经济学人:一周政治要闻17

 　　The world this week Politics 本周政治

　　The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria(ISIS), an extreme offshoot of al-Qaeda that operates in both those countries, captured Mosul,  一个基地极端主义分支，伊拉克和大叙利亚伊斯兰国，目前在两个国家十分活跃，

　　Iraq's second city, causing half a million people to flee the region.  并且已经攻陷了伊拉克第二大城市摩尔苏，从而导致50万人逃离家园。

　　It then took Saddam Hussein's home town, Tikrit, and threatened to advance on Baghdad.  该组织已经拿下萨达姆·侯塞因的家乡，提克里特，并威胁要进军巴格达。

　　With the Iraqi army melting away, the Kurds in the north of Iraq said they had taken full control of Kirkuk.  随着伊拉克军队的崩溃，伊拉克北部的库尔德人表示他们已经完全控制基尔库里。

　　The government of Nuri al-Maliki appealed for help, but the West was loth to intervene.  马力基政府寻求支援，但西方不愿介入。

　　Reuven Rivlin, a right-winger who opposes a two-state settlement with the Palestinians, was elected Israel'spresident. 鲁温·瑞夫林，一位反对巴以和解的右翼分子，被选为以色列总统。

　　The post is largely ceremonial but sometimes influential¹.  该职位象征意义大于实际意义，但有时也具影响力。

　　Trying for a new start 为了新开始，奋斗。

　　Petro Poroshenko was inaugurated as Ukraine's president amid intensifying² unrest in the east of the country.  正值东乌克兰加剧动荡之际，彼得·波罗申科宣布就任乌克兰总统。

　　A billionaire known as the Chocolate King, Mr Poroshenko made an impassioned plea for Ukrainian unity³.  这位著名的巧克力大王，亿万富翁波罗申科先生发表了一份充满激情的有关乌克兰团结的呼吁。

　　Speaking in Russian, he promised immunity⁴ from prosecution⁵ to all those without blood on their hands.  他操着俄语，并承诺那些和流血事件毫无瓜葛的人将免于起诉。

　　He also ordered peace corridors to be set up so that people can escape the violence. 他还命令设置和平走廊，以便让民众逃离暴力。

　　Antonis Samaras, the prime minister of Greece, reshuffled his cabinet after his centre-right New Democracy party lost in the European elections to the far-left Syriza.  希腊总理萨马拉斯的中右翼新民主党在欧洲选举中败于极左翼的左派政党联盟后，改组了内阁。

　　He picked a technocrat⁶, Gikas Hardouvelis, as finance minister to succeed Yannis Stournaras, who becomes governor of the central bank.  他选择了技术官僚吉卡斯·哈多维利斯，代替杨尼斯·斯托纳拉斯出任财政部长。后者被任命为中央银行行长。

　　Three-fifths of Germans are in favour of Angela Merkel, the chancellor,  富彩一份民调显示，五分之三的德国人支持总理安格拉·默克尔

　　backing a bid by Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker to be the next president of the European Commission despite stiff opposition⁷ from Britain, according to a Forsa poll.  支持由卢森堡首相让·克洛德·容克成为下一任欧盟主席的提案，尽管此项提案遭到了来自英国的坚决反对。

　　Only 19% said Mrs Merkel should prioritise good relations with David Cameron, the British prime minister, who is leading the camp opposed to a Juncker presidency⁸.  仅有19%的受访者表示默克尔应该优先与英国首相戴维·卡梅隆保持良好关系。卡梅隆正在领导一个反对容克竞选的阵营。

　　The Spanish parliament backed the abdication⁹ of King Juan Carlos and accession of his son, Prince Felipe, by a large majority.  西班牙议会以绝大多数优势支持国王胡安·卡洛斯的退位以及王储菲利普继位。

　　Some on the left in Spain are demanding a referendum on whether to keep the monarchy¹⁰. 一些左派人士正要求就是否保留君主制进行全民公投。

　　In Britain the government's inspector¹¹ of schools published a report into alleged¹² Islamic extremism at several state schools in Birmingham.  在英国，政府的学校检查员发表了一份报告，指控在伯明翰的一些公立学校中存在伊斯兰极端主义。

　　It found no evidence of a plot to infiltrate¹³ the schools though it did find examples of Islam influencing the schooling¹⁴ culture.  虽然的确发现了伊斯兰文化影响学校文化的例子，但没有任何有关伊斯兰极端主义阴谋渗透学校的证据。

　　Prior to the report two Conservative heavyweights, Michael Gove, the education secretary,and Theresa May,  在这份报告之前，两位保守党的重量级人物，教育大臣迈克尔·戈夫，

　　the home secretary, became embroiled¹⁵ in an unholy row about the issue. 和内政大臣特丽莎·梅卷入了一场针对这个问题的不光彩的争论中。

　　The Tea Party in America scored its biggest victory since emerging as a political force in 2009 when the candidate it backed defeated Eric Cantor,  在初选中，选茶党所支持的候选人在初选时击败了众议院共和党第二号人物艾里克坎托，

　　the Republicans' number two in the House of Representatives, in a primary election.  这是自从2009年茶党形成为一股政治力量后取得的最大成功。

　　David Brat¹⁶, a previously¹⁷ unknown college professor, won partly by campaigning against immigration.  大卫·布拉德，这位为人所不知的大学教授能够赢得选举的胜利部分原因是发动反对移民运动。

　　His victory may scupper the chance of any bipartisan reform this year. 而他的胜利可能会破坏任何两党改革的机会。

　　A judge in California decided¹⁸ that tenure¹⁹ rules which make it nearly impossible to sack bad teachers harm poor pupils and breach²⁰ the state's constitution.  加利福利亚的一位法官裁决任期规则让解雇伤害穷学生的坏老师变得不可能，并且该规则也违反了州宪法。

