这是一篇由现象级英语社群小伙伴们组队解析《经济学人》讣告的笔记，其中：标题-第1段 by Thebard，第2-3段 by 荆棘海，第4-5段 by 肉丸子，第6-7段 by 楚汐，欢迎大家留言讨论：）
文稿来源：经济学人 2018年12月8日期刊
George H.W. Bush
标题👇
Doing his darnedest
George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st president of the United States, died on November 30th, aged 94
标题里的 darnedest 表示 “竭尽全力”，the most possible；同时也呼应着文章第1段④句的 “the damnedest experience”。此外，可以拓展学习darnedest 的另外一个意思，表示 “荒谬的” ，a euphemistic word for damnedest，比如电影《飞屋环游记》中的一个片段：一个老人看到Cane的飞屋，觉得很荒谬。他说， “In a house? A floating house?That's the darnedest thing I've ever seen.” 一座飞屋，一个房子？这是我见过最荒谬的事了。
说回老布什，作为个人，他是战争英雄，以彬彬有礼为人称道，他的一生是大多数普通人所艳羡的“别人的生活”。 事业有成，爱情美满，家庭和睦，子孙昌隆。
作为总统，他的政绩和优势却不是那么明显。小小布什 Jeb Bush 竞选时候的标语也有意地去掉了“布什”的姓氏。对于老布什的总结，可以对照看看BBC的Obituary: George HW Bush是怎么讲的：
As president, he proved himself an efficient chief executive - more of a manager than inspiring leader. His public image suffered because of his Ivy League background and many voters saw him as lacking a common touch.作为一名总统，他更像一名经理而不是领导者。
His foreign policy was successful in the handling of the invasion of Kuwait and the fall of communism. His domestic agenda will be less well applauded - with critics complaining he came across as a somewhat confused president with a shaky grasp of economics.他的外交政策还算可以，但是国内经济搞得一团糟。
And personally, George Herbert Walker Bush will be remembered as, essentially, a cultured family man, uncomfortable with the rough and tumble of politics.但就个人而言，布什将被人们记住，他是一个有文化、顾家、不喜欢政治动荡的男人。 （对总统而言，这绝不是称赞）
Paragraph 1 👇
①Wherever he went, as America’s president or before it, George Herbert Walker Bush usually carried a felt-tipped pen and a supply of notecards. ②On these he wrote letters. ③Some were thank-yous; others a clumsy, but courteous, attempt to get his views across to other people; yet others just a “good to see you” kind of thing. ④When the time came to write his presidential memoirs, to salve some of that desperate hurt after Bill Clinton thrashed him in 1992, he published instead 600-plus pages of correspondence. ⑤They ranged from doting letters to newborn grandchildren to his worries, as a young seaman in 1943, that his girlfriend Barbara, “so darn attractive”, would drop him while he was away; from his attempt to explain the Watergate scandal to his four young sons, to his mortified account of throwing up in 1992 on the Japanese prime minister, “the damnedest experience”. ⑥He admitted that some of the letters were nutty. ⑦But they were also of the moment. ⑧As he said, “It’s all about heartbeat.”
段落解析：
文章开始段以一些生活化的细节来呈现老布什总统的形象，①句说明他有写便签的（好）习惯。②③两句具体提了下便签的内容多是为了表达谢意、 观点，或者是一些客套话（很高兴见到你）。④句开始到本段结束，从 4 重身份来介绍老布什。和家庭有关的都做得不错，和职业有关的就有点勉强了。
1）作为晚辈，对孙辈的关爱。他在All the Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings 就写过。
2）作为丈夫（对象），对感情的认真。(这里选的是darn attractive, 不知道是不是故意的darn, damn, darnedest) 参加二战那几年，书信没有断过，而且自己的战机名字也都是芭芭拉。 每年的结婚纪念日，都会给芭芭拉写信（情书），73年没有断过。
3）作为父亲，向儿子解释水门事件（职业有关）水门事件中他的处境其实“艰难”
4）作为总统（职业），吐在日本首相身上（尴尬的外交）。这里有两个解释，一是说当时老布什患着胃肠型感冒，身体不适。 还有一种说法是，因为想到二战时8名战友被日本人俘获后肢解，做成了人肉火锅，所以才吐。
词句赏析：
③Some were thank-yous; others a clumsy, but courteous, attempt to get his views across to other people; yet others just a “good to see you” kind of thing.
courteous, 彬彬有礼的，客气的。近义词还有gallant, well-mannered 等。
get across, When an idea gets across or when you get it across, you succeed in making other people understand it. （使自己的想法）被理解，被接受
例句：If you can't communicate and talk to other people andget across your ideas, you're giving up your potential. （来自巴菲特）这种老式的习惯，虽然寻常但是常人难以坚持。而这也成了老布什的个人品质印记，赢得了不少好感。
他给很多人写过信，从国家的领导人（比如克林顿）、到政府官员、以及普通人， 到家人都曾经收到过他亲笔写的信。
这肯定不是什么“人设”，而是习惯和学养。正如本段①句里所写的 as America’s president or before it.
