2016年经济学人 加拿大门把手之战 非旋不可

 

Canada's war on doorknobs

加拿大门把手之战

Knobless oblige

非旋不可

New building rules will help old folks—who now risk being eaten by bears

新建筑规定能帮上老家伙们—他们面临着葬身熊腹的危险

IT IS rare for changes to a municipal building code to become headline news. But Vancouver's ban on doorknobs in all new buildings, which went into effect last month, is an exception. It has provoked a strong reaction from the door-opening public and set off a chain reaction across the country as other jurisdictions¹ ponder whether to follow Vancouver's lead. The country is on tenterhooks².

市政建筑规章的修改很少能登上头条。可是上个月在温哥华生效的禁令却是个例外。这一事件引发了开门群众的强烈反应，全国各地也发生了连锁反应，大家都开始仔细思考着要不要跟着温哥华走。这个国家陷入了纠结的状态。

The war on doorknobs is part of a broader campaign to make buildings more accessible to the elderly and disabled, many of whom find levered doorhandles easier to operate than fiddly knobs. Vancouver's code adds private homes to rules already in place in most of Canada for large buildings, stipulating³ wider entry doors, lower thresholds and lever-operated taps in bathrooms and kitchens.

在许多老残人士看来，杠杆式的门把手比小破旋钮好用得多；为了方便他们出入各式建筑物，一场大战已经打响，而门把手之仗正是其中一役。温哥华法令在加拿大广义上的大型建筑物条例中添加了私人住宅一条，对宽门厅的门、低门槛、杠杆操作的厨浴水龙头都作出了规定。

The rules have provoked grumbling⁴ about the nanny state, much of it from doorknob manufacturers. The Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) complains that Vancouver, the only city in Canada with the power to determine its own building code (elsewhere it falls to provincial⁵ governments), changed the rules on its own, instead of asking for a revision of the national regulations, which would have triggered more detailed⁶ cost studies.

随规章而至的是人们对于保姆政府的抱怨，而旋钮制造商方面怨声尤重。加拿大住宅建筑商协会（ CHBA ）埋怨说，温哥华是加拿大唯一座有建筑物条例决定权的城市，现在它不去改国家规章，而是自改条例，这就需要再研究一番具体成本。

These complaints pale in comparison to a more sinister⁷ worry. True, elderly and disabled people find it easier to operate doors with handles. But so do bears. In British Columbia, bears have been known to scavenge for food inside cars—whose doors have handles, knob advocates point out. Pitkin County, Colorado, in the United States, has banned door levers on buildings for this very reason. One newspaper columnist⁸ in the pro-knob camp has noted⁹ that the velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” were able to open doors by their handles.

这些怨言在一份不祥的担心前未免相形见绌。确实，老残人士用起门把手来要方便得多。但熊也会方便。人们已经知道熊会进车觅食—车上是有把手的，旋钮拥护者提出了这一点。美国科罗拉多州的皮特金县因此禁止建筑物使用杠杆门。一位旋钮派的报社专栏作家提到，《侏罗纪公园》里的伶盗龙就能扣动门把手开门。

Canadians are undeterred. Members of the municipal council in Halifax are considering asking their provincial government to follow Vancouver's example. So too are councillors in Pickering, east of Toronto. The provincial government in Manitoba is examining how the new rules will work in Vancouver. Philip Rizcallah, who manages the federal body responsible for the national code, says he would be open to considering the measure. So far no one has asked.

加拿大人并未气馁。哈利法克斯市市政委员会正考虑倡议省政府效仿温哥华市。多伦多东面的皮克灵市市政委员会也是这么想的。曼尼托巴省省政府有意观察温哥华新规的落实情况。负责的菲利普·瑞兹卡拉称他愿意将该举措纳入考虑范畴。目前还没有人提议。

It seems only a matter of time before someone steps forward. Much publicity¹⁰ has been given to the ban, which plays to Vancouver's offbeat¹¹ reputation. “What are they smoking out there?” asks Gary Sharp of the CHBA. If further bans do go ahead, those living near the woods would be wise to invest in some sturdy locks before installing doorhandles.

看来向前迈步只是过一段时间的事了。温哥华市利用自身不同寻常的声誉，使这项禁令得到了广泛宣传。“他们在那儿耍什么把戏呐？”CHBA的加里·夏普问到。如果后续禁令出台，住在森林附近的人们最好还是在装门把手之前搞上几把坚固的大锁头吧。

1 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

2 tenterhooks   

n.坐立不安

参考例句：

• The students are on tenterhooks to hear the result of the examination.学生们烦躁不安地听考试结果。
• The mother was on tenterhooks until her little Laura came back.当小珞拉回来后，她母亲才放下心来。

3 stipulating   

v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的现在分词 )；规定，明确要求

参考例句：

• Shall we first sign a barter trade agreement stipulating the general terms and conditions? 我们先签一个易货贸易协议，规定一般性条款，行吗？ 来自互联网
• The other firm are stipulating for and early exchange of information regarding the contract. 作为协议条件，另一家公司坚持要求早日交换有关合同的信息。 来自互联网

4 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

8 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

11 offbeat   

adj.不平常的，离奇的

参考例句：

• She adores old,offbeat antiques.她非常喜欢那些稀奇古怪的老古董。
• His style is offbeat but highly creative.他的风格很不寻常但非常有创造力。