美国大选进入决战阶段

 　　The end is in sight.

　　终点就在眼前。

　　In 50 days we will know whether Donald Trump¹ has pulled off the biggest upset in American history.

　　再过不到50天，我们将知道唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)是否会爆出美国历史上最大的冷门。

　　It is a credit to the reality TV star’s populist skills that such an outcome is possible.

　　这种结果有可能出现，本身就是这位真人秀明星的民粹主义技巧的荣耀。

　　美国大选进入决战阶段

　　Hillary Clinton is all that stands between the world and the Trumpian abyss.

　　希拉里?克林顿(Hillary Clinton)是阻止整个世界落入特朗普式深渊的唯一屏障。

　　It is a pity she has to pull this off while recovering from pneumonia².

　　希拉里在肺炎恢复期还要设法阻止特朗普，这令人遗憾。

　　It is little short of astonishing that this close to midnight she feels obliged to launch another drive to explain to voters why she wants to be president.

　　几乎令人大吃一惊的是，在美国如此接近午夜（希拉里曾谴责特朗普的午夜美国——译者注）的时候，她还感觉必须开展另一轮造势，来向选民解释她为何想当总统。

　　What exactly was the past year about? Or the past decade? As the song says, If you don’t know me by now?.?.?.

　　过去的一年她到底在干什么？或者过去10年在干什么？正如那首歌所唱的，如果你到现在还不了解我……

　　It is safe to say that Mrs Clinton is not about to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

　　这么说应该不会错：希拉里不会变魔术。

　　Voters will have to make do with her campaign themes of building bridges rather than walls, and being stronger together.

　　选民将不得不凑合接受她的竞选主题——建起桥梁而不是竖起高墙以及团结就是力量(Stronger Together)。

　　Laudable though such sentiments are, they are dangerously anodyne³.

　　尽管这些观点值得赞扬，但它们太四平八稳，这很危险。

　　They tell voters what Mrs Clinton is not — Donald Trump.

　　这些观点告诉选民，希拉里不是唐纳德?特朗普。

　　They tell us next to nothing about what she would do.

　　但它们几乎没有说明希拉里会做什么。

　　Her success is thus predicated on Mr Trump’s indiscipline, which cannot always be relied upon (recent gaffes⁴ about disarming⁵ his opponent’s secret service detail notwithstanding).

　　因此，对于希拉里胜出的预测，建立在特朗普老是乱来的基础上，而这一基础并不总是可靠（虽然最近特朗普又失言了——他说应解散保护希拉里的特勤队）。

　　If he sticks to advice by reaching out to African-Americans, Hispanics and women he can take the edge off Mrs Clinton’s warnings.

　　如果他严格遵从向非裔、拉丁裔和女性示好的建议，他可以让希拉里的警告失去杀伤力。

　　What then, would her campaign be left with?

　　那样的话，她的竞选活动还有什么威力剩下？

　　The answer is worryingly vague.

　　这个问题的答案含糊得令人担忧。

　　Next week Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump will face off in what will almost certainly be the most watched television debate in history.

　　很快，希拉里和特朗普将在电视辩论中一决高下，这场辩论几乎可以肯定会成为史上收视率最高的电视辩论。

　　Mr Trump will start on low expectations.

　　人们一开始对特朗普的期望值将较低。

　　Mrs Clinton is an accomplished⁶ and well-prepared debater.

　　希拉里是训练有素、准备充分的辩手。

　　That means Mr Trump’s bar for winning will be far lower.

　　这意味着判定特朗普赢得辩论的标准会低得多。

　　For many viewers — possibly a majority if the audience clears 100m — it will be their biggest exposure so far to the 2016 campaign.

　　很多观众（如果观众超过1亿人的话，可能是大多数观众）在观看这场辩论之前，或许都还没有这样认真地关注过2016年总统竞选。

　　Newspaper readers may be shocked that anyone could have failed to make their minds up by now.

