赖斯,尽显巾帼本色

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Condoleezza Rice赖斯，尽显巾帼本色

赖斯，一位曾经还是默默无闻的女性，在小布什总统上任以后，作为他的得力助手，渐渐为人所知。

而随着前国务卿鲍威尔的离去，她取而带之，这名黑人女性成为了叱咤全球的风云人物，

权势、威信和名望全都达到了巅峰。因此，她一路走来的奋斗历程渐渐呈现在众人面前……

Forbes magazine has described her as 'the most powerful woman in the

world', and seeing that it is commonly known that she is the person that

the U.S. president trusts and confides in the most, it would be hard to disagree. Her supporters adore her (there are websites dedicated to promoting her as a candidate for the next presidential election) and her enemies respect her for her sharp intellect and strength of character. Her name, Condoleezza, is derived from an Italian musical term, which roughly translates as 'with sweetness'. However, it was an iron will, rather than sweetness, that guided a young African-American girl (whose great-grandmother was a slave) from segregation-era Alabama to become a member of the President's inner-circle.

Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1954. She was the only child of two teachers who instilled in her a strong study discipline and a firm belief that education was the only road to success. She grew up during a period of intense racial pressures in the USA, when the civil rights movements were campaigning for an end to segregation and other racist policies. She claims that her parents, who were middle-class, managed to keep her sheltered from the turmoil that was occurring around her successfully enough for her to develop a strong sense of self-esteem. Nonetheless, the outside world did intrude occasionally, such as when her classmate was killed when the church she was attending was bombed by white supremacists in 1963. Her parents would explain to her the events that were taking place in the country in an objective way, stressing that, although at this time, because of her skin colour, she could not eat a hamburger at Woolworths, in the future she could become the president of America.

Her parents provided her with a variety of educational experiences by moving her from one school to another and even educating her at home. According to Rice, there was a belief among black families at the time that their children should do twice as well as white kids in order to ①carve out a good future for themselves. Only through educational success could they meet white society on its own terms. The Rice's methods ②paid off. At three, Condoleezza was playing the piano and by the age of 15 she had enough credits to enter the University of Denver.

Initially she studied piano but soon changed her major to political science. She decided on the major change when she attended a course on international politics taught by Josef Korbel. Korbel, a Czech, was one of the leading experts on the Soviet Union in the US, and father of Clinton's Secretary of State, Madeline Albright. Despite the fact that he believed political science was an unsuitable subject for women, Korbel developed a fondness for Rice. Her dedication and intelligence earned his admiration and he spent the next few years giving her the benefit of his knowledge of Russian culture and the Soviet Union as well as teaching her how to explain complex political situations in simple terms. The latter skill proved invaluable in her relationship with George Bush Sr. and his son in later years. Rice earned a PHD by the time she was 26 and began teaching political science to undergraduates of Stanford University.

During her period as tenure professor in Stanford she was well liked by her students who praised her ability to relate to them in a fair and equal manner while maintaining the authority of teacher at the same time. It was here that she also met Brent Scowcroft, a White House national security advisor, who was 'bowled over' by her contribution to a discussion about foreign policy with some of the best minds in the country.

From 1989 to 1991, Rice took a break from her academic career to serve in George Bush Sr.'s administration as Senior Director of Soviet and Eastern European Affairs in the National Security Council as well as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. She helped develop the US strategy in favour of German reunification and was introduced to Gorbachev by Bush Sr. as the one who 'tells me everything I know about the Soviet Union'.

She returned to her university post and in 1993 was appointed as Stanford Provost. The provost is the chief budget and administration official of the university and is considered the most powerful position after the president. Rice's appointment was controversial because she had not worked her way up through the ranks of the university. The president, however, was confident enough in her abilities to ignore opposition to his decision. As provost, Rice's policies were met with mixed approval. Some felt that she improved efficiency while others complained that she lacked understanding of the way Stanford worked. Her method in Stanford was the same as she used and still uses in government; she would analyse a situation, decide on a strategy and implement it. Condoleezza Rice is a very decisive woman but her good nature and diligence (her day starts at 5am on a treadmill!) even earned her the respect of her critics.

