At?last?I?see?the?genius?of?London’s?Olympics

我終于明白了倫敦奧運會的高明之處

Philip?Stephens
?
菲利普·斯蒂芬斯

Mea culpa. I had thought that the 2012 Olympics were destined to descend into chaos. I now know that the games will be a triumphant celebration of London’s place as an unrivalled global hub. My first error was to underestimate the guile of the organisers; my second to be native about the proper measure of success.
是我的錯。我曾以為2012年倫敦奧運會注定要淪為一場鬧劇?，F在我知道，倫敦奧運會將是一場圓滿成功的慶典，為倫敦無與倫比的全球樞紐地位喝彩。我一是錯在低估了組織者的狡猾程度；二是錯在，對于什么才是衡量成功的合適標準，我的看法有些天真。

The scales fell from my eyes the other day when the London Underground suffered another of its catastrophic breakdowns. Thousands were trapped underground in baking heat. The grand design suddenly came into pin-sharp focus. Some might have thought this latest incident was another reason why sane people should flee the capital before the Olympic hordes arrive. Well, yes. But--and here is the brilliance of Lord Coe and his fellow 2012 panjandrums——that’s the plan.
前幾天，倫敦地鐵又一次發(fā)生嚴重故障，這令我恍然大悟。成千上萬人當時被困地下，悶熱難耐。這個宏偉的設計作品突然間成為眾矢之的。有些人或許認為，最近的這起事故，是說明理智的人為什么應該在奧運人潮到來之前逃離倫敦的另一個原因。好吧，沒錯。然而，計劃就是這樣的——這是科爵士（倫敦奧組委主席塞巴斯蒂安?科——譯者注）和倫敦奧組委其他官老爺們的智慧結晶。

The strategy was put in place many months ago. It began with an announcement that every decent hotel room in London had been pre-booked by the apparatchikes and commercial sponsors who, without a hint of irony, go by the name of the Olympic family. This 40,000-strong elite had also grabbed all the best seats at all the best events.
這一策略在好幾個月錢就開始付諸實施。先是有通知稱，倫敦所有像樣的酒店房間都已被官員和商業(yè)贊助商預訂一空。他們的到來時以奧運大家庭的名義，這里絕對沒有一絲諷刺的一味。這4萬名精英還霸占了所有熱門賽事的最佳座位。

Hot on its heels came a statement that arterial roads will be cordoned off into Zil lanes to allow members of the family to be whisked between hotel suites and stadiums, pools and velodromes. Mere mortals whose vehicles stray into these reserved routes will face draconian penalties.Residents will be fined for parking outside their own properties.
緊接著是一份聲明，稱主干道上將劃出貴賓車道，以便“大家庭”的成員能夠順暢地來往于酒店套房、體育場、游泳池和室內賽車場之間。普通人的車輛鑰匙一不留神駛入這些專用車道，將受到嚴厲的處罰。居民將因為在自家門前停車而受到罰單。

Those with the temerity to challenge the branding rights of sponsors can expect similar punishment. London has been gifted to McDonald's, Coca-Cola and the like for the duration of the games. Wear a T-shirt advertising Pepsi and you could be sent to the slammer.
那些膽敢挑戰(zhàn)贊助商廣告權的人，也等著挨罰吧。在奧運會期間，倫敦已經作為禮物送給了麥當勞和可口可樂這樣的贊助商。身穿百事可樂做廣告的T恤衫也能會讓你遭遇牢獄之災。

David Cameron has played his part. Innocent s may have thought that the chaos at Hearthrow has been no more that another example of the manifest incompetence of Mr Cameron's government. Theresa May, the home secretary, is incapable of managing an immigration queue. What better way to persuade people to stay away.
戴維?卡梅倫也盡了他的一份力。天真的人或許認為，倫敦希思羅機場的混亂只不過是卡梅倫政府能力有限的又一證明。英國內政大臣特雷莎?梅連入境檢查處的長隊都應付不了。還有什么說服人們遠離倫敦的更好方法嗎？

Every lull in the build-up to July's opening ceremony has been carefully filled with bad news. Boris Johnson, newly re-elected as mayor of London, has publish guidance for those who might want to move around the city during the games.In summary, it says they should walk,get on a bike or stay at home. Passengers at every big rail interchange have been told to expect delays of at least an hour even before they can be crammed like sardines into steaming carriages.
在7月份奧運會開幕式之前的籌備階段，每一個間歇期都被“精心地”穿插了壞消息。剛剛贏得連任的倫敦市長鮑里斯?約翰遜針對那些或許想在奧運會期間在倫敦城里出行的人公布了一向指導意見?？偟恼f來，這份指導意見的意思是，他們應當步行、騎自行車或者待在家中。在地鐵各個主要換乘站點，乘客被告知地鐵可能會至少延誤一個小時，然后他們才能像沙丁魚一樣被塞進蒸籠一般的車廂。

It is when you put the? pieces together that the ingenuity of the 2012 organisers takes shape. From the very beginning the plan has not been to stage a great carnival, but to empty the city. London will belong to the Olmpic family and to those lucky souls withe tickets.
只有把這一件事情平湊在一起，你才會明白2012年奧運會組織者的別出心裁。從一開始，他們的計劃就不是要獻上一場宏大的狂歡盛宴，而是要清空這座城市。倫敦將屬于“奧林匹克大家庭”和那些手里有票的幸運兒。

I had fondly imagined that a successful games demanded public participation. The organisers have understood that it is the billions who watch the games on TV who matter. The images beamed to Beijing, Delhi, New York and Tokyo will be the real measure of success.
我曾今天真地以為，一屆成功的奧運會需要公眾的參與。組織者則認為，在電視機前觀看比賽的數十億觀眾才是最重要的。向北京、德里、紐約和東京傳送的畫面將是衡量成功的真正標準。

These distant viewers will see athletes skipping untroubled through a deserted and well-staffed Heathrow. They will see reports of trains running smoothly, of red buses speeding along unclogged roads. For a month or so London will actually live here will know that it is all a fraud. That's what I call genius.
那些遠在千里之外的觀眾將看到運動員們暢通無阻地經過空空蕩蕩、管理有序的希思羅機場。他們將看到這樣的報道：列車運行順暢，紅色巴士在沒有交通堵塞的道路上疾馳。在差不多一個月的時間里，倫敦確實將保持正常運轉。但只有我們這些癥狀在這里生活的人才知道，這些都是騙人的。這就是我所謂的“高明之處”。