研究生英语泛读翻译第十二单元

1、 Unhappy AmericaIf America can learn from its problems, instead of blaming others, it will come back stronger.如果HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/usa.html美国能够从自身的问题中汲取教训，而不是责备他人，将会变得更加强大。NATIONS, like people, occasionally get the blues郁郁不乐; and right now the United States, normally the worlds most self-co

2、nfident place, is glum阴沉的. Eight out of ten Americans think their country is heading in the wrong direction. The hapless不幸的 George Bush is partly to blame (be to blame应承担责任)for this: his approval ratings are now sub-Nixonian. But many are concerned not so much about a failed president as about a fla

3、iling nation.国家，就像人一样， 有时也会郁郁不乐；而此时的美国，原本是世界上最自信的国家，如今也陷入阴沉。超过80%的美国人认为他们的国家正朝一个错误的方向发展。不幸的G.布什 也对此遭受几分指责：他如今的支持率已不如尼克松。但是人们更加关心一个动荡的国家而不是一个失败的总统。One source of angst担心 is the sorry state of American capitalism资本主义. The “Washington consensus” told the world that open markets and deregulation would so

4、lve its problems. Yet American house prices are falling faster than during the Depression, petrol is more expensive than in the 1970s, banks are collapsing破坏, the euro is kicking sand in the dollars face, credit is scarce, recession and inflation both threaten the economy, consumer confidence is an

5、oxymoron and BelgiansHYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/belgium.html比利时人 have just bought Budweiser, “Americas beer”.担心的一个来源是美 国资本主义的可怜处境。“华盛顿共识”告诉世界开放市场以及放松管制会解决问题。但是，美国房价正以比大萧条时期更快的速度下跌，石油比20世纪70年代 更加昂贵，银行倒闭，欧元在美元面前飞扬跋扈，信用缺失，衰退和通胀都威胁着经济。比利时人刚收购了被称为“美国的啤酒”的百威啤酒，这与消费者信心形成 矛盾。And its not just the downturn低迷

6、时期 that has caused this discontent不满. Many Americans feel as if they missed the boom. Between 2002 and 2006 the incomes of 99% rose by an average of 1% a year in real terms, while those of the top 1% rose by 11% a year; three-quarters of the economic gains during Mr Bushs presidency went to that top

7、 1%. Economic envy, once seen as a European vice恶习, is now rife普遍的. The rich appear in Barack Obamas speeches not as entrepreneurial企业家 role models but as modern versions of the “malefactors犯罪分子 of great wealth” denounced谴责 by Teddy Roosevelt a century ago: this lot, rather than building trusts, avo

8、id taxes and ship jobs to Mexico. Globalisation is under fire: free trade is less popular in the United States than in any other developed country, and a nation built on immigrants is building a fence to keep them out. People mutter about nation-building beginning at home: why, many wonder, should A

9、merican children do worse at reading than Polish ones and at maths than Lithuanians?这种不满并不仅仅由 这种下降趋势引起的。许多美国人感觉他们仿佛错过了繁荣。在2002年到2006年间，99%的个人收入平均每年实际上涨了1%，但那些收入最高的1%人 群的收入每年却上涨了11%，占到布什执政时期经济收入的四分之三。曾经被看做欧式恶习的经济嫉妒，如今却很盛行。在巴拉克.奥巴马的演讲中，财富并不是 出现在企业家模范们的身上，而是出现在一个世纪以前特迪.罗斯福总统所谴责的“巨额财富的罪人”：这种份额，胜于建立信任，逃税

10、和向HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/mexico.html墨西哥输出劳务。全球化正处于水深火热之中：自由贸易在美国比在任何其他发达国家都不流行，并且一个由移民组成的国家也建立了一个阻止他们进入的壁垒。人们开始在家中抱怨国家建设：很多人想知道，为什么美国小孩的阅读水平不如波兰小孩，而且数学成绩不如立陶宛小孩？The dragons breath on your shoulder巨龙在身边喘息Abroad, America has spent vast amounts of blood and treasure, to little purpose. In Iraq, fi

11、nding an acceptable exit will look like success; Afghanistan is slipping渐渐松弛. Americas claim to be a beacon灯塔 of freedom in a dark world has been dimmed暗淡的 by Guantnamo, Abu Ghraib and the flouting of the Geneva Conventions amid the panicky “unipolar单极的” posturing in the aftermath of September 11th.