《华盛顿邮报》还专门有这样的一篇文How George H.W. Bush used handwritten thank-you notes to build bridges.
CNN也有这样的文George H.W. Bush was a prolific letter-writer. Here's how one of his letters touched my family
⑤They ranged from doting letters to newborn grandchildren to his worries, as a young seaman in 1943, that his girlfriend Barbara, “so darn attractive”, would drop him while he was away; from his attempt to explain the Watergate scandal to his four young sons, to hismortifiedaccount of throwing up in 1992 on the Japanese prime minister, “the damnedest experience”.
mortified, 尴尬的。 mortify v （使）脸上无光。Jane Austen 的 《傲慢与偏见》里有这么一段对话：
"[Mr. Darcy's] pride," said Miss Lucas, "does not offend me so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, every thing in his favor, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a right to be proud."
"That is very true," replied Elizabeth, "and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine."
⑧As he said, “It’s all about heartbeat.”
这一段的后半部分，老布什也自嘲有些写的荒唐，但都是真情实感（heartbeat）；他曾说过：你们都说我是特权阶级，贵族的生活，但是这些烦恼我都有呀。 我也是性情中人。
这让人想起了富兰克林在他的自传里，不用等别人来吐槽，自己先黑了一遍曾经做过的荒唐事。 比如去追求好朋友的女友。
说起heartbeat, 除了写作的时候用，也很符合老布什的人生经历：1）二战九死一生。8名战友惨死，他侥幸生还。 2）想连任却失利。 3）好好的外交却尴尬收场。4）喜爱跳伞。
Quote from George H.W.Bush
Paragraph 2👇
①In one letter he happened to mention a childhood rebuke from his mother: “Now, George, don’t walk ahead.” ②He took her words to heart, staying, for most of his political career, loyally behind and modestly to one side. ③As chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1974, he stuck by Richard Nixon until it became more urgent to save the party; at which point, he publicly asked him to resign.④He felt afterwards as though someone had died. ⑤In his eight years as Ronald Reagan’s vice-president, though they had sparred bitterly in the 1980 primaries over Reagan’s “voodoo economics” and his callow Hollywood sparkle, he never criticised or upstaged him. ⑥During the Iran-contra affair of the 1980s, though present at many salient meetings, he declared himself out of the loop, and it was hard to prove otherwise.
段落解析：
本段通过水门事件和伊朗门事件，讲述了布什的政治生涯中一直保持谦逊和忠诚的态度。
词句精析：
③As chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1974, he stuck by Richard Nixon until it became more urgent to save the party; at which point, he publicly asked him to resign.
stick by sb，意为“对朋友的支持和忠诚”：to remain loyal to a friend when they have done something wrong or have problems；这里对应了上一段他妈妈对他 “别做出头鸟” 的忠告。这个表达很实用，下一次当我们想和朋友说，无论怎样我都会支持他，就可以这么说：Whatever happens, I’ll stick by him.
④He felt afterwards as though someone had died.
这句话的目的是对前一句 publicly 公开要求尼克松辞职这个行为背后的情感解释，有种 “忠义两难全”的痛苦~这里不直接说痛苦，而是用了 as though someone had died 来形容痛苦的程度，有感同身受的具象感。
⑤In his eight years as Ronald Reagan’s vice-president, though they had sparred bitterly in the 1980 primaries over Reagan’s “voodoo economics” and his callow Hollywood sparkle, he never criticised or upstaged him.
callow：adj，这个词意为 “幼稚不成熟的”，通常表示贬义：young and without experience - used to show disapproval，可以与 immature 做同义替换。在本句中的意思为里根肤浅的演员光环。这个词还可以用来表示幼稚的年轻人：a callow youth.
upstage：及物动词，可以理解为 “抢了…的风头” ，在本句中的意思是，作为里根的副总统，老布什从没有批评或者抢他的风头。下次如果我们想表达，在会议中他总抢上司的风头，就可以说：He tried to upstage his boss at the meeting.
⑥During the Iran-contra affair of the 1980s, though present at many salient meetings, he declared himself out of the loop, and it was hard to prove otherwise.
salient：adj，重要的、显著的：the salient points or features of something are the most important or most noticeable parts of it. 可以与 important 作同义替换。举个例子，想表达 “这份报告的要点”，就可以说：the salient points of the report.
out of the loop，这个短语的释义为：Uninformed. Ignorant of the situation. Not receiving appropriate information.可以翻译为“蒙在鼓里”，处身局外。放在这个句子里表示，面对伊朗门事件，布什坚称自己对此一无所知，被完全地蒙在鼓里。比如上司问你你今天咋没参加晨会呢，你可以说：I didn't know there was one scheduled. I was completely out of the loop.
