经济学人29:公共服务改革,戴夫大冒险让人惊讶

 　　Public-service reform公共服务改革Dave's amazing adventure戴夫大冒险让人惊讶

　　Overhauling¹ the public services is proving slower and harder than the government once hoped

　　整修公共服务：比政府预期还要缓慢艰难

　　HEALTH-CARE reform’s potential as raw material for rappers has hitherto mostly gone unnoticed. Now the government’s plans for the National Health Service have been satirised in a ditty entitled “The NHS is not for sale”; it registered over 150,000 YouTube hits within a week. Nearly a year after the coalition² came to power, offering the most sweeping³ public-service reform agenda since Margaret Thatcher⁴, grind—and ridicule—have beset⁵ it. Ministers look tired; U-turns, refinements⁶ and clarifications are frequent.

　　医疗保健改革本可以让说唱歌手好好做上一番文章，但迄今为止却少有人慧眼识珠。如今，讽刺英国政府改革国民健康保险制度计划的打油曲“健保系统不卖”，在YOUTUBE上一周已获得十五多万次点击。联合政府执政将近一年，提出了自撒切尔夫人以来范围最广的改革议程；然而这项议程却被琐事和嘲弄包围。大臣们面色疲惫；方针、政策等的急速转变，调整提高以及解释说明屡见不鲜。

　　The official line is that reforms to schools, the NHS and other institutions are proceeding⁷ as intended. David Cameron is sticking to his plans to devolve more power to those directly delivering the services, cut out bureaucratic⁸ middle men and enhance competition. But scratch a bit deeper, and worries about the impact and pace of the changes are evident. “We haven’t succeeded in explaining how our approach saves money and delivers better services,” admits a senior minister.

　　官方方针是学校，健保系统和其他机构的改革正如预期进行。卡梅隆坚持自己的计划，即把更多权力移交给这些直接服务的机构，裁减打官腔的中间人员，加强竞争。但是往深里想想，此举的后果和改革步调便显而易见。一位高级大臣承认：“我们没能成功解释这样做为何省钱，为何可以提供更好的服务。”

　　Andrew Lansley’s bid to devolve the commissioning of hospital care, and responsibility for much of England’s health budget, to GPs has proved the most contentious⁹ policy. Under the health secretary’s scheme, GPs will be obliged to form new commissioning consortia; they will also have more freedom to choose private health-care providers over state ones.

　　英国卫生大臣安德鲁??兰斯里的尝试是最具争议的。他计划把医疗保健和大部分医疗预算委任给医生，这样医生必须形成新的医疗联盟；他们还可以更加自由地选择私人健保提供者而不是由国家提供。

　　Mr Lansley points out that his changes are going more smoothly¹⁰ than hostile interest groups suggest: 177 consortia, covering 70% of England’s population, have already been set up (the deadline for transferring to the new arrangements is April 2013). But the timescale is alarmingly variable. One senior government figure thinks this and other public-sector¹¹ reforms will take “between five and 15 years” to bear fruit nationally. That might be asking a bit too much of public patience.

　　兰斯里指出他的改革比反对派所说的进展顺利得多：已经设立了177个联盟，覆盖了英国70%的人口（新安排的最终期限是2013年）。但是时间跨度之多变令人警觉。一位高级官员认为，这项以及其他的公共领域改革将需要“五到十五年”来使全国受益。这可能大大超出了公众的耐心。

　　Sell Stockholm, buy Harlem卖掉斯德哥尔摩，买进哈莱姆

　　Meanwhile the education secretary Michael Gove’s once-prominent focus on new Swedish-style “free schools”—to be funded by the state but run by charities, parents and others—has been wavering. Although he denies a shift, chains of academies—state schools turned over to autonomous¹² providers—are now being heralded¹³ as the driving force of schools reform. Mr Gove is sounding keener on American-style Charter schools than on the Swedish model, in part because the Charter programme has a clearer record of helping¹⁴ to transform education for the poor.

　　同时，教育大臣迈克尔??戈夫曾大力推进的瑞典式“免费学校”政策——由国家出资，慈善机构，父母和其他人运转——一直以来也动摇不定。尽管他否认政策转移，却还有许多学院——现在转由独立个人支持的公立学校——被宣为教育改革的驱动力。乍听之下，比起瑞典模式，戈夫似乎对美国式的特许学校更感兴趣。一个原因就是特许学校能够使教育更好造福穷孩子。

　　And a bitter row is under way over how far the rise in tuition fees to ??9,000 ($14,500) for some universities should be dependent on them admitting more students from poor and ethnic-minority backgrounds. Supported by Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat¹⁵ business secretary who is responsible for higher education, the Office for Fair Access, a regulator, wants a portion of the higher fees to be diverted to outreach efforts. It threatens to impose a cap for those universities who don’t oblige. Frustration¹⁶ in the universities is matched by outrage¹⁷ among Tories, who are afraid of damaging standards and biasing¹⁸ the system against middle-class applicants¹⁹.

　　英国大学学费涨价也让大众不满。上调之后，大学学费最高可至9,000英镑（约合14,500美元），但政府规定大学必须采取措施招收更多英国本地贫穷学生和少数族群学生，才能收取最高上限的学费。在主管大学事务的自由民主党人，商务部大臣文斯??凯布尔支持下，扮演监管角色的公平入校办公室也想在增收的学费中分一杯羹，以主动帮助入学。如果哪个大学不从，它便表示要对其收取罚款。伴随着大学的唉声叹气是托利党人的雷霆怒火。他们担心这么做会有损规矩，造成对中产阶级学生的歧视。

　　Serious reform is always painful: Mrs Thatcher was widely loathed²⁰ in her radical²¹ second term; Tony Blair complained about the “scars on my back” from his fights with public-sector workers. As then, today’s plans pitch fears about the cost and alleged²² chaos²³ of upheaval²⁴ against hypothetical arguments for change. But the government’s year-long adventure in reform suggests some other patterns.

