经济学人272:暴风雪袭击芝加哥 Winter strikes Chicago

 　　Winter strikes Chicago

　　暴风雪袭击芝加哥

　　Shovel¹ ready

　　准备就绪

　　Mr Emanuel’s feeling for snow

　　伊曼纽尔先生对暴雪的反应

　　Ready, steady, snow THE city of Chicago is proud of its ability to keep going, with gritty determination, through the worst of the nation’s weather. Snow that would bring London or Washington, DC, to a halt is laughed off as little more than a light dusting. This year some are expecting particularly bad weather, a test for the new mayor, Rahm Emanuel. He must keep the city moving throughout the winter, or face the wrath² of the locals.

　　芝加哥市以坚毅的决心使整个城市即使在这个国家最恶劣的天气下也能保持正常运转，芝加哥人以此为傲。那些能让伦敦或华盛顿瘫痪的暴雪在芝加哥人眼里就像一层薄灰。而今年，一些人还特别希望会出现坏天气，因为这是对新市长拉姆?伊曼纽尔的考验。他必须使这座城市撑过冬天，要不然就要忍受到市民的怒气。

　　Fortunately, Chicago is well prepared for snowfall which, for the past four winters, has been over 50 inches (127cm). A secure facility on West Madison Street known as “Snow Command” houses some impressive toys. On one wall vast display-screens reveal everything you might need to know about the city’s weather conditions: the whereabouts of the fleet of up to 500 GPS-equipped snow-moving trucks; views from some of the city’s 1,000 cameras; the readings from a dozen road sensors³ (which pick up icy conditions); and a live feed of the regional weather system.

　　幸运的是，芝加哥现在已经做好准备应对过去四年里出现过的最厚50英寸（127厘米）的降雪量。在西麦迪逊街上一个名叫“暴风雪指挥部”的安全机构收藏了一些令人印象深刻的小玩意。在一面墙上挂着巨大的展示屏，揭示你所需要了解的关于这座城市的天气情况：500个装载着GPS导航仪的运雪车队行至哪里了；全市1000部摄像机中的一些所照的照片；十二个路况传感器的读数（他们能监测到冷空气的来临）；还有地区天气系统的即时信息。

　　After a storm warning comes in from the National Weather Service, Tom Byrne, the commissioner⁴ of the city’s Streets and Sanitation⁵ Department, watches it move in on cameras in nearby states and at the four outermost⁶ corners of Chicago. This tells him exactly when and where the storm will hit. Getting it wrong means chaos⁷ on the roads and possibly accidents. But sending teams out needlessly or too early costs the city $40,000 an hour.

　　当国家气象局的风暴警报来临时，市街道和卫生部的长官汤姆?贝恩在屏幕上看到它从邻市向芝加哥逼近，就在芝加哥的最边缘。这样会使他准确掌握风暴会什么时间在什么地点降临。误读意味着引起骚乱，甚至会出现事故。但是不必要地或过早的派出行动小组会令这个城市每个小时浪费四万美元。

　　The planning started in the humid heat of summer. Mr Emanuel badly wants to avoid a repeat of the previous mayor’s “Snowmaggedon” earlier this year. During the big national blizzard⁸ in February, hundreds of drivers had to abandon their vehicles. Although plans have been made to avoid this happening again, in extreme weather there are limits to what any city—even Chicago—is able to deal with. Three inches of snow an hour during rush hour and “we’re cooked,” says Mr Byrne.

　　这项计划从夏天的湿比热着手。伊曼纽尔先生迫切的想避免今年早些时候前任市长遇到过的“雪魔”。二月份遭遇的全国大风雪使数百人不得不中途放弃他们的车辆。虽然已经制定方案来避免这种情况再度发生，但是在极端天气情况下，即使是芝加哥这样的城市也有束手无策的时候。在交通高峰时间，每小时会积累三英寸厚的雪，而按贝恩先生的话说“我们竭尽全力了。”

　　One innovation this year is an internet snow portal. It will allow citizens to organise⁹ themselves around snow-clearing activities, adopt a stretch of pavement to clear, offer to share shovels¹⁰ and snowblowers, or even volunteer to clear snow for people who cannot do so themselves. Traditionalists may not be keen to brag¹¹ on Facebook about how many pavements they have cleared, but plenty of others are—thus helping¹² to spread the city’s message that everyone has to do their bit.

　　今年的特别之处在于网上有个暴风雪门户。市民可以利用它来安排清理积雪的活动，选取一大片的人行路来清理，与他人共用铁锹和吹雪机，甚至替不能做的人去清理积雪。传统主义者也许不会热衷于在Facebook上炫耀他们清理了几条马路，但是其他很多人会这么做——从而帮助宣扬在这个城市里，每个人都要做好自己的本分。

　　More comforting for those feeling abandoned by the city during a storm is that it will soon be possible to see, via the web, exactly where Mr Emanuel’s snowploughs are and what they are doing. This is precisely¹³ the view available back in Snow Command. With snowploughs, shovels and smartphones to hand, the city is ready for the stormy blast.

　　对于那些觉得在暴风雪中被这个城市抛弃的人来说，让他们觉得安慰的是，很快就可以通过网络知道伊曼纽尔先生的扫雪车的精确位置以及他们正在做什么。这正是“暴风雪指挥部”发出的图像。有了扫雪机，铁锹和智能手机在身边，这座城市准备好迎接暴风雪了。

1 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

2 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

3 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

6 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

7 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。

8 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

9 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

10 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

11 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

12 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。

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。