芭芭拉·布什(Barbara Bush)于周二晚間去世,享年92歲。作為一位總統(tǒng)的妻子,她備受人們的敬仰。而作為另一位總統(tǒng)的母親,她給予自己的兒子堅定的支持。
Jim McGrath, a family spokesman, announced the death in a statement posted to Twitter..
布什家族發(fā)言人吉姆·麥格拉斯(Jim McGrath)在Twitter上發(fā)表的聲明中宣布了她去世的消息。
On the office of her husband, former President George Bush, issued a statement saying that after consulting her family and her doctors, Mrs. Bush had “decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.”
她的丈夫、前總統(tǒng)喬治·布什(George Bush)的辦公室此前發(fā)表聲明,稱在同家人和醫(yī)生商議后,芭芭拉·布什“決定不再尋求更多的治療,而是把重點放在舒適護(hù)理上”。
The Bushes had celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in January, making them the longest-married couple in presidential history.
布什夫婦在1月慶祝了他們結(jié)婚73周年紀(jì)念日。他們是有史以來結(jié)婚時間最長的美國總統(tǒng)夫婦。
Mrs. Bush had been hospitalized with pneumonia in December 2013. She underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer in 2008 and had heart surgery four months later.
2013年12月,芭芭拉·布什因肺炎住院。她在2008年因潰瘍穿孔接受了手術(shù),四個月后又做了心臟手術(shù)。
As the wife of the 41st president and the mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush, Mrs. Bush was only the second woman in American history to see a son of hers follow his father to the White House. (Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, was the first.)
作為第41任總統(tǒng)的妻子和第43任總統(tǒng)喬治·W·布什(George W. Bush)的母親,芭芭拉·布什是美國歷史上第二個見證了兒子在父親之后入主白宮的女性。(約翰·亞當(dāng)斯[John Adams]的妻子、約翰·昆西·亞當(dāng)斯[John Quincy Adams]的母親阿比蓋爾·亞當(dāng)斯[Abigail Adams]是第一個。)
Another son, Jeb, the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
她的另一個兒子杰布(Jeb)在1999至2007年期間擔(dān)任佛羅里達(dá)州州長,2016年曾競選共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人提名,但以失敗告終。
During that campaign, he was repeatedly derided in personal terms by the eventual nominee and now president, Donald J. Trump, prompting Mrs. Bush, who was never shy about expressing her views, to lash back, suggesting in television interviews that Mr. Trump was a misogynist and a hatemonger.
在那場競選期間,最終提名人選、現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)唐納德·J·特朗普多次對杰布·布什進(jìn)行人身攻擊。這促使從來不羞于表達(dá)自己觀點的芭芭拉·布什進(jìn)行反擊,在電視采訪中表示特朗普厭惡女性,煽動仇恨。
“He’s said terrible things about women, terrible things about the military,” Mrs. Bush told CNN. “I don’t understand why people are for him.”
“他對女性、對軍隊有很多可怕的言論,”芭芭拉·布什對CNN說。“我不明白人們?yōu)槭裁粗С炙?rdquo;
Dedicated to her family and largely indifferent to glamour, Mrs. Bush played down her role in her husband’s political success. But she was a shrewd and valuable ally, becoming a sought-after speaker in at least four national campaigns: in 1980, when Mr. Bush was chosen to be Ronald Reagan’s running mate; in 1984, when the two ran for re-election; in 1988, when Mr. Bush campaigned for president; and in 1992, when he sought re-election.
芭芭拉·布什專注于家庭,甚少在意個人的風(fēng)光。她淡化了自己在丈夫的政治成功中所起的作用。但她是一個敏銳、有價值的盟友,在至少四場全國競選中成為廣受歡迎的演講者:1980年布什被選為羅納德·里根(Ronald Reagan)的競選搭檔、1984年兩人謀求連任、1988年布什競選總統(tǒng)和1992年布什謀求連任。
She stepped into another presidential campaign in 2000, that of her son George, then the governor of Texas. She appeared at fund-raisers and met voters in New Hampshire and other states on his behalf as he rolled to the Republican presidential nomination.
2000年,她加入了另一場總統(tǒng)競選,這次是她的兒子、時任德克薩斯州州長喬治。在他爭取共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人提名期間,她出席籌款活動,并代表他在新罕布什爾和其他州和選民見面。
She was clearly a political asset. A 1999 poll found that 63 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of her and that only 3 percent had an unfavorable one.
她顯然是一筆政治資產(chǎn)。1999年的一項民意調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn),63%的美國人對她有好感,只有3%的人對她有意見。
Mrs. Bush enjoyed a favorable public image throughout her years as first lady. In one respect she benefited from comparisons with her predecessor, Nancy Reagan, whom many perceived, rightly or wrongly, as remote, icy and overly style-conscious.
在擔(dān)任第一夫人期間,芭芭拉·布什一直保持著良好的公眾形象。一方面,她受益于與她的前任南希·里根(Nancy Reagan)的對比。不管是否符合實情,很多人的確認(rèn)為后者疏遠(yuǎn)、冷淡且過于注重時尚。
By contrast, Mrs. Bush was regarded as unpretentious, a woman who could wear fake pearls, enjoy takeout tacos, walk the dog in her bathrobe and make fun of herself. Perhaps adding to her appeal, she conformed to the popular view of an old-fashioned grandmother, with her white hair and matronly figure; though she was almost a year younger than her husband, many thought she looked much older.
