又中又英｜Attack ads

In my previous column I wrote about attack ads, which I explained are TV advertisements using negative information to attack political opponents. Attack ads often bend the facts to damage the reputation of opponents. To bend the facts means to dishonestly alter facts to deceive others. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are stepping up attack ads against each other as the November 5 presidential election approaches. To step up used this way means to increase the level of something. Most attack ads are short, to the point, and intended to deceive viewers.

Trump’s attack ads use negative information to tell viewers Harris is unfit to be president. Harris’s attack ads say the same thing about Trump. Many American viewers are swayed by attack ads. If you are swayed by something, it means it makes you do one thing rather than another. If a voter is a Harris supporter but decides to vote for Trump after seeing a Trump attack ad, the voter has been swayed by the attack ad. Both sides spend millions of dollars on attack ads because they know voters can be swayed by such ads.

I have a jaded view of attack ads. If you have a jaded view of something, it means you no longer have any interest in something or are losing interest in something because you have experienced or seen it too many times. I have always relied on facts as a longtime journalist. Attack ads often bend the facts. That’s why I have a jaded view of attack ads.

在我上一篇文章中我写到 attack ads，正如我所解释的，就是用一些负面资讯去攻击政治对手的电视广告。攻击对手的竞选广告（attack ads）往往bend the facts去损毁对手的声誉。To bend the facts即是不诚实地歪曲事实以欺骗他人。十一月五日的总统大选正要逼近，副总统贺锦丽以及前总统唐纳德‧特朗普都增加了（stepping up）对对手的攻击广告（attack ads）。To step up在这里是指增加某事物的量。大部分的攻击广告（attack ads）都是精简、正中要害，以及意图误导观众的。

特朗普的攻击广告（attack ads）用了负面的资讯去告诉观众，贺锦丽并不适合当总统。贺锦丽的攻击广告（attack ads）亦说了一样的话去攻击特朗普。许多美国观众会被攻击广告（attack ads）动摇（swayed by）。若你是 swayed by something，意即那事影响你不做某事而转去做另一件事。若一个选民本身是贺锦丽的支持者，但看过特朗普的攻击广告（attack ad）后，决定投票给特朗普，那么该选民就是swayed by the attack ad，即是受那个攻击广告影响而动摇。两边阵营都投放了数以百万计的美元在攻击广告（attack ads）之上，因为他们知道，选民可以被这些广告所动摇（swayed by）。

我对攻击广告（attack ads）抱持 a jaded view——若你 have a jaded view of something，意即你对某事物不再感兴趣，或对其厌倦了，因为你已经历或见过它太多遍。我身为新闻工作者多年，总是依据事实，但攻击广告（attack ads）往往在扭曲事实（bend the facts），因此我对攻击广告（attack ads）已经甚为厌倦（jaded view）。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