Unit 4Part A Text (A Time for Apologies) Part B Grammar Part C Supplementary Reading (Life and Times of Bill Clinton)Part A Text (A Time for Apologies) Background Introduction1.The HolocaustThe Holocaust (also called Shoah in Hebrew) refers to the period from January 30, 1933, when Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, to May 8, 1945 (VE Day), when the war in Europe ended. During this time, Jews in Europe were subjected to progressively harsh persecution that ultimately led to the murder of 6,000,000 Jews (1.5 million of these being children) and the destruction of 5,000 Jewish communities. These deaths represented twothirds of European Jewry and onethird of world Jewry. The Jews who died were not casualties of the fighting that ravaged Europe during World War II. Rather, they were the victims of Germanys deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe, a plan Hitler called the “Final Solution” (Endlosung).After its defeat in World War I, Germany was humiliated by the Versailles Treaty, which reduced its prewar territory, drastically reduced its armed forces, demanded the recognition of its guilt for the war, and stipulated it pay reparations to the allied powers. The German Empire destroyed, a new parliamentary government called the Weimar Republic was formed. The republic suffered from economic instability, which grew worse during the worldwide depression after the New York stock market crash in 1929. Massive inflation followed by very high unemployment heightened existing class and political differences and began to undermine the government.On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party, was named chancellor by president Paul von Hindenburg after the Nazi party won a significant percentage of the vote in the elections of 1932. The Nazi Party had taken advantage of the political unrest in Germany to gain an electoral foothold. The Nazis incited clashes with the communists, who many feared, disrupted the government with demonstrations, and conducted a vicious propaganda campaign against its political opponentsthe weak Weimar government, and the Jews, whom the Nazis blamed for Germanys ills.2. 联邦德国前总理勃兰特谢罪1970年12月7日，联邦德国前总理勃 兰特双膝跪在波兰犹太人死难者纪 念碑前。 1970年12月7日，大雪过 后东欧最寒冷的一天。刚刚对捷克 、波兰进行国事访问后，当时的联 邦德国总理维利勃兰特冒着凛冽的 寒风来到华沙犹太人死难者纪念碑 下。他向纪念碑献上花圈后，肃穆 垂首，突然双腿下跪，并发出祈祷 ：“上帝饶恕我们吧，愿苦难的灵魂 得到安宁。”勃兰特以此举向二战中 无辜被纳粹党杀害的犹太人表示沉 痛哀悼，并虔诚地为纳粹时代的德 国认罪、赎罪。 当时的联邦德国总统赫利同时向全世 界发表了著名的赎罪书，消息传来 ，世界各国爱好和平的人们无不拍 手称赞。1971年12月20日，勃兰特 因此获得了诺贝尔和平奖。 。 勃兰特1973年接受意大利著名女记者法拉奇采访时，谈到了自己当时 采取这一出人意外的行动的感受。他说：“我明确区分罪过和责任。 我问心无愧，而且我认为把纳粹的罪过归咎于我国人民和我们这一 代人是不公平的，罪过只能由希特勒等发动二战的战犯去承担。尽 管我很早就离开德国（二战期间勃兰特流亡国外，从事反法西斯斗 争），但对希特勒上台搞法西斯主义，我也感到有连带责任。出任 德国总理后，我更感到自己有替纳粹时代的德国认罪赎罪的社会责 任。那天早晨醒来时，我有一种奇异的感觉，觉得自己不能只限于 给纪念碑献一个花圈。我本能地预感到将有意外的事情发生，尽管 我不知道是什么事情。献完花圈后我突然感到有下跪的必要，这就 是下意识吧？” 勃兰特在波兰犹太人纪念碑前下跪谢罪，被誉为“欧 洲约一千年来最强烈的谢罪表现”。现任德国总理施罗德曾经亲自去 波兰，为刻有下跪谢罪情景的勃兰特纪念碑揭幕。德国还在首都柏 林著名的勃兰登堡门附近建立由2700根方柱组成的纳粹大屠杀受害 者纪念碑，这使得希特勒后裔也因为强烈耻辱感而决定永不结婚生 育，让那个罪恶家族断种绝根年月，科尔总理继勃兰特之后，再次双膝跪倒在 以色列的犹太人受难者纪念碑前，重申国家的歉意。 心甘情愿偿还“战争债” 在战后多里，德国一直在心甘情愿地进行彻底的赔 偿。年，现任总理施罗德在获得大选胜利后发 誓，要对那些还没有获得赔偿的纳粹受害者进行赔偿。 德国的一些大公司如西门子、奔驰、大众等，提出了为“ 纳粹劳工”设立巨额赔偿基金，一共拿出亿美元，对 遭受纳粹迫害的多万劳工幸存者进行最后一次赔 偿。 此外，德国还先后向波兰、俄罗斯、捷克斯洛伐克 等受害国家尤其是受害的犹太民族赔偿近亿马 克，约合亿美元。II. Language Points1. Some see it as a sign of weakness; for others its an admission that they are liable to make errorssomething religious institutions are particularly careful to avoid.Some see it as a sign careful to avoid.: “it” refers to “saying sorry”, while “something” refers to “they are liable to make errors.liable: held legally responsible; likely to be affected with 受影响，有责任 的e.g. He was not liable for his sons debts. 他对自己儿子的债务没有责任偿还。Every man is liable to error. 人人都可能犯错误。Useful expression:liable to 易于 . .liable for 对 . 应.2. But as political systems have become more sophisticated, the idea that governments or churches are faultless has become increasingly difficult to defend. sophisticated: (i) n. a worldlywise person;man of the world 久经 世故的人e.g. Hes not a sophisticate and doesnt spend his discretionary time with sophisticates.他不是老于世故的人，不会随便花时间和那些世故的人相 处。 (ii) vt. practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive玩弄诡辩, 掺合, 弄复杂 e.g. He sophisticated a meaning beyond recognition他将意思曲解得无法理解。If you are wrong, admit it rather than sophisticate.错了就要承认，不要强词夺理。3. The trend began in earnest in 1995, when the Queen of England admitted that the Maori people of New Zealand had been shamefully treated, when the country was a British colony. in earnest：in a serious manner 认真的，严肃的e.g. Now he applied himself to the job in earnest. 他现在认真地致力于这项工作了。The officials were holding loose and not in earnest. 官员们都漠然置之，并不认真对待。4. Since then, what started as trickle of apologies has turned into something of a flood. Since then, what started as trickle of apologies has turned i