经济学人173:美国间谍在德国

 　　American spies in Germany

　　美国间谍在德国

　　Up pops another…and another

　　一个一个冒出来

　　The Americans are snooping even on Germany's anti-snooping committee

　　美国人竟挑衅德国反监听委员会

　　IF THE tawdry tale is confirmed, the Americans hired a German working for his country's equivalent of the CIA as their double agent. A 31-year-old clerk sorting classified papers reportedly gave the Americans 218 documents in return for a paltry¹ 25,000. Three concerned the committee in the Bundestag that is investigating revelations by Edward Snowden about American surveillance in Germany. So the Americans are spying on Germany's parliament even as it looks into American spying.

　　像美国雇佣一名在德国相当于CIA部门工作的德国人做双面间谍这种低俗故事居然是真的。据报道一名整理机密文件的31岁员工将218份关于美国的文件排序分类以不到25000欧元的价格出售给美国。其中3份是关于西德联邦议会的一个委员会，这个委员会正在调查爱德华·斯诺登关于美国监视德国的启示书。所以美国监视德国议会就如同在调查美国间谍一样。

　　间谍.jpg

　　This was followed on July 9th by news of a second American spy—though few details have been released. The downward spiral in German-American relations began with the Snowden affair and continued with news that America had tapped Chancellor² Angela Merkel's phone. It seems that the Americans collect German metadata on a vast scale. American surveillance has caught up a 27-year-old computer-science student in Bavaria named Sebastian Hahn: his mistake was merely to run a server belonging to a network that encrypts internet communications.

　　这个美国第二个间谍的新闻于7月9日曝光，即使并没有什么细节被透露。德美关系呈螺旋形下降起于斯诺登事件，又因美国监听德国总理安吉拉·默克尔的电话而加剧。由此看来美国似乎收集了大量的德国元数据。美国的监管部门于巴伐利亚监控了一名27岁计算机科学专业的学生，其名叫斯巴斯蒂安·韩。他犯的错误仅仅是运营了一个服务器，而这个服务器隶属于一个将网络通信转化为密码的网络。

　　Outrage³ over America's behaviour is widespread. Joachim Gauck, Germany's president, called it “a gamble with friendship” between the two countries. “We have to say, enough!” As a former East German, like Mrs Merkel, Mr Gauck is sensitive about state spying and personal liberty. The interior and foreign ministers chimed in. The justice minister accused the Americans of “surveillance mania” and suggested he may prosecute⁴ them. The opposition⁵ has stepped up calls to give Edward Snowden, now in Russia, asylum⁶ in Germany in exchange for his testimony⁷.

　　对美国这种行为的愤怒正在德国蔓延。德国总统约阿希姆·高克称之为两国之间“友谊的冒险”。“我们受够了！”同默克尔一样，高克曾经也是东德人，他对国家监视和人身自由非常敏感。内政和外交部长也插手了。司法部长指控美国政府是“监控狂热”，并且暗示自己会起诉他们。反对党加紧提出要给现在俄罗斯的爱德华·斯诺登的德国政治庇护权来交换他的证词。

　　Mrs Merkel was in China when the news broke. She would have preferred not to comment there, but the timing⁸ left her little choice. The allegations are “very serious,” she said, standing⁹ next to a beaming Chinese premier¹⁰. They “contradict everything that I understand to be a trusting co-operation between friendly partners.” Her counterpart, Li Keqiang, presented China and Germany as bonded¹¹ in victimhood under a common American threat.

　　当消息爆发时默克尔总理正在中国。她选择不对此作评论，但是时机让她别无选择。站在坦荡的中国总理旁边的她称这些断言是“非常严肃的”。这些监视行为“否定了我对友好伙伴之间的信任合作的理解。”与她相衬的李克强称中国和德国是在美国常见威胁下的牺牲品中紧密结合。

　　Scenes like these should make American policymakers pause. Are the benefits of their spying worth the costs? In Berlin to plug her new book, Hillary Clinton, America's former secretary of state, suggested the answer may be no. She offered an apology to Mrs Merkel for the phone-tapping. And she told interviewers that she would like senior American policymakers to visit Germany, to listen and to understand.

　　这样的场景通常应该让美国的决策者们暂停行动。他们的监视所带来的益处与代价相比是否值得？在柏林美国前国务卿希拉里·克林顿宣传她的新书时，表示答案是不值得。她为窃听电话的事件像默克尔道歉。并且她还告诉采访者她希望美国高级决策人能来访问德国，来倾听和理解。

　　Germany will stop short of granting Mr Snowden asylum or expelling American agents. The transatlantic free-trade talks, already controversial in Germany, may survive. But a crucial Western alliance has been damaged. When members of Germany's anti-spying parliamentary commission meet now, they throw their mobile phones into a box and turn up the music—for fear of America, not Russia. That is what things have come to.

　　德国将暂停授予斯诺登政治庇护和驱逐美国特工的提议。美国的自由贸易谈话原本在德国还存有争议，但如今也可以得以发展。但是一个重要的西方联盟关系已经被破坏了。如今当德国反监听议会委员会的成员见面时，他们将自己的手机扔进一个箱子里并且打开音乐，防的就是美国，而非俄罗斯。这就是事态的发展。

1 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

5 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。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

11 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。