2020年经济学人 开放不再,繁荣落幕(3)

The author is often amusing as well as illuminating¹. Genghis Khan was a vicious warlord, but his domestic policies “would today open him up to accusations² of being a politically correct, latte-drinking virtue³ signaller”. The Mongols practised ethnic⁴ and religious tolerance⁵, which is one reason why they were so effective. They promoted skilled fighters, engineers and administrators⁶ of all backgrounds. Of the 150,000-strong horde⁷ that invaded Europe in 1241, only around a third were ethnic Mongols.

作者写的故事经常妙趣横生，而且发人深省。成吉思汗是一位残酷的军阀式领袖，但是他实行的国内政策“在今天会使他被指责为政治正确、喝着拿铁的美德信号员”。蒙古人实行种族和宗教的宽容，这也是他们有效率的原因之一。他们提拔了很多娴熟的战士、工程师和管理人员，且不问出身。1241年入侵欧洲的15万大军中，只有大约三分之一是蒙古族。

Habsburg soldiers were surprised to find that one captured officer was a middle-aged⁸ literate⁹ Englishman, who had fled persecution¹⁰ for heresy¹¹ at home and sought refuge among the more openminded Mongols. All regions have had rulers who tried to preserve stability by shutting out foreign influence. The key to thwarting¹² them has often been for the ruled to vote with their feet. Early modern Europe was no more advanced than China, but power was more dispersed¹³, so thinkers who offended one prince could simply move. Hobbes wrote “Leviathan” while in exile in Paris; Locke and Descartes went to Amsterdam. Their books could always be printed somewhere, and so were impossible to suppress.

哈布斯堡的士兵们惊讶地发现，有一名被俘军官是满腹学识的英国中年男子，他为躲避英国对宗教异端的迫害，而逃亡至更加开明的蒙古以寻求庇护。世界各地都会有统治者通过排斥外国势力来维护稳定。阻挠这些统治者的关键在于被统治者们要表示异议。早期的现代欧洲的先进程度比不上中国，但权力更加分散，因此得罪了一位王子的思想家可以轻易地活动。霍布斯在巴黎流亡期间写下了《利维坦》；洛克和笛卡尔则去了阿姆斯特丹。总有一些地方能够印刷他们创作的书，所以当时的欧洲无法打压他们。

Backlashes against openness are inevitable¹⁴ because they are rooted in human nature, Mr Norberg contends. Human brains evolved over millennia¹⁵ in which disruptive change often meant death; mutually beneficial exchanges with strangers were rare. If the past 300,000 years of history were compressed into a single day, it would not be until the final minute that steady material progress, fuelled by disruptive innovation, took off. Small wonder people’s instincts are so conservative. When threatened, they seek shelter within their tribe, which is why demagogues try to scare them. Fear wins elections.

诺伯格认为，人们对开放的抵制无可避免，因为抵制根植于人性。人类大脑经过了几千年的进化，破坏性的变化往往意味着死亡。陌生人之间很少会进行互惠互利的交流。如果将30万年的历史压缩在一天内，直到最后一刻，在颠覆性创新的推动下，稳步的物质进步才得以实现。难怪人的本能如此保守。人类会在威胁时寻求族群的庇护，这也是煽风点火的政客们试图恐吓他们的原因。通过恐惧使自己赢得选举。

1 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

7 horde   

n.群众，一大群

参考例句：

• A horde of children ran over the office building.一大群孩子在办公大楼里到处奔跑。
• Two women were quarrelling on the street,surrounded by horde of people.有两个妇人在街上争吵，被一大群人围住了。

8 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

9 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

10 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

11 heresy   

n.异端邪说；异教

参考例句：

• We should denounce a heresy.我们应该公开指责异端邪说。
• It might be considered heresy to suggest such a notion.提出这样一个观点可能会被视为异端邪说。

12 thwarting   

阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program. 共和党人企图通过阻挠总统的经济计划使其难堪。
• There were too many men resisting his authority thwarting him. 下边对他这个长官心怀不服的，故意作对的，可多着哩。

13 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

14 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

15 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。