Title: “The Godfather turns 50”　《教父》50周年

　　turn　达到某个年龄

Mario Puzo's(马里奥·普佐) "The Godfather" is reputed to be the fastest-selling book in history. By early 1971, 7m(700万) copies had been printed.

　　reputed　adj.据说的，据称的　　　is reputed to be sth　被普遍认为是…

　　fastest-selling　指书在出版后买的非常快

In many respects(某个方面),  it deserved its success(它的成功名副其实). "The Godfather" is more than competently written. Puzo aspired to literary(文学相关的) greatness(伟大，大，崇高；著名) and only conjured up Vito Corleone(维托·柯里昂) and his family's adventures(冒险) and misadventures to escape  debt(债务). "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse", the Don's(头衔，在英国特指牛津，剑桥这种大学的教授，此处指黑手党的头目) cynical(轻蔑的，嘲笑的) quip(指俏皮话，说出来能博大家一笑的妙语，嘲弄), has become a figure of speech. Some scenes(场景)—such as the planting(偷偷放置) of a racehorse's severed head(被砍下来的头颅) on the bed of a Hollywood producer who did refuse the Don—have passed into folklore(成为传说).

　　in many respects　从很多方面来看

　　competently　adv.胜任地；（形容人时）合格地；（形容事时）达到标准地

　　　　“The Godfather” is more than competently written　《教父》是非常出色的，远超一般的标准

　　aspire to　向往，有志于…　　I aspire to great knowledge　对知识的渴求

　　sb only did sth to do sth else　某人为了做另外一件事而做了某一件事

　　conjure up　想象出　　conjure　v.变戏法

　　misadventure　n.不幸事故；不幸遭遇　　death by misadventure　　意外致死

　　escape　v.逃脱，逃离；躲过；泄露

　　figure of speech　比喻；梗

　　pass into　变成其中的一部分　<=>　become a part of sth

　　folklore　n.民间传说　　folk　adj.流传民间的　　lore　n.传说

The author got a lot of things right: the subtlety of communication between Sicilians in particular and Italians in general; the incorporation, often reluctant, of mobsters from other ethnic backgrounds into the American Mafia; and, above all, Cosa Nostra's usurpation of responsibilities that belong to the state, including the dispensing of justice.

"The Godfather" also gets things wrong, though. It portrays gangsters the way gangsters like to be regarded, as fundamentally honourable types who offer genuine services and seek no more than to be respected for their contributions to society.

It can be argued that in the book and in the first movie, Puzo managed to strike an acceptable balance. But its sequel is a whitewash: the young Vito Corleone transformed seemingly overnight from a loving husband into a homicidal, yet still essentially decent, Don.

That is not how youngsters become Mafiosi in real life. They are co-opted from among the most brutal of their peers and then subjected to a process of systematic, additional brutalisation until they are ready to kill to order. Puzo's version is seductive, but insidious.