白色死神——人类已知最强狙击手：英语精读讲义

When we say the best sniper,

当我们说起最强狙击手时，

we could be referring to who had the best shot in terms of distance 短語搭配

我们指的可能是射击距离最远的人，

or who had the most kills to his or her name. 習語

或者是击杀数最多的人。

Today, we'll focus more on the most prolific sniper, 用詞

今天，我们将把重点放在最高产的狙击手上，

the person with the biggest body count. 用詞

也就是击杀人数最多的人。

You've probably all heard of Chris Kyle,

大家可能都听说过克里斯·凯尔（Chris Kyle），

the American soldier who was the inspiration behind the movie American Sniper. 短語搭配

这位美国士兵是电影《美国狙击手》（American Sniper）的原型。

The Department of Defense tells us he had 160 kills to his name.

美国国防部告诉我们，他名下有160次击杀记录。

Ironically, Kyle was later shot and killed at a shooting range in the US.

讽刺的是，凯尔后来在美国的一个射击场被枪杀。

The British media in 2015 reported that a Royal Marine

2015年英国媒体报道称，一名皇家海军陆战队成员

was the world's deadliest sniper with 173 kills,

是世界上最致命的狙击手，有173次击杀记录，

though they didn't name him.

尽管他们没有公开他的名字。

But none of these sniping upstarts have anything on the man we are going to talk about today, 習語

但是，这些狙击界的新星跟我们今天要讲的人比起来都不算什么，

in this episode of The Infographics Show,

在这期《The Infographics Show》中，

The Best Sniper in History.

我们来聊聊历史上的最强狙击手。

If you look around the web,

如果你在网上搜一下，

the consensus is that the focus of today's show is indeed the deadliest sniper that ever lived. 講解

普遍的共识是，今天节目的主角确实是有史以来最致命的狙击手。

His name was Simo Häyhä,

他的名字叫西蒙·海耶（Simo Häyhä），

and he was a Finnish Army second lieutenant.

曾是芬兰陆军的一名少尉。

We are told he killed somewhere between 505 and 542 people. 語法

据报道他击杀了大约505到542人。

His victims were Russian,

他的目标都是俄罗斯人，

and they were killed during the Winter War. 文化背景

他们都是在冬季战争中被击杀的。

This was a conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union

这是芬兰和苏联之间的一场冲突，

that started in 1939 and lasted just over three months.

始于1939年，持续了短短三个多月。

That's a short amount of time,

虽说时间很短，

but it was enough time to cement Häyhä's name in history. 習語

但足以让海耶的名字名垂青史。

The number of casualties in those three months was reportedly around 25,900 Finnish deaths

据报道，在这三个月里，伤亡人数约为25,900名芬兰人阵亡，

and 126,900 Russian deaths.

以及126,900名俄罗斯人阵亡。

Häyhä's kills were even recorded by the Finnish military.

芬兰军方甚至记录了海耶的击杀数。

The document states how many people he had killed up until that day, 語法

文件上注明的是截至当天他击杀的总人数，

not how many people he killed on that day.

而不是当天他击杀的人数。

It's thought his biggest tally on one day was about 25 deaths.

据信，他单日最高击杀记录约为25人。

On December 22nd, 1939,

1939年12月22日，

the document states that he killed 138 people.

文件记载他击杀了138人。

On January 26th, 1940,

1940年1月26日，

he killed 199 people.

他击杀了199人。

On February 17th, 1940,

1940年2月17日，

he killed 217 people,

他击杀了217人，

and on March 7th, 1940,

而在1940年3月7日，

he killed 259 people.

他击杀了259人。

That day wasn't the best day of his life,

那天并不是他人生中最美好的一天，

as he was very seriously wounded.

因为他受了重伤。

He took a Red Army bullet right to the face, 短語搭配

他面部正中了一颗红军的子弹，

and that's why photos of him that circulated around the web depict a monstrous-looking man.

这就是为什么网上流传的他的照片显得面目狰狞。

Sorry about being so blunt, Simo. 語氣意圖

抱歉说得这么直白，西蒙。

The wound didn't slow him down so much, though, 短語動詞

不过，这处伤并没有让他停下脚步，

and he lived a long life.

他很长寿。

He was born in 1905

他出生于1905年，

and lived until the ripe old age of 97, 習語

一直活到了97岁高龄，

dying in 2002.

于2002年去世。

But who was this man?

