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时代周刊:美国如何落到今天这步田地?(3)

时间:2020-11-16 02:05来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

THE STORY OF HOW ALL THIS CAME TO BE IS LIKE a movie in which everything seems clear only if it is played back from the start in slow motion.

这一切仿佛是一场电影,只有从一开始就用慢镜头回放,一切才会清晰起来。

Beginning about 50 years ago, each scene unfolded slowly, usually without any sign of its ultimate impact.

故事大致还要从50年前开始说起,那时,每一幕的节奏都很慢,通常慢到似乎不会产生任何长远的影响。

The story of America's tailspin is not about villains1, though there are some.

美国股市的失控并不是一个关于恶棍的故事,虽然也的确有这种人。

It is not about a conspiracy2 to bring the country down, nor did it spring from one single source.

也不是关于一场推翻这个国家的阴谋的故事,甚至,这一故事的源头都不止一个。

But there is a theme that threads through and ties together all the strands3:

但这个故事里依然存在一个贯穿所有线索并将它们全部串连起来的主题:

many of the most talented, driven Americans used what makes America great—

很多最富才华,也最有动力的美国人都利用了让美国变得伟大的那些因素——

the First Amendment4, due process, financial and legal ingenuity5,

第一修正案、正当程序、金融和法律的独创性、

free markets and free trade, meritocracy, even democracy itself—to chase the American Dream.

自由市场和自由贸易、精英制度,甚至民主本身——来追逐他们的美国梦。

And they won it, for themselves.

而且,他们赢了,为他们自己赢了。

Then, in a way unprecedented6 in history, they were able to consolidate7 their winnings, outsmart and coopt the forces that might have reined8 them in,

随后,他们便以前所未有的方式巩固了他们的胜利,还智胜并收服了原本可能主宰他们的力量,

and pull up the ladder so more could not share in their success or challenge their primacy.

然后收起梯子,让其他人无法分享他们的成功或挑战他们的主导地位。

By continuing to get better at what they do,

通过进一步谙熟上述操作,

by knocking away the guardrails limiting their winnings, aggressively engineering changes in the political landscape,

通过打破限制他们所能获得的战利品的护栏,强势策划政治格局的变化,

and by dint9 of the often unanticipated consequences of their innovations,

并凭借他们那些往往出人意料的创新成果,

they created a nation of moats that protected them from accountability and from the damage their triumphs caused in the larger community.

他们给这个国家建起了护城河,保护他们不被问责,保护他们以牺牲全体社会为代价追逐个人胜利之际不必承受损失。

Most of the time, our elected and appointed representatives were no match for these.

大多数时候,我们选举并任命的代表们都根本无法与这些成就异常突出的人相提并论。

As a result of their savvy10, their drive and their resources

他们有头脑,有动力,有资源

(and a certain degree of privilege, as these strivers may have come from humble11 circumstances but are mostly white men),

(还有一定程度的特权,因为这些奋斗者或许也有出身卑微的,但他们大多都是白人),

America all but abandoned its most ambitious and proudest ideal:

美国差点就放弃了它最具雄心壮志,也最为自豪的理想;

the never perfect, always debated and perpetually sought after balance

从来都不完美,总是被争论不休却永远都被吹捧着的,

between the energizing12 inequality of achievement in a competitive economy and the community-binding equality promised by democracy.

激励大家在竞争激烈的经济体里追求不平等成就的做法与民主体制所承诺的,约束整个社会群体的平等之间的平衡。

In a battle that began a half-century ago, the achievers won.

在这场半个世纪前就已开始的战争中,成功的人取得了胜利。

The result is a new, divided America.

结果是,美国变成了一个新的、分裂的美国。

On one side are the protected few—the winners—

一头是被保护的少数人——也即那些赢家——

who don't need government for much and even have a stake in sabotaging13 the government's responsibility to all of its citizens.

这些人并不太需要政府,破坏政府对所有公民的责任反倒关系着他们的利益。

For them, the new, broken America works fine, at least in the short term.

对他们而言,破碎的新美国也挺好,至少短期内是这样。

An understaffed IRS is a plus for people most likely to be the target of audits14.

对那些最有可能成为审计目标的人来说,国税局人手不足反倒成了一件好事。

Underfunded customer service at the Social Security Administration is irrelevant15 to those not living week to week, waiting for their checks.

社会保障总署客户服务部资金不足跟那些不用每周都要等着支票才能维持生计的人并不相干。

Except for the most civic-minded among them, corporate16 executives are not likely to worry that their government doesn't produce a comprehensive budget.

除非是最具公益意识的部分企业高管,其他人不太可能因为他们的政府没有制定全面的预算而担忧。

They don't worry about the straitjacket their government faces in recruiting and rewarding talent

他们并不担心政府在招聘和奖励人才、

or in training or dismissing the untalented because of a broken civil-service system.

培训或因公务员制度失灵而解雇没有才能的人方面所面临的限制。


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 villains ffdac080b5dbc5c53d28520b93dbf399     
n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 );罪犯;(小说、戏剧等中的)反面人物;淘气鬼
参考例句:
  • The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
2 conspiracy NpczE     
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。
3 strands d184598ceee8e1af7dbf43b53087d58b     
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 amendment Mx8zY     
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案
参考例句:
  • The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
  • The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。
5 ingenuity 77TxM     
n.别出心裁;善于发明创造
参考例句:
  • The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
  • I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。
6 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的,新奇的
参考例句:
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
7 consolidate XYkyV     
v.使加固,使加强;(把...)联为一体,合并
参考例句:
  • The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
  • The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。
8 reined 90bca18bd35d2cee2318d494d6abfa96     
勒缰绳使(马)停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 ); 驾驭; 严格控制; 加强管理
参考例句:
  • Then, all of a sudden, he reined up his tired horse. 这时,他突然把疲倦的马勒住了。
  • The officer reined in his horse at a crossroads. 军官在十字路口勒住了马。
9 dint plVza     
n.由于,靠;凹坑
参考例句:
  • He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
  • He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。
10 savvy 3CkzV     
v.知道,了解;n.理解能力,机智,悟性;adj.有见识的,懂实际知识的,通情达理的
参考例句:
  • She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
  • Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了?
11 humble ddjzU     
adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低
参考例句:
  • In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
  • Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
12 energizing e3f2f6cebc209a6ba70f00dcd4da3708     
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的现在分词 );使通电
参考例句:
  • a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
  • The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句
13 sabotaging ba20b6ee606869e83e5a042beefced7e     
阴谋破坏(某事物)( sabotage的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Mr Smith fiercely denied any question of sabotaging the talks. 史密斯先生坚决拒绝任何企图阻挠谈话的提问。
  • Failed in sabotaging APEC summit in Sydney of Australia. 澳大利亚悉尼APEC会议遭遇惨败。
14 audits c54379fa058a9ad836b60a32f9ceb5bd     
n.审计,查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计,查账( audit的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
  • Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观,稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网
15 irrelevant ZkGy6     
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的
参考例句:
  • That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
  • A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上,一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。
16 corporate 7olzl     
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
参考例句:
  • This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
  • His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
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