相比之下,芭芭拉·布什被認(rèn)為樸實無華,是一個可以戴假珍珠飾品、喜歡吃墨西哥卷餅外賣、穿著浴袍遛狗和拿自己開玩笑的人。她的白發(fā)和莊重儀表,符合民眾對老派祖母的想象,這或許增加了她的魅力。盡管她比丈夫小將近一歲,但很多人認(rèn)為她看上去比她丈夫大得多。
The family returned to Washington in 1973 when Mr. Bush was appointed chairman of the Republican National Committee, a position he occupied during the Watergate crisis. In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford sent him to the People’s Republic of China to lead the United States Liaison Office in Beijing.
1973年,布什被任命為共和黨全國委員會(Republican National Committee)主席,任職期間發(fā)生了水門事件。1974年,杰拉德·R·福特(Gerald R. Ford)總統(tǒng)派他前往中華人民共和國,成為位于北京的美國聯(lián)絡(luò)辦公室(United States Liaison Office)負(fù)責(zé)人。
“Watergate was a terrible experience,” Mrs. Bush told Ms. Radcliffe in 1984. “So to go off to China and learn a whole new culture was beautiful.”
“水門事件是一次可怕的經(jīng)歷,”布什夫人在1984年對自己的傳記作者唐妮·雷德克里夫(Donnie Radcliffe)說。“因此,能去中國了解一種全新的文化是很美好的。”
She particularly liked having her husband to herself; their children had not accompanied them. The two cycled around Beijing, studied Chinese and learned tai chi.
讓她尤其高興的是可以和丈夫獨處;他們的孩子沒有跟去。兩人在北京騎車、學(xué)中文、打太極。
In “Barbara Bush: A Memoir,” published in 1994, Mrs. Bush acknowledged that she suffered from depression in 1976 after she and her husband had returned from his two-year China posting and he was named director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a post he held for 11 months.
在1994年出版的《芭芭拉·布什回憶錄》中,布什夫人承認(rèn),她在1976年時曾受抑郁癥困擾。那是在她和丈夫從中國任職兩年回國之后,當(dāng)時丈夫被任命為中央情報局局長,并在這一職位上工作了11個月。
She had discussed her depression at a news conference in 1989, saying she believed that the women’s movement had contributed to her illness. “I believe it made me feel inadequate,” she said. “I’m not quite sure how. You were made to feel demeaned a little bit.”
她曾在1989年的一次新聞發(fā)布會上討論過自己的抑郁癥,表示她的病和女權(quán)運動有關(guān)。“我認(rèn)為這讓我感到了不足,”她說。“我也不太確定是怎么回事。你就是有點被羞辱的感覺。”
Mrs. Bush published another memoir, “Reflections: Life After the White House,” in 2004.
2004年,布什夫人出版了另一本回憶錄《反思——白宮之后的生活》。
A lifelong volunteer for charitable causes, Mrs. Bush raised money for the United Negro College Fund while in New Haven, started a thrift shop in Midland and volunteered in nursing homes and hospitals in Houston, Washington and New York. Her son Neil’s dyslexia led to her interest in fighting illiteracy.
在紐黑文時,終身致力于慈善事業(yè)的布什夫人曾為聯(lián)合黑人學(xué)院基金會(United Negro College Fund)募捐,在米德蘭開設(shè)了一家慈善二手物品商店,還在休斯頓、華盛頓和紐約的療養(yǎng)院作過志愿者。兒子尼爾的閱讀障礙癥使她對掃盲產(chǎn)生了興趣。
In her eight years as the wife of the vice president, she attended more than 500 events related to literacy, and after she became first lady she started the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The profits from her book “C. Fred’s Story: A Dog’s Life” (1984), a wry look at Washington life as seen by her dog, and from a follow-up based on another family dog, “Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush” (1990), went to literacy causes.
在她身為副總統(tǒng)夫人的八年間,她參與了超過500場與掃盲有關(guān)的活動。在成為第一夫人后,她創(chuàng)立了“芭芭拉·布什家庭掃盲基金會”(Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy)。她的作品《C·弗萊德的故事——一只狗的生活》(C. Fred’s Story: A Dog’s Life,1984)以自家寵物狗的視角冷眼旁觀了華盛頓生活,又以家里另一只狗的視角寫就了一本續(xù)集《米莉的書——對芭芭拉·布什的口述》(Millie’s Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush,1990)。兩本作品的獲利均被用于掃盲事業(yè)。
Mrs. Bush hoped her contributions to those causes would form a large part of her legacy.
布什夫人希望她在這些事業(yè)上的貢獻(xiàn)是她留下遺產(chǎn)的一大部分。
“I want to be known as a wife, a mother, a grandmother,” she wrote in 1988. “That’s what I am. And I’d like to be known as someone who really cared about people and worked very, very hard to make America more literate.”
“我希望以一個妻子、一個母親、一個祖母的身份為人所知,”她在1988年寫道。“這就是我。我希望人們心目中的我是一個關(guān)心別人的人,曾經(jīng)非常、非常努力地想讓更多美國人能讀書寫字。”