from thedailybeast.com 譯/陳琳

If you want something said， ask a man. If you want something done， ask a woman. （假如你想要空談，讓男人來；假如你想辦成事，讓女人來。）

—Margaret Thatcher （瑪格麗特·撒切爾）

The Iron Lady has left behind a legacy of political accomplishments marked by some unforgettable lines.

Margaret Thatcher once said， “If you want something said， ask a man. If you want something done， ask a woman.” While the former British prime minister， who died on April 8th， 2013 at the age of 87， was， indeed， a woman of action， she will be remembered both for the extraordinary things she did as well as the poignant1） things she said. In honor of the trailblazing2） politicians life， we take a look back at some of her most memorable quotes.

“No woman， in my time， will be prime minister or foreign secretary—not the top jobs，” Thatcher said in 1969. “Anyway， I wouldnt want to be prime minister. You have to give yourself 100 percent to the job.”

Ten years after writing off any desire—let alone the possibility—to lead the country she loved， Thatcher was elected prime minister. That same year she said， “Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.”

On her election in 1979， Thatcher declared： “Where there is discord， may we bring harmony. Where there is error， may we bring truth. Where there is doubt， may we bring faith. And where there is despair， may we bring hope.”

Thatchers election may have inspired flowery aspirations for the future of Britain， but at her core she was all business. Many of her most notable quotes illustrate the brash3） and fierce attitude that earned her the nickname the “Iron Lady.”

At the Conservative Partys annual conference in October 1980， Thatcher stood up to critics of her economic policies. “To those waiting with bated breath4） for that favorite media catchphrase5）， the U-turn6）， I have only one thing to say. You turn if you want to，” she said. “The ladys not for turning.”

“Nobody would remember the Good Samaritan7） if he only had good intentions. He had money as well，” Thatcher said during a 1980 television interview in London. The prime minister was promoting the benefits of an unequal society.

She was not afraid to make her authority known， saying once， “I dont mind how much my ministers talk， as long as they do what I say.”

Perhaps she should have been more concerned with what her ministers were saying， as her time in office ultimately ended when her cabinet refused to back her for reelection in 1990. Of this dissension， she said： “It was treachery with a smile on its face. Perhaps that was the worst thing of all.”

One of Margaret Thatchers defining missions upon election as prime minister was to reduce government subsidies to industries and combat the power of the trade unions. From 1984 to 1985， Britains miners union went on strike， defying one of several laws that made striking or organizing mass pickets8） without a ballot illegal. Of the strike， Thatcher said， “We had to fight the enemy without in the Falklands9）. We always have to be aware of the enemy within， which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty.”

Eleven years after becoming Britains first female prime minister， Thatcher gave in to pressure from her colleagues to step down. At her final cabinet meeting in November of 1990， Thatcher observed， “Its a funny old world.”

鐵娘子”政績卓越，給后人留下了寶貴的財富，尤為突出的是一些令人難忘的話語。

瑪格麗特·撒切爾曾說：“假如你想要空談，讓男人來；假如你想辦成事，讓女人來?！边@位英國前首相于今年4月8日去世，享年87歲。雖然撒切爾的確是位實干的女性，但她未來為人們所銘記，不僅是因為她的斐然政績，還因為她說過的犀利言辭。為了紀念這位政治先驅的生涯，我們就來回顧一些她最令人難忘的語錄。

“在我這個時代，沒有女人能成為首相或外交大臣——沒有女人能出任這些高層職位，”撒切爾在1969年說道，“反正我不會想去做首相。做這份工作你必須百分之百地投身其中。”

撒切爾說不想成為自己深愛的國家的領袖，更沒想過這一切實現(xiàn)的可能性。然而，十年后，她當選為英國首相。同年，她說：“任何女人，只要懂持家，就更近乎于懂治國?！?/p>

1979年當選為首相時，撒切爾聲明：“凡是有不和的地方，愿我們帶來和諧；凡是有謬誤的地方，愿我們帶來真理；凡是有懷疑的地方，愿我們帶來信任；凡是有絕望的地方，愿我們帶來希望?！?/p>

撒切爾的當選可能激起了人們對英國未來各種華麗美好的期望，但就她而言，她實質上一直是個實干家。她的許多最知名的言論都體現(xiàn)出她倨傲而強勢的態(tài)度，這也讓她有了“鐵娘子”的別稱。

1980年10月的保守黨年會上，撒切爾與那些指責她經濟政策的批評者們直接對抗：“一些人正屏息焦急等待著媒體最愛的口號——‘180度大轉彎。我只有一點要對你們說，要轉你們轉，”她說，“我決不會轉變?！?/p>

“要是樂善好施的撒瑪利亞人只有一片善心，那誰都不會記得他。他還得有錢?！比銮袪?980年在倫敦接受電視采訪時說。當時這位首相正在宣傳不平等社會的好處。

她從不怕表現(xiàn)出自己的權威，有一次她說：“我不在意我的大臣們怎么說，只要他們按照我說的去做?！?/p>

也許她真應該在意大臣們的言論。她的政治生涯走向終結，正是由于內閣不愿支持她參加1990年的連任選舉。針對當時她與內閣間的不和，她說：“這是笑里藏刀的背叛。也許這才是最糟糕的。”

撒切爾當選為首相后的一項重大使命是減少各產業(yè)的政府補貼以及和工會力量抗衡。自1984年至1985年，英國的礦工工會一直在進行罷工，抗議數(shù)條相關法律中的一條——該條法律規(guī)定未經投票進行罷工或組織罷工糾察隊是違法行為。針對罷工，撒切爾說：“我們對外不得不到?？颂m群島上去擊退頑敵。我們還得時刻警惕內部敵人，他們更難擊退，對自由的危害更大?！?/p>

在擔任英國首位女首相11年后，撒切爾屈服于同僚壓力，最終下臺。在1990年11月的最后一次內閣會議上，撒切爾評論道：“這是個有趣的舊世界?！?/p>

1. poignant [?p??nj?nt] adj. 尖銳的，深刻的

2. trailblazing [?tre?l?ble?z??] adj. 開拓的，先驅的

3. brash [br??] adj. 盛氣凌人的，自以為是的

4. with bated breath：因焦急或興奮而屏住氣息

5. catchphrase [?k?t??fre?z] n. 政治宣傳標語，廣告語

6. U-turn [ju?t??（r）n] n. 方向的大轉變

7. Good Samaritan：好心的撒瑪利亞人，出自《圣經》，泛指樂善好施的人。

8. picket [?p?k?t] n. 罷工糾察員，警戒隊

9. Falklands： 即Falkland Islands，具體請參見23頁注釋13。