经济学人351:持枪的纯爷们(2)

 　　The NRA also claims to be a potent¹ force in elections; it says it defeated 19 of the 24 congressmen who were on its hit-list back in 1994. But a recent article in American Prospect² disputes such assertions, arguing that the NRA’s impact is marginal these days because it spreads itself thinly and tends to support Republican incumbents³.

　　全国步枪协会同时声称其是竞选中的强劲力量； 1994年位列其黑名单上的24位议员，其称击败了19位。但最近《美国展望》的一篇文章对此表示怀疑，声称由于全国步枪协会发展缓慢而且趋向于支持共和党导致其影响弱小。

　　Although the NRA is ostensibly an organisation⁴ seeking to protect the civil rights of its 4m members, critics such as the Violence Policy Centre (VPC), a gun-control group, contend that the level of funding from firearms manufacturers makes it, in effect, just a trade association for the gun industry. Some of the NRA’s fund-raising comes directly from gun sales. For example, Sturm, Ruger & Co., firearms manufacturers, donated $1 for each gun they sold last year and thereby⁵ collected $1.2m for the NRA’s lobbying arm.

　　尽管全国步枪协会表面上致力于保护4百万会员的持枪权利，而来自如枪支管制团体“暴力政策中心”的批评者认为其从军火生产商那里获得的资金数量已经让其实际上变成了一个枪支产业的贸易协会。其募集的部分资金直接来自于枪支的销售额中。例如枪支生产商斯图姆去年销售的每支枪中都有1美元捐给了全国步枪协会，共计120万美元。

　　Looking ahead, the NRA’s combative⁶ executive vice-president, Wayne LaPierre, says the NRA is “all in” for the fight to defeat Barack Obama. Mr Obama might be supposed to have done little to upset the NRA, having meekly⁷ signed legislation that allows guns to be brought into national parks and on to trains. But his quiet first term is, say many at the convention, actually part of a conspiracy⁸ to destroy the Second Amendment⁹ during his second term.

　　全国步枪协会激进的执行副总裁Wayne LaPierre先前说，全国步枪协会现在是要破釜沉舟和奥巴马一战。而奥巴马似乎没作出什么惹到它的行为，而且很爽快地批准将枪支带进国家公园和火车的法令。但许多局中人认为，奥巴马前期的平静其实是阴谋的一部分，他致力于在其第二任期内废除宪法第二修正案。

　　There are signs, though, that the NRA is growing out of touch with modern Americans and even with its own members—who, according to surveys, now tend to support restrictions¹⁰ such as mandatory¹¹ background checks on buyers of weapons at gun shows. The future does not look bright, either. Despite attempts to attract women, most convention-goers in St Louis were white men over the age of 40—a segment of the population on the decline. The classified sections in NRA magazines such as American Rifleman feature, besides all the weaponry, advertisements for gardening equipment and Viagra.

　　然而种种迹象表明全国步枪协会已经同当代美国人，甚至其内部成员（根据调查，他们如今倾向于在枪支展览会上对枪支购买者许进行诸如强制的背景核查的管制）脱节。未来不容乐观。尽管全国步枪协会尝试获得更多女性的支持，其在圣路易斯的盛会参与者基本上是40岁以上的白人男性，而这一数量在美国人口中正不断下降。全国步枪协会的杂志如《美国步枪》的分类栏目中除了各种武器外就是花园用具和伟哥的广告。

1 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

4 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

5 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

6 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

7 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。