2018年经济学人 非洲萨赫勒地区成圣战组织新基地(2)

 

The rise of jihadism in Africa is rooted in bad governance,

非洲圣战主义起源于管理不善，

exacerbated¹ by population pressure and climate change.

也与人口压力和气候变化的影响有关。

When the state is corrupt² and predatory, the insurgents’ promise of religious justice can sound appealing.

当国家贪污腐败、掠夺成性时，叛乱分子对于宗教正义的承诺可能听起来很诱人。

There is not much outsiders can do to fix this.

外界对此也无能为力。

Africa’s governments need to step up to their responsibilities.

非洲各国政府需承担起各自的责任。

However, outsiders can help contain the jihadists,

然而，外界可以帮助控制圣战分子，

stopping them conquering turf or building anything resembling a state.

并阻止圣战分子扩大地盘或建立任何类似国家的组织。

This can be done with a light touch, by modest forces, at a reasonable cost.

可以用柔和的方式、适度的军事力量，在合理的代价范围内做这件事。

France already has about 4,500 troops in Africa; America has about 6,000.

在非洲，法国早就有4500人的军队；美国则有6000人的军队。

These are not many boots on the ground in so vast a region.

在如此广阔的区域，这些地面部队并不算多。

Yet they are having an outsize effect by training, supporting and providing crucial intelligence to the African armies that are doing almost all the fighting.

但是，这些军队却发挥了巨大作用，训练、支持几乎参与所有战斗的非洲军队，并为其提供重要情报。

Western forces are helping³ to hold a fragile region together.

西方力量正帮助团结一个脆弱的地区。

Alas⁴, that appears not to be a priority for President Donald Trump⁵.

唉，这似乎不是唐纳德·特朗普总统的首要任务。

Since the deaths of four American soldiers in Niger in October, American troops have been ordered to take fewer risks.

自十月份尼日尔四名美国士兵死亡，美国军队似乎接到命令要少去冒险。

Their commanders have been told to plan for a possible cut of up to 50% in the number of special forces assigned to the region.

美国指挥官已经接到命令，计划将派往该地区的特种部队数量减少50%。

The signs are that Mr Trump is about to repeat Bill Clinton’s mistake.

有迹象表明特朗普会重复比尔·克林顿的错误。

Mr Clinton pulled out of Somalia in 1993, as soon as dead Americans appeared on television.

1993年，电视上播出美国士兵死亡后，克林顿命令美国撤离索马里。

Somalia later collapsed⁶ into anarchy⁷ and became a haven⁸ for jihadists and pirates.

随后，索马里陷入无政府状态，成为圣战分子和海盗的避风港。

Stopping the Sahel from falling apart would be easier than putting it back together.

阻止萨赫勒地区分崩离析要比重建容易得多。

Western troops are insurance against disaster.

西方军队是防灾保险。

Keep paying the premiums⁹.

保费应继续支付。

1 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

8 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

9 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》