背景信息：
简单整理一下这里的事件时间轴：
1974年，水门事件，Watergate scandal 或者水门丑闻，是美国历史上最不光彩的政治丑闻事件之一，其对美国本国历史以及整个国际新闻界都有着长远的影响。在1972年的总统大选中，为了取得民主党内部竞选策略的情报，1972年6月17日，以美国共和党尼克松竞选班子的首席安全问题顾问詹姆斯·麦科德（James W. McCord, Jr.）为首的5人潜入位于华盛顿水门大厦的民主党全国委员会办公室，在安装窃听器并偷拍有关文件时，当场被捕。由于此事，尼克松于1974年8月8日宣布将于次日辞职，从而成为美国历史上首位因丑闻而辞职的总统。有相关影视作品与此相关。“ 水门事件 ”一词，通过转喻，已经包含了尼克松政府成员进行的一系列秘密的、经常是非法的活动。命名“水门事件”的后缀“门”已经成为美国以及世界其他地方的政治和非政治的丑闻的代名词。
1980年，布什赢得了艾奥瓦州的党团会议选举，但却失去了新罕布什尔州，并且在共和党党内预选中败给了罗纳德·里根。之后，里根选择布什作为自己的副总统，两人在那年11月的大选中击败了卡特。
1980年，布什担任里根副总统期间，爆发了伊朗门事件，Iran- contra affair，美国向伊朗秘密出售武器一事被揭露，从而造成里根政府严重政治危机的事件，因人们把它与尼克松 水门事件相比，故名伊朗门事件。
句⑤中的 primaries：初选
初选是美国总统选举的第一阶段，目的是选出本党的党代表（party delegates）。之后，党代表将在7月份的两党全国代表大会上选出党内总统候选人（presidential candidate）参加美国大选。美国大选初选采取两种形式，党团会议（caucus）和初选（primary）。
caucus和primary的主要区别是：caucus是先聚会辩论再投票，primary是直接投票。大约有20个州采取党团会议形式，其余的采用初选形式。
➤Caucus是通过党员集体开会讨论，发言，最后投票，整个过程比较复杂、耗时。
➤Primary比较直截了当，类似普选，选民去投票站（polling station）在选票上写下自己支持的候选人名字即可。Primary分为封闭式初选（closed primary）、半封闭式初选（semi-closed primary）、开放式初选（open primary）等多种形式。封闭式初选只对注册党员（registered voters affiliated with each party）开放，半封闭式初选允许登记党员和无党派选民（independents）投票，开放式初选允许所有注册选民投票。
美国大选流程：
初选（primaries/caususes）通常从2月持续到6月。
7月，召开两党全国代表大会（national party convention）。各州代表推选本党的总统和副总统候选人。
7月至9月，总统候选人将在全国展开竞选活动，包括到各州竞选、发表电视演说（television address）、进行电视辩论（TV debate）等。
11月8日是“全民投票日”（Election Day），选民在选票上选出总统以及各州的总统选举人。
12月19日选举人团投票（electors cast their electoral votes）。选举人在各州首府投票选举总统和副总统。美国共有538张选举人票，总统候选人获得全国选举人超过半数的选票，即可获胜当选。
句⑤中的 Voodoo Economics 指的是美国里根总统任期中推行的经济政策。
里根第一届任期的主要目标便是复苏美国的经济，当时美国经济处于所谓的滞胀（停滞的经济发展和高通货膨胀）。里根所下的第一道命令是停止政府对石油价格的控制，以恢复国内在石油生产和探测上的市场动力。为了解决两位数的通货膨胀，里根支持了联邦储备系统主席保罗·沃尔克（Paul Volcker）以戏剧性提升银行利率来达成减缩货币供应量目标的计划。经济学家米尔顿·佛利民描述当时里根了解到“若要成功遏止通货膨胀，金融的管制和短暂的经济衰退是不可避免的”。里根利用紧缩货币供应配合全面减税的方法来刺激商业的投资（依据里根的说法：“芝加哥经济学派、供应面经济学，随便你怎么称呼它。我注意到有些人甚至称它为里根经济学，直到它开始生效为止…”）。里根的对手嘲笑这是“Voodoo Economics”、“涓滴效应”、和“里根经济学”，但里根成功的展开全面的减税。
Paragraph 3👇
The vision thing
①People often supposed him out of the loop in other ways, too: a boy born to privilege, called “Poppy” by his parents, a product ofPhillips Academy and Phi Beta Kappa at Yale, who was (falsely) rumoured in the 1992 campaign never to have passed a quart of milk through a supermarket scanner. ②He was a Yankee aristocrat who could have followed his Daddy on to Wall Street but instead became a Texas oil man (the only Texan, growled Speaker Jim Wright, who ate lobster with his chilli), and went on to represent the toniest bit of Houston in Congress. ③All this, as well as the tennis-playing summers in Kennebunkport, seemed to set him firmly apart from the average Joe, though he let it be known as president that his favourite food was pork rinds, and banned from the White House the broccoli his mother had made him eat.