那么这个人到底是谁呢？

Well,

嗯，

the Finnish told all kinds of stories about him,

芬兰流传着各种关于他的故事，

as he was the focus of a lot of propaganda.

因为他是许多宣传的焦点。

Back in those days, 短語搭配

在那个年代，

war heroes were an important piece of national storytelling in many countries,

战争英雄在许多国家都是国家叙事的重要组成部分，

used to foment pride in the public and give people hope. 用詞

被用来激起公众的自豪感并给人们带来希望。

He was born in Finland,

他出生在芬兰，

very close to the border with Russia.

离俄罗斯边境非常近。

At the age of 20,

20岁那年，

he became a volunteer in the Finnish Civil Guard,

他成为了芬兰国民卫队的一名志愿者，

and it was certain he was going to be of some use. 短語搭配

毫无疑问他肯定能派上用场。

Prior to signing up, 講解

在参军之前，

he was said to be an excellent hunter,

据说他就是一位出色的猎人，

but he'd also won awards for his marksmanship in many shooting competitions. 用詞

而且还在许多射击比赛中凭借他的枪法得过奖。

Apparently,

显然，

he had amassed so many trophies,

他赢得了无数的奖杯，

his house was full of them.

家里都摆满了。

He was later enlisted as a sniper in the Finnish Army,

后来他应征入伍成为芬兰陆军的一名狙击手，

and his battleground was mostly in the snow,

他的战场主要在雪地中，

hence many photos of him are dressed in all white, 表達脈絡

因此他的很多照片都是穿着一身白衣，

looking a bit like James Bond.

看起来有点像詹姆斯·邦德。

Apparently,

显然，

the Soviets were a bit behind the Finnish in this respect,

苏联人在这方面比芬兰人落后了一点，

and their army was decked out in normal army clothing. 短語動詞

他们的军队穿着普通的军装。

This made them very easy to spot and kill,

这让他们很容易被发现和击杀，

while lucky Häyhä was extremely difficult to see.

而幸运的海耶却极难被发现。

The Finnish media jumped on this, 短語動詞

芬兰媒体抓住了这一点，

calling him the invisible soldier and giving him the sobriquet White Death. 用詞

称他为隐形士兵，并给他起了个绰号叫“白色死神”。

What else do we know about him?

关于他，我们还知道些什么？

According to Business Insider,

据北欧版的

the Nordic version,

《商业内幕》（Business Insider）报道，

he was humble.

他很谦逊。

The same source says he would wait for his victims,

同一消息来源称，他会耐心等待目标，

sometimes as far as 300 m away, 語法

有时距离远达300米，

but usually around 150 m away.

但通常在150米左右。

Hard to spot in his camouflage,

他穿着迷彩服很难被发现，

you couldn't even see his breath in the cold,

在寒冷的天气里，你甚至看不到他呼出的白气，

as he put snow in his mouth.

因为他在嘴里含着雪。

The BBC interviewed him on a few occasions,

BBC曾多次采访他，

and so we know the following.

所以我们了解到了以下信息。

Apparently,

显然，

Häyhä was what we might call a Finnish hick and enjoyed a life in the wilderness. 講解

海耶就是我们可能会称之为芬兰乡巴佬的那种人，喜欢荒野生活。

His hobbies,

根据采访，

according to interviews,

他的爱好

were skiing, hunting, and shooting.

是滑雪、打猎和射击。

The same article says that the Russians feared this man so much 語法

同一篇文章提到，俄罗斯人非常害怕这个人，

they once tried to kill him by just bombarding the area he was in with hails of bullets and mortar, 習語

他们曾经试图通过对他所在的区域进行密集的枪林弹雨和迫击炮轰炸来杀死他，

but they missed and the White Death walked away. 短語動詞

但他们打偏了，“白色死神”毫发无损地离开了。

They once dropped an artillery shell on him, too,

他们也曾向他投掷炮弹，

and apparently all that happened to Häyhä 語法

而显然海耶唯一受到的影响

was his coat got ripped and he again walked away with a minor scratch. 語法

就是外套被撕裂了，他只受了点轻微的擦伤就又走开了。

It's said he treated his occupation as a sniper like he would hunting,

据说他把狙击手的工作当成打猎一样看待，

once telling the press that he felt no guilt about killing.

曾对媒体说他对杀人没有负罪感。

"I only did my duty and what I was told to do as well as I could," 講解

“我只是尽我所能，履行了我的职责，做了我被告知要做的事，”

he said.

