又中又英｜Being aggressive

Do journalists always have to be aggressive when interviewing people? Many friends have asked me this question. My answer is always the same. Being aggressive is part of a reporter's job. So is being curious about the issues reporters cover. But there is a big difference between being aggressive in a fair and polite way and being aggressive in a rude way. To be aggressive used this way means to be very forceful. But it can also mean being hostile. Some journalists believe that to be good at their jobs they must be aggressive in a hostile way when asking questions.

They want to tie into knots the people they interview with hostile questions. To tie people into knots means to confuse them and make them unable to explain something clearly. During my time as a TV host some people said I liked to tie into knots the people I interviewed. Whenever people tell me that, I always say I beg to differ. To beg to differ means to disagree in a polite way. I was aggressive when questioning guests on my TV show, but I took pains to be polite even when guests avoided giving me a direct answer. To take pains means to try very hard to do something.

I took pains to be polite and asked the question again when guests didn’t give me a straight answer because it’s pointless to be hostile. Guests will likely never go back to a TV show, and others may never agree to be guests, if they feel the host is too hostile, unfair, or rude. No guest wants to be tied into knots.

记者访问人的时候，是否总是必须进取、挑衅的（aggressive）？许多朋友都曾问过我这道问题。我的回答总是一样的：积极进取（aggressive）是做记者的职责之一。同样，记者亦要对所报道的议题怀有好奇心。然而，公道而有礼的进取（aggressive），与粗鲁无礼的咄咄逼人（aggressive），还是有很大的差别。在这里，to be aggressive是指非常强硬激烈的，但它也可以解作怀有敌意、具侵略性的。有些记者相信，要做好自己的本分，他们就必须以不友善的方式，挑衅进取地（aggressive）问问题。

他们访问人时，想以怀有敌意的问题使受访者 tie into knots——to tie people into knots 是指令人感到困惑，又或令他们紧张得舌头打结，不能清晰地解释某事情。我做电视节目主持期间，有些人说我喜欢把我访问的人弄糊涂（tie into knots）。每当有人这样跟我说，我都总是说 I beg to differ。To beg to differ即「恕难苟同」。确实，我在电视节目上问嘉宾问题时，相当积极进取（aggressive），但我已极力（took pains）保持有礼，即使嘉宾回避给予直接的回应。To take pains意指费尽苦心、不厌其烦地做某件事情。

我极力（took pains）保持有礼，当嘉宾没有给我直截了当的答覆时，我会重复提问那道问题，因为对对方不友善或抱持敌意，是毫无意义的。如果嘉宾觉得主持人太有敌意、不公允，甚或粗鲁无礼，他们便很可能从此以后不再亮相电视节目，其他人也或许永不愿意当嘉宾了。没有嘉宾会想被弄得头昏脑胀、舌头打结的（tied into knots）。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