段落解析：
本段主要讲述布什从小就不是个平凡小孩，含着金汤匙出生，被他父母以称呼他们爸爸的名字Pop或Poppy来称呼他，耶鲁大学优等生协会的成员，传闻从没自己买过一夸脱牛奶。作为北方来的公子哥，本来想跟随父亲进入华尔街，但后来还是自己去德州做了石油买卖，再到进入政坛，他一直都不普通。虽然当上总统后大家都知道了他最爱吃猪皮，以及禁止白宫给他做小时候妈妈逼他吃到大的西兰花。
词句精析&小梗解析：
①People often supposed him out of the loop in other ways, too: a boy born to privilege, called “Poppy” by his parents, a product of Phillips Academy and Phi Beta Kappa at Yale, who was (falsely) rumoured in the 1992 campaign never to have passed a quart of milk through a supermarket scanner.
out of the loop：上一段的这个短语在此再次出现，与上文不同的是，这里表示 “与众不同” 的意思，从冒号后面的 a boy born to privilege 开始，到句③之前，都是在描述Bush这个人是怎样的out of the loop，句③的set him firmly apart from the average Joe则是与out of the loop形成对应。
整个段落的结构是：他从小不是个平凡小孩-解释他怎么不平凡-这就是他与平凡人的区别。
a product of Phillips Academy and Phi Beta Kappa at Yale.菲利普斯高中和耶鲁优等生协会的成员，这两所学校都是全美学费和学术名列前茅的学校，前面没有使用graduate from而是用了a product of，有“出品于”的优越感。
a boy born to privilege, called “Poppy” by his parent：一直有点好奇为什么布什的小名Poppy在好几个讣告中都出现了，后来经过一番搜索，才明白这是在布什妈妈用自己爸爸的称呼“Pop（老爸）”来叫自己的儿子。这个奇葩的叫法也是他out of the loop的特征之一。
②He was a Yankee aristocrat who could have followed his Daddy on to Wall Street but instead became a Texas oil man (the only Texan, growled Speaker Jim Wright, who ate lobster with his chilli), and went on to represent the toniest bit of Houston in Congress.
Yankee aristocrat：北方贵族。Yankee这个词来源于南北战争时对北方士兵的称呼，后来被用于南方人称呼北方人“北方佬”，后来又被英国人用来统一称呼“美国佬”。因为老布什出生于位于美国东北的马萨诸塞州，后来移居民风彪悍的南方德州，所以会获得这样戏谑的称呼。
growl：怒气冲冲地低声说，这个词来自于动物的低吼，引申意形容人，后面可以跟at sb.
（the only Texan, growled Speaker Jim Wright, who ate lobster with his chilli）在本段前面说到布什进军了石油业，还搬到了德克萨斯州，这个句子补充说：（真正的德克萨斯人，发言人Jim Wright低吼着说，是吃龙虾要蘸辣椒酱的）。还查到一些Texan的有趣定义，请看下图。
toniest：这个词的原型tony是指stylish，时髦的（看来理发店的 Tony 老师是有出处的），本段中went on to represent the toniest bit of Houston in Congress可以理解为布什代表了休斯敦议会最时髦的部分。
③All this, as well as the tennis-playing summers in Kennebunkport, seemed to set him firmly apart from the average Joe, though he let it be known as president that his favourite food was pork rinds, and banned from the White House the broccoli his mother had made him eat.
average Joe：一般人/中等阶级的人 wiki释义如下：
背景信息：
布什与西兰花：
1990年，身为总统的老布什接受了纽约时报的访问，文章题目就叫做：I'm president,so no more broccoli！
文章写道：''I do not like broccoli,'' the President said, responding to queries about a broccoli ban he has imposed aboard Air Force One, first reported this week in U.S. News and World Report. ''And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli!''
隔着屏幕就可以感受到布什对西兰花的怨念了。
Paragraph 4👇
① With the label “preppy”came the tag “wimp”, which infuriated him far more. ② He had had a brave war, enlisting at 18 and completing one mission with his aircraft on fire. ③ Later he did not hesitate to send 27,000 troops to dislodge Manuel Noriega from Panama, or to launch a ground war against Saddam Hussein in 1991—declaring victory and pulling out in 100 hours, which pushed his approval ratings to 89%. ④ He was not above nasty attack ads in the 1988 campaign, excoriating Michael Dukakis for giving furlough to a black rapist. ⑤ But Nixon, who hated Ivy Leaguers, seemed to think him soft; Reagan said he lacked spunk; and his talk of “Big Mo” and “kicking ass” on the campaign trail often ended in retreat. ⑥ In 1990 a dust-up with Congress forced him to capitulate on his steely election pledge of “No new taxes”. ⑦ This, as well as the brief recession of 1990-91, cost him the 1992 election, though even as voters went to the polls the figures for growth were ticking upwards, ushering in almost a decade of prosperity.
段落解析：
上文说布什家庭条件优渥，被贴上了“preppy（学院派）”的标签，这段说他被贴上了“wimp（懦夫）”的标签，这更令他愤怒。但是他并不是懦夫。②③④分别罗列了他做飞行员冒死执行任务；派军驱逐巴拿马领导人；召集国际军队跟萨达姆开战并大获全胜；在1988年竞选中攻击对手。⑤句话锋一转，说尼克松和里根都认为他软弱、缺乏勇气、而且常常退缩。⑥⑦两句说他食言征税，加之当时经济情况不好，让他没能连任。
词句精析：
① With the label “preppy”came the tag “wimp”, which infuriated him far more.
