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Notre Dame fire provokes deep thoughts
The world sighed after Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire. Aside from French President Emmanuel Macron, leaders of major countries also paid tribute. It is rare that the world laments a disaster that has no heavy casualties. Notre Dame's value is shared far beyond France.
巴黎圣母院大火令全世界一片唏嘘声，不仅法国总统马克龙，世界主要领导人都做了表态。极少有未造成严重人员死亡的灾难带来这么强烈的触动，可见巴黎圣母院的价值已经被远远不止法国人分享。
The loss of cultural relics is heartbreaking. But the unprecedented attention to the fire reflects the influence and soft power of French and European culture.
文物的严重损失令人心痛，但巴黎圣母院大火受到前所未有的关注，反映的是法国和欧洲文化在世界上的影响力，准确说这种影响力也是软实力。
The French and Europeans should be more confident as they can still be a powerhouse in current and future global competition.
我们想借这个机会提醒法国和欧洲人，他们或许应当更加自信些，他们有相当的资本参与当前和今后的世界竞争，而且完全有可能继续扮演强者的角色。
In our opinion, the Notre Dame fire should not have happened. Although an investigation may take a long time, the cathedral wasn't struck by external factors such as lightning, but burned, reflecting the poor management of relevant authorities in Paris. It's reported that the fire might have been caused by a short circuit on the roof. If the cultural relics were devastated for this reason, it's unforgivable.
在我们看来，巴黎圣母院这场大火是不应该发生的。虽然相关调查可能需要挺长时间，但它显然没有遭遇雷击等突出的外因，这么重要的文物被烧，反映了巴黎相关部门管理上的不善。有报道猜测，火灾可能因楼顶的电线短路引起。法国顶级文物如果真因这个原因遭灾，是难以原谅的。
Notre Dame is a cultural heritage of all mankind and France has an obligation to protect it. There are many other world-class cultural relics in France. It is hard to be reassured if they are well protected from disasters.
鉴于巴黎圣母院是人类文化遗产，法国有义务保护好它。法国还有很多其他世界级文物，如果对它们免遭横祸的保护就是这个水平，那么很难让人放心。
Relevant officials should be held accountable for the fire. We believe we have the moral right to make this request.
法国应当有官员因圣母院被烧而被追责，虽然我们远在中国，但我们认为自己有提出这一要求的道义。
People from third world countries would think: Why didn't the world feel the same pity for the Old City of Damascus that was damaged in the bomb attacks? Western people should try to empathize with such a situation. On Tuesday, fringe voices emerged in Chinese public opinion, saying the Notre Dame fire reminded them of the time the Old Summer Palace in Beijing was burned down by British and French troops during the Second Opium War. They opposed Chinese who expressed sympathy for the Notre Dame fire. But mainstream Chinese public opinion disagrees with this view.
一定会有第三世界国家的人联想到，大马士革古城遭到轰炸，为什么就没有世界舆论的集中痛惜和同情?对于这样的诘问，西方人是值得尝试着让自己感同身受的。我们想在此告诉西方人，中国舆论场上16日也出现了部分非主流的声音，那些发声者从巴黎圣母院大火联想到1860年北京圆明园被英法联军烧毁的往事，他们反对很多中国人对圣母院大火表达同情，主流舆论则对这种声音表示不赞同。
The unexpected debate over the case partly shows that neither China nor the West has put that piece of history behind, and some Chinese people still feel hurt while Westerners keep measuring China through outdated ways. This makes it hard for Chinese and Western mindsets to integrate.
中国互联网上这番有些让人意外的争论，部分折射了中西之间现实的情感纠结。可以说，中西都没有真正走出那一段历史，部分中国人的心理上还有那段历史留下的划痕，而一些西方人继续用旧时代的尺子度量今天的中国是否“正确”，给中西的情感融合增添了曲折。
There was a time when a Western country suffered disasters, Chinese people would show overwhelming sympathy toward it. But later Western public opinion often showed partiality for terrorists in the wake of deadly terror attacks on China, fringe voices that oppose expressing sympathy for disaster-hit Western countries have begun to appear.
有过一段时间，在西方某个国家遭难时，中国舆论场上会伴随出现压倒性的同情声。但是后来，西方舆论在中国发生严重暴恐袭击时偏袒恐怖分子，刺激了中国舆论场，在西方出天灾人祸时反对表达同情的激进声音开始出现。
If Westerners regard those voices as the indication of China's nationalism, that will be a shallow view. Chinese society is big and diverse. It's inevitable that there will be some non-mainstream sentiments.
如果有西方人看到中国互联网上的这些表达，就断言这反映了中国社会的“民族主义”，那是很浅薄的反应。首先中国社会如此之大，必然是多元的，出现一些非主流的情绪释放在所难免。
That the Notre Dame fire has immediately become a global focus reflects the unprecedented high level of globalization. But it has been mixed with much regret. In any case, the integration of human emotions is a general trend. More and more common challenges will continuously push us into a community of shared interests and emotions.
巴黎圣母院大火瞬间成为全球关注焦点，无疑反映了全球化已经达到的极高程度。但它又夹带着很多遗憾。无论怎么说，人类的情感融合是大趋势，越来越多的共同挑战会不断推动我们成为一个利益和情感的共同体。
本文系环球网、环球时报英文网站社评。中文部分略有删减。
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