2016年经济学人 非洲商业 让非洲发展起来(下)

 

Small wonder Africa grew poorer between 1980 and 2000.

难怪在1980至2000年期间，非洲变得更穷了。

Now inflation has largely been tamed, most central banks are islands of excellence¹ and many ministers boast of cutting red tape.

现在，通货膨胀已经得到了极大遏制，大多数央行表现卓越，很多部长级高官都以简化政府流程为夸耀的资本。

Five of the ten fastest reformers in the World Bank’s latest report on the ease of doing business are African.

世界银行最近一次的营商便利度报告中，十个改进速度最快的国家中有五个都在非洲。

Better government has led to better results.

更好的政府带来了更好的发展。

The proportion of Africans living in absolute poverty has fallen from 58% to 41% since 2000.

非洲的赤贫人口占比已从2000年的58%下降至41%，

In that time primary-school enrolment has risen from 60% to 80%. Annual malaria³ deaths have fallen by more than 60%.

同期的小学入学率从60%升至80%。每年因疟疾致死的人数已经下降了超过60%。

Pessimists⁴ fret⁵ that much of this progress will reverse now that Africa faces economic headwinds.

持悲观态度的投资者担心非洲经济遇到强劲逆风，大多所取得的进步都会倒退。

There are some worrying signs.

现在也的确有一些令人担忧的征兆。

Leaders once hailed as democrats⁶ are amending⁷ constitutions to escape term limits.

一些曾被尊为民主主义者的领导人们正在试图修改宪法以突破任期限制。

In Congo, Joseph Kabila’s efforts to cling to power risk restarting a civil war, as the president of neighbouring Burundi already has.

在刚果，约瑟夫?卡比拉（Joseph Kabila）对权力撒手不放，有可能会再次引发内战，邻国布隆迪的总统就是前车之鉴。

The continent’s two biggest economies are making needless and costly⁸ policy errors.

非洲两个最大的经济体在政策方面正在犯下不必要且成本高昂的错误。

Nigeria is trying to prop² up its overvalued currency by, in effect, banning imports.

尼日利亚实际上在试图通过禁止进口来支撑其估值过高的货币，然而事与愿违，

Instead it is driving up inflation.

这反而推高了国内的通货膨胀。

South Africa, meanwhile, has prompted capital flight and brought economic growth to a halt by keeping in power a president who was found to have breached⁹ the constitution and on whose watch corruption¹⁰ has flourished.

同时，南非因保留了已被发现违宪且纵容腐败的总统，导致资本外逃，经济停滞。

But massive missteps like these are now the exception rather than the rule.

然而这种弥天大错仅仅是例外，并不具有普遍性。

Most countries in Africa are following sound economic policies, controlling government deficits¹¹ and keeping inflation in check.

非洲大部分国家都在遵循明智的经济发展政策，控制政府赤字，遏制通货膨胀。

Dig beneath the headlines, and even in countries that are making big errors there is momentum¹² for reform:

深挖到新闻头条背后就会发现，即使在犯下大错的国家，仍然有着改革的动力：

in South Africa once-taboo policies such as privatisation are back on the table, and in Nigeria the government is clamping down on corruption and trimming a bloated civil service.

在南非，如私有化等政策不再是禁忌，又重新得以讨论；在尼日利亚，政府正在打击腐败，精简庞大的公务员队伍；

Ethiopia is sucking in foreign investment, and smaller economies such as Ivory Coast and Rwanda are growing rapidly after making it easier to do business.

埃塞俄比亚正在吸收外资；而一些小经济体，如科特迪瓦和卢旺达，在改善营商环境之后增长迅速。

1 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

2 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

3 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

4 pessimists   

n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说，我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网

5 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

12 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。