经济学人:喀麦隆 严厉打击互联网和英语使用者(2)

 　　President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is sub-Saharan Africa's second-oldest ruler, after Robert Mugabeof Zimbabwe. 自1982年执政以来，总统Paul Biya是撒哈拉以南非洲第二年长的统治者，仅次于津巴布韦领导Robert Mugabe。

　　Yet despite his age, he has mastered social media, in the sense of figuring out how to silence digital dissent¹. 尽管年事已高，从消灭网络抗议的意义上来说，他仍掌控着社交媒体。

　　After young Arabs used smartphones to organise² the uprisings of the Arab Spring, despots everywhere grew nervous. 自从阿拉伯年轻人使用智能手机组织阿拉伯之春的起义后，各国独裁者都紧绷神经。

　　But then they found the off-switch. 但是之后他们发现了关闭网络这一灵丹妙药。

　　Last year 11 African governments, including Zimbabwe and the inaptly named Democratic Republic of Congo, interfered³ with the internet during elections or protests. 包括津巴布韦和刚刚命名的刚果民主共和国在内，去年11个非洲政府在选举或抗议期间对互联网实施过干扰。

　　The government cut off the internet to a part of the country known for its technology start-ups, which probably hasn't done much for economic growth. 政府切断了以新兴技术公司闻名的部分地区的互联网，这对经济增长可能没起多大作用。

　　Before the crackdown internet usage in Cameroon had been soaring, with penetration⁴ rising to 18% in 2016, from 4.3% in 2010. 但在遭受限制之前，喀麦隆的互联网使用率一直急剧上升。从2010年到2016年，互联网渗透率从4.3%上升至18%。

　　Phones are also ubiquitous, which may be why the communications ministry⁵ has been sending text messages, sometimes several times a day,  手机也无处不在，这或许解释了为什么交通部一直在发布短信，三令五申，

　　warning of prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone “found guilty of slander⁶ or propagating false declarations on social media”. 警告任何人“只要被发现在社交媒体上诽谤他人或散布谣言”，会面临最长20年的监禁。

　　Journalists have been arrested and a popular radio station has been taken off the air. 在这场镇压中，记者被逮捕，一家广受欢迎的电台被停播。

　　Although the conflict in Cameroon has mainly affected⁷ the English-speaking minority, the government's heavy-handedness suggests that worse may lie ahead. 虽然喀麦隆的冲突主要影响说英语的少数群体，但政府的大张旗鼓表明更糟糕事情的可能就在前面。

　　Next year the country's 84-year-old leader is expected to run for a seventh term. 明年84岁的喀麦隆总统有望获得第七次任期。

　　With no clear successor or challenger in sight, Mr Biya probably has no need to ratchet up repression⁸. 既然眼前没有明确的继任者或者挑战者，Biya先生或许没有必要升级这场镇压。

　　But meddling⁹ with the internet can be addictive¹⁰, like the internet itself. 但是干涉互联网可能会让人上瘾，就像网络本身一样。

1 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

2 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。

3 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

9 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

10 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。