12、在国外，美国花费了 大量的心血和财富只为了很小的目的。在伊拉克，寻求一种体面的退出方式似乎是一种成功；在阿富汗方面却渐渐松弛。美国要在一个黑暗的世界里成为自由之光的 声明因关塔那摩监狱、阿布加里卜监狱以及在911之后对于单极世界故作姿态的恐慌中对日内瓦公约的蔑视而黯然失色，Now the world seems very multipolar多极的. Europeans no longer worry about American ascendancy优势. The French, some say, understood the Arab world rather better than t

13、he neoconservatives新保守派 did. Russia, the Gulf Arabs and the rising powers of Asia scoff openly at the Washington consensus. China in particular spooks惊吓 Americaand may do so even more over the next few weeks of Olympic medal-gathering. Americans are discussing the rise of China and their consequent随

14、之发生的 relative decline; measuring when Chinas economy will be bigger and counting its missiles导弹 and submarines潜水艇 has become a popular pastime in Washington. A few years ago, no politician would have been seen with a book called “The Post-American World”. Mr Obama has been conspicuously显著的 reading F

15、areed Zakarias recent volume.现在的世界更加多极化。欧洲人不再忧虑美国的霸主地位。有人说HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/france.html法国人比新保守主义者更加了解阿拉伯世界。HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/russia.html俄罗斯， 海湾地区和正在崛起的亚洲国家公开嘲笑华盛顿共识。中国特别让美国大跌眼镜而且会在接下来几周中在对奥运金牌的追逐中更加如此。美国人正在讨论中国崛 起和其自身随之发生的相关衰退，估算中国经济何时将会变得更加强大以及计算其拥有的导弹和潜水艇，这在华盛顿已成为一种流行的消遣。几年前，没有

16、一个政客 会看一本叫做“后美国时代”的书，但是显然，奥巴马先生正在读Fareed Zakaria的新书。America has got into funks before now. In the 1950s it went into a Sputnik-driven spin about Soviet power; in the 1970s there was Watergate, Vietnam and the oil shocks; in the late 1980s Japan seemed to be buying up America. Each time, the United S

17、tates rebounded回弹, because the country is good at fixing itself. Just as American capitalism allows companies to die, and to be created, quickly, so its political system reacts fast. In Europe, political leaders emerge slowly, through party hierarchies层级; in America, the primaries permit inspiration

18、al unknowns to burst into the public consciousness意识 from nowhere.美国之前一度陷入低谷。20世纪50年代陷入了与苏联较劲人造卫星的漩涡中；70年代发生了水门事件，越战和石油冲击；在80年代末，HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/japan.html日本似乎可以将美国收购。美国每一次都能起死回生正因为其擅长自我修复。正像美国资本主义允许公司破产、并且很快被重组，它的政治体系反应很快。在欧洲，政治领袖通过党内层级形成缓慢，但在美国，初选却允许无名之辈从不名之地涌入公众视野。Still, countries, li

19、ke people, behave dangerously when their mood turns dark. If America fails to distinguish between what it needs to change and what it needs to accept, it risks hurting not just allies联盟者 and trading partners, but also itself.国家就像人一样，情绪恶劣时行为表现也很危险。如果美国分不清什么需要改变和什么需要接受，它将冒不仅伤害同盟者和贸易伙伴，也会伤害自身的危险。The As

20、ian scapegoat亚洲的替罪羊There are certainly areas where change is needed. The credit crunch is in part the consequence结果 of a flawed regulatory system. Lax松弛的 monetary policy allowed Americans to build up debts and fuelled a housing bubble that had to burst eventually. Lessons need to be learnt from both

21、 of those mistakes; as they do from widespread concerns about the state of education and health care. Over-unionised and unaccountable, Americas school system needs the same sort of competition that makes its universities the envy of the world. American health care, which manages to be the most expe

