经济学人:风险管控 伦敦的穿城铁路(2)

 　　In fact, big surprises were rare. 实际上，大惊喜不是天天都有。

　　For a project this complex, a lot of preparation ( "de-risking" in the jargon) is needed before private contractors¹ can be confident they won't encounter big obstacles, and can price a bid sensibly. 对于一个错综复杂的项目，在私人承包商确信他们不会遭遇大麻烦之前，并且可以合理定价，需要大量的准备工作（行话即“消除风险”）。

　　Once contracts were awarded, it was up to project managers to keep to the timetable. 一旦签署了合同，就由项目经理来确保工程与时间安排保持一致。

　　Unexpected delays, such as slow delivery of fittings, are managed in three ways, says Mujahid Khalid, who is in charge at Farringdon. 穆贾希德·哈里德是费灵顿片区的主管，他说诸如装置运送不及时等的意外延期有三种处理方式。

　　A “float” of unallocated time can be drawn² upon; other tasks can be brought forward; and, as a last resort, the number of shifts can be increased. 可以对未分配的时间进行浮动；其他任务可以提前进行；再者，作为最终手段的是，加班加点地赶工。

　　The ground has to be prepared for the six floors of offices and shops to be built over the new station. 地面必须为新车站上方的六层楼办公室与商铺做准备。

　　Such “over-site” developments are part of the project's financing. 像这样“站点上方”的发展也是项目融资的一部分。

　　Indeed London's businesses are stumping³ up ￡4.1bn in a variety of ways for Crossrail. 确实，伦敦各家企业正在通过不同方式为穿城铁路掏腰包共计四十一亿英镑。

　　With hindsight, the sponsors might have considered charging for tours of the Farringdon site by visitors from cities seeking lessons for their own metro⁴ systems. 事后来看，赞助人也许已经考虑为来费灵顿游玩的访客收取费用，这些来自各个城市的访客们为他们自己的地铁系统发展取取经。

　　It would not be the only unorthodox initiative. 这个项目将不会是唯一一个非传统的倡导。

　　The tunnels needed eight bespoke⁵ boring machines. 隧道需要八台定制的掘进机。

　　Four dug their way back to surface and were sold back to Herrenknecht, the German manufacturer. 四台挖向地面，并且被卖回给了德国制造商Herrenknecht。

　　Four (two running eastward⁶ and two westward) reached the ends of their lines beneath Farringdon. 另外四台(两台向西，两台向东)，在费灵顿下方到达了他们各自线路的终点。

　　Stripped of valuable kit⁷ for recycling, the remains⁸ were left there: strange skeletons for 28th-century archaeologists to pore over. 这些机器在被剥去可有价值的用于回收的装置后，剩下的部分被留在原地：这些奇特的残骸等待着28世纪的考古学家来挖掘。

1 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 stumping   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的现在分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• She's tired of stumping up for school fees, books and uniform. 她讨厌为学费、课本和校服掏腰包。
• But Democrats and Republicans are still dumping stumping for the young. 但是民主党和共和党依然向年轻人发表演说以争取他们的支持。

4 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

5 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

6 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

7 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。