商业周刊:无协议脱欧后的第一天(4)

The McDonnell family has raised sheep here for centuries.

麦克唐纳家族在这里养羊已有几个世纪之久。

But overnight, the animals now face an export tariff¹ to the EU of almost 50%. At the pre-Brexit price of ￡80 ($99) per head, McDonnell just about broke even.

但现在，这些动物突然面临着对欧盟近50%的出口关税。脱欧前，人均80英镑（99美元）的价格，让麦克唐奈几乎囊中羞涩。

After costs—feed, diesel², rent—he made a profit of ￡1 a head.

在花费了饲料、柴油、房租之后，他能为每人赚1英镑。

With sheep prices about to plummet³, and without the EU subsidies⁴ that made up about half his income, he'll go out of business.

由于绵羊价格即将暴跌，如果没有占他收入一半左右的欧盟补贴，他的意就将倒闭。

"Come on, Toby!" McDonnell calls, calling his collie into his van.

“来吧，托比！”麦克唐纳打电话，把他的牧羊犬叫进货车里。

During the Troubles, as the decades of violence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are known,

在动乱期间，北爱尔兰和爱尔兰共和国之间数十年的暴力冲突众所周知，

British soldiers blew these roads up to force drivers onto the main routes and through manned checkpoints.

英国士兵炸毁了这些道路，迫使司机进入主要路线，并通过有人值守的检查站。

Former Prime Minister Theresa May spent 19 months brokering⁵ a deal that would keep the border open and peaceful while still delivering Brexit,

前首相特雷莎·梅花了19个月的时间促成了一项协议，该协议将使边境保持开放的和平状态。同时，仍然实施脱欧，

a process that ultimately failed and put Johnson on course for the job.

这一过程最终失败，并使约翰逊现在就任首相一职。

Ireland's prime minister, Leo Varadkar, is riding out no-deal for now, taking his chances that the U.K. will return to the negotiating table before the EU can punish him for failing to hold down its frontier.

目前，爱尔兰总理利奥·沃尔德卡没有达成任何协议，他希望英国能回到谈判桌前，因为他未遵守边境规定，欧盟可以对他进行惩罚。

McDonnell arrives at a hillside plot, and Toby scampers⁶ up the incline, out of view. Suddenly a herd⁷ of rams⁸ rushes over the lip.

麦克唐纳来到一个山坡上，托比跑上斜坡，看不见了。突然，一群公羊从山缝间串过。

Once they're in the back, McDonnell slams the door behind them and drives down narrow roads to a nearby field, crossing the Irish border.

它们一回到后面，麦克唐纳就砰的一声关上门，沿着狭窄的道路开到附近的一块田地，穿过爱尔兰边境。

Strictly⁹ speaking, this is now smuggling¹⁰. Livestock¹¹ entering the EU from a non-EU country must be checked for health reasons.

严格来说，现在这属于走私活动。出于健康原因，非欧盟国家的牲畜进入欧盟必须接受检查。

The thought of going through customs points a dozen or more times every day makes McDonnell shudder¹².

每天要经过数十次或更多次海关检查的想法，使麦克唐纳不寒而栗。

Checks mean infrastructure¹³, people in uniforms: targets for violence.

检查意味着基础设施，穿着制服的人：暴力的目标。

He releases the sheep. If no-deal persists, he'll have to slaughter¹⁴ them all.

他放了那些绵羊。如果没有达成协议，他将不得不把它们全部杀掉。

1 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

2 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

3 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brokering   

v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• Intertwined with these were rivalry, power brokering, and patronage. 然而也不乏有抗争、强权操纵与任命特权交织其中。 来自互联网
• Kingston Quest Can Assist Your Company In Negotiations, Brokering, Agency Services, Sourcing Factories Or Property. 金士顿追求，可帮助您的公司在谈判中，经纪，代理服务，货源工厂或财产。 来自互联网

6 scampers   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Chi-li scampers off to play. 奇立蹦蹦跳跳，到处玩耍。 来自互联网

7 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

8 rams   

n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• A couple of rams are butting at each other. 两只羊正在用角互相抵触。 来自辞典例句
• More than anything the rams helped to break what should have been on interminable marriage. 那些牡羊比任何东西都更严重地加速了他们那本该天长地久的婚姻的破裂。 来自辞典例句

9 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

12 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。