22、nsive on the planet even though it fails properly to care for the tens of millions of people, badly needs reform.当然有地区需要改 变。信贷紧缩是一个有缺陷的监管体系的部分结果。松弛的货币政策允许美国人负债以及催生的房产泡沫必将最终爆发。从这些错误中必须学会教训，就像他们 对国家的教育和医疗保障的广泛关注一样。无法解释的是，美国的教育体系同样需要几分竞争，这使其大学备世界羡慕。美国人的医疗保健是这个世界上最昂贵的， 急需改革，即使数百万的人未能完全的得到关照。There have b

23、een plenty of mistakes abroad, too. Waging发动 a war on terror was always going to be like pinning jelly to a wall. As for Guantnamo Bay, it is the most profoundly un-American place on the planet: rejoice when it is shut.美国在海外也有很多错误。发动以反恐为借口的战争总像往墙壁上放果冻一样站不住脚。至于关塔那摩海湾，是世界上最不像美国的地方：当其被关闭时人们会欢欣鼓舞。In suc

24、h areas America is already showing its genius for reinvention. Both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates promise to close Guantnamo. As his second term ticks down, even Mr Bush has begun to see the limits of unilateralism. Instead of just denouncing and threatening the “axis of evil

25、” he is working more closely with allies (and non-allies) in Asia to calm down North Korea. For the first time he has just let American officials join in the negotiations with Iran about its fishy nuclear programme.在这些区域美国依然 展现了其再造的天才。无论是共和党还是民主党的总统候选人都许诺关闭关塔那摩监狱。甚至小布什也在其第二任期将要结束的时候，开始看到片面限制武器论的局 限性

26、。他正在跟亚洲的同盟国（以及非同盟国）紧密合作，而不仅仅是谴责和威胁“邪恶轴心“来安抚朝鲜。他也刚刚第一次让美国官员参与关于HYPERLINK http:/2014./teams/iran.html伊朗核问题的谈判。That America is beginning to correct its mistakes is good; and theres plenty more of that to be done. But one source of angst demands a change in attitude rather than a drive to restore恢复 the

27、status quo现状: Americas relative decline, especially compared with Asia in general and China in particular.美国正开始改正自己的错误是好的，而且还有更多要去做。但是焦虑的来源与其说需要对修复现状的驱动，不如说更需要态度的转变：美国相关的衰退，特别是相对亚洲而言，更特别地是相对于中国。The economic gap between America and a rising Asia has certainly narrowed; but worrying about it is wrong

28、for two reasons. First, even at its present growth rate, Chinas GDP will take a quarter of a century to catch up with Americas; and the internal tensions that Chinas rapidly changing economy has caused may well lead it to stumble绊倒 before then. Second, even if Asias rise continues unabated不衰退, it is

29、 wrongand profoundly深深地 unAmericanto regard this as a problem. Economic growth, like trade, is not a zero-sum game. The faster China and India grow, the more American goods they buy. And they are booming largely because they have adopted Americas ideas. America should regard their success as a tribu

30、te, not a threat, and celebrate in it.当然，美国和崛起的 亚洲之间的经济差距已经缩小。但是忧虑这一点是错误的，原因有两点：第一，即使以现状的速率增长，中国的GDP也要四分之一个世纪才能赶上美国；而且中国 快速增长的经济引发的内部压力会导致经济放缓；第二，即使亚洲的崛起不被削弱，把这个看做一个问题也是错误的这非常不美国。经济增长就像贸易一样，并 不是一个零和游戏。中国和印度增长地越快，他们购买的美国商品越多。而且由于他们适应了美国的思维，所以变得更加繁荣。美国应该把他们的成功看做是一种贡 献，而非威胁，并要为之庆祝。Many Americans, unfor

31、tunately, are unwilling to do so. Politicians seeking a scapegoat for Americas self-made problems too often point the finger at the growing power of once-poor countries, accusing them of stealing American jobs and objecting when they try to buy American companies. But if America reacts by turning in