他说。

As for his modus operandi, 講解

至于他的作战手法，

the BBC writes,

BBC写道：

"He also became a master of using sounds, 短語搭配

“他还成了一名利用声音、

smoke, and artillery fire to cover his movements when changing position. 短語搭配

烟雾和炮火来掩护自己变换位置的大师。

With maps very scarce during the war, 語法

由于战时地图非常匮乏，

Häyhä relied on his memory to find the best hiding positions. 短語搭配

海耶依靠记忆来寻找最佳的隐藏位置。”

It's said he was always careful and even obsessive about finding the right position,

据说他总是非常谨慎，甚至对寻找合适的位置到了痴迷的程度，

making sure his gun wouldn't jam, 講解

确保他的枪不会卡壳，

and generally setting up the place where he would be shooting from.

并总体上布置好他要射击的地方。

The strange thing is,

奇怪的是，

his M28-30 gun didn't even have a telescopic sight,

他的M28-30步枪甚至没有配备光学瞄准镜，

but this was the same gun that Häyhä had hunted with throughout his life,

但这是海耶一辈子用来打猎的同一把枪，

and so he was very familiar with it. 短語搭配

所以他对它非常熟悉。

It's said that as a kid,

据说小时候，

he would hunt birds in the forests,

他会在森林里猎鸟，

and to hunt this small prey,

要想打中这些小猎物，

you needed to have a remarkable shot.

你需要有极其出色的枪法。

We are told that this is one of the reasons why hunters so often make the best snipers. 用詞

我们被告知，这就是为什么猎人往往能成为最优秀的狙击手的原因之一。

You can't focus on moving targets at the army shooting range,

在军队的射击场上，你无法专注于移动的目标，

so experience killing animals is a must. 用詞

所以必须有猎杀动物的经验。

The smaller the better. 語法

猎物越小越好。

The BBC writes,

BBC写道：

"As a young man,

“年轻时，

he also learned to estimate the effects of wind and rain on shooting and conditions in forests."

他还学会了估算风雨对射击和森林环境的影响。”

Alas, 表達脈絡

唉，

our meritorious marksman was finally hit in the face

这位功勋卓著的神枪手最终还是面部中弹，

and the shot took off much of his jaw. 短語動詞

这一枪打掉了他大部分的下巴。

It's said that he spent the rest of his life in near constant pain, 語法

据说他的余生都在几乎持续不断的痛苦中度过，

not to mention looking something like Sloth from The Goonies. 表達脈絡

更别提看起来有点像《七宝奇谋》（The Goonies）里的Sloth了。

He had 26 surgical operations,

他接受了26次外科手术，

but his face would never be the same again. 短語搭配

但他的脸再也无法恢复原样了。

He would carry on hunting, 短語動詞

尽管如此，

however,

他还是继续打猎，

and his eyesight was always just as good as it was during the war. 語法

并且他的视力一直和战争时期一样好。

His victims were never again human,

他的猎物再也不是人类了，

and perhaps as moose was his favorite animal to kill,

也许因为驼鹿是他最喜欢猎杀的动物，

he wouldn't miss very often.

他很少会失手。

He even did some hunting trips with one Finnish president.

他甚至和一位芬兰总统一起去打过几次猎。

There is a book about him out called The White Sniper,

有一本关于他的书叫《白色狙击手》（The White Sniper），

if you want to know more.

如果你想了解更多。

We'll leave you with a quote right from the horse's mouth. 講解

我们将用他本人的一句原话作为结尾。

"War is not a pleasant experience,

“战争不是什么愉快的经历，

but who else would protect this land

但如果我们自己都不愿意去做，

unless we are willing to do it ourselves?" 語法

还有谁会来保护这片土地呢？”

So,

那么，

have you ever shot a gun before?

你以前开过枪吗？

Do you think you have what it would take to become a professional sniper? 語法

你认为自己具备成为一名职业狙击手的素质吗？

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

在评论区告诉我们你的想法吧。

Also,

另外，

be sure to check out our other video called US F-35 versus Russian Su-35 fighter jet,

一定要看看我们的另一个名为《美国F-35对阵俄罗斯Su-35战斗机》的视频，

which would win.

看看谁会赢。

Thanks for watching,

感谢观看，

and as always,

和往常一样，

don't forget to like, share,

别忘了点赞、分享，

and subscribe.

并订阅。

See you next time.

下次见。