During her period in the White House she became a close friend of the Bush family. When George W. Bush took office in 2000, Rice returned to Washington and became the first woman in American history to serve as National Security Advisor. Her approach to foreign policy displayed the same decisiveness that was apparent in Stanford. Rice felt that America should move away from the Clinton era philosophy that US foreign policy should be shaped by liberal humanist ideas. Under her watch, American foreign policy was dictated only by America's national interests. She is regarded as being one of the strongest influences on President Bush, who has admitted himself that foreign policy is not his strong point. Her supporters praise her for putting the US first when it comes to its relationships with the outside world but critics say she finds it too easy to use force and others have been cynical about the relationship between her eagerness to invade Iraq and her business associations (Oil giant, Chevron, of which she was a director, named an oil tanker after her).

In 2004 she was appointed Secretary of State. This appointment ③coupled with her close friendship with the Bush has made her one of the most influential women in the history of America. Since becoming Secretary of State, Rice has been regularly denying that there is truth behind rumours that she will run for President. Her close friends and colleagues have suggested that in private she is less adamant about denying the prospect of such an outcome. For the Republican Party she would prove a very valuable candidate; she has a reputation for being tough while at the same time the ability to appeal to minorities. On the other hand, Rice's future is tied to that of the current administration. If the American public become disillusioned with the war in Iraq amongst other aspects of US foreign policy, Rice will suffer the consequences.

Whether the unmarried Rice becomes the first female and first African-American president of the US or just returns to academic life remains to be seen. But one thing is certain about this smart, savvy, strong-willed woman; she charts her own course.

《福布斯》杂志将她描述为“世界上最有权势的女人”，这一点毋庸质疑，因为众所周知，她是美国总统最信任、最信赖的人。她的支持者崇拜她（有些网站就是专门为她作为候选人参加下次总统竞选而进行宣传的），她的敌人则敬重她的敏锐才智和人格力量。她的名字“Condoleezza”来源于意大利语中的一个音乐术语，大意为“温柔地”。然而，从种族隔离时期的阿拉巴马州一直到成为总统核心集团的一员，指引着这名非裔美国少女（其曾祖母曾是一名奴隶）的却是钢铁般的意志，而非“温柔”。

赖斯于1954年出生在阿拉巴马州的伯明翰。她是一名独生女，双亲均为教师，向其灌输着要有严谨的学风以及要坚信教育是唯一的成功之路。她是在美国种族高压时期成长起来的，那时一直在开展着寻求结束种族隔离和其它种族政策的民权运动。她声称，身处中产阶层的父母设法使她非常成功地避开了发生在她身边的动乱，从而使她可以培养出一种强烈的自尊心。然而，外部世界偶尔还是会产生干扰，譬如，1963年她做礼拜的教堂被白人至上主义者给炸掉了，她的同学当场丧命。她的父母总会以客观的方式来向她解释那些正在这个国家发生的事件，并强调说，即使在此刻，由于她的肤色，她不能到“沃尔沃斯”吃汉堡包，但在以后她还是可以成为美国总统的。

她的父母通过帮她转学，甚至是让她接受家庭教育的方式，使她获得了多种教育经历。据赖斯讲，当时在黑人家庭中间有一种信念，即他们的孩子应该做得比白人孩子好两倍，以便为自己开拓出一片美好的未来。而只有在教育方面取得成功，他们才可以按照白人社会的规范来与之对峙。赖斯的方法奏效了。在3岁的时候，康多莉扎就会弹钢琴了，而15岁的时候，她就已经拥有了足够进入丹佛大学的学分。

她最初是研习钢琴，但不久又把其专业改成了政治科学。她是在参加了约瑟夫・克贝尔讲授的国际政治课后，决定改换专业的。捷克人克贝尔是美国苏联问题的主要专家之一，而且是克林顿时期的国务卿――马德琳・奥尔布莱特的父亲。尽管克贝尔认为政治科学不是一门适合女性的学科，但他对赖斯却宠爱有加。她的专致和聪慧赢得了他的赞赏，从而使他在随后的几年里将其关于俄罗斯文化和苏联的知识传授于她，并教她如何用简单的词汇来解读复杂的政治环境。而后面的这项技能在她与老乔治・布什的交往，以及在随后的岁月里与他儿子的交往中都被证明是无价之宝。赖斯在她26岁的时候取得了博士学位，并且开始在斯坦福大学教授本科生政治科学课程。

在她担当斯坦福大学全职教授期间，她深受学生们的喜爱，学生们对其能够在以公正平等的方式对待他们的同时又保持着教师的威严表示称赞。正是在这里她还遇到了白宫的国家安全顾问布伦特・斯考克罗夫特，后者“折服”于她在与本国最出色的一些智者讨论外交政策时的发言。

