2020年经济学人 一周要闻 阿富汗出现双总统 黎巴嫩陷经济危机 新冠病毒成全球流行病

Both the incumbent¹, Ashraf Ghani, and his main electoral opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, were sworn in as president of Afghanistan in rival inauguration² ceremonies. In the meantime, talks between Afghan politicians and the insurgents³ of the Taliban, which had been due to start on March 10th, are on hold, as the two sides argue about a planned prisoner exchange.

现任总统阿什拉夫·加尼和他的主要竞选对手阿卜杜拉·阿卜杜拉都在各自的就职典礼上宣誓就任阿富汗总统。同时，原定于3月10日开始的阿富汗政界人士和塔利班叛乱分子的谈判被搁置，因为双方就一项囚犯交换计划争论不休。

Myanmar's army vetoed constitutional amendments⁵ that would have reduced its political power. The ruling National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had proposed shrinking the proportion of MPs appointed by the army and making it easier to amend⁴ the constitution, among other things.

缅甸军方否决了可能削弱其政治权力的宪法修正案。此前，由昂山素季领导的执政的全国民主联盟提议缩减由军方任命的国会议员的比例，其中一个目的是使修改宪法变得更容易。

North Korea launched several missiles into the Sea of Japan in an apparent military drill. It was its second missile test in the space of a week.

朝鲜在一次明显的军事演习中向日本海发射了几枚导弹。这是朝鲜一周内的第二次导弹试验。

Mired⁶ in economic crisis, Lebanon did not repay a $1.2bn Eurobond, defaulting on its debts for the first time. Foreign reserves have plummeted⁷ and unemployment is rising. The government will try to negotiate a restructuring with its creditors⁸, as it struggles with debt that is about 170% of GDP.

陷入经济危机困境的黎巴嫩没有偿还12亿美元的欧元债券，这是其首次拖欠债务。黎巴嫩外汇储备已经大幅下降，失业率正在上升。政府将尝试与债权人协商重组事宜，因为它正在与占GDP约170%的债务作斗争。

Two Americans and a Briton were killed by a rocket attack on a military base near Baghdad. Tensions have been high in Iraq, as Iranian-backed militia⁹ have sworn revenge for America's assassination¹⁰ of a senior Iranian commander at Baghdad airport in January.

巴格达附近的一个军事基地发生火箭弹袭击，导致两名美国人和一名英国人死亡。伊拉克局势高度紧张，因为伊朗支持的民兵组织发誓要报复美国。美国曾于一月份在巴格达机场刺杀了一名伊朗高级指挥官。

Prince Ahmed bin¹¹ Abdel-Aziz, a brother of Saudi Arabia's King Salman, and Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, a nephew of his who was previously¹² the crown prince, were arrested with several other senior figures. The arrests were presumably ordered by the current crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, who runs the show. This suggests that opposition¹³ to the crown prince's authoritarian¹⁴ ways may be stirring in rival royal circles.

沙特国王萨勒曼的兄弟艾哈迈德·本·阿卜杜勒-阿齐兹王子和他的侄子、前王储穆罕默德·本·纳耶夫王子，和其他一些高层人物一同被捕。这些逮捕行动很可能是由现任王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼下令的，他是这次行动的负责人。这表明，反对王储独裁方式的声音可能正在敌对的王室圈子里酝酿。

Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister of Sudan, survived a gun-and-bomb attack on his motorcade. The assassination attempt highlights the precariousness¹⁵ of the country's transition towards democracy.

苏丹总理阿卜杜拉·哈姆多克的车队遭到枪击和炸弹袭击，但他幸免于难。此次暗杀行动突出了该国向民主过渡的不稳定性。

The coronavirus crisis. The World Health Organisation¹⁶ officially declared covid-19 to be a pandemic: "We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear." America announced a travel ban on visitors from Europe (except Britain and Ireland). The lockdown in northern Italy was extended to the whole country. Most shops were ordered to close. In Germany, Angela Merkel said that 60-70% of the country's population may contract the disease at some point. Xi Jinping said there had been a positive turn to contain covid-19 in the province of Hubei. Outside Hubei, China reported three days with no newly confirmed cases of local infection. The central bank of Nigeria will, in effect, ban imports of hand sanitiser. The governor said this would boost local production.

新型冠状病毒危机。世界卫生组织正式宣布新型冠状病毒为全球性流行病：“我们已经响亮而明确地敲响了警钟。”美国宣布禁止欧洲游客入境(英国和爱尔兰除外)。意大利北部的封锁已扩展到全国。大多数商店被勒令关闭。安格拉·默克尔表示，德国可能会有60%至70%的人口感染新型冠状病毒。习近平表示，湖北省新冠疫情控制已经有了积极转变。中国湖北以外地区连续3天报告无本地新确诊感染病例。尼日利亚央行将禁止进口洗手液。主管表示这将促进当地的生产。

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

5 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

6 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

15 precariousness   

参考例句：

• The precariousness is further increased by self-experiences in the aforementioned marginal situation. 在上述边际情况下自身经验会更进一步增加这种不确定感。 来自互联网
• These reports have revealed to the insurgents the precariousness of their position. 这些报导使叛乱士兵知道了他们的危险境地。 来自互联网

16 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。