经济学人199:阿拉斯加乡下 冰原濯濯

 　　Alaska's bush country

　　阿拉斯加乡下，冰原濯濯

　　Hunting for dividends¹

　　红利何去

　　The virtues² and shortcomings of Eskimo capitalism³

　　爱斯基摩资本模式，优耶弊耶

　　ALASKANS like to talk about how distant the rest of America feels. In downtown Anchorage, with its familiar fast-food restaurants and hotel chains, this line can sound a little affected⁴. Not so in rural Alaska, the swathes of frozen tundra⁵ that the state's inhabitants call the bush. In Napaskiak, a village of 400 people on the west coast of the state, it is not unusual to see a black-robed Russian Orthodox priest riding a four-wheeled motorbike with two children and a wife perched on the back.

　　美国本土鞭长驾远是阿拉斯加人的老生常谈，这种说法要是在安克雷奇市中心却会让人有点儿摸不着头脑，因为这里快餐店林立，连锁旅馆鳞次栉比。但阿拉斯加乡下确是另一番天地，冰冻苔原层层遍布，当地人称此为灌木，在西部海岸纳帕斯杰克这一400人的村庄，时常可见俄罗斯东正教牧师黑袍素裹，四轮摩托扬长驱驾，而他的妻子和两个孩子坐在后座上。

　　阿拉斯加.jpg

　　Rural Alaska is different politically, too. In most of the country, the more remote the location the greater hostility⁶ to the federal government. Alaska's Eskimos, by contrast, are reliable Democrats⁷, keen on more government. One reason for this is that Washington set up an unconventional experiment in popular capitalism that attracts admiration⁸ from development economists⁹ and scorn from congressmen in almost equal measure.

　　阿拉斯加乡下的政治也是别有风味，多数村庄地域越是偏远，对于联邦政府也越敌对，相比之下，阿拉斯加的爱斯基摩人则是最可靠的民主党人，对于联邦政府更加支持，原因之一是华盛顿独树一帜采取大众资本主义，此举赢得了发展经济学家的青睐，但与此同时也成为了国会议员的笑柄。

　　After the discovery of America's biggest oilfield at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, the government needed access to land claimed by the Eskimos in order to build a pipeline¹⁰, so it made them an offer. They were given 44m acres of land, 1 billion and shares in 12 regional and over 200 village corporations that were created under the deal.It was agreed that the corporations would be favoured for government contracts. These companies now provide a range of services, from running deportation¹¹ facilities in Texas to providing support for operations in Afghanistan.

　　1968年，美国最大的油田在普拉德霍湾拨云见日，当时政府需在爱斯基摩人的领地内建造一条输油管道，开门见山后，他们得到了4400万英亩土地，并以此建立了12所地区企业和200所乡镇企业，掌握10亿资产和股份，按要求，这些公司要承包政府的工作，如今，这些公司服务范围十分广阔，从运营德克萨斯州的输送设备到为阿富汗的石油生产提供生产，不一而足。

　　The work has been lucrative¹². The value of contracts awarded to native corporations rose from 508m in 2000 to 5.2 billion in 2008, according to a report from the Senate subcommittee on contracting oversight¹³. Three of the companies—Arctic Slope, Bristol Bay and NANA—now have annual revenues in excess of 1 billion. The dividends from the shares have not turned all Eskimos into rentiers, but they provide most with enough money to pay their large heating bills.

　　这是一项油水丰富的工作，一份参议院承包监督委员会的报告显示，这些公司的承包资产已经从2000年的5.08亿上涨到了2008年的52亿，其中3家公司的年收入已经超过了10亿，分别是北坡，巴斯托湾和北美报业联盟。虽说不是所有的爱斯基摩人都靠股息生活， 但这至少让大部分人都能支付的起供暖费用。

　　The companies were also charged with stimulating¹⁴ economic development and ameliorating social ills in Eskimo villages. Here, they have been less successful. Some of the problems faced by Eskimos, such as high suicide rates, are common in other isolated¹⁵ northerly places. But other ills are distressingly¹⁶ specific—like the prevalence of domestic violence. Alcohol is partly to blame. Booze cannot be bought or sold in Bethel, the regional hub, but there is a vibrant¹⁷ black market. Alcohol-related injuries are common. Bethel's prison, which has exceeded its capacity, is full of hungover felons¹⁸.

　　在爱斯基摩村庄，这些公司在促进经济发展，缓解社会弊病方面也可圈可点，但这方面的成果并没有这般显著，虽说部分爱斯基摩人的问题在其他北方孤地也能找到印记如高自杀率，但有些问题却是它“独具一格”，如内部暴力行为普遍。在这方面酒精要负一部分责任，即使它在地区枢纽伯特利的交易市场上销声匿迹，却在活跃的黑市上饱受追捧，酒精导致的伤害十分普遍，伯特利的监狱里塞满了“醉”犯，已超其负荷。

　　The smaller villages around Bethel are emptying out. Some of them only became permanent settlements when Alaska's Supreme¹⁹ Court ruled that the government was obliged to educate Eskimo children where they lived, rather than send them off to boarding school. When a school has fewer than ten pupils it closes, taking with it a source of employment. Another reason for the exodus²⁰ is the price of petrol which, at 10 a gallon in the villages, makes heating a house through the winter and running a snowmobile expensive.

