The power of the press
原文
Lesson 45
The power of the press
Does the writer think the parents were lucky or unlucky to gain prosperity in this way? Why?
In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned.
However, this freedom can easily be abused.
Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events.
Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others,
it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves.
Acting on the contention that facts are sacred,
reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives.
Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.
The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press.
The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23, 000 inhabitants in South Dakota.
As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty.
They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems.
If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed.
They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity.
But they suddenly became the parents of quintuplets, four girls and a boy, an event which radically changed their lives.
The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers.
The rise to fame was swift.
Television cameras and newspapers carried the news to everyone in the country.
Newspapers and magazines offered the family huge sums for the exclusive rights to publish stories and photographs.
Gifts poured in not only from unknown people,
but from baby food and soap manufacturers who wished to advertise their products.
The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500, 000 home.
Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences.
While the five babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents in a hospital nursery,
their parents were paying the price for fame.
It would never again be possible for them to lead normal lives.
They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value.
Instead of being five new family members, these children had immediately become a commodity.
译文
第45课
媒体的力量
作者认为，这些父母通过这种方式获得财富是幸运的，还是不幸的？为什么？
在民主国家中，任何限制新闻自由的行为都应受到谴责。
然而，这种自由很容易被滥用。
关于普通人的故事往往比政治事件更能吸引公众的注意力。
虽然我们可能会喜欢阅读关于他人生活的故事，
我们是否也会同样喜欢阅读关于自己的内容，这一点实在非常值得怀疑。
基于“事实是神圣的”这一观点，
记者通过公开个人的私生活细节，可能会给这些人带来难以估量的痛苦。
报纸的影响力极其巨大；它们不仅能够对普通人的生活产生重大影响，甚至有可能推翻一个政府。
这个关于一个贫困家庭如何一夜之间获得名望和财富的故事，生动地展示了媒体的影响力。
这家人住在阿伯丁（Aberdeen），一个位于南达科他州（South Dakota）的小镇上，该镇共有23,000名居民。
由于这对父母有五个孩子，他们的生活始终在与贫困作斗争。
他们即将迎来第六个孩子，同时也面临着更加紧迫的经济问题。
如果他们再多要一个孩子的话，这件事可能就会被忽视、无人注意了。
他们本会继续在艰难的经济环境中挣扎，过着默默无闻的生活。
但他们突然成为了五胞胎的父母——四个女孩和一个男孩，这一事件彻底改变了他们的生活。
在五个孩子出生的第二天，一架飞机抵达阿伯丁，带来了六十名记者和摄影师。
他们一举成名。
电视摄像机与报纸将这一消息传遍了全国的每一个人。
报纸和杂志向这家人提供了巨额报酬，以获得独家报道这些事件和发布相关照片的权利。
礼物不仅来自陌生人，
也来自希望借此宣传产品的婴儿食品和肥皂制造商。
他们曾经居住的旧农舍将被一座价值50万美元的新房子所取代。
记者们不断要求采访，因此这家人不得不聘请律师在新闻发布会上担任发言人。
当这五个婴儿还在医院婴儿房的氧气帐篷里安静地睡着时……
他们的父母正在为他们的名气付出代价。
他们再也无法过上正常的生活了。
他们成为了商业化的受害者，因为他们的名字已经具有了市场价值。
这些孩子没有成为家庭的新成员，反而立刻被当成了商品。