经济学人185:人民币投资利物浦

 　　Liverpool and China

　　利物浦与中国

　　Here comes the yuan

　　人民币驾到

　　A city’s bid to revive its fortunes through the local and the global

　　利物浦努力通过本地特色和全球投资重振其经济

　　Sep 3rd 2011 | LIVERPOOL | from the print edition

　　AT THE new Museum of Liverpool (above), a sleek¹ limestone² affair of Danish design, the city’s Chinese community, which began with an influx³ of sailors at the start of the 19th century, gets an exhibit to itself. The emphasis seems a little odd, until you consider the city’s regeneration strategy, which rests on a characteristically 21st-century mix of the local and the global. The aim is to use Liverpool’s storied past to attract investment from around the world—and from China in particular.

　　在一座丹麦风格的优美石灰石建筑——新建的利物浦博物馆里（上图），城市的华人社区开了一个展览会。利物浦的华人社区兴起于19世纪初期大量中国水手涌入城市之时。如此强调这件事，似乎有些奇怪，除非你仔细考虑过城市的复兴策略。利物浦的复兴策略的基础是一个典型的21世纪本地特色与全球投资的混合体。这个策略的目的在于：利用利物浦赫赫有名的历史吸引来自世界各地的投资，尤其是中国。

　　Liverpool has been through tough times. Once an imperial entrep?t, the city built its wealth on the exchange of slaves, cotton and commodities. But the end of empire, the rise of air travel and the advent⁴ of shipping⁵ containers slashed⁶ maritime⁸ employment after the 1960s. Manufacturing failed to compensate⁹ for the losses, even if a cultural efflorescence led by the Beatles accompanied the economic woes¹⁰.

　　利物浦曾经历艰难困苦的时期。从前，作为帝国的贸易中心，利物浦通过交换奴隶、棉布和日用品创造财富。但是在19世纪60年代之后，大英帝国的衰落、航空交通的兴起和集装箱船的出现这种种因素使航海业的员工被大幅裁员。即使披头士在经济萧条下引起了一场文化繁荣，制造业仍无法弥补这种损失。

　　Many problems persist. A city that held 856,000 people in 1931 now houses just over half that number. In the suburb of Anfield, home to Liverpool Football Club, an aborted¹¹ regeneration scheme has bequeathed row after blighted¹² row of boarded-up houses; gardens are overgrown with weeds and poppies sprout¹³ on street corners. The proportion of people on state benefits is twice the national average, as is the proportion of Liverpudlians who lack formal qualifications. Health is poor and life expectancy¹⁴ is low. Only two-thirds of residents work—41% of them in the public sector¹⁵, which puts the city at especial risk in an era of government austerity.

　　很多问题继续存在。一个在1931年人口为85万6千的城市，如今的居住人数却只有那时的一半多一点。利物浦足球俱乐部的所在地安菲尔德郊区曾实行过一个复兴策略，但最终流产，遗留下来的是一排又一排门窗被木板钉住的房屋，景象一派衰颓；住宅的花园里野草丛生，街头角落处罂粟疯长。安菲尔德郊区领取政府救济的人数比例两倍于全国平均水平，利物浦没有正式文凭的市民比例也是如此。健康状况相当不堪，平均寿命也不高。只有三分之二的居民有工作——其中41%在政府部门上班，在政府采取紧缩财政措施的年代里，这种情形会使城市的处境特别危险。

　　Yet the lean years helped to stop the city’s historic buildings being replaced by the concrete utopias beloved of modernist planners. Now Liverpool is using its bruised¹⁶ beauty to its advantage. It won its bid to be the 2008 European Capital of Culture, which boosted tourism. The revamped city centre, reopened that year, is tasteful and modern; the nearby Albert Dock, once teeming¹⁷ with stevedores¹⁸, bustles¹⁹ with bars and restaurants.

　　但是，几年的经济萧条却有助于阻止城市的历史建筑被现代主义规划者所喜爱的水泥乌托邦所取代。如今，利物浦正在发挥自身已伤痕累累的美丽之优势。它已成功申请成为2008年欧洲文化之都，这促进了当地旅游业发展。在那年重新开放的市中心已经过改造，既雅致优美，又现代时髦。在附近，曾经到处都是搬运工的艾伯特码头如今开满了酒吧和餐厅。

　　The next step is to attract investment from overseas. To that end, Liverpool Vision (the council’s inward investment arm) has set up a dedicated²⁰ office in Shanghai. The Peel Group, an infrastructure²¹ and real-estate outfit²², hosted a pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo last year. It is courting Chinese sovereign-wealth funds to develop Liverpool’s derelict northern dockyards. The plans include a 60-storey “Shanghai tower,” named to reinforce Liverpool’s links to that city (the two have been “twinned” since 1999).