从1989年到1991年，赖斯暂别学术生涯，到老乔治・布什的政府中出任苏联及东欧事务资深主任以及总统的国家安全事务特别助理。她协助制订出一项支持德国统一的美国战略，并被老布什当作那个“使我获悉苏联一切”的人员而引见给戈尔巴乔夫。

她（而后）重新返回她在大学的岗位并在1993年被任命为斯坦福大学教务长。教务长是大学里司职预算与管理的最高官员，被认为是仅次于校长的最具权势的职位。对赖斯的任命是有争议的，因为她不是在大学里一步步升迁上来的。然而，校长对她的能力信任有余，从而不顾反对，做下决定。作为教务长，赖斯的政策未能得到完全的赞同。有些人觉得她提高了效率，而其他人则抱怨她缺少对斯坦福大学处事方式的理解。她在斯坦福大学的（处事）方法与她以前和现在仍在政府里使用的是一模一样：她会分析局势，订出一项策略并加以实施。康多莉扎・赖斯是一个非常果断的女性，但她的和善与勤奋（早上5点她就在跑步机上开始了一天的生活！）甚至使她赢得了对其持批评态度的人的尊重。

在她任职于白宫的期间，她成为了布什家族的密友。当乔治・W・布什于2000年就职时，赖斯重返华盛顿并成为了美国历史上第一位担当国家安全顾问的女性。她处理外交政策的方式所显示出的果断性，与见诸于斯坦福大学的方式一模一样。赖斯觉得，美国应该摆脱克林顿时期的观念――美国外交政策应该按照自由人文主义理念来决定。在她的监督下，美国外交政策则仅仅是按美国国家利益来制订。她被认为是对布什总统影响最大的人物之一，而布什已经承认过自己的强项不在外交政策。她的支持者称赞她在处理美国与外部世界的关系时将本国放到了首位，而批评者则说她极易动用武力，而且还有人对她热衷于入侵伊拉克是与她的商界联系（为其设有董事一职的石油巨头雪佛龙公司以她的名字命名了一艘油轮）有关表示忿忿不平。

2004年，她被任命为国务卿。这一任命，再加上她与布什的亲密友谊，已经使她成为了美国历史上最具影响力的女性之一。自打成为国务卿以后，对于她将参选总统的谣言并非是空穴来风一事，赖斯经常会加以否认。而她的密友和同事则暗示说，她在私下里并非那样坚决地否认会出现那种结局的可能。对于共和党来说，她肯定会成为一名非常有价值的候选人：她以强硬著称，与此同时还享有对少数种族的吸引力。而另一方面，赖斯的前途与本届政府的前途休戚相关。如果美国公众从伊拉克战争以及美国其它外交政策中醒悟过来，那么赖斯就将承担后果。

未婚的赖斯是成为美国首位第一女性兼首位非裔美国人总统，还是只是重返学术生涯，都尚待观察。但是，就这位聪明、睿智、意志坚强的女性来说，有一点是肯定的：她为自己规划好了行程。

seeing that 因为；鉴于

confide /k9n`faid/ v.信赖

segregation /,seGri`GeiH9n/ n.种族隔离

inner-circle 核心集团

instill /in`stil/ vt.灌输

turmoil /`t8m4il/ n.动乱；混乱

self-esteem /`selfis`t1m/ n.自尊

white supremacist / (h)wait s9`prem9sist/白人至上主义者

credit /`kredit/ n.学分

undergraduate /,7nd9`Gr2djuit/

n.大学本科生

tenure /`tenju9/ n. (官职等的)保有

mind /maind/ n.有才智的人

reunification /,r1(nifi`keiH9n/ n.再统一

provost /pr4`v9ust/ n.教务长

decisive /di`saisiv/ adj.果断的

good nature 温厚

diligence /`dili_9ns/ n.勤奋

treadmill /`tredmil/ n.跑步机

shape /Heip/ vt.制作；定形

liberal /`lib9r9l/ adj.自由主义的

humanist /`h(m9nist/ n.人文主义者

dictate /dik`teit/ v.命令；规定

cynical /`sinik9l/ adj.愤世嫉俗的

adamant /`2d9m9nt/ adj.坚硬的

disillusion /,disi`l6E9n/ v.醒悟

savvy /`s2vi/ adj.聪慧的

chart /tH3t/ vt.订计划

① carve out 开拓

② pay off 成功

③ coupled with 加上；外加