　　经常阅读报纸的人或许会震惊于竟然有人到现在还未做出决定。

　　But most Americans are turned off from politics, which is why Mr Trump has come this far.

　　但是大多数美国人不关心政治，这也是特朗普能走到现在的原因。

　　If he can refrain from bullying⁷ Mrs Clinton, and steers⁸ clear of insulting large groups of Americans, the media will declare him victor.

　　如果他能克制住不欺凌希拉里、不侮辱美国较大的群体，媒体就会宣布他获胜。

　　History tells us that challengers tend to win the first of the three debates.

　　历史告诉我们，挑战者往往会赢得三场辩论中的第一场。

　　At which point panic would set in.

　　到那时，人们会开始恐慌。

　　During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama’s aides talked of the liberal bed wetters who kept worrying he would lose to John McCain.

　　2008年大选期间，巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)的助手谈到了紧张得尿裤子的自由主义者(bed wetters)，后者当时一直担心奥巴马会输给约翰?麦凯恩(John McCain)。

　　If Mr Trump holds his own next week, dodgy bladder control will go global.

　　如果特朗普下周能控制住不越到紧要关头越出错，那么全世界就该紧张得不能自已了。

　　The pressure on Mrs Clinton is already acute.

　　希拉里已经承受了巨大的压力。

　　Now try combining the world’s toughest political endurance test with recuperation from what used to be a killer⁹ disease. Doctors say it takes an able-bodied adult about two weeks to recover from pneumonia, after which they should take it easy.

　　在接受全世界最艰难的一场耐力测验的同时，还要努力从一种曾经致命的疾病中恢复，你觉得这得有多难？医生称， 身强力健的成年人需要约两周才能从肺炎中康复，在康复后也不应操劳。

　　Mrs Clinton, who is 68, was back on the campaign trail within six days of her diagnosis¹⁰.

　　现年68岁的希拉里，在确诊后6天便重新投入到竞选活动中。

　　If she stumbles, coughs or sneezes in the coming days, the political results could be lethal¹¹.

　　如果她在未来数日里跌倒、咳嗽或打喷嚏，政治后果可能是致命的。

　　Unfair though this is, Mrs Clinton has only herself to blame.

　　尽管这不公平，但希拉里只能怨自己。

　　Her instinctive¹² secrecy¹³ is a spur to the type of conspiracy¹⁴ theory in which Mr Trump excels.

　　她本能地将事情秘而不宣，加剧了阴谋论，而阴谋论恰恰是特朗普所擅长的。

　　His surrogates have been peddling¹⁵ rumours¹⁶ that Mrs Clinton is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s or worse.

　　特朗普的代理人一直在散布谣言，称希拉里患有帕金森氏症、阿兹海默症、甚至更严重的疾病。

　　These are low tactics from unscrupulous people.

　　这些都是寡廉鲜耻之人的低级伎俩。

　　Yet were Mrs Clinton to be diagnosed with something worse, could we trust her to tell anyone? Everything in Mrs Clinton’s history tells us that she will only disclose information when compelled to do so.

　　不过，如果希拉里被诊断出患有更严重的疾病，我们能相信她会告诉谁吗？希拉里过去的一切所作所为都告诉我们，她只会隐瞒真相，直到不得不公开。

　　It should be no surprise that voters are sceptical of her honesty.

　　选民对她的诚实度表示怀疑，这应该不令人意外。

　　If this is a contest over who is least unpopular, Mrs Clinton is capable of losing it.

　　如果有一场比谁最不招人讨厌的竞赛，希拉里有可能会输。

　　All Mr Trump has to do is control his nastiness for seven weeks.

　　特朗普需要做的，只是在接下来的7周里控制住别太下作。

　　For most people this would pose few difficulties.

　　对于多数人来说，这几乎没什么难度。

　　But he is capable of falling off the wagon¹⁷.

　　但是他有可能会故态复萌。

　　Then there is Mrs Clinton’s reputation for hanging out with rich people.

