譯／陳韋廷
On June 26, 1940, as Britain was girding for the onslaught of the Luftwaffe after the fall of France, Clementine Churchill wrote her husband, Winston, an admonishing note.
1940年6月26日，當英國在法國淪陷後對納粹德國空軍的猛攻做準備時，克萊門汀·邱吉爾寫給她的丈夫溫斯頓一封勸告信。
“There is a danger of your being generally disliked by your colleagues and subordinates because of your rough, sarcastic and overbearing manner,” she warned the prime minister, who was otherwise preoccupied by the prospect of imminent Nazi invasion, a scheming foreign secretary, a restive backbench and the absence of material support from the United States.
她警告正心繫著納粹即將入侵的前景、工於心計的外務大臣、難以駕馭的國會，以及未獲美國物資支援的首相說：「你可能會因為你粗暴、尖刻且咄咄逼人的態度而被同事跟下屬普遍厭惡。」
“I have noticed a deterioration in your manner, and you are not so kind as you used to be,” she continued. “It is for you to give the orders and if they are bungled — except for the King, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Speaker — you can sack anyone and everyone. Therefore with this terrific power you must combine urbanity, kindness and if possible Olympic calm.”
她接著說道：「我注意到你態度變差了，也不像以前那樣和善。你是發號施令的人，若是你命令的事被搞砸了，除了國王、坎特伯里大主教與議長外，任何人跟所有人你都可以開革。因此，手握如此強大權力的你必須結合儒雅、和善，若是可能的話，還有高度的平靜。」
Clementine concluded by citing a French proverb, “One can reign over hearts only by keeping one’s composure.” Winston got the message and found ways to make amends. As his private secretary, Jock Colville, later recalled, “When he was at No. 10 there was always laughter in the corridors, even in the darkest and most difficult times.”
克萊門汀最後引用一句法國諺語說：「一個人唯有保持沉著，才能統治人心。」溫斯頓聽懂了，並且設法改正了自己。就像他的私人秘書賈克．柯維爾後來追憶時所說的，「當他在唐寧街十號時，走廊總會有笑聲，即便是在最黑暗和最困難的時期。」
The Battle of Britain was not decided because Churchill chose to behave better. But given his indispensability at the moment of crisis, it might have been lost if he hadn’t won the confidence and love of those who made the victory possible.
邱吉爾選擇改正自己的言行並不是不列顛戰役（英倫空戰）的決定性因素，然而由於他在危機時刻的不可或缺，要是他沒有赢得那些使勝利成為可能的人的信任與愛，這場戰役可能會輸掉。
The subject of bad bosses is again in the news thanks to Amy Klobuchar, U.S. senator, Democratic presidential aspirant, and, as a recent story in the Times made clear, the living antithesis of whatever “Minnesota Nice” is supposed to be. She throws binders at underlings. She makes them wash her dishes. She suspects office moles. She attempts to sabotage the job prospects of those who want to resign. She reproaches her staff with her own self-pity.
惡老闆這話題因為美國參議員艾美．克羅布查而再次占據新聞版面，她有意成為民主黨的總統候選人。且正如本報日前一篇報導所闡明的，不論「明尼蘇達式友善」應該是什麼樣貌，她都是活生生的負面教材。她向下屬丟紙夾。她要他們洗她的碗盤。她懷疑辦公室有人臥底。她試圖讓那些想辭職者不好找工作。她以自艾自憐來責怪她的手下。
On a trip to South Carolina, forkless, she makes an aide wash her comb after she’s used it to eat a salad — but apparently not before.
在有次去南卡羅來納州時，沒有叉子的她用自己的梳子吃過沙拉後，要一名助理清洗她的梳子──顯然不是吃沙拉之前。
Though the senator has her defenders — 61 former staffers signed a public letter supporting her — the essential truth of the Times’ story is attested by the fact that for years she has had among the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate. Klobuchar admits to being “tough” and having “high expectations.” But the behavior described by The Times isn’t tough. It’s horrible.
儘管有人為這位參議員辯護，有61名舊日部屬簽署聯名公開信支持她，但本報報導的基本真實性可由下列事實加以佐證 ，亦即她多年來一直是手下工作人員流動率最高的參議員之一。克羅布查承認自己「強硬」而且「要求很高」，然而本報報導中所描述的行為卻不是強硬，而是惡劣。
Anyone who’s had a horrible boss knows the difference between tough and horrible — between leaders who set high bars and those who administer petty humiliations.
任何跟過惡老闆的人都知道强硬和惡劣的區別──以及設定高標準的領導者跟用小動作羞辱人的領導者之間的區別。
※說文解字看新聞
horrible在文中意指「糟透的，顧人怨的，惡劣的」，另有「可怕的、恐怖的」之意。
而horrible跟terrible之間的區別在於，前者形容的事情可能讓你感到不舒服或厭惡，但不會感到害怕；後者則指令人長久、難以忍受的驚恐之事，而前者程度通常較後者強烈，例如I've seen terrible movies, but this one is so horrible.（我看過很糟的電影，但這部實在太糟了。）
文中片語make amends表示「改正、補償」之意，後面常加上介系詞for來指要改進或彌補的事物，例如He has made amends for ruining our party.（他已為搞砸我們的聚會賠罪了。）
至於Olympic calm一詞則出自荷馬史詩《奧德賽》，用來形容一種絕對平靜的狀態，而Minnesota nice則指的是美國明尼蘇達州人民熱情友善的待人方式，特徵包括待人以禮，將人際衝突降到最低，維持社會的和諧。
