人民网2024年10月15日发布:《经济学人》双语：老实巴交的神探科伦坡怎么破案？

Richard Levinson and William Link, two American screenwriters, had studied Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s great novel at university and drew on the figure of Porfiry when creating an investigator of their own.

理查德·莱文森和威廉·林克是两位美国编剧，他们在大学期间研读了费奥多尔·陀思妥耶夫斯基的伟大小说，并以波尔菲里为原型创造了自己的侦探员形象。

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The lasting success of the character of Columbo and the television series of that name owed much to Peter Falk (pictured), the actor who played the main part.

科伦坡这个角色的持久成功和同名电视剧的成功，很大程度上要归功于彼得·福克(如图)，他是扮演主要角色的演员。

Although others had taken brief turns in the role, Falk, with his shabby raincoat and cigar, became a TV great with his portrayal. (He won four Emmys and a Golden Globe for his efforts.)

虽然其他人也曾短暂地扮演过这个角色，但福克凭借身穿破旧的雨衣，抽着雪茄的形象，成为了一名电视巨星。(他为此获得了四次艾美奖和一次金球奖。)

The show attracted other rising stars, too. An early episode was directed by a promising young auteur named Steven Spielberg, with a script by Steven Bochco—who later developed “Hill Street Blues”, “ LA Law” and “ NYPD Blue”.

这部剧也吸引了其他冉冉新星。早期的一集是由一位名叫史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格的前途无量的年轻导演执导的，剧本由伯奇科编写（后来，编剧伯奇科又创作了《希尔街的布鲁斯》、《洛城法网》和《纽约重案组》）。

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“Columbo” was a hit in spite of its unusual format: in nearly all the episodes, the identity of the murderer is known from the start.

尽管《神探科伦坡》的设计不同寻常，但它还是很成功：在几乎所有的剧集中，凶手的身份从一开始就已被揭晓。

The viewer sees an apparently perfect crime being committed.

观众看到的是一个明显很完美的犯罪。

Columbo appears after 15 or 20 minutes, and thereafter the mystery lies in how he will catch the killer.

科伦坡在15或20分钟后出现，此后谜团就在于他将如何抓住凶手。

The detective initially seems absent- minded or bumbling—an apparent guilelessness that leads the villain to under estimate him.

起初，这位侦探似乎心不在焉或笨手笨脚——这种显而易见的老实巴交形象让坏人低估了他。

But before long he spots a small inconsistency, then another and another. He worries away at the crime like a terrier shaking a rat.

但没过多久，他就发现了一个又一个小矛盾点。他追踪犯罪案件就像“鼠下料”赌博中撕咬老鼠的猎犬一样。

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The series is set around Los Angeles and the murderer is often a celebrity of some kind.

这部剧以洛杉矶为背景，凶手通常是某类名人。

Columbo exploits the baddies’ fame to undermine their defences, sometimes by claiming his wife is one of their biggest fans.

科伦坡利用坏人的名气来瓦解他们的防备，有时候会声称自己的妻子是他们的头号粉丝。

But the suspects quickly become exasperated by the detective’s persistence, as Columbo repeatedly turns up to inquire about “just one more thing”.

但是嫌疑犯们很快就被侦探的执意所激怒，因为科伦坡没完没了地打听“还有一件事”。

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The culprit may attempt to evade Columbo’s suspicions by taking further action to cover up the original crime, such as killing a witness or trying to incriminate someone else.

罪犯可能会试图通过采取进一步的行动来掩盖原来的罪行，以此逃脱科伦坡的怀疑，例如杀害证人或试图牵连他人。

This second offence usually proves their downfall.

二次犯罪通常证明了他们的崩溃。

The finale frequently involves Columbo playing a trick on the murderer that forces them to confess or reveal their guilt.

结局常常是科伦坡用小把戏使杀人犯认罪或坦白自己的罪行。

Sometimes the viewer may wonder whether Columbo’s tactics—and some of the vital evidence—would actually stand up in court.

有时观众可能会怀疑哥伦布的策略——以及一些重要的证据——是否真的能在法庭上站得住脚。

But such concerns are quickly forgotten: this is comfort-food storytelling rather than gritty realism.

但这些担忧很快就被抛到脑后了：这是一种舒适的叙事方式，而不是写实的现实主义。

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The episodes released in the 1970s are by far the best and feature a variety of guest murderers including Dick Van Dyke, Leonard Nimoy, Janet Leigh and Johnny Cash.

上世纪70年代播出的是迄今为止最好的几集，许多人客串过剧中的谋杀人犯，包括迪克·范·戴克、伦纳德·尼莫伊、珍妮特·利和约翰尼·卡什。

When the series was revived in 1989, the episodes were longer, more meandering and relied heavily on Falk’s charm.

1989年这部剧重播时，每一集都时间更长，剧情更曲折，而且很大程度上依赖于福尔克的个人魅力。

Today the original show offers a welcome dose of familiarity to veteran viewers and reassurance all round, like the comedies of P.G. Wodehouse or the mysteries of Agatha Christie.

如今，这部剧给老观众带来了一种熟悉的感觉，让他们得到慰藉，就像P.G.沃德豪斯的喜剧和阿加莎·克里斯蒂的神秘故事一样。

No matter how ingenious or powerful the villains might be, it insists, a little scruffy guy like Columbo will always be there to catch them out.

这部剧集贯彻一点：无论反派多么聪明或强大，一个像科伦坡这样不修边幅的人总会抓到他们。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量606左右）

原文出自：2022年2月12日《The Economist》Culture版块。

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理：Fei Min

本文编辑校对: Irene

仅供个人英语学习交流使用

【补充资料】（来源于百科）

《罪与罚》：是俄国作家陀思妥耶夫斯基创作的长篇小说，也是其代表作。小说描写穷大学生拉斯柯尔尼科夫受无政府主义思想毒害，认为自己可以为所欲为。为生计所迫，他杀死放高利贷的老太婆阿廖娜和她的无辜妹妹丽扎韦塔，制造了一起震惊全俄的凶杀案。经历了一场内心痛苦的忏悔后，他最终在基督徒索尼娅姑娘的规劝下，投案自首，被判流放西伯利亚。作品着重刻画主人公犯罪后的心理变化，揭示俄国下层人民的苦难生活。

鼠下料：当时，欧洲开始出现以捕捉褐家鼠为生的捕鼠人（英语：Rat-catcher）职业。捕鼠人在捕捉到褐家鼠后，一般会将其杀死或出售给一种名为“鼠下料（英语：Rat-baiting）”的赌博活动。所谓鼠下料是指，将狗和一些褐家鼠放在同一个坑里，参与者就狗能在多久时间内杀死所有的鼠进行下注。鼠下料直到20世纪初都是一种很受欢迎的活动。

【重点句子】（3个）

The detective initially seems absent- minded or bumbling—an apparent guilelessness that leads the villain to under estimate him.

起初，这位侦探似乎心不在焉或笨手笨脚——这种显而易见的老实巴交形象让坏人低估了他。

The series is set around Los Angeles and the murderer is often a celebrity of some kind.

这部剧以洛杉矶为背景，凶手通常是某类名人。But such concerns are quickly forgotten: this is comfort-food storytelling rather than gritty realism.但这些担忧很快就被抛到脑后了：这是一种舒适的叙事方式，而不是写实的现实主义。