经济学人188:意大利议会 高级服务生

 　　Italy's parliament意大利议会High-class errand boys高级服务生Parliamentary workers are facing a cut in their generous pay议会的工作人员们面临着丰厚薪水削减的窘境。

　　Gold braid and a golden job金色穗带与金饭碗TO EARN 136,000 ($181,590), a browse¹ of the internet suggests, you need to be an IT operations director at a British firm, governor of New York state—or an usciere (usher²) in the Italian parliament. An usciere's duties include carrying messages, accompanying visitors and looking dignified³ in uniforms laden⁴ with gold braid. The sole occupational hazard is of a punch in the eye while intervening in the occasional brawl⁵ between lawmakers.

　　在网友们的心目中，如果想要赚取136,000，你需要成为英国公司里的TI运营主管，或者纽约州的州长，抑或意大利国会里的招待员。国会招待员的指责包括收发信息，游客陪同以及身着缀着金色穗带的制服以保持高贵庄严的形象。而这个职业唯一的职业病就是在国会议员们偶尔争吵上去劝架的时候会被误伤打成乌眼青。

　　意大利议会.jpgNow, however, the uscieri face a second danger: a cut in their salaries. In May, Matteo Renzi's government put a 240,000 cap on annual public-sector earnings⁶. That will directly affect “only” about 130 of Italy's 2,300 parliamentary employees. But other salaries are to be reduced to keep pay differentials the same. Earnings of an usher nearing retirement⁷ are expected to drop over a three-year period from 136,000 to a miserly 100,000-105,000.

　　现如今，这些国会招待员们面临着第二个危机,他们工资的削减问题。今年五月，伦齐政府在年度公共部门收入上仅仅投入了240,000。这意味着2300名国会雇佣员工中“只有”130名会受到影响。然而其他人的薪水也会被削减，以保证薪酬差异一致。一名临近退休的招待员在三年之内很可能从 136,000 降到吝啬的100,000-105,000。

　　Last month several hundred parliamentary workers besieged⁸ a meeting of deputies who had gathered to agree on a draft plan. As the deputies left, they encountered a barrage⁹ of ironic¹⁰ applause and shouts of “Didn't touch your own salaries, did you?” This unprecedented¹¹ scene was a foretaste of the difficulties Mr Renzi faces as he attempts to take on entrenched¹² interests in Italian society.

　　上个月，数百名国会工作人员包围住一群正在开会拟定计划草案的国会议员。当议员们离开的时候，讽刺的掌声与嘘声此起彼伏：“没能波及自己的薪水是不是很开心？”这种前所未有的场面预示着伦齐先生改革意大利社会的既得利益时将压力山大。

　　The speaker of the lower house reminded the protesters that beyond Montecitorio, the palace housing the chamber¹³, there was a real country—one where more than a decade of economic stagnation¹⁴ has reduced real GDP per person to the level of 1998. Inside parliament, years of long service have kept salaries rising inexorably. Figures leaked to a television reporter last year showed that most parliamentary workers could expect their salaries to quadruple in real terms over a 40-year career.

　　下议院发言人提醒抗议者，在蒙地奇拖利欧的宫殿外才是真正的意大利,超过十年经济停滞，实际人均GDP已经降至1998年的水平。在国会内，常年的服务使得国会内工作人员的薪水疯狂上涨。一些人告诉电视台的记者，在去年，多数的国会工作人员有望当工龄超过四十年的时候，自己的薪水可以涨到目前水平的三倍。

　　“The justification¹⁵ for all this is a word, ‘autodichia', the doctrine¹⁶ that says parliament should have total freedom to manage itself so it does not come under pressure from the government,” says Sergio Rizzo, co-author of “La Casta”, a best-selling book on the privileges of Italy's political class. Talks between the government and the trade unions representing the uscieri will take place in the next few weeks. They'll need a big table: there are 11 unions who have members working in the lower house and 14 in the Senate.

　　而这一切的理由全都是一个字眼,“autodichia”，即国会应该有完整的自由来自我管理，只有这样它才不会受到来自政府的压力。意大利政治阶级权贵们的畅销书La Casta的合编者Sergio Rizzo如是说。政府与代表招待员们的谈判联盟应该在未来几周进行对话。他们需要一个大的平台,因为有11个工会联盟都有来自下议院的工作者并且有14名成员是来自参议院。

1 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

2 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

3 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

8 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

9 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

10 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

12 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

14 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

15 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

16 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。