32、 on itselfraising trade barriers贸易壁垒 and rejecting foreign investorsit risks exacerbating加剧 the economic troubles that lie behind its current funk.很不幸的是，很多美 国人不想这样做。政客们频繁地为美国自己制造的问题寻求替罪羔羊，他们将矛头指向曾经贫穷却正在发展中的国家，指责它们抢夺了美国人的工作，并且在这些国 家购买美国公司时针锋相对。但是如果美国转身针对自己提高贸易壁垒，拒绝外国投资者它将冒着加剧存在于其当前恐慌背后的经济危机恶化的风险。Ever

33、ybody goes through经历 bad times. Some learn from the problems they have caused themselves, and come back stronger. Some blame others, lash out 冲击and damage themselves further. America has had the wisdom to take the first course many times before. Lets hope it does so again.每个人都会经历艰难时期。有些人从他们自己引起的问题中汲

34、取教训，并且变得更为强大。有些人却归咎于别人，对自己造成更深的冲击与伤害。曾在之前很多次，美国很明智地第一个吃了螃蟹，希望它再接再厉。The Baby Formula Barometer婴儿奶粉挡住中国强国之路Edward Wongs terrific frontarticle in HYPERLINK /2013/07/26/world/asia/chinas-search-for-infant-formula-goes-global.htmlThe New York Times on Friday is as good an encapsulation of the issues curr

35、ently facing China and its economy as anything youre likely to read on the subject. As it tries to move from a fast-growing, export-oriented, developing economy to a more mature economy, it keeps bumping up against problems that could prevent it from becoming the kind of economic power it so clearly

36、 longs to be. These problems are almost entirely self-inflicted.HYPERLINK /china/20130726/c26babypowder/纽约时报上周五的头版发表了一篇由黄安伟(Edward Wong)撰写的精彩文章，与许多大家可能读到的任何同主题文章一样，它很好地概括了中国及其经济目前面临的问题。中国正努力从一个高速增长的出口导向型的发展中国家，转型为更成熟的经济体，期间问题不断，而这些问题可能阻挠它成为自身梦寐以求的那种经济强国，而且，它们几乎全部属于自食其果。Wongs article was about, of al

37、l things, infant formula. Specifically, it was about how Chinese parents with connections and money scramble to buy formula abroad, even though there is plenty available in China. They hire people who will go into stores in Britain and elsewhere and buy formula for them. Or they buy formula that has

38、 been smuggled in from Hong Kong where smuggling infant formula is now a serious crime. Mainly, Chinese parents want to ensure that the formula they are feeding their babies has never been touched by a Chinese company.黄安伟的文章单单写的是婴幼儿配方奶粉。更具体地说，是有关系和财力的中国家长撇下国内供应充足的奶粉，竞相购买外国奶粉的故事。他们请人到英国等地的商店代购，或者是购买从

39、香港走私过来的产品。在香港，走私婴幼儿配方奶粉如今已成为一种严重罪行。中国的家长主要是想要确保，喂给孩子的奶粉未经任何中国企业染指。The reason is obvious. In 2008, six babies died and some 300,000 became ill after their mothers fed them HYPERLINK /2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.htmlbaby milk products that were tainted with the chemical melamine. Ever since, Chinese

40、mothers havent trusted domestically made baby milk products starting with formula.理由再明显不过。2008年，一些母亲喂她们的孩子吃了HYPERLINK /2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.html被化学物质三聚氰胺污染HYPERLINK /2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.html的HYPERLINK /2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.html婴幼儿奶制品，导致6名婴儿死亡，约30万患病。自那以后，中国妈妈们不再信任国产婴幼儿奶制品，首当

41、其冲的就是配方奶粉。In fact, as I learned during my recent visit to China, Chinese consumers dont trust a lot of Chinese-made goods. In recent years, there have been food scandals surrounding HYPERLINK /2010/04/01/world/asia/01shanghai.htmlcooking oil, HYPERLINK /2008/10/27/world/asia/27china.htmleggs and mea

42、t, for starters. A few months ago, HYPERLINK /2013/05/06/40-tons-of-tainted-pork-allegedly-sold-in-china/according to Time magazine, three people were caught processing pigs that had died of infectious diseases. A few years ago, contamination of Chinese-produced heparin, the blood-thinner, HYPERLINK

