2021年经济学人 一周要闻 罕见寒潮致美国得州大面积断电

The world this week

本周国际要闻

Politics

政治版块

A winter storm that covered three-quarters of America’s Lower 48 with snow brought havoc¹ to southern states. A federal emergency was declared in Texas; temperatures plummeted² to -2℉ (-19℃) in Dallas. Millions of Texans were left without power, as were tens of thousands of people in other states. Many blamed antiquated³ energy grids⁴ for not being able to cope with the surge in demand for electricity.

一场冬季暴风雪覆盖了美国南部48个州四分之三的地区，给南部各州带来了严重的破坏。德克萨斯州宣布进入联邦紧急状态；达拉斯的气温骤降至华氏零下2度（摄氏零下19度）。数以百万计的德克萨斯居民失去了电力供应，其他州也有数以万计的人面临同样的困境。许多人指责陈旧的电网无法应对激增的电力需求。

Donald Trump’s impeachment⁵ trial for “incitement of insurrection” ended quickly. Fully⁶ 57 senators, including seven Republicans, agreed that he had whipped up the mob that stormed Congress on January 6th. But the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required in the Senate to convict the former president.

特朗普因“煽动叛乱”被弹劾的审判很快就结束了。整整57名参议员，包括7名共和党人，一致认为他煽动了1月6日袭击国会的暴民。但是投票结果没有达到参议院要求的三分之二多数票来判定这位前总统有罪。

Mario Draghi was sworn in as Italy’s prime minister, having secured the support of almost all of the country’s main political parties. The former head of the European Central Bank named a new cabinet in which many of the key positions are held by technocrats⁷ like himself. His task is to draw up a plan of reform that can unlock more than 200bn euros ($240bn) in EU COVID-recovery money.

马里奥·德拉吉(Mario Draghi)宣誓就任意大利总理，获得了该国几乎所有主要政党的支持。这位欧洲央行前行长任命了一个新内阁，其中许多关键职位都由像他这样的技术官僚担任。他的任务是起草一份改革计划，以动用超过2000亿欧元(2400亿美元)的欧盟新冠肺炎复苏资金。

England dished out its first 10,000 pounds ($13,900) fines to travellers who broke strict new quarantine rules after returning from a “red list” of 33 countries. Confusingly, the rules are different in Scotland, which now quarantines all international arrivals. One flight that was subject to Scottish rules had only a handful of passengers, despite having 60 seats booked. The others may have taken flights to England and then travelled overland to Scotland, to avoid being cooped up in costly⁸ hotels.

英国首次对从33个国家的“红色名单”返英后，违反严格的新检疫规定的旅客处以1万英镑(1.39万美元)的罚款。令人不解的是，苏格兰的规定截然不同，其要求所有国际入境人员都要进行隔离。一架受苏格兰规定约束的航班上，尽管预订了60个座位，但机上只有少数乘客。其他人可能乘飞机去英格兰，然后转陆路前往苏格兰，以避免被封锁在昂贵的酒店里。

Protests continued in Myanmar against a military coup⁹. Many civil servants have stopped work. Public services and many financial transactions are hamstrung. The authorities have arrested democrats¹⁰, threatened truant¹¹ bureaucrats¹² with prison and tried to disperse¹³ crowds with water cannons¹⁴ and rubber bullets.

在缅甸，反对军事政变的抗议活动仍在继续。许多公务员已经罢工。公共服务和许多金融交易受阻。当局逮捕了民主党人，用监禁入狱威胁罢工的官僚，并试图用高压水枪和橡皮子弹驱散抗议人群。

A court in India acquitted¹⁵ a journalist, Priya Ramani, of libel, after she accused a former government minister of sexual harassment¹⁶. The case is seen as a milestone¹⁷ for India’s #MeToo movement. Separately, the police arrested Disha Ravi, a green activist¹⁸, after she posted hints for environmental protesters on how to gain attention. They accused her of “spreading disaffection”.

印度一家法院宣判记者普丽娅·拉马尼(Priya Ramani)诽谤罪不成立，无罪释放，此前她指控一名前政府部长性骚扰。该案被视为印度#MeToo运动的里程碑。另外，环保活动人士迪莎·拉维(Disha Ravi)在向环保抗议者发布如何获得关注的提示后，被警方逮捕。他们指责其“散布不满情绪”。

Carlos Menem, Argentina’s president from 1989 to 1999, died aged¹⁹ 90. A Peronist by political lineage, he adopted some liberal economic policies, lowering trade barriers, cutting subsidies²⁰ and privatising state firms. But he failed to protect ordinary Argentines’ livelihoods²¹, and allowed rent-seekers to flourish. With his mutton-chop sideburns and fast cars, Mr Menem was probably the most glamorous²² resident of the Casa Rosada since Evita Perón.

曾于1989年至1999年担任阿根廷总统的卡洛斯·梅内姆去世，享年90岁。他是庇隆主义者政客，他采取了一些自由的经济政策，降低贸易壁垒，削减补贴，并将国有企业私有化。但他没能保护普通阿根廷人的生计，任由寻租者蓬勃发展。梅内姆留着络腮胡鬓角，开着跑车，他可能是继艾薇塔·贝隆以来，玫瑰宫里最迷人的居民。

1 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

2 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》

3 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

4 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

5 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

6 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。

7 technocrats   

n.技术专家，专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Few business barons remained. They were replaced by "technocrats," who became the heads of corporations. 企业巨头所剩无几，大多已被“技术专家”所代替，这些人成了公司的领导。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• However, bankers called the technocrats' bluff and proceeded to lend with gusto. 但是，银行家们称技术专家官员不过在虚张声势，并且还会乐观的继续借贷业务。 来自互联网

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 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

10 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》

11 truant   

n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课

参考例句：

• I found the truant throwing stones in the river.我发现那个逃课的学生在往河里扔石子。
• Children who play truant from school are unimaginative.逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。

12 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

13 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

14 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

16 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

17 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

19 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

20 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

22 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。