　　Teachers unions were dismayed, though the education secretary, Arne Duncan, approved.  尽管该决议得到教育部长阿恩·邓肯赞同，但是教授工会对此表示失望。

　　A teacher in California currently has a one in 125,000 chance each year of being fired for incompetence²¹. 当前，加州每125000教师中只有有一位因为无能而被解雇。

　　Switching to gas 转向天然气

　　Chile's government cancelled the huge HidroAysén hydroelectric project to build five dams in Patagonia on environmental grounds.  从环境角度出发，智利政府取消了在巴塔哥尼亚的大型艾森水电站项目，该项目原计划在当地建造5座环保型大坝。

　　To lessen²² its dependence²³ on imported energy, the government will concentrate on natural gas and renewables. 为了减少对进口能源的依赖，智利政府将重点关注天然气和可再生能源。

　　With days to go before the run-off in Colombia's presidential election, the incumbent²⁴, Juan Manuel Santos,  哥伦比亚总统决选还有几天才正式拉开帷幕，现任总统胡安·曼努埃尔·桑托斯，

　　announced that he had begun exploratory peace talks with the ELN, a guerrilla group.  宣布他已经与游击队组织—哥伦比亚民族解放军开始了试探性的和谈进程。

　　Mr Santos's support for peace negotiations²⁵ with the FARC, a bigger guerrilla force, is the main dividing line between him and óscar Iván Zuluaga, his rival in the election.  桑托斯还支持与一个更大规模的游击队组织—哥伦比亚革命武装力量进行和平谈判，而这正是他与大选对手奥斯卡·伊万·苏卢阿加的主要分歧点。

　　Mexico's central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates by half a percentage point.  墨西哥央行出人意料地将利率下调了0.5个百分点，

　　Weak economic growth, prompted partly by sluggishness²⁶ in the United States and partly by tax rises, lay behind the move. 此举背后的原因在于美国经济停滞和该国赋税负担加重导致了经济增长疲软。

　　Amado Boudou, Argentina's vice-president, faced questions from a federal judge about his alleged ties to a firm that prints the country's currency.  阿根廷副总统阿玛多·布都因其与某钞票印刷企业之间所谓的关系面临来自联邦法官的质询。

　　The judge will now decide whether Mr Boudou, who denies all wrongdoing, must face charges.Repulsed²⁷ 无论布都是否承认自己的不法行为，法官都将决定对他提出指控。惨败

　　An attack on Karachi airport left at least 38 people dead, including ten of the attackers, after a shoot-out with the security forces.  经过与安保部队的一场枪战后，卡拉奇机场的袭击案造成了至少38人丧生，其中包括10名袭击者。

　　The Pakistani Taliban said that it was behind the assault, and had hoped to hijack²⁸ an airliner,  巴基斯坦塔利班组织宣称对此次袭击负责，并且表示此前还计划劫持一架客机，

　　in revenge for air strikes against suspected militants²⁹ in the remote tribal³⁰ area of north Pakistan.  以此报复在巴基斯坦北部偏远的部落地区对武装嫌疑分子的空袭。

　　A few days later America resumed drone strikes in the tribal region after a six-month break. 几天后，美军恢复了终止了六个月的对对塔利班控制地区进行无人机打击的军事活动。

　　The body of another woman was found hanging from a tree in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,  在印度北方邦，又发现一名女性的尸体被悬挂在一棵树上，

　　at least the third such case in recent weeks in which the victims were allegedly raped³².  这至少已经是近几周来的第三起类似案件，据说其中的受害者们都曾遭到性侵。

　　Narendra Modi, the new prime minister of India, said that protecting women should be a priority for all Indians, but he warned against “politicising” rape³¹. 印度新任总理纳伦德拉·莫迪表示，保护女性应该成为所有印度公民的当务之急，但是他也提醒要提防将强奸案件“政治化”。

　　The captain and crew of the South Korean ferry that sank in April with the loss of about 300 lives went on trial.  今年4月发生的韩国沉船事故造成约300人丧生。

　　They are pleading not guilty to charges of homicide through wilful³³ negligence³⁴.  近日，该船船长和船员开庭受审。他们并不认可自己犯“不作为杀人”的罪名。

　　Meanwhile, thousands of police searched a religious compound in their manhunt for the ferry's owner, Yoo Byung-eun, an investor³⁵ who also owns the website god.com. 同时，几千名警察在追捕该船船主俞炳彦时对一个宗教聚集所进行了搜查。俞炳彦是该船务公司的投资人，同时还是god.com网站的所有者。

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

7 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。

8 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

9 abdication   

n.辞职；退位

参考例句：

• The officers took over and forced his abdication in 1947.1947年军官们接管了政权并迫使他退了位。
• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor.因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。

10 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

14 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

15 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 brat   

n.孩子；顽童

参考例句：

• He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
• The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

19 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

20 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

21 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

22 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

23 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

24 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

25 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

26 sluggishness   

不振，萧条，呆滞；惰性；滞性；惯性

参考例句：

• Such estimate of viscosities do give us some concept of the sluggishness of debris flows. 这种对泥石流粘度的估计确实给我们提供了一些泥石流惰性方面的概念。 来自辞典例句
• The general appearance of sluggishness alarmed his friends. 那种呆滞的样子吓坏了他的朋友们。 来自互联网

27 repulsed   

v.击退( repulse的过去式和过去分词 )；驳斥；拒绝

参考例句：

• I was repulsed by the horrible smell. 这种可怕的气味让我恶心。
• At the first brush,the enemy was repulsed. 敌人在第一次交火时就被击退了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

29 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

30 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

31 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

32 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

33 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

34 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

35 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。