Lesson 45

In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned.
在民主国家，任何限制新闻自由的努力都会受到理所当然的谴责。
However, this freedom can easily be abused.
然而，这种自由很容易被滥用。
Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events.
关于人的故事往往比政治事件更能吸引公众的注意力。
Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves.
虽然我们可能喜欢阅读关于他人的生活，但我们是否会同样喜欢阅读关于我们自己，是极其令人怀疑的。
Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives.
基于“事实是神圣的”这一论点，记者通过披露个人私生活的细节，可能会给当事人带来难以言表的痛苦。
Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.
报纸具有如此巨大的影响力，以至于它们不仅能给普通人的生活带来重大变化，甚至能推翻政府。
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press.
一个贫困家庭一夜成名的故事，生动地说明了新闻媒体的力量。
The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota.
这家人居住在南达科他州一个拥有23,000名居民的小镇阿伯丁。
As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty.
由于父母有五个孩子，生活是一场对抗贫困的永恒斗争。
They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems.
他们当时正期待着他们的第六个孩子，并且面临着甚至更紧迫的经济问题。
If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed.
如果他们仅仅多生了一个孩子，这个事实就不会引起注意了。
They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity.
他们本会继续与经济困境抗争，并在默默无闻中度过一生。
But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives.
但是他们突然成为了五胞胎（四个女孩和一个男孩）的父母，这一事件彻底改变了他们的生活。
The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.
在这五个孩子出生后的那天，一架载着六十名记者和摄影师的飞机抵达了阿伯丁。
The rise to fame was swift.
成名的过程很迅速。
Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country.
电视摄像机和报纸将消息传遍了全国。
Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs.
报纸和杂志为获得发布故事和照片的独家权利，向这个家庭支付了巨款。
Gifts poured in not only from unknown people, but from baby food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products.
礼物不仅从陌生人那里涌入，而且还来自那些希望宣传自己产品的婴儿食品和肥皂制造商。
The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500,000 home.
这家人居住的那座旧农舍将被一座价值50万美元的新住宅所取代。
Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences.
记者们不断催促采访，所以不得不雇佣律师在新闻发布会上充当该家庭的发言人。
While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery, their parents were paying the price for fame.
当这五个婴儿还静静地躺在医院育婴室的氧气帐里睡觉时，他们的父母正在为名声付出代价。
It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives.
他们再也不可能过上正常的生活了。
They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value.
他们已经成为了商业化的受害者，因为他们的名字已经具有了市场价值。
Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.
这些孩子不再是五个新的家庭成员，而是立即变成了一种商品。