With...came... 倒装句，句式非常好用，可以在写作中去应用，比如：With the howling wind, came the pouring rain. 狂风大作，大雨倾盆而下。
这句里的 label, tag, 还有 sticker 都有标签的意思，但略有不同。
截图来自Quora
△ label: 指上面标明货主姓名、地址及货物名称、重量、尺寸等内容的标签。 tag: 多指临时系上的标签sticker：跟tag差不多，但是是粘上去的那种标签。
△ 另外 label 和 tag都可以做动词，把...贴上...的标签
○ He was labeled as a traitor by his former colleagues. 他被以前的同事称为叛徒。
○ The country no longer wanted to be tagged as a Third World nation. 这个国家不愿再被称为第三世界国家。
③ Later he did not hesitate to send 27,000 troops to dislodge Manuel Noriega from Panama, or to launch a ground war against Saddam Hussein in 1991—declaring victory and pulling out in 100 hours, which pushed his approval ratings to 89%.
launch ，这个小词很好用，这个词我最先接触到的意思是“发射”，比如发射火箭 launch a missile；但实际上我们还可以launch很多东西，比如原文里面的 launch a war 表示 “发动，发起（有组织的活动）”；另外“上市，发行”也可以用这个词，比如 Apple launched iPhone X back in September.
rating V.S. rate：这两个词长得很像，意思也颇让人困惑。比如“支持率(approval ratings)”、“离婚率”在我们中文里面都是“率”，但是前者用是rating而后者是rate。让我们来看一下英文的释义。
△ rating=a measurement of how good, popular, important, etc. sb/sth is, especially inrelation to other people or things 是关于人或事物的一种评判（有多好，有多流行，有多重要等）
△ rate= a measurement of the number of times sth happens or exists during a particular period 在一段时间内，一件事情发生的次数
④ He was not above nasty attack ads in the 1988 campaign, excoriating Michael Dukakis for giving furlough to a black rapist.
这句对介词 above 的用法很巧妙。above 表示 “不至于，不屑于（做某事）”，所以 not above，就是“不会不屑于”，言外之意就是 “（如果时机合适的话）也会（做某事）”，后面往往会跟上一句“ when it suits XXX ”。举两个例子：
○ She's not above lying when it suits her. 在适当的时机她也是会撒谎的。
○ Lisa is not above flirting with the boss when it suits her. 如果真有需要她也不介意跟老板打情骂俏。
回到原文，意思就很清楚，老布什在适当的时机，也不会不变通，也会用一些小手段，比如抓住竞选对手的小辫子进行猛烈攻击（详见背景知识④）。
⑤ But Nixon, who hated Ivy Leaguers, seemed to think him soft; Reagan said he lacked spunk; and his talk of “Big Mo” and “kicking ass” on the campaign trail often ended in retreat.
soft/ lack spunk (勇气)，形容词是 spunky；注意这里lack是及物动词。lack是名词和动词，不是形容词。所以，不能说He is lack of spunk.
retreat，这里是“（由于批评或环境过于恶劣）改变主意，退缩”之意。
○ The Senator made an embarrassingretreatfrom his earlier position. 这位参议员尴尬地改变了早先的立场。
⑥ In 1990 a dust-up with Congress forced him to capitulate on his steely election pledge of “No new taxes”.
capitulate，屈服，屈从，跟 give in，yield 同义；注意这里的介词是on，是屈服之后，放弃了on后面的东西。如果是“屈服于...”后面应该用 to：
△ In less than two hours Cohencapitulated to virtually every demand. 还不到两个小时,科恩就屈服了,接受了几乎一切要求。
⑦ This, as well as the brief recession of 1990-91, cost him the 1992 election, though even as voters went to the polls the figures for growth were ticking upwards, ushering in almost a decade of prosperity.
cost 这个小词用得十分精妙。“布什的食言，加之当时经济情况不好” cost him “1992年的竞选”。也就是说，造成了他92年竞选失败。如果我写的话，可能会写成“ made him lost the 1992 election”，或者“ are the reason why he lost the1992 election”，感受一下cost这个小词多么简洁有力且生动！
△ That one mistake almost cost him his life. 那个小差错差点让他丧了命。
tick 这个小词也用得很好，它本意是“（钟表等）发出滴答的声音” ，这里非常形象得表现出经济在一点一点地回升。
usher sth ↔ in “开创，开启” 比较正式的一种用法。
△ "I believe we need tousher ina new era of responsibility," Obama added.
