朝鲜经济未被国际制裁压垮

 　　North Korea is bowed but not broken by international sanctions, according to clues gleaned¹ by a small group of outsiders dedicated² to shining a light on the reclusive Asian nation.

　　根据一小部分致力于揭示朝鲜状况的外部人士收集的线索，这个与世隔绝的亚洲国家受到了打击，但并没有被国际制裁击垮。

　　Although poverty remains³ rife⁴ in the 25m-strong country, the economy has shown signs of increased prosperity as it diversifies⁵ away from the state-dominated system that led to famines in the 1990s.

　　在这个人口超过2500万的国家，贫困仍普遍存在，但随着该国摆脱曾在上世纪90年代导致饥荒的由政府主宰的体制，其经济显示出了更为富裕的迹象。

　　“In the countryside it’s tough and in Pyongyang it’s normal,” said Nick Bonner of travel company Koryo Tours, who last visited Pyongyang two weeks ago. Despite tightened⁷ sanctions, middle-class pleasures such as shopping and outings “are continuing — you wouldn’t notice a change on the surface of things”.

　　高丽旅行社(Koryo Tours)的尼克?邦纳(Nick Bonner)表示：“在农村，生活很艰难，但平壤还算正常。”他上次去朝鲜是在两周前。尽管制裁力度加大，但购物和郊游等中产阶级乐趣仍“在继续，你从表面上看不到什么变化”。

　　Frequent visitors say the capital has been growing more comfortable. People own mobile phones, raise pets and are starting to travel round the country. Food kiosks and coffee shops are appearing on the capital’s streets.

　　经常去朝鲜的游客表示，平壤变得更舒适了。人们有了手机，饲养宠物，开始在全国各地旅游。食品店和咖啡厅正在平壤街头出现。

　　Floods last summer damaged the country’s harvest and led to fears of food shortages. But Chinese grains export data show that North Korea bought less than it did after similar crises in 2011 or 2013, indicating a smaller impact.

　　去年夏季的洪水破坏了朝鲜的收成，引发食品短缺的担忧。但中国的粮食出口数据显示，朝鲜购买的粮食数量不及2011年或2013年发生类似危机后的水平，这表明去年夏季洪水造成的影响较小。

　　The variety of consumer goods has blossomed in state-run shopping malls, according to Rudiger Frank, head of East Asian studies at the University of Vienna, who noted⁸ in a February visit that nearly everything was imported from China. “This is bad news for South Korea, which hoped to play that role after unification,” he wrote in a post this month for 38 North, a website about North Korea run by Johns Hopkins University.

　　维也纳大学(University of Vienna)东亚研究主管吕迪格?弗朗克(Rudiger Frank)表示，各种各样的消费品在政府运营的商场出现，他在2月访问朝鲜时曾指出，几乎一切都是从中国进口的。他本月在为关于朝鲜的网站38 North撰写的博文中写道：“对于韩国而言，这是个坏消息，韩国原本希望在韩朝统一后发挥这种作用。”该网站由约翰霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)运营。

　　While the US wants to tighten⁶ the screw on the Kim Jong Un regime to force it to give up its nuclear programme, China — North Korea’s main trading partner — has argued that basic trade must be maintained to prevent millions of refugees from fleeing a failed state.

　　尽管美国希望收紧对金正恩(Kim Jong Un)政权的制裁，以迫使其放弃核计划，但中国（朝鲜的主要贸易伙伴）认为，基本贸易必须维持，以阻止数百万难民逃离一个失败国家。

　　However, there are growing calls within China for it to use its sway over a regime that is increasingly seen as a threat. The Global Times, a nationalist tabloid⁹ often used to convey messages to other countries, suggested this month that Beijing could cut off oil supplies to its neighbour.

　　然而，在中国国内，越来越多的人呼吁中国利用其对这个日益被视为威胁的政权的影响力。民族主义小报《环球时报》经常被用来向其他国家传达消息，本月该报曾提出，北京可能会切断对朝鲜的石油供应。

　　Beijing has already announced that, in compliance¹⁰ with UN sanctions, it will stop importing North Korean coal — a primary export item and source of hard currency — for the remainder of the year.

　　中国已宣布，中国将遵照联合国制裁决议，在今年剩下的时间里停止进口朝鲜煤炭，煤炭是朝鲜的主要出口商品和主要外汇来源。

　　“The North Korean people usually use coal for heating, so an oil cut would affect their economic and industrial base,” especially transportation of goods around the country, said Cai Jian, an expert at Fudan University in Shanghai.

　　上海复旦大学朝韩专家蔡建表示，“朝鲜人民通常用煤炭取暖，切断石油供应将影响他们的经济和工业基础，”特别是对于在全国各地运输商品。

　　Customs data show North Korea has imported about 50,000 tonnes a month of crude oil between 2006 and 2013, when China stopped publishing the data.

　　海关数据显示，2006年至2013年（此后中国停止公布这些数据），朝鲜每月进口约5万吨原油。

　　Analysing economic life within the Hermit¹¹ Kingdom requires a special kind of detective work, involving a small group of cognoscenti who scour¹² customs and shipping¹³ data, travellers’ reports, state news and satellite images. Their work appears on websites such as 38 North or North Korean Economy Watch.

　　分析这个“隐士王国”的经济状况需要特殊的侦探工作，包括一小批研究海关和航运数据、游客报告、官方新闻和卫星图片的专家。他们的研究结果发布在38 North或朝鲜经济观察(North Korean Economy Watch)等网站上。

　　Taken together, the patchwork¹⁴ of information gives a picture of economic activity. For instance, Chinese exports of coking coal and iron ore to North Korea and imports of iron or steel back into China all dropped in 2015. In his 2016 New Year’s speech, Mr Kim called for ensuring supply to the flagship Kim Chaek steelworks, the country’s oldest and largest mill.

　　经过综合梳理，拼凑起来的信息展示了朝鲜的经济活动。例如，2015年，中国对朝鲜的焦煤和铁矿石出口以及中国从朝鲜的钢铁进口都出现下滑。在2016年的新年致辞中，金正恩要求确保对该国历史最悠久且规模最大的旗舰炼钢厂金策(Kim Chaek)的供应。

　　A midsummer analysis of infrared¹⁵ satellite imagery posted to 38 North concluded the mill was still partially¹⁶ operating. And sure enough, Chinese customs data show exports of sintered ore — a trade that had begun the year before — had faltered¹⁷ around the time of Mr Kim’s speech but was fully¹⁸ recovered by the summer.

　　在38 North发布的去年仲夏期间对红外卫星图像的分析显示，该钢铁厂仍在部分运转。果然，中国海关数据显示，在一年前开始的烧结矿出口，到了金正恩发表新年致辞前后大幅下降，但到去年夏季已全面恢复。

1 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

5 diversifies   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的第三人称单数 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• As the population diversifies the number of consumers with specialized needs grows. 由于人口多样化，需要特定商品的消费者也愈来愈多了。 来自互联网
• The maturity-oriented strategy used by adolescences of different sex diversifies significantly. 不同性别的青少年情绪调节的策略（成熟型）存在显著差异。 来自互联网

6 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

7 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

10 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

11 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

12 scour   

v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷

参考例句：

• Mother made me scour the family silver.母亲让我擦洗家里的银器。
• We scoured the telephone directory for clues.我们仔细查阅电话簿以寻找线索。

13 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

14 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

15 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

16 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

17 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。