　　严肃改革总是伴随着痛苦：撒切尔夫人在第二任任期一片怨声载道；托尼布莱尔抱怨和国有经济工人争斗时“背上受了伤”。今日，改革计划则让人们大惊失色，忧心支出，还有计划可能带来的动乱。但是政府数年来冒险改革也表明了别的模式。

　　First, expectations matter. Before last year’s election the Tories reassured²⁵ voters that there would be no “top-down reorganisation of the NHS”. Mr Lansley’s plans might have caused less of a rumpus with more explicit²⁶ warning. The civil service matters too: Number 10 complains that it is being insufficiently²⁷ zealous²⁸ in implementing²⁹ the government’s agenda. Officials counter that the problem is the volume of new measures, and varying competence³⁰ in departments, rather than intransigence³¹.

　　首先，期望很有关系。去年大选前托利党人向选民保证不会有“自上至下的健保改革”。兰斯利的计划可能引起了一点吵闹和警告。行政部门也有关系：首相府抱怨无法赶不上完善政府计划。官员认为问题在于新政的内容太多，部门间能力不同，而不是死不妥协。

　　Just as importantly, the coalition has learned that the messy happenstance of everyday government can be disruptive and demoralising. A climb-down on the proposed sell-off of forests was followed by a concession³² over the abolition³³ of the Education Maintenance Allowance, a subsidy³⁴ intended to keep 16-19-year-olds in learning, after a threatened legal challenge. Number 10 recently intervened to demand a reversal of plans to cut school-sports funding. None of these was a major reversal; but they have rattled³⁵ MPs, who wonder whether to stick their necks out to defend bigger schemes that might be cancelled or amended³⁶.

　　同样重要的是，政府也学到日常政治生活中的偶然事件也会扰人不休，令人气馁。在售卖森林方面的提案撤回后，在废除教育维持津贴政府又做出让步。这项津贴本来是要让16至19岁的孩子继续求学的。首相最近也干涉其中，要求不要削减学校体育基金。这些转变都不大，但是却让议会恼火。议会质疑是否应该态度更加强硬才能不让计划被取消或者修正。

　　Finally, the exigencies³⁷ of coalition have been a burden. A plan to reform housing benefit, vaunted by the Tories in opposition³⁸, has been dropped from the government’s welfare-reform bill after rows with the Lib Dems about whether it would penalise low-earners. (The broader plan to introduce a single “universal credit” to replace multiple allowances for those out of work has created its own new network of unintended complexities³⁹ and forthcoming climb-downs.) The emphasis on fairness in the Tories’ coalition agreement with the Lib Dems helps to explain the reorientation of Mr Gove’s ideas.

　　最后，联合政府的急切需要成为了负担。托利党人原先吹嘘的改革住房计划，在他们在和自由民主党大吵数架，争论其是否会对低收入者不利后，跌出了政府的福利改革议案（更宏大的引入“通用信贷”来取代失业津贴的计划不亚于画地为牢，执行复杂，前景不佳）。高夫为什么要重新定位也可用托利党和自由民主党的协定中对公平的强调来解释。

　　So far, the architecture of the coalition has held up well. Mr Cameron and Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem deputy prime minister, share a vision of a public sector enlivened by greater competition and less dependent on a dwindling⁴⁰ pot of state funding. They do, however, need to make a bolder case for why they are fighting on quite so many fronts—and to tell the public when it can expect to feel the benefit of the slimmer, fitter Leviathan it has been promised.

　　到目前为止，联合政府的架子站得还挺稳。卡梅隆和英国自由民主党党魁尼克克莱格都认为更多竞争，更少对政府资金的依赖会为公有经济注入活力。然而，他们的确需要告诉公众，为何政府要在诸多方面如此奋斗，还要告诉公众何时他们才能享受到政府允诺的更合适，更便捷的服务。

1 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

5 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

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。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

6 refinements   

n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作

参考例句：

• The new model has electric windows and other refinements. 新型号有电动窗和其他改良装置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is possible to add a few useful refinements to the basic system. 对基本系统进行一些有益的改良是可能的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

8 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

9 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

13 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

16 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

17 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。

18 biasing   

使倾向于( bias的现在分词 )； 偏压

参考例句：

• We must give great care upon transistor biasing. 我们必须十分重视晶体管的偏置。
• You are biasing my choice by telling me yours. 你在用你的选择否认我的选择。

19 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

20 loathed   

v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字

21 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

22 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

23 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

24 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

25 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

27 insufficiently   

adv.不够地，不能胜任地

参考例句：

• Your insurance card is insufficiently stamped. 你的保险卡片未贴足印花。 来自辞典例句
• Many of Britain's people are poorly dressed, badly housed, insufficiently nourished. 许多英国人衣着寒伧，居住简陋，营养不良。 来自互联网

28 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

29 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

30 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

31 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

32 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

33 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

34 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

35 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

36 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

37 exigencies   

n.急切需要

参考例句：

• Many people are forced by exigencies of circumstance to take some part in them. 许多人由于境况所逼又不得不在某种程度上参与这种活动。
• The people had to accept the harsh exigencies of war. 人们要承受战乱的严酷现实。

38 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。

39 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

40 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句