背景信息：
句② 18岁的布什成为了全美最年轻的海军飞行员。他第一次与死亡擦肩而过，发生在20岁的夏天。当时，他驾驶的鱼雷轰炸机在日本一处军事基地附近执行任务，突然被炮弹击中。冒着生命危险，布什驾机在呛人烟雾中继续飞行，还镇定地投下几枚炸弹摧毁日军军事储备点。浸泡在海水中的布什，用嘴人工充气救生筏，并不断靠双手划水以抵抗朝日军海岛翻腾的浪潮。这时，一艘311英尺的潜艇，从海水深处升起将布什救下。
1944年，布什被潜艇营救
句③ 这句话说了两件事：
△ 1989年12月20日，为保住在巴拿马运河的既得利益，布什下令27000名美军展开对巴拿马代号“正义事业（Operation Just Cause）”的军事行动，推翻了当时在巴拿马并不受欢迎的领导人曼纽尔·诺列加（Manuel Noriega，美国指控他贩毒），并选举产生了新的亲美政权。
△ 1990年，萨达姆悍然对邻国科威特动武，并迅速占领了这个国家，宣布其为伊拉克第19个省，可以说是对二战后世界秩序的公然挑战，遭到了国际社会的一致谴责。在此情况下，取得联合国授权后，布什于1991年初对萨达姆宣战，主要通过42天的空袭，以及伊拉克、科威特和沙特阿拉伯边境地区大约100小时的地面战，以极其小的代价取得决定性胜利，打得萨达姆不得不接受联合国决议，从科威特撤军，战争结束。这让布什总统的支持率达到新高89%。
句④ 杜卡基斯于1987年后半年宣布竞选总统，最后的对手是时任副总统的老布什，结果老布什挟着里根的高昂人气而大获全胜。竞选期间，参选人通过电视竞选广告，大肆攻击对方。达卡克斯也受到了来自布什阵营的攻击。布什的竞选班子把达卡克斯担任州长期间的业绩做为攻击目标，竞选广告里说：“在犯罪问题上，布什和达卡克斯不一样。布什支持对一级谋杀犯处以死刑。达卡克斯对犯罪分子过于心慈手软。达卡克斯不仅反对将一级谋杀犯处死，而且还让他们享受周末出狱的待遇，其中包括在一次抢劫中在一个男孩身上连捅19刀将其致死的威利.霍顿（Willie Horton）。霍顿被判终身监禁，但却先后十次获准，周末出狱度假，结果逃跑，绑架了一对情侣，捅死了男的，并多次强奸其女友。监狱周末度假券--这就是达卡克斯对犯罪的态度。”
句⑤ 什么是“Big Mo”？即“Big Momentum”，“大势所趋，大势头”。这个概念最初适用于20世纪60年代在美国的体育赛事，因为势头似乎对球队的表现有影响。人们说成功的团队有“势头”。从那时起，“势头”就成为了一个推动因素，例如在政治运动，社会动荡，经济周期和金融泡沫期间。
句⑥ 布什最令人难忘的一句话(sound bite)很可能是他在1988年共和党全国代表大会上作为副总统所作的承诺:“读我的嘴，没有新税。Read my lips: No new taxes）”。但1990年-1991年的美国正经历二战以来持续时间最长的经济衰退，在民主党控制的国会上，为了减轻赤字，老布什不得不食言。
Paragraph 5👇
① What he lacked, as he more or less admitted, was “the vision thing”. ② Ideologically, he was flexible: moderate sometimes (indeed, in one Texas race, left of the Democrat), while at others he would traipse round pandering to conservatives, as George Will cruelly put it, with a thin tinny “arf”, like a lap-dog. ③ On domestic policy, as president, he inclined to the hard right (prayer in schools, gun rights, anti-abortion), while also loosening immigration policy and expanding the rights of the disabled. ④ Wearing his mild Episcopalian hat, he mentioned a thousand points of light, a kinder, gentler America, and a new breeze blowing away the leaves of an old tree. ⑤ It was all as vague as it was all deeply hoped for.
段落解析：
上文说他92年落选，这段接着说，他自己也或多或少的承认，自己缺乏“the vision thing”所谓的“远见卓识”。②句说他确实太过中庸，会去迎合保守派，甚至曾一度作为民主党参加过德州的竞选。③句说他在内政方面，是极右翼，放宽移民政策，扩大残疾人权利。④句说他描绘的愿景太模糊了，印证了第一句，他缺乏“the vision thing”。
词句精析：
② Ideologically, he was flexible: moderate sometimes (indeed, in one Texas race, left of the Democrat), while at others he would traipse round pandering to conservatives, as George Will cruelly put it, with a thin tinny “arf”, like a lap-dog.
pander to sth/sb 迎合，奉承
△ The stand-up comedian is just pandering to vulgar tastes.
arf 汪汪叫动物的叫声
lap-dog 走狗，同义词 poodle，stooge，还有一个好玩儿的 minion，对就是小黄人那个词哈哈
minions
③ On domestic policy, as president, he inclined to the hard right (prayer in schools, gun rights, anti-abortion), while also loosening immigration policy and expanding the rights of the disabled.
incline to/towards sth 倾向于
△ I incline to another point of view. 我倾向另一观点。
④ Wearing his mild Episcopalian hat, he mentioned a thousand points of light, a kinder, gentler America, and a new breeze blowing away the leaves of an old tree.
