2023年经济学人 帝国的黄昏

　　Another transformation¹ was in external policy—from a militarised, expansionist Eurasian realm into a compact state that enforced internal cohesion² but mostly eschewed³ foreign adventures.

　　另一个转变是在对外政策上--从一个军事化、扩张主义的欧亚王国，转变为一个加强内部凝聚力、但基本上避免对外冒险的紧凑型国家。

　　At least, until the past decade or so, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned Ottoman nostalgia⁴ into a style of governance and a stimulus⁵ to military braggadocio⁶.

　　至少在过去十年左右，总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安将对奥斯曼帝国的怀念变成了一种治理风格，刺激了军事方面的自负。

　　Informing this book is the idea that the Ottoman empire’s downfall was not predestined by backwardness, or even by defeat in a global war.

　　贯穿这本书的观点是，奥斯曼帝国的衰落并非因为落后，甚至不是因为在全球战争中的失败。

　　Nor, it suggests, did change inevitably⁷ follow the principal catalyst⁸: Greece’s occupation (with international support) of the great multinational⁹ port of Izmir, followed by the advance into Anatolia of a Greek expeditionary force.

　　这本书还表明，在出现主要催化剂——希腊(在国际支持下)占领伟大的多国港口伊兹密尔，随后希腊远征军进入安纳托利亚——之后，变化也并非不可避免。

　　The republic’s founder¹⁰, Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk, did draw vast authority from routing that force; but that did not automatically exorcise the Ottoman order, whose supporters still resisted change, as the book recalls.

　　这个共和国的缔造者穆斯塔法·凯末尔（后来被称为阿塔图尔克），确实通过打击那支武装力量获得了巨大的威信；但正如书中回忆的那样，这并没有自动驱散奥斯曼帝国的秩序，其支持者仍然抵制变革。

　　Arguments about the inevitability¹¹ of historical developments, or their precise causes, often become circular.

　　关于历史发展的必然性或其确切原因的争论往往会变成循环论证。

　　History happened because it happened.

　　历史之所以发生，是因为它发生了。

　　What really matters is that the empire did fall.

　　真正重要的是帝国确实灭亡了。

　　Or did it?

　　真的吗？

　　By way of continuity, some historians note that the empire was itself reforming and modernising, with contested elections and enhanced rights for non-Muslims.

　　通过逻辑关联，一些历史学家指出，帝国本身也在进行改革和现代化，它举行了激烈的选举，还加强了非穆斯林的权利。

　　Others see a contrary sort of overlap¹² in the non-liberal aspects of modern Turkey, including the power of the army and state control over religious affairs.

　　其他人则看到，现代土耳其的非自由主义方面存在相反的重叠，包括军队的权力和国家对宗教事务的控制。

　　For his part, Mr Erdogan has cultivated imperial sentiment in big and small ways (a television series set in medieval times depicts¹³ early Ottomans fighting heroically).

　　就埃尔多安而言，他从大大小小的方面培养了帝国情怀(一部以中世纪为背景的电视连续剧描绘了早期奥斯曼人英勇战斗的场面)。

　　For Mr Gingeras, this is more than mood music.

　　对金格拉斯来说，这不仅仅是在煽动情绪。

　　He is, after all, a professor of national security at a postgraduate¹⁴ school of the American navy; he has said that a new war between Turkey and Greece is not merely possible, but probable, in view of threats by Mr Erdogan to “come one night” and challenge Greece’s islands.

　　毕竟，他是美国海军研究生院的一名国家安全教授；他曾表示，鉴于埃尔多安威胁要“在某一天晚上到来”并挑战希腊的岛屿，土耳其和希腊之间爆发新的战争不仅是可能的，而且是很有可能的。

　　Mr Erdogan may ultimately be swayed by a contest between two competing influences: the restraining power of NATO and the desire of Russia to sow discord¹⁵ among its rivals.

　　埃尔多安最终可能会被两种相互竞争的影响所左右：北约的克制力量和俄罗斯在对手中挑拨离间的愿望。

　　In forecasting the outcome, the past—even when so well-chronicled—provides food for thought but no clear answers.

　　在预测结果时，即使有如此详尽的记载，过去也只能提供思考的食粮，无法提供明确的答案。

　　History has yet to end.

　　历史尚未结束。

1 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

2 cohesion   

n.团结，凝结力

参考例句：

• I had to bring some cohesion into the company.我得使整个公司恢复凝聚力。
• The power of culture is deeply rooted in the vitality,creativity and cohesion of a nation. 文化的力量，深深熔铸在民族的生命力、创造力和凝聚力之中。

3 eschewed   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
• Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外，她还有商业计划，这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网

4 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 braggadocio   

n.吹牛大王

参考例句：

• He was disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio.人们讨厌他，因为他老是吹牛。
• Underneath his goofball braggadocio lies a kind of purity.在他笨拙的自夸里蕴含着一丝纯洁。

7 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

8 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

9 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 inevitability   

n.必然性

参考例句：

• Evolutionism is normally associated with a belief in the inevitability of progress. 进化主义通常和一种相信进步不可避免的看法相联系。
• It is the tide of the times, an inevitability of history. 这是时代的潮流，历史的必然。

12 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

13 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

14 postgraduate   

adj.大学毕业后的，大学研究院的；n.研究生

参考例句：

• I didn't put down that I had postgraduate degree.我没有写上我有硕士学位。
• After college,Mary hopes to do postgraduate work in law school.大学毕业后， 玛丽想在法学院从事研究工作。

15 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。