区别辨析right与privilege

right与privilege这两个名词均含“权利”之意。

right : 普通用词，指某人或某物拥有符合法律、道义或道德的权利。

• 在1976年酷热难当的夏天，他们遭到监禁并被剥夺了基本权利。
  In the sweltering summer of 1976, they were imprisoned and deprived of their basic rights.

privilege : 指特许或恩施的权利，也指一般人或物所没有的有利条件。

• “It was the intelligence coup of the century,” crowed a CIA report. “Foreign governments were paying good money…for the privilege of having their most secret communications read.”
  “这是本世纪情报工作非常难得的成就，”美国中央情报局的报告中洋洋自得地写道，“外国政府花重金……把自己最机密的通信开放给他人。”
  ——《经济学人》
• My colleagues at Stanford gripe as much as the ones who teach at state schools, and students from more privileged backgrounds are often the worst offenders.
  我在斯坦福大学的同事和公立学校的教师一样都在抱怨，来自更特权背景的学生往往是最为恶劣的冒犯者。
  ——《纽约时报》