经济学人414:德国公路 向邻居收费

 　　German roads

　　德国公路

　　Charging the neighbours

　　向邻居收费

　　Bavaria is getting Germany to make foreigners pay for driving on its roads

　　巴伐利亚正努力促使德国向使用本国公路的外国人收取费用。

　　BAVARIANS have long been cranky about having to pay road tolls¹ every time they drive through Austria, say, whereas foreigners pay nothing to drive on German roads. Last year the Christian² Social Union (CSU), a party that exists only in Bavaria but is the partner of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), campaigned on “plugging this justice gap.” Mrs Merkel found the proposal silly, and against European Union rules. But the CSU made it a condition of joining a coalition³ government.

　　每当开车去奥地利的时候都要交通行费，而外国人在德国公路上行驶啥都不交。巴伐利亚人提到这事就抓狂，忍了很久了。去年基督教社会联盟（CSU）—这个党只存在于巴伐利亚州但它是Angela Merke所领导的基督教民主联盟的伙伴—宣称要“塞上这个公平的缺口”。默克尔觉得这项提议很荒唐，而且违反欧盟法令。不过CSU却把这条当作加入联合政府的一样条件。

　　德国公路.jpg

　　On July 7th Alexander Dobrindt, the transport minister and a rising talent in the CSU, unveiled a plan to square a tricky⁴ circle. The new law must charge foreign drivers on German roads; but, second, impose no extra costs on German drivers; and, third, comply with EU law, which forbids discrimination against other EU citizens.

　　在7月7日的时候，Alexander Dobrindt，这位德国交通运输部部长和CSU正在崛起的天才，目前揭示了一项计划，用以打破紧箍咒。首先，新法令规定必须向在德国公路上行驶的外国驾驶员收费；不过其次对于德国驾驶员而言，并不收取额外的费用；而第三点是遵循欧盟法令而言的，禁止对他过欧盟公民的歧视。

　　Mr Dobrindt proposes to charge everybody, foreign or German, for driving on any German road from January 2016. Drivers will have three options: a ten-day pass for 10 ($13.60), a two-month one for 20, or an annual one. The third of these, which all German drivers need by default but foreigners may also buy through the internet, would cost 88 on average, but vary with the size and emissions⁵ of the car.

　　Dobrindt 承诺2016年1月开始，只要在德国公路上开车，就对所有人收费，无论是外国人还是德国人。驾驶员将有三种选择：10天的过路许可证为10欧（13.60美元），两个月的过路许可为20欧，或者选择一个年许可证。对于第三项选择，所有德国驾驶员不用理会而外国人也可以通过网上渠道办理，平均费用为88欧，但具体花费要根据车型和排放量而定。

　　To ensure that Germans will not pay any more overall, Mr Dobrindt simultaneously⁶ wants to reform Germany's vehicle tax. Drivers of cars registered in Germany would be given a new tax exemption⁷ worth the exact amount of their new annual road-user charge.

　　为了保证总体上德国人不必为过路费问题而花钱，Dobrindt同时想改革德国的交通税。在德国登记注册测量的车主将享受新的免税政策，其所免额度相当于他们办理新的年度许可证所花费的费用。

　　The Netherlands and Austria threaten to take Germany to court if the law passes. Siim Kallas, the EU's transport commissioner⁸, has so far given “no green or red light.” German opposition⁹ parties ridicule¹⁰ the idea as bureaucratic¹¹ overkill. Even members of the ruling coalition are rolling their eyes. But as so often before, the Bavarians must be accommodated to keep the peace.

　　荷兰和奥地利威胁德国人，如果这项法令得以通过，就将德国告至欧盟法院。欧盟交通运输委员会委员Siim Kallas目前为止并未“明确提出行还是不行”。德国反对党嘲笑这个想法，认为这是官僚式的矫揉造作。即便是联合政府的同盟们也睁大眼睛对着这项法案滴溜查看。不过和之前一样，巴伐利亚人必须忍耐，保持淡定。

1 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

7 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 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。

10 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

11 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。