【英语语言学习】委内瑞拉的幸福感

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

 

Here's the name of a government office that caught our attention: the Vice¹ Ministry² for the Supreme³ Social Happiness of the People. This is a newly created office in Venezuela, where government bureaucracy sure seems to be growing. John Otis tells us more.

 

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE⁴: Venezuela's government has made a lot of quirky decisions. Under the late socialist⁵ leader Hugo Chavez, Venezuela created its own time zone by setting the clock back half an hour. It redesigned the flag so that a horse galloping⁶ to the right now moves to the left, in line with the government's politics. Chavez died of cancer in March but his successor, President Nicolas Maduro, has made his own startling announcements.

 

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Speaking foreign language)

 

OTIS: In an October speech, Maduro said he was creating the Vice Ministry for the Supreme Social Happiness of the Venezuelan People. Critics immediately ridiculed⁷ the new office and its flamboyant⁸ Orwellian name.

 

CARLOS BERRIZBEITIA: (Speaking foreign language)

 

OTIS: Opposition⁹ lawmaker Carlos Berrizbeitia claimed the government was trying to put a happy face on a nation plagued by high crime, inflation and food shortages.

 

RAFAEL RIOS: (Speaking foreign language)

 

OTIS: But when I catch up with Rafael Rios, the newly appointed vice-minister for happiness, he says the job is more than just government propaganda. His office coordinates¹⁰ social welfare programs for the poor, the disabled, drug addicts¹¹ and pregnant teenagers.

 

RIOS: (Speaking foreign language)

 

OTIS: Rios quotes Latin American liberator¹² Simon Boliva, who once proclaimed that the most perfect government is the one that produces the greatest amount of human happiness. Many international development experts agree. They insist that traditional indicators¹³ like gross domestic product are inadequate¹⁴ and that happiness and well being are key for measuring human progress.

 

These arguments are catching¹⁵ on. The United Nations now publishes an annual world happiness report. In 2013, that report placed Venezuela first among South American nations and 20th overall. So for all its problems, Venezuela is apparently¹⁶ a fairly joyful¹⁷ place. When I ask why, Venezuelans point to their tropical climate, to expanded government health, education and nutrition programs, and to the country's massive oil deposits, which can make people from all walks of life feel well endowed.

 

Edna Correa, who works at a Caracas call center, thanks a live-for-today mentality¹⁸.

 

EDNA CORREA: It doesn't matter what is happening around the world, you can see always the beaches full, crowded, people playing on the streets or going to dance every weekend. You see people trying to have fun and to enjoy the moment.

 

OTIS: But if that's the case, why does Venezuela need a special happiness vice ministry? It turns out that the pursuit of supreme happiness was part of Hugo Chavez's official government plan that's now in the hands of President Maduro.

 

TIBISAY SERRADA: (Speaking foreign language)

 

OTIS: Tibisay Serrada is dean of the Sociology department of the Central University of Venezuela. She says the government sees happiness as a collective rather than an individual endeavor and one that's best achieved through socialism. But many Venezuelans don't like the idea of their government defining happiness. They see it as another step towards greater government involvement in all aspects of Venezuelan life.

 

DAVID SMILDE: It's not a minimalist project.

 

OTIS: David Smilde, a senior analyst¹⁹ at the Washington Office on Latin America, says Venezuelans are right to be concerned.

 

SMILDE: That a government would aspire²⁰ to actually be the guarantor of supreme happiness can be a little alarming.

 

OTIS: But others shrug²¹ off the happiness office as just another one of their government's crazy ideas. Indeed, some joke that the Vice Ministry for the Supreme Social Happiness of the Venezuelan People is already achieving its purpose because so many people are laughing about it. For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Caracas.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

6 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

7 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

12 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

13 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

14 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

17 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

18 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

20 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

21 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。