1、,1 EARLY in Steve McQueens “12 Years A Slave”, a Louisiana plantation-owner returns home with the two slaves hes just bought, a man and a woman. Waiting on the veranda, his genteel wife notices that the woman is crying, and asks why. “Separated from her children,” sighs the husband, not unsympatheti
2、cally. “Cant be helped.” 在史蒂夫麦奎因执导的电影为奴十二年开头，有位路易斯安那的种植园主带着他刚买的一男一女两个黑奴回家。他温文尔雅的妻子等在阳台上，看到那个女奴在哭泣，就问为什么。“她和孩子分开了，”做丈夫的叹了口气，不无同情地说，“没办法。” Those last three words are the key to Mr McQueens devastating film, in that they, like so many other sequences, present slavery as the norm: long-established, lega
3、l and legitimized by scripture. To its mid-19th-century characters, theres nothing unusual about keeping human beings asproperty, and no way that the institution can be changed. In the preceding scene, a jovial slave-trader (Paul Giamatti) is showing customers his wares. “This is a nigger of conside
4、rable talent,” he remarks, but theres nothing in the way the line is spoken to suggest that anyone in the shop might be shocked. The trader sees his terrified, naked merchandise as no different from any other commodity. 这三个字成为麦奎因这部令人震惊的电影的关键词，像许多镜头表现的那样，人们把奴隶制视为常态：由来已久、合乎法律、天经地义。对于本片19世纪中期的角色来说，把人作为
5、财产是很平常的事，没有办法改变这种制度。在前面的场景中，有个快活的奴隶贩子（保罗吉亚玛提饰演）向主顾展示他的货品。他说，“这是个很有才华的黑鬼，”可是这里没有台词暗示店里的人可能受到惊吓。在奴隶贩子看来，赤裸受惊的黑奴和其他货色没什么不同。 In another astonishing scene, the hero, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, pictured), is hanged from a tree by a noose. For an agonizingly long time, he gulps for air, his feet on
6、ly just touching the muddy ground. But Mr. McQueen doesnt ratchet up the tension with dramatic music or exploitative close-ups. He simply lets the ordeal carry on and on, while in the background, servants go about their business and children play. Its not until the film is almost over that a Canadia
7、n laborer articulates the notion that slavery might be wrong. In the meantime, even Northup accepts that its a fact of life. His only complaint is that it shouldnt be a fact of his life.,在另一幕惊人的场景中，主人公所罗门诺瑟普（切瓦特埃加福特饰演，如图）被绞索吊在树上。在令人痛苦的漫长折磨中，他大口喘着粗气，脚尖刚刚碰到泥泞的地面。但是麦奎因并没有用激动人心的音乐或突出的特写镜头加剧紧张的气氛。他只是让这种残
8、酷的折磨继续下去，在镜头的背景中，仆人干着自己的活儿，孩子们嬉戏玩耍。这种情形持续到影片即将结束，加拿大工人阐述奴隶制可能是错误的概念。与此同时，就连诺瑟普都认为，这是生活的现实。他唯一的抱怨是，这不该是他生活的现实。 Northup, upon whose memoir the film is based, begins the narrative as a free man. In 1841, hes living as a respected, middle-class violinist with his wife and two children in Saratoga, New Y
9、ork. But after an elegant evenings dining in Washington DC, he is kidnapped. He wakes to find himself chained up in a cell and informed that hes a “runaway nigger” from Georgia. When he objects, his jailer whips him viciously. Another prisoner then advises him that his only chance of survival is to
10、keep quiet about his true identity. 在这本根据同名回忆录改编的电影中，诺瑟普作为自由人开始了他的讲述。1841年，他是位受人尊敬的中产阶级小提琴家，与他的妻子和两个孩子生活在纽约州萨拉托加。但是在华盛顿特区享用了精美的晚餐后，他遭到了绑架。当他醒来时，发现自己锁在囚室里，被告知他是从佐治亚州“逃跑的黑鬼”。他竭力反抗，却遭到了狱卒的狠毒鞭打。另一名囚犯劝告他，他唯一生存的机会就是对自己的真实身份保持沉默。 And so Northup is transported beyond the Mason-Dixon Line to a nightmarish ne
11、w existence where he has no choice but to pick cotton, cut sugar cane and bide his time. His first owner treats him kindlybut he still treats him as a possession. His next owner seems to have some cloudy comprehension of the insanity of slavery, but he would rather blot out that comprehension with a
12、lcohol and fevered sadism than face it.,因此，诺瑟普被运往梅森 - 狄克逊线以南，到达噩梦般的新世界，他别无选择，只能摘棉花、砍甘蔗和等待时机。他的第一个主人待他态度和蔼尽管他依然把诺瑟普当做自己的财产。他的下一个主人似乎对奴隶制的残暴有模糊的意识，但是他宁愿用酒精和狂热的虐待来遮掩这种意识，而不是直接面对。 Mr McQueen, the black British director of “Hunger” and “Shame”, and John Ridley, his African-American screenwriter, tell an
13、extraordinary story of endurance, guile and hope, a story which could easily have inspired a conventional Hollywood melodrama. But they avoid all theshortcuts and clichs which a typical, issue-based film might have employed. There are no grandiloquent speeches to hammer home the message, and no capt
14、ions or voice-overs to fill in the historical context. The performances are breathtaking, but theyre subtle and complex enough not to demand the viewers love or hatred. And, as horrific as the gory violence is, Mr McQueen doesnt revel in it.,执导过电影饥饿和羞耻的英国黑人导演麦奎因和非洲裔美国编剧约翰雷利讲述了忍耐、狡猾和希望的精彩故事，这个故事原本很容易
