The Editor's Choice

编辑的抉择

A newspaper editor sat at his desk and stared at the flashing cursor on his computer's screen.He didn't know if he should delete the article he had just written or go ahead and publish it. He was scared and filled with doubt.

一位报纸编辑坐在他的办公桌前，盯着电脑屏幕上闪烁的光标。他不知道是应该删除他刚写的那篇文章，还是继续发表。他很害怕，心中充满了疑虑。

The empire had passed a new law stating that citizens could only use the imperial language. The editor disagreed with the law and decided to write an article about why it was wrong. He felt that the new law excluded people of different nationalities and racial and ethnic backgrounds. He had firsthand knowledge of what it feels like not to be fluent in the imperial language because he was from a remote part of the empire.

帝国通过了一项新法律，规定公民只能使用帝国语言。编辑不同意这项法律，决定写一篇关于这部法律错误原因的文章。他认为新的法律排斥不同国籍、种族和民族背景的人。因为他来自帝国的偏远地区，所以他对不能流利使用帝国语言的感受有着第一手的经验。

He felt that the empire shouldn't be monolingual and should be more inclusive. Yet he was afraid that he would get in trouble for having this belief. Many would say that he was not a patriot—that he didn't love the empire. But he didn't wish to undermine the authority of the empire. He wanted to argue that the empire could be stronger if it accepted people of various cultures and beliefs.

他认为帝国不应该只流通一种语言，而应该更具包容性。然而，他担心自己会因为这个信念而惹上麻烦。许多人会说他不是爱国主义者——他不爱帝国。但他并不想削弱帝国的权威。他想要证明的是，如果帝国能接受不同文化和信仰的人，它会变得更强大。

At last, he decided to stop being a coward and to be earnest about how he felt. He wrote the article. It wasn't rude or angry, but rather, very solemn and intelligent. The next day it was published in all the papers.

最后，他决定不再做一个懦夫，而是认真考虑自己的感受。他写了这篇文章。文章措辞既不粗鲁也不气愤填膺，而是非常严肃而理智。第二天，所有的报纸都刊登了这篇文章。

Everyone was impressed by his tact and showed solidarity with his ideas. He expected to be arrested any day, but the police never came. Surprisingly, instead of being prosecuted, he became a hero. The legislature changed the law, and people from many linguistic backgrounds praised him.

每个人都对他的机智印象深刻，并对他的观点表示支持。他原以为有一天会被逮捕的，但警察始终没有来。令人惊讶的是，他非但没有被起诉，反而成了英雄。立法机关修改了法律，来自许多语言背景的人都称赞他。

Never be afraid to be vocal, the editor later wrote. "If you think something is wrong, then stand up for what you believe."

“永远不要害怕直言不讳，”这位编辑后来写道。“如果你认为某件事是错的，那么就坚持你的信仰。”

单词表

coward n. 懦夫

delete v. 删除

firsthand adj.直接的

earnest adj.认真的

ethnic adj. 种族的

exclude v. 排除

fluent adj.流畅的

imperial adj.帝国的

inclusive adj.包含的

legislature n. 立法机关

linguistic adj.语言的

monolingual adj.只用一种语言的人

nationality n. 国籍

patriot n. 爱国者

prosecute v. 检举

racial adj.种族的

solemn adj.庄严的

solidarity n. 团结

tact n.  机智

undermine v. 破坏

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