布什带着美国圣公会温和的帽子，提到“千点之光”，以及一股新的微风吹走老树的叶子。
这句描述得很美，然后下一句就打破了幻想。
⑤ It was all as vague as it was all deeply hoped for.
是不是也觉得上文描述的虽然很美，但是也很模糊（vague）？所以这句就说了：这个愿景相当模糊，布什对这愿景的期待有多深，它就有多模糊。（当然翻译不能这样生硬的翻，这里只是说明一下这句英文这样表达是什么意思。）
背景信息：
句① 关于 the vision thing
“The vision thing” is a commonly acknowledged reason why George HW Bush lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton. Clinton articulated a more compelling vision than Bush and subsequently won the 1992 Presidential election. Likewise, Barack Obama’s victory over John McCain in 2008 was partially due to his ability to articulate a more appealing future for America.
92年布什在竞选中输给克林顿的原因之一就是缺乏“the vision thing”，与其说缺乏远见卓识，倒不如说缺乏描绘愿景的能力。克林顿能更清晰地（articulate）描绘引人入胜（compelling）的愿景。奥巴马在竞选中获胜也有很大一部分是出于同样的原因。
句② George Will 是谁？
乔治弗雷德里克威尔是美国政治评论员。乔治威尔为“华盛顿邮报”撰写定期专栏，并为NBC新闻和MSNBC提供评论。 1986年，“华尔街日报”称他为“可能是美国最强大的记者”，与沃尔特·李普曼联盟。他的众多奖项包括1977年普利策奖评论奖。
句④ Episcopalian 美国圣公会
美国圣公会是普世圣公宗在美国、洪都拉斯、台湾、哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔、海地、多米尼加共和国、委内瑞拉、英属维尔京群岛和部分欧洲地区的一个教区，教会体制采主教制。总部位于纽约市。 美国圣公会保持了圣公会的神学认识和宗教传统，以圣经、基督传统、理性共同作为圣公会的信仰根基，自我描述为是“遵循大公教会传统的新教派别”。
⑤关于 a thousand points of light 千点之光/闪耀繁星
是老布什参加竞选演讲时的一句口号，最初是布什提到 a thousand points of light是在他的总统提名演讲中，是用来激励美国的俱乐部和志愿者组织的一句话 （likened America's clubs and volunteer organizations to "a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky."）在演讲结尾，他说他会“让美国继续前行，永远前行--为了更伟大的美国，为了不朽的美国梦和千点之光。”（Bush reprised the phrase near the end of his speech, affirming that he would "keep America moving forward, always forward—for a better America, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand points of light." 后来布什成了了一个旨在提倡志愿者服务的非盈利机构以a thousand points of light命名。
今年7月，特朗普讽刺了老布什激励志愿者的“千点之光”口号，他说：“‘千点之光’是什么？我知道一件事，让美国再次伟大，这个我们都能理解。但‘千点之光’我实在无法明白这到底是什么。”
小布什的悼词中也提到“他知道，为别人服务，也能丰富自我的灵魂。对我们而言，父亲是“闪耀繁星”中最亮的那一颗：To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.
Paragraph 6👇
① His forte, and first love, was foreign policy. ② He had been ambassador to the UN for Nixon, an envoy to China for Gerald Ford (he and Barbara riding round delightedly on bicycles) and head of the CIA, besides, as vice-president, a follower-of-the-hearse at dozens of state funerals. ③ Instinctively, he thought in terms of global power games; fortuitously, his time as president coincided with the end of the cold war, a heady and fascinating moment. ④ With Mikhail Gorbachev he struck up an easy working friendship, and in 1991, in the wake of the Gulf war, he even had a moment of comprehensive vision: a new world order, based not on force but on the rule of law, which America would strongly lead.
段落解析：
这一段主要介绍老布什总统在外交政策方面的长袖善舞，既是他的强项(forte)，又是他的初心(first love)。 后面的②句介绍他在外交史上的身份、角色，③④句简单说明他在任总统期间的重大外交事件，点出他作为一个时代的过渡性人物的恰逢其时。
词句精析：
① His forte, and first love, was foreign policy.
这句统领整段的中心句着实漂亮，三个断句中的中心词 forte, first love, foreign policy 押头韵，读起来琅琅上口。
forte，在音乐方面表示 “强音”，最常见的意思是指 “某人的专长/长处”，可同义替换strong point，反义词可以是我们在 “每日一词” 里学过的 soft spot. 比如说，写作是我的强项，不过唱歌却是我的软肋，就可以这么表达：Writing is my forte, although music is my soft spot.
② He had been ambassador to the UN for Nixon, an envoy to China for Gerald Ford(he and Barbara riding round delightedly on bicycles) and head of the CIA, besides, as vice-president, a follower-of-the-hearse at dozens of state funerals.
