新闻万花筒：BBC视角之法国作家左拉写给法国总统公开信出版周年日

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Good morning. Today, January 13th is the anniversary of the publication of a famous letter by the French writer Emile Zola to the President of France.

This letter, written in 1898, demanded justice for Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer languishing on Devil’s Island for passing military secrets to the Germans.

Zola told the President that the case against Dreyfus was a tissue of lies concocted by the French military and based on false testimony.

It ended with a string of denunciations: J’accuse. I first heard about the Dreyfus affair when I was doing history ‘O’ level but it wasn’t until last summer that I really understood what it was about – and that was when I read Robert Harris’s treatment of it in his novel, an Officer and a Spy.

Harris tells the story from the point of view of the Head of French Counter Espionage, George Picquart. He was no supporter of the Jews but he came to see that the evidence against Dreyfus was weak and he conducted an investigation of his own. It was Picquart who identified the real traitor, Ferdinand Esterhazy. But nobody wanted to know.

In an atmosphere of casual anti-semitism the shame of truth was simply unendurable. National pride and honour was at stake. Military officials tried to engineer the killing of Picquart, eventually he was sacked and disgraced. The evidence that would have exonerated Dreyfus was suppressed.

The military had public opinion on their side. The government, the Catholic Church and the press were united in their determination to find Dreyfus guilty. Zola’s letter, though, could not be ignored. He was eminent, he was influential, he exemplified the values of the Republic. You cannot bury truth, he said.

The case split France into two opposing camps. Finally Dreyfus was summoned back re-tried and released. Loyal, as ever, to France he lived to fight in the First World War.

Robert Harris’s treatment of the Dreyfus scandal helped me to see how easy it is for institutions and governments to protect themselves from inconvenient truths. We like to feel that we are on the side of virtue and most of the time we expect the truth to conform our assumptions.

But truth is not prejudiced. It confronts us in the sheer otherness of the other who lives differently, believes differently and has a different vision of reality from our own. We can opt for a superficial acceptance which is only half meant, an acceptance which all too often breaks down under pressure; or we can return to our own spiritual sources and strive to be more honest, to deepen our moral vision.

My own faith urges me to see in the face of the stranger, the face of God that is most unfamiliar and that I most fear; but it is also the face that I most need.

词汇解析

apparent

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.明显的；表面上的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Japan's apparent lack of capitalist endeavour also has much to do with the lack of a mature financing market.

显而易见,日本缺少资本家的创业精神,而这与日本没有一个成熟的融资市场也有很大关系。

She heard the news of his death with apparent unconcern.

她听到他的死讯无动于衷。

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split

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

v.分裂；将…分成若干部分；分摊；分离；劈开；裂开；<俚>离开

n.劈开；裂口；分裂；一份；水果冰淇淋

adj.分裂的；意见分歧的

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

The party split into petty factions.

该党分裂成若干小派系。

用作名词 (n.)

Frost caused the split in the rock.

霜冻使岩石裂了一条缝。

用作形容词 (adj.)

They believe the killer has a split personality.

他们认为这个凶手人格分裂。

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scandal

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.丑闻；反感；耻辱；中伤

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The scandal caused tempests in the newspaper.

那件丑闻在报纸上引起阵阵风波。

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virtue

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.美德；德行；优点；贞操

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Fidelity to engagement is a virtue.

信守诺言是一种美德。

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reality

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.真实；现实；实际

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

He describes the scene with startling reality.

他对那景象的描述逼真得令人惊讶。

It seems as if he knew everything, but in reality, he is as stupid as can be.

他似乎是个万事通,其实他是再愚蠢不过了。

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acceptance

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.认可；同意；承兑；接受（礼物、邀请、建议等）

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

We usually only discount acceptance trade and commercial bills.

我们通常只贴现已承兑的商业票据。

Bank acceptance bill played essential function in this process.

这当中银行承兑汇票起到了至关重要的作用。

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deepen

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

vt. 使 ... 加深； 使 ... 强烈

vi. 加深； 变浓

参考例句

用作及物动词 (vt.)

May our partnership deepen and prosper.

预祝我们的伙伴关系不断加深和发展。

用作不及物动词 (vi.)

May our partnership deepen and prosper.

预祝我们的伙伴关系不断加深和发展。

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