　　在伯特利周边，很多小型村庄已是空巢一所，只有阿拉斯加最高法院强制规定爱斯基摩人的孩子必须在居住地就学，而不是去寄宿学校，他们才会迎来永久住民，当一所学校的学生数量不足十人，他就要倒闭，一大批就业岗位也随之流失，至此的另一原因是村庄里10美元一加仑的石油价格，冬季房屋供暖以及雪地摩托的成本都会因此而十分昂贵

　　Yet rural Alaska is doing better than these developments suggest. More than 10% of its inhabitants may not have plumbing²¹, but it is not as poor as many other parts of America. Besides, poverty feels different in a place where summers are spent fishing for wild salmon²² and autumn is moose-hunting season. Other indicators²³ auger²⁴ a bright future. The Yupik Eskimos, in Western Alaska, are in the midst of a baby boom: nearly 36% of the people in the area around Bethel are under 18. In the four decades following the Prudhoe Bay find, Alaska's Eskimo population doubled in size. Demographers²⁵ reckon it will increase by a further 10% by the end of this decade.、

　　但阿拉斯加乡村的发展远不止这些表象，虽说它超过10%的居民都没有管道系统，但与美国其他地区相比，他的富裕程度也是有过之无不及，况且贫穷二字在这样一个夏捕野鲑，冬逐驼鹿的地方也是披上了不同的外衣。一些其他的指标也暗示了光明的前景：阿拉斯加西部的爱斯基摩尤皮克人正当婴儿潮，他们在伯特利周边有将近36%的人未满18岁，在普拉德霍湾被发掘后的40年里爱斯基摩人的人口翻了一番，人口统计学家估计这一十年末它的人口还将增长10%。

　　This complicates²⁶ the way native corporations spread their wealth around. Many Eskimos who were born after the initial distribution of shares own none. About half of the 13 regional corporations have opened their rolls to “born-afters”, but doing this requires a vote from other shareholders²⁷ that, in effect, dilutes²⁸ their dividends. The migration²⁹ of villagers also means that many shareholders no longer live in the places that the corporations were set up to benefit.

　　这也解释了当地企业的分红方式，很多在股份初次分配后出生的爱斯基摩人都不参与分红，虽说在13所当地企业中将近一半公司的红利都已对那些后出生的人敞开大门，但这必须得其他股东的投票通过，这与取缔其红利收入无异。村庄里的人员流动也意味着很多人都不再呆在公司的始发地接受分红。

　　The companies are facing challenges in Washington, too. Claire McCaskill, a senator from Missouri who chairs the contracting subcommittee, has criticised the way in which the law allows native corporations to fulfil contracts, some of which attract no other bidders³⁰, with subcontractors that do not employ any Eskimos. In one case a native company won a 2 billion contract to manage a satellite programme for the Department of Defence, which it promptly³¹ farmed out to Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and General Dynamics³². Companies owned by other minorities also receive preferential treatment, but the size of the contracts they can bid on is capped. This is a source of tension between black-owned businesses and their Alaskan competitors.

　　这些公司也面临着来自华盛顿的挑战。密苏里州议员麦卡斯基尔掌控者契约下属委员会，他指责法律纵容这些公司一手遮天，有一些公司不再招标，次承包者也不再雇佣爱斯基摩人，例如，一家当地公司赢得了为国防部运营卫星系统的承包任务后，就立马委托给了洛克希德马丁公司，BAE系统公司和通用动力。一些其他少数民族的公司也会得到优待，但他们可承包的规模有限，这造成黑人企业和他们阿拉斯加竞争者之间关系紧张。

　　The aim of the corporations, says Ana Hoffman, a Stanford-educated Yupik speaker who runs the Bethel Native Corporation, is to let people choose how they want to live. Some will continue to be subsistence hunters; others will choose to move away. So long as the money from the corporations makes its way back to the Eskimos, the race of their employees should not matter.

　　伯特利本土公司运营者安娜霍夫曼从斯坦福毕业，说尤比克语，他说公司的目的就是让人们选择自己的生活方式，有些人继续捕猎，有些人选择搬离，但只要这些公司的收益仍会流入爱斯基摩人手中，公司的竞争便不足一提。

1 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

2 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

3 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

6 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

9 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

11 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

12 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

16 distressingly   

adv. 令人苦恼地；悲惨地

参考例句：

• He died distressingly by the sword. 他惨死于剑下。
• At the moment, the world's pandemic-alert system is distressingly secretive. 出于对全人类根本利益的考虑，印尼政府宣布将禽流感病毒的基因数据向所有人开放。

17 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

18 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

19 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

20 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

21 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

23 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

24 auger   

n.螺丝钻，钻孔机

参考例句：

• We make a hole in the ice with an auger.我们用螺旋钻在冰上钻洞。
• Already the Snowblast's huge auger blades were engorging snow.扬雪车上庞大的钻头叶片在开始大量吞进积雪。

25 demographers   

n.人口统计学( demography的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Demographers, however, point out that the'single" trend will have a profound effect on American institutions. 不过，人口学家们指出，“单身”趋势将对美国的公共机构产生深远的影响。 来自时文部分
• Selectivity of human migration long been the focus of demographers and economists. 人口迁移的选择性一直以来都是人口学家和经济学家关注的焦点。 来自互联网

26 complicates   

使复杂化( complicate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• What complicates the issue is the burden of history. 历史的重负使问题复杂化了。
• Russia as a great and ambitious power gravely complicates the situation. 俄国作为一个强大而有野心的国家，使得局势异常复杂。

27 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

28 dilutes   

稀释，冲淡( dilute的第三人称单数 )； 削弱，使降低效果

参考例句：

• On the plus side, wind dilutes and scatters air pollutants, and carries pollen. 从好处来说，风能稀释和驱散空气中的污染物质，传播花粉。
• Ubiquity might not be toxic to authenticity, but it certainly dilutes it. 普遍性或许不至于毒害原真性，但确实会削弱它。

29 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

30 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

32 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。