15、落入传统好莱坞通俗剧的俗套。但是他们没有走捷径，也没有效仿典型事件电影可能采用的陈词滥调。本片没有用慷慨激昂的演说向观众传递信息，没有用字幕或配音代替历史背景。演员的演技令人惊叹，但是他们的表演含蓄丰富，并不想唤起观众的爱或仇恨。血腥的暴力镜头极为可怕，但是麦奎因并不沉浸于这种场景。,Despite having won the Turner prize for his work as a video artist, he never lets the cinematography or editing draw attention to itself. Perhaps inspired by
16、 Hannah Arendts concept of “the banality of evil”, he prefers to take the viewer back in time to a period when slavery was mundane; he recreates its day-to-day practicalities and its offhand brutalities; and he leaves it to us to decide how to react. Its unlikely that a moreaccomplished, mature or c
17、rushingly powerful film will be released in 2014. 作为影像艺术家，麦奎因凭借他的作品荣获过特纳奖，然而他从来没有通过电影艺术或镜头剪辑来吸引观众注意本片。也许他的创作灵感来自汉娜阿伦特“平庸之恶”的概念，他更喜欢让观众重新回顾奴隶制平淡无奇的那个年代；他再现了奴隶制的日常实际和残酷暴行；他让我们自己决定如何反应。在2014年即将上映的电影中，不可能有比为奴十二年更出色、更成熟、更打动人心的影片。,2 McDonalds University 麦当劳汉堡大学BRITISH universities can be depressing. The d
18、ons moan about their pay and students worry they will end up frying burgersor jobless. Perhaps they should try visiting McDonalds University in Londons East Finchley. 英国的大学可能正是不景气的时候，教师们抱怨着自己的薪水，学生们担心自己最后只能找到做汉堡包的工作甚至待业在家。或许他们应当去瞧瞧伦敦东芬奇利区的麦当劳大学。,Students are often “rough and ready”, with poor qualif
19、ications and low self-esteem. But ambition-igniting murals display the ladder of opportunity that leads from the grill to the corner office (McDonalds chief executives have always started at the bottom). A map of the world shows the seven counterpart universities. Cabinets display trophies such as t
20、he Sunday Times award for being one of Britains best 25 employers. 麦当劳大学招收的学生也不过“马马虎虎”，而且资历平庸、缺乏自尊，但学校里的壁画张贴着从烤架操作工到办公室高管之间一级级的跃升机会（麦当劳的主管往往都是从基层一点点干起的），让人燃起勃勃雄心。一张世界地图上标注着全球七所麦当劳汉堡大学。橱窗里展示着学校荣获的奖杯奖牌，比如星期日泰晤士报评选的全英最佳二十五名雇主奖等等。,McDonalds is one of Britains biggest trainers. It gets about 1m applicant
21、s a year, accepting only one in 15, and spends 40m ($61m) a year on training. The Finchley campus, opened by Margaret Thatcher, then the local MP, in 1989, is one of the biggest training centers in Europemany of the classrooms are equipped with booths for interpreters. It is part of a bigger system.
22、 An employees web-portal, Our Lounge, provides training as well as details about that days shifts, and allows employees to compete against each other in work-related video games. 麦当劳是全英国最大的培训机构之一。每年麦当劳会收到100万份左右的求职申请，仅录取其中的十五分之一作为雇员，并出资4000万英镑（6100万美元）用于培训。在首相撒切尔夫人和当地国会议员的支持下，位于东芬奇利区的麦当劳汉堡大学于1989年成立
23、。这所学校是全欧洲规模数一数二的的培训中心，许多教室都配有专门的同传间。芬奇利校区仅仅是麦当劳庞大教育体系中的一个分支。麦当劳专属员工门户网站“我们的休息室（Our Lounge）”在提供训练之余，还有每日轮班详情，员工还可以在网站上一起玩一些同工作有关的游戏。,The focus is on practicalities. A retired policeman conducts a fast-paced class on conflict management. He shows a video of a woman driven berserk by the fact that she
24、cannot get chicken McNuggets at breakfast time. He asks the class if they have ever had a difficult customer, and every hand goes up. Students are then urged to share their advice. 培训的重点在于实用性。一名退休的警察在大学内教授冲突管理的快班课程。课上他放映了一段录像，一名女性顾客因早餐时间不能点麦乐鸡而大发雷霆。老师问全班同学是否碰到过这样难缠的顾客，每个同学都举手表示深有体会。之后，老师就要求学生们分享他们的处
25、理建议。Self-esteem and self-management are on the syllabus, too. Steven Coveys “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is a popular text. A year-long apprenticeship program emphasizing English and math leads to a nationally recognized qualification. McDonalds has paid for almost 100 people to get deg
26、rees from Manchester Metropolitan University.,自我尊重、自我管理也在麦当劳汉堡大学的教学大纲之内。史蒂文.科维的“高效人士的七个习惯”是学校的通行教材。长达一年的学徒教学计划着重教授英语、数学，并授予国家认可的学历证书。迄今，麦当劳已经出资帮助近100名学员拿到了在曼彻斯特城市大学的学位。 The company professes to be unfazed by the fact that many alumni will end up working elsewhere. It needs to train people who might
27、be managing a business with a 5m turnover by their mid-20s. It also needs to satisfy the companys appetite,for senior managers, one of whom will eventually control the entire global McDonalds empire. 许多学员在毕业后并不任职于麦当劳，而这家快餐业巨头宣称并不为此感到烦恼。麦当劳需要培养出在二十五六岁就能够掌管500万英磅营业额业务的管理人员。同样，麦当劳汉堡大学更需要培养出一批高级经理储备，以满足公司的发展需要。未来，这些高级经理中终将有人来执掌整个麦当劳餐饮帝国。,