　　下一步则是吸引海外投资。为此，利物浦视野公司(即城市议会的内部投资部门)已经在上海成立了一个专门的办事处。皮尔集团是一个基础设施及房地产建设机构，它在去年上海世博会上也主办了一个展馆。皮尔集团正试图取悦中国主权财富基金，以向其寻求资助开发利物浦北部已被遗弃的造船厂。计划包括建立一座60层的高塔，命名为“上海塔”，以此加强利物浦和上海间的联系（两城在1999年结为姐妹城市）。

　　The Peel Group has already secured Chinese cash for a development in Birkenhead, across the Mersey: these days, says Lindsey Ashworth, the company’s development director, China is a much more promising²³ source of funds than Britain. The firm sees the two foreign-financed projects as test cases for others elsewhere in the North West. Things have come full circle since penurious²⁴ sailors from the Far East first arrived two centuries ago. (The risk is that growth will prove more vandalistic than poverty: UNESCO, the UN’s culture and conservation body, is worried that the dockyards development will mar⁷ Liverpool’s world heritage-listed waterfront.)

　　皮尔集团已经成功将一笔中国资金弄到手，用于开发一个位于默西河对岸别根海特的住宅小区。公司的开发主管林赛?阿什沃思说道：如今，比起英国政府，中国政府是个更有前景的资金来源。该公司将这两个外资项目当作西北部别的地区其他项目的实验。两个世纪前，来自远东的贫穷水手初来乍到;如今，中国人又来了。（风险在于：比起贫困，城市发展对公共财产更具破坏性：联合国的文化和保护团体——联合国科教文组织，担心开发造船厂会破坏利物浦名列世界遗产名录的海滨。）

　　The Liverpool brand is clearly a tricky²⁵, if appealing, proposition. Encrusted with verdigris²⁶, two statues of the “liver bird”, the city’s symbol, sit atop a riverside building. Legend has it that the female bird looks out to sea, to search for returning sailors; the male looks back towards Liverpool, to see if the pubs are open.

　　打造利物浦品牌这个建议虽然很吸引人，却显然有点棘手。城市的象征——两座锈迹斑斑的“利物鸟”铜像坐落于一栋河畔建筑的顶部。相传那只雌鸟向大海望去，搜寻返航的水手；而雄鸟则向里利物浦望去，在看那些酒吧有否开门。

1 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

2 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

3 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

4 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

10 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

11 aborted   

adj.流产的，失败的v.（使）流产( abort的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）（某事物）中止；（因故障等而）（使）（飞机、宇宙飞船、导弹等）中断飞行；（使）（飞行任务等）中途失败

参考例句：

• The rocket flight had to be aborted because of difficulties with computer. 因电脑出故障，这次火箭飞行只好中辍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They aborted the space flight finally. 他们最后中止了这次宇航飞行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

13 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

14 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

15 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。

16 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

17 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

18 stevedores   

n.码头装卸工人，搬运工( stevedore的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The stevedores' work is to load and unload ships. 装卸工人的工作是装卸船只。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stevedores will see to that. 搬运工会格外注意。 来自商贸英语会话

19 bustles   

热闹( bustle的名词复数 )； （女裙后部的）衬垫； 撑架

参考例句：

• She bustles about cooking breakfast in a most officious manner. 她为准备早餐忙得团团转。
• Everyone bustles during rush hours. 上下班时间每个人都忙忙碌碌的。

20 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

21 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

22 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

23 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

24 penurious   

adj.贫困的

参考例句：

• One penurious year,my parents used Swiss cheese plant.经济拮据的一年，我父母曾用绳状藤来代替圣诞树。
• Raised on a hog farm in Hunan Province,she laughs off the penurious ways of her parents and grandparents.李小姐在湖南省的一家养猪场长大，她嘲笑祖父母及父母吝啬的生活方式。

25 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

26 verdigris   

n.铜锈；铜绿

参考例句：

• His pockets are full of red lead and verdigris.他的衣袋里装满铅丹和铜绿。
• Verdigris has spread all over that abandoned copper pot.那把已经废弃的铜壶上长满了铜锈。