白色死神——人類已知最強狙擊手：英語精讀講義

When we say the best sniper,

當我們說起最強狙擊手時，

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

我們指的可能是射擊距離最遠的人，

or who had the most kills to his or her name. 慣用語

或者是擊殺數最多的人。

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

今天，我們將把重點放在最高產的狙擊手上，

the person with the biggest body count. 用詞

也就是擊殺人數最多的人。

You've probably all heard of Chris Kyle,

大家可能都聽說過克里斯·凱爾（Chris Kyle），

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

這位美國士兵是電影《美國狙擊手》（American Sniper）的原型。

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

美國國防部告訴我們，他名下有160次擊殺紀錄。

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

諷刺的是，凱爾後來在美國的一個射擊場被槍殺。

The British media in 2015 reported that a Royal Marine

2015年英國媒體報導稱，一名皇家海軍陸戰隊成員

was the world's deadliest sniper with 173 kills,

是世界上最致命的狙擊手，有173次擊殺紀錄，

though they didn't name him.

儘管他們沒有公開他的名字。

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

但是，這些狙擊界的新星跟我們今天要講的人比起來都不算什麼，

in this episode of The Infographics Show,

在這期《The Infographics Show》中，

The Best Sniper in History.

我們來聊聊歷史上的最強狙擊手。

If you look around the web,

如果你在網上搜一下，

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

普遍的共識是，今天節目的主角確實是有史以來最致命的狙擊手。

His name was Simo Häyhä,

他的名字叫席摩·海赫（Simo Häyhä），

and he was a Finnish Army second lieutenant.

曾是芬蘭陸軍的一名少尉。

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

據報導他擊殺了大約505到542人。

His victims were Russian,

他的目標都是俄羅斯人，

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

他們都是在冬季戰爭中被擊殺的。

This was a conflict between Finland and the Soviet Union

這是芬蘭和蘇聯之間的一場衝突，

that started in 1939 and lasted just over three months.

始於1939年，持續了短短三個多月。

That's a short amount of time,

雖說時間很短，

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

但足以讓海赫的名字名垂青史。

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

據報導，在這三個月裡，傷亡人數約為25,900名芬蘭人陣亡，

and 126,900 Russian deaths.

以及126,900名俄羅斯人陣亡。

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

芬蘭軍方甚至記錄了海赫的擊殺數。

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

文件上註明的是截至當天他擊殺的總人數，

not how many people he killed on that day.

而不是當天他擊殺的人數。

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

據信，他單日最高擊殺紀錄約為25人。

On December 22nd, 1939,

1939年12月22日，

the document states that he killed 138 people.

文件記載他擊殺了138人。

On January 26th, 1940,

1940年1月26日，

he killed 199 people.

他擊殺了199人。

On February 17th, 1940,

1940年2月17日，

he killed 217 people,

他擊殺了217人，

and on March 7th, 1940,

而在1940年3月7日，

he killed 259 people.

他擊殺了259人。

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

那天並不是他人生中最美好的一天，

as he was very seriously wounded.

因為他受了重傷。

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

他面部正中了一顆紅軍的子彈，

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

這就是為什麼網上流傳的他的照片顯得面目猙獰。

Sorry about being so blunt, Simo. 語氣意圖

抱歉說得這麼直白，席摩。

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

不過，這處傷並沒有讓他停下腳步，

and he lived a long life.

他很長壽。

He was born in 1905

他出生於1905年，

and lived until the ripe old age of 97, 慣用語

一直活到了97歲高齡，

dying in 2002.

於2002年去世。

But who was this man?

那麼這個人到底是誰呢？

Well,

嗯，

the Finnish told all kinds of stories about him,

芬蘭流傳著各種關於他的故事，

as he was the focus of a lot of propaganda.

因為他是大量宣傳的焦點。

Back in those days, 片語搭配

在那個年代，

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

戰爭英雄在許多國家都是國家敘事的重要組成部分，

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

被用來激起公眾的自豪感並給人們帶來希望。

He was born in Finland,

他出生在芬蘭，

very close to the border with Russia.

離俄羅斯邊境非常近。

At the age of 20,

20歲那年，

he became a volunteer in the Finnish Civil Guard,

他成為了芬蘭國民衛隊的一名志願者，

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

毫無疑問他肯定能派上用場。

Prior to signing up, 講解

在參軍之前，

he was said to be an excellent hunter,

據說他就是一位出色的獵人，

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

而且還在許多射擊比賽中憑藉他的槍法得過獎。

Apparently,

顯然，

he had amassed so many trophies,

他贏得了無數的獎杯，

his house was full of them.

家裡都擺滿了。

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

後來他應徵入伍成為芬蘭陸軍的一名狙擊手，

and his battleground was mostly in the snow,

他的戰場主要在雪地中，

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著一身白衣，

looking a bit like James Bond.

看起來有點像詹姆士·龐德。

Apparently,

顯然，

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

蘇聯人在這方面比芬蘭人落後了一點，

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

他們的軍隊穿著普通的軍裝。

This made them very easy to spot and kill,

這讓他們很容易被發現和擊殺，

while lucky Häyhä was extremely difficult to see.