43、 /2008/04/22/health/policy/22fda.htmlwas linked to 81 deaths. Chinese consumers dont even favor Chinese cars foreign models dominate the market because they fear that someone may have taken a shortcut (or worse) that will cause the car to die.实际上，不久前的中国之行让我知道，中国消费者不信任的国产商品为数众多。近年来，HYPERLINK /2010/04

44、/01/world/asia/01shanghai.html食用油、HYPERLINK /2008/10/27/world/asia/27china.html蛋和肉类等各种食品安全丑闻层出不穷，这还只是个开始。几个月前，时代周刊(HYPERLINK /2013/05/06/40-tons-of-tainted-pork-allegedly-sold-in-china/Time)报道，三人因加工病死猪肉而遭曝光。几年前，中国生产的血液稀释剂“肝素”被认为HYPERLINK /2008/04/22/health/policy/22fda.html与81宗死亡有关。就连国产车也不受中国消费者的青睐，

45、外国车型占领了中国市场，因为消费者担心有人偷工减料（或者更糟糕），可能导致车辆无法使用。So problem No. 1: At a time when China is trying to build a domestic economy to match its export economy, there is a complete lack of faith in Chinese companies. “It is not about branding,” an American businessman living in Shanghai told me (he feared cons

46、equences to his business if he let me use his name). Rather, he said, there is a sense among consumers that no matter what the industry, too many Chinese businesspeople are willing to scam their own customers to make a buck.问题一：中国正努力打造与其出口经济相当的国内经济之时，人们对中国企业却完全没有信心。在上海生活的一名美国商人告诉我（由于担心生意受影响，他要求匿名），“

47、这不是打造品牌的问题”。他说，而是消费者感觉，无论是哪个行业，都有太多的中国商人为了赚钱而不惜欺骗消费者。With corner-cutting deeply ingrained as a Chinese business practice, its really up to the government to change that ethos through regulation and enforcement. But while the central government is more than happy to pass nice-sounding laws, there is

48、virtually no enforcement, and no real culture of regulation either. Thats problem No. 2. Provincial governments that are supposed to oversee, say, the food supply, are often either in on the scam, or look the other way because they fear that a crackdown might impede economic growth. And officials ar

49、e evaluated almost exclusively on the basis of growth. Problem No. 3: bad incentives.由于中国商界偷工减料成性，的确需要政府通过监管和执法来改变这种风气。但是，尽管中央政府极其乐于通过看上去很美的法规，但基本不执行，也不存在真正的监管文化。此为问题二。省级政府本应对食品供应等问题进行监管，却往往不是成为帮凶，就是视而不见，因为他们害怕，重拳出击可能会影响经济增长。而官员考核几乎只注重经济增长。此为问题三：糟糕的激励机制。And if your car does break down in six months

50、because a supplier sold faulty parts or your child dies from tainted infant formula? Theres not a thing you can do. Yes, when a big scandal breaks, HYPERLINK /2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/k/some crooks go to prison, but even the biggest scandals dont lead to systematic change. Nor is there any way to se

51、ek recompense in the courts; in the West, that has long served to help keep companies on the straight and narrow. The lack of a real rule of law is problem No. 4.假如你的汽车因供应商出售的问题配件6个月就报废，亦或你的孩子因受污染的奶粉而死亡，又会如何？答案是你什么都做不了。的确，每当大丑闻爆发，HYPERLINK /2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/k/都有些坏蛋进监狱，但是，就算是最大的丑闻也没有带来系统性的改变。

52、也没有任何途径可以在法庭上寻求赔偿，而在西方，这一直是让企业遵纪守法的一个原因。此为问题四：缺乏真正的法治。As Wong notes in his article, the government is now investigating foreign companies selling infant formula in China for price-fixing. (Since the scandal, the price of a can of foreign formula has risen by 30 percent.) Whether there is price-fixing or not market forces are a more likely culprit this response is exactly the problem: instead of enforcing regulations that would give consumers confidence in their own countrys products, the government instead