这句介绍老布什总统令人瞩目的履历，表达足够简洁精炼，用 ambassador 和 envoy 这两个异词同义分别表示联合国大使和驻北京联络处主任的身份，且用 for+总统 的名字点出任职的年间，一目了然有新意的同时还不拖沓，不过这种用法受限于你所指代的信息得是广为人知的才能让人心领神会。
③ Instinctively, he thought in terms of global power games; fortuitously, his time as president coincided with the end of the cold war, a heady and fascinating moment.
这句话用副词 instinctively 和 fortuitously 分别引导两个句子，说明老布什总统执政的恰逢其时(1989-1992)。他内在本能地对全球权力博弈（外交事务）的长袖善舞，又恰逢世界格局中，冷战时代的结束，各国都处于百废待兴，跃跃欲试的兴奋中。这里体现出他作为一个时代的关键性和过渡期人物的形象。
fortuitously，作为副词，常见于书面语中，表示 “意外地，幸运地”，happening by chance, especially in a way that has a good result，与 fortunately, luckily 同义。与句子后面的 coincide with 形成对应，进一步说明他出任总统的恰逢其时。
heady，形容词，表示 “饮料易使人醉的；气氛/经历等令人兴奋的”，very exciting in a way that makes you feel as if you can do anything you want to；比如我们想表达 “他们被接二连三的成功冲昏了头”，就可以这么说：They were heady with one success after another.
fascinating，形容词，表示 “引人入胜的”，extremely interesting.
④ With Mikhail Gorbachev he struck up an easy working friendship, and in 1991, in the wake of the Gulf war, he even had a moment of comprehensive vision: a new world order, based not on force but on the rule of law, which America would strongly lead.
这句继续介绍当时的世界格局&老布什总统的外交策略：和前苏联领导人戈尔巴乔夫(Mikhail Gorbachev) 的建交，随后的海湾战争(the Gulf war)，老布什总统的“世界新秩序” 和 “超越遏制战略” 的理论，使得美国爆发出新一轮强大的政治经济攻势
strike up a friendship/relationship/conversation etc，固定短语搭配，表示 “开始建立友谊/关系，开始交谈”，to start to become friendly with someone, to start talking to them, etc；比如想表达某人没有勇气向坐在角落边的女生搭讪，就可以这么说：I dare you to strike up a conversation with the girl sitting in the corner.
in the wake of，表示 “紧随而来，作为…结果”，比如 “干旱之后必然是饥荒” 可以这么说：Famine followed in the wake of the drought.
Paragraph 7👇
① Such grandiloquence, like eloquence, was rare in him. ② He was schooled in modesty, fond of the small behind-the-scenes gesture rather than the large public show. ③ He belonged to a generation that had no patience for today’s blowhards who, putting self before nation, always push themselves forward. ④ But when the times and events demanded he could, perhaps to his own surprise, find the right words and walk confidently ahead.
段落解析：
这一段的①句是对上一段的承接，后面的②③④句则是对文章前面内容的回顾与呼应。
词句精析：
① Such grandiloquence, like eloquence, was rare in him.
这里的 grandiloquence 承接上一段老布什总统提出 “世界新秩序” 和 “超越遏制战略” 理论，旨在强调美国在冷战结束后开始进入超级大国的发展时期，像这样的豪言壮语在他的性格里是不多见的。
grandiloquence/grænˈdɪləkwəns/，名词，表示 “豪言壮语，夸张之言”，可以分成grand +词根 loqu (说话) + ence 来记忆；同时还可以加上后面表示 “雄辩、口才、修辞” 的名词 eloquence 一起记忆。
② He was schooled in modesty, fond of the small behind-the-scenes gesture rather than the large public show.
这句是对①句中的 eloquence 进行解释，同时也是对文章前面内容的回顾，再次强调老布什总统性格中的谦逊，对应本文第二段中母亲对他的教导：don’t walk ahead。所以比起公开露脸，他更喜欢退后一步，当个幕后人员，比如前文中提到的在里根总统任期的他，从未批评里根或抢其风头(never criticised or upstaged him)。
这里的 small behind-the-scenes gesture 和 large public show 是一对妥妥的对比。
③ He belonged to a generation that had no patience for today’s blowhards who, putting self before nation, always push themselves forward.
这句说的是老布什总统的那个时代，并不推崇当今动辄高谈阔论，将个人利益置于国家利益之上，夸夸其谈的人(个人感觉这里有在隐射某现任总统的意味呀~)。只不过倘若时势需要，他也可以义无反顾的站出来 “发声”，比如前文公开要求尼克松总统辞职的举措。同样的，最后的 walk confidently ahead 也是对前文母亲的教导 don’t walk ahead 的再次呼应。由此可见作者行文的思虑周全。
blowhard，非正式文体中表示 “自吹自擂，高谈阔论的人”，someone who talks too much and has very strong opinions；可以联想记忆windbag 这个表示 “夸夸其谈的话痨子”，someone who talks too much.
have no/little patience for sb, 这个句式表达可以学起来，比如想表达 “我受不了浪费时间的人”，就可以这么说：I have no patience for time-wasters.
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