而幸運的海赫卻極難被發現。

The Finnish media jumped on this, 片語動詞

芬蘭媒體抓住了這一點，

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

稱他為隱形士兵，並給他起了個綽號叫「白色死神」。

What else do we know about him?

關於他，我們還知道些什麼？

According to Business Insider,

據北歐版的

the Nordic version,

《商業內幕》（Business Insider）報導，

he was humble.

他很謙遜。

The same source says he would wait for his victims,

同一消息來源稱，他會耐心等待目標，

sometimes as far as 300 m away, 文法

有時距離遠達300公尺，

but usually around 150 m away.

但通常在150公尺左右。

Hard to spot in his camouflage,

他穿著迷彩服很難被發現，

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

在寒冷的天氣裡，你甚至看不到他呼出的白氣，

as he put snow in his mouth.

因為他在嘴裡含著雪。

The BBC interviewed him on a few occasions,

BBC曾多次採訪他，

and so we know the following.

所以我們了解到了以下資訊。

Apparently,

顯然，

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

海赫就是我們可能會稱之為芬蘭鄉巴佬的那種人，喜歡荒野生活。

His hobbies,

根據採訪，

according to interviews,

他的愛好

were skiing, hunting, and shooting.

是滑雪、打獵和射擊。

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

同一篇文章提到，俄羅斯人非常害怕這個人，

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

他們曾經試圖通過對他所在的區域進行密集的槍林彈雨和迫擊砲轟炸來殺死他，

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

但他們打偏了，「白色死神」毫髮無傷地離開了。

They once dropped an artillery shell on him, too,

他們也曾向他投擲砲彈，

and apparently all that happened to Häyhä 文法

而顯然海赫唯一受到的影響

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

就是外套被撕裂了，他只受了點輕微的擦傷就又走開了。

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

據說他把狙擊手的工作當成打獵一樣看待，

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

曾對媒體說他對殺人沒有負罪感。

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

「我只是盡我所能，履行了我的職責，做了我被告知要做的事，」

he said.

他說。

As for his modus operandi, 講解

至於他的作戰手法，

the BBC writes,

BBC寫道：

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

「他還成了一名利用聲音、

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

煙霧和砲火來掩護自己變換位置的大師。

With maps very scarce during the war, 文法

由於戰時地圖非常匱乏，

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

海赫依靠記憶來尋找最佳的隱藏位置。」

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

據說他總是非常謹慎，甚至對尋找合適的位置到了癡迷的程度，

making sure his gun wouldn't jam, 講解

確保他的槍不會卡彈，

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

並總體上佈置好他要射擊的地方。

The strange thing is,

奇怪的是，

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

他的M28-30步槍甚至沒有配備光學瞄準鏡，

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

但這是海赫一輩子用來打獵的同一把槍，

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

所以他對它非常熟悉。

It's said that as a kid,

據說小時候，

he would hunt birds in the forests,

他會在森林裡獵鳥，

and to hunt this small prey,

要想打中這些小獵物，

you needed to have a remarkable shot.

你需要有極其出色的槍法。

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

我們被告知，這就是為什麼獵人往往能成為最優秀的狙擊手的原因之一。

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

在軍隊的射擊場上，你無法專注於移動的目標，

so experience killing animals is a must. 用詞

所以必須有獵殺動物的經驗。

The smaller the better. 文法

獵物越小越好。

The BBC writes,

BBC寫道：

"As a young man,

「年輕時，

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

他還學會了估算風雨對射擊和森林環境的影響。」

Alas, 表達脈絡

唉，

our meritorious marksman was finally hit in the face

這位功勳卓著的神槍手最終還是面部中彈，

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

這一槍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, 文法

據說他的餘生都在幾乎持續不斷的痛苦中度過，

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

更別提看起來有點像《七寶奇謀》（The Goonies）裡的Sloth了。

He had 26 surgical operations,

他接受了26次外科手術，

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

但他的臉再也無法恢復原樣了。

He would carry on hunting, 片語動詞

儘管如此，

however,

他還是繼續打獵，

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

並且他的視力一直和戰爭時期一樣好。

His victims were never again human,

他的獵物再也不是人類了，

and perhaps as moose was his favorite animal to kill,

也許因為駝鹿是他最喜歡獵殺的動物，

he wouldn't miss very often.

他很少會失手。

He even did some hunting trips with one Finnish president.

他甚至和一位芬蘭總統一起去打過幾次獵。

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

有一本關於他的書叫《白色狙擊手》（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

我們將用他本人的一句原話作為結尾。

"War is not a pleasant experience,

「戰爭不是什麼愉快的經歷，

but who else would protect this land

但如果我們自己都不願意去做，

unless we are willing to do it ourselves?" 文法

還有誰會來保護這片土地呢？」

So,

那麼，

have you ever shot a gun before?

你以前開過槍嗎？

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

你認為自己具備成為一名職業狙擊手的素質嗎？

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

在評論區告訴我們你的想法吧。

Also,

另外，

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

一定要看看我們的另一個名為《美國F-35對陣俄羅斯Su-35戰鬥機》的影片，

which would win.

看看誰會贏。

Thanks for watching,

感謝觀看，

and as always,

和往常一樣，

don't forget to like, share,

別忘了按讚、分享，

and subscribe.

並訂閱。

See you next time.

下次見。