　　此外，还有希拉里与富人交好的名声。

　　She was wise to say she will not be appearing at the annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York this week.

　　她称自己不会出席本周在纽约召开的克林顿全球倡议(Clinton Global Initiative)年会，这是明智的。

　　But the Clinton Foundation’s philanthropic jamboree should not be taking place at all.

　　但是，克林顿基金会(Clinton Foundation)的慈善聚会压根就不应该举办。

　　Just as the campaign is entering its final stretch, people will be reminded of all the pay-for-play allegations against the Clintons.

　　就在竞选进入最后冲刺阶段之际，这些活动将提醒人们克林顿夫妇受到的种种关于他们收钱办事(pay-for-play)的指控。

　　Even without Mrs Clinton’s presence, three days of wealthy liberal self-congratulation is the last thing her campaign needs.

　　即使希拉里不露面，这场为期3天的自由主义富人的自娱自乐庆祝活动，也是最无益于她竞选的事情。

　　It was bad enough that she said at another gilded¹⁸ event in Manhattan last week that half of Mr Trump’s supporters were irredeemable racists.

　　不久前她在另一场于曼哈顿举行的富人活动上称特朗普的支持者是无可救药的种族主义者，这已经够糟了。

　　Whether true or not, candidates should never speak ill of the electorate¹⁹.

　　无论是否属实，候选人绝不应该说选民的坏话。

　　But the CGI event is no slip of the tongue.

　　但是，克林顿全球倡议事件不是一时口误。

　　It does not matter that the Clintons have promised to disengage from the foundation if she wins.

　　克林顿夫妇承诺如果希拉里当选总统他们会脱离该基金会，这并不重要。

　　It is not what you say that counts.

　　重要的不是你说什么，而是人们听到什么。

　　It is what people hear. What most people perceive is a Democratic candidate who spends half her time with billionaires.

　　多数人得到的印象是，这位民主党候选人一半时间都跟亿万富翁们待在一起。

　　This, then, is the sickeningly gripping 50 days in store.

　　那么，关于接下来这令人紧张得受不了的不到50天，情况就是这样的。

　　Make no mistake: the US could be about to elect a proudly ignorant xenophobe as president.

　　别误会：美国选出一位傲慢无知的排外主义者当总统的可能性是存在的。

　　Mrs Clinton is none of these things.

　　希拉里跟傲慢、无知和排外主义都不沾边。

　　Yet she has allowed Mr Trump to turn this election into a nail-biter.

　　然而她却让特朗普得以把这场大选变成了一场胶着战。

　　At this point the momentum²⁰ is shifting towards him.

　　此刻，大势正在向他倾斜。

　　Everything now hinges on Mrs Clinton’s past ability to find her best fighting self when her back is against the wall.

　　眼下一切都取决于希拉里能否像过去那样，在无路可退之际迸发出最强战斗力。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

3 anodyne   

n.解除痛苦的东西，止痛剂

参考例句：

• It was their delight,their folly,their anodyne,their intellectual stimulant.这是他们的人生乐趣，他们的一时荒唐，他们的止痛药，他们的脑力刺激剂。
• Friendship is not only the condiment but also the anodyne of life.友谊是人生的调味品，也是人生的止痛药。

4 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

5 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 steers   

n.阉公牛，肉用公牛( steer的名词复数 )v.驾驶( steer的第三人称单数 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• This car steers easily. 这部车子易于驾驶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fodder fleshed the steers up. 优质饲料使菜牛长肉。 来自辞典例句

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

11 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

12 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

13 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

14 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。

15 peddling   

忙于琐事的，无关紧要的

参考例句：

• He worked as a door-to-door salesman peddling cloths and brushes. 他的工作是上门推销抹布和刷子。
• "If he doesn't like peddling, why doesn't he practice law? "要是他不高兴卖柴火，干吗不当律师呢？

16 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

17 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

18 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

19 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

20 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。