经济学人:商品:全球形势紧张(1)

 　　They make an intriguing¹ posse: about 160 "scouts²" in jeans and muddy boots, 他们组编了一支有趣的民兵队伍：约有160位“童军”，他们穿着工装裤和泥糊糊的靴子

　　jumping out of cars with ropes in hand, plunging³ deep into corn (maize) and soyabean fields across the American Midwest. 手里拿着绳子从车上跳下来，一头扎进美国中西部的玉米地和大豆地里。

　　They are not just farmers. They include commodity traders and hedge-fund managers. 他们不仅仅只是农民。他们中有商品交易商和套保基金管理人。

　　Their quest: to predict this year's harvest by using ropes as a measure and counting, to the last ear of corn and soyabean pod, the yield in a given area. 他们探求的是：用绳子作为测量和计算工具测量所有玉米穗和大豆豆荚，预测今年这片土地的收成。

　　"We have a really beautiful crop. I think this is going to be a record," says Ted⁴ Seifried, “我们的农作物很丰盛，我认为这次将创造纪录，”泰德·赛弗里德说道，

　　a market strategist at Zaner Group, a commodities brokerage in Chicago, during a stop in Nebraska on August 21st. 他是芝加哥一家商品证券行Zaner Group的一名市场策略顾问，8月21日来到内布拉斯加州作短暂停留。

　　The mud on his boots is a reassuring⁵ sign of ample moisture in the soil. 他靴子上的泥泞是土地水分充足的可靠迹象。

　　But when he gets back into the car with others on the Pro⁶ Farmer Midwest Crop Tour, 但当他和谷物评估机构Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour的其他人回到车里时，

　　the talk turns to darker subjects, such as trade tensions, collapsing⁷ currencies and what he calls the start of an "economic cold war" between America and China. 话题转到了更加黑暗的主题，比如贸易紧张、货币崩溃以及他口中的中美‘经济冷战’的开端。

　　"While we're driving the 15-25 miles from field to field, we certainly have a lot to talk about. “我们在田间开了15到25英里，我们当然有很多问题要谈。

　　By and large the American producer thinks the fight with China is just. But it's very much affecting the pocketbook." 总体上来说，美国制造商认为和中国的贸易战争是合理的。但这也对他们的经济来源造成巨大影响。”

　　From the midwestern farm belt to the commodity markets of Chicago, New York, London and Shanghai, 从中西部的农业区到芝加哥、纽约、伦敦和上海的商品市场，

　　this is a tricky⁸ time to be producing and trading commodities. Americans may relish⁹ their stockmarkets soaring. 此时是生产商品和进行商品交易的微妙时刻。美国人或许期盼他们的股票市场高歌猛进。

　　But a rising dollar, higher American interest rates, sliding emerging-market currencies and fears of a tariff-induced blow to exports to China 但是美元升值、美国利率增加、新兴市场货币下滑以及对出口中国征收关税的恐惧

　　have taken a toll¹⁰ on commodity prices in recent months. 在近几个月对商品价格造成严重影响。

1 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

3 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

6 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

7 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

8 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。

9 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。