2014年考研《经济学人》：一个国家的覆亡 中英文对照

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　　根据历年真题研究发现考研的阅读理解的文章一般都是从国外的期刊上摘抄下来的，像The Economist 《经济学家》、Newsweek 《新闻周刊》、Times《时代周刊》、Now York Times 《纽约时报》等，下面太奇考研英语辅导老师整理了《经济学人》阅读周刊，希望能对同学们的阅读带来更大的视野。
        　　The death of a country
        　　一个国家的覆亡
        　　As Syria disintegrates, it threatens the entire Middle East. The outside world needs to act before it is too late
        　　叙利亚一国的分崩离析使整个中东都受到威胁。在情况无法挽回之前，外界需要及时采取行动
        　　Feb 23rd 2013 |From the print edition
        　　AFTER the first world war Syria was hacked from the carcass of the Ottoman empire. After the second, it won its independence. After the fighting that is raging today it could cease to function as a state.
        　　第一次世界大战之后，叙利亚从奥斯曼帝国中给分离出来。第二次世界大战后，叙利亚独立。而如今，在在这场惨烈的战争结束后，叙利亚可能不会再作为一个国家而存在。
        　　As the world looks on (or away), the country jammed betweenTurkey,Lebanon,Jordan,Iraq andIsrael is disintegrating. Perhaps the regime ofBashar Assad,Syria’s president, will collapse in chaos; for some time it could well fight on from a fortified enclave, the biggest militia in a land of militias. Either way,Syria looks increasingly likely to fall prey to feuding warlords, Islamists and gangs—a newSomalia rotting in the heart of theLevant.
        　　叙利亚夹在土耳其、黎巴嫩、约旦、伊拉克和以色列之间，由于世界各国的袖手旁观(或者干脆无视)，这个国家正分崩离析。也许叙利亚总统巴沙尔•阿萨德的政权会在动乱中垮台;也可能这个政权会在一个武装的据点中继续顽抗，成为这个到处都是武装组织的地区中最大的武装组织。无论是那种情况，叙利亚都越来越可能落入混战的军阀、伊斯兰教徒和帮派之手——在累范特地区的心脏地带，又一个索马里正在沉沦。
        　　If that happens, millions of lives will be ruined. A fragmentedSyria would also feed global jihad and stoke theMiddle East’s violent rivalries. Mr Assad’s chemical weapons, still secure for now, would always be at risk of falling into dangerous hands. This catastrophe would make itself felt across theMiddle East and beyond. And yet the outside world, includingAmerica, is doing almost nothing to help.
        　　如果情况真是如此，数百万人将失去生命。四分五裂的叙利亚还会滋养全球范围的圣战活动，并在中东地区引起暴力冲突。阿萨德手中的化学武器目前还算安全，但时刻有可能落入危险分子手中。如果这样的灾难发生，将会波及整个中东及其他地区。然而，目前包括美国在内的外界，几乎没有采取任何措施。
        　　The road from Damascus
        　　大马士革之路
        　　Part of the reason for the West’s hesitancy is that, from the start of the uprising in 2011, Mr Assad has embraced a strategy of violence. By attacking the Arab spring with tanks and gunships, he turned peaceful demonstrators into armed militias. By shelling cities he uprooted his people. By getting his Alawite brethren to massacre the Sunni majority, he has drawn in jihadists and convinced Syrians from other sects to stick with him for fear that his own fall will lead to terrible vengeance.
                               

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        　　西方各国犹豫不决的部分原因在于，自2011年动乱开始以来，阿萨德一直采取暴力策略。他用坦克和武装直升机镇压阿拉伯之春，使原来的和平示威者变成武装分子。他轰炸城市，让人民流离失所。他让手下的阿拉维派教徒屠杀占多数的逊尼派，将圣战主义者和其他派别的叙利亚人跟自己绑在一起，因为这些人害怕阿萨德的倒台会招致疯狂报复。
        　　Syrian blood now flows freely and sectarian hatred is smouldering (see article). The fight could last years. Rebel groups have lately been capturing military bases. They control chunks of the north and east and are fighting in the big cities. But the rebels are rivals as well as allies: they are beginning to target each other, as well as the government’s troops.
        　　如今叙利亚流血漂橹，宗派怨恨积累(另见文)。战争可能会持续数年。叛军最近节节攻占军事基地。他们控制了北部和东部大片地区，并且在各大城市中战斗。但各叛军彼此之间既是盟友又是敌人：除了跟政府军作战，各叛军之间也在开打。
        　　Even if Mr Assad cannot control his country, he has every reason to fight on. He still enjoys the cultlike devotion of some of his Alawite sect and the grudging support of other Syrians who fear what might come next. He commands 50,000 or so loyal, well-armed troops—and tens of thousands more, albeit less trained and less loyal. He is backed byRussia,Iran andIraq, which between them supply money, weapons, advice and manpower.Hizbullah,Lebanon’s toughest militia, is sending in its fighters, too. Mr Assad almost certainly cannot win this war; but, barring an unexpected stroke of fate, he is still a long way from losing it.
        　　即使阿萨德控制不了自己的国家，他也很有理由继续斗争。阿拉维派一些教徒依然对他顶礼膜拜，其他一些叙利亚人尽管不情愿，但仍然支持阿萨德，因为他们对阿萨德垮台后会发生什么感到畏惧。阿萨德指挥着50,000左右忠心耿耿、装备精良的部队，还有数万没这么训练有素，也没这么忠心的部队。他还有俄罗斯、伊朗和伊拉克撑腰，这些国家给他提供资金、武器、建议和人力。黎巴嫩最强硬的武装组织真主党也派出自己的士兵支持他。阿萨德无法赢得这场战争几成定局，但是，除非出现意外的情况，他离战败也还很远。
        　　So far the fighting has claimed 70,000 or more lives; tens of thousands are missing. The regime has locked up 150,000-200,000 people. More than 2m are homeless insideSyria, struggling to find food and shelter. Almost 1m more are living in squalor over the border.
        　　到目前为止，这场战争已经造成了至少70,000人死亡，数万人失踪。阿萨德政权已关押了150,000-200,000人。叙利亚国内有超过200万人无家可归，为食物和头上片瓦苦苦挣扎。国境线上还有将近100万人生活在悲惨境地之中。
        　　Suffering on such a scale is unconscionable. That was the lesson from the genocides and civil wars that scarred the last half of the past century. Yet President Barack Obama has suggested that saving lives alone is not a sufficient ground for military action. Having learnt inAfghanistan andIraq how hard it is to impose peace,America is fearful of being sucked into the chaos that Mr Assad has created. Mr Obama was elected to win economic battles at home. He believes that a wearyAmerica should stay clear of yet another foreign disaster.
                               

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        　　如此深重的苦难实在是太过分了。上世纪下半叶的大屠杀和内战带来了深重的灾难，已经给了我们教训。然而，奥巴马总统却认为光是拯救生命并不能成为军事行动的充足理由。因为已经在阿富汗和伊拉克那里知道要强加和平于他国是何等艰难，美国害怕会卷入阿萨德造成的动乱。奥巴马之所以当选，是因为选民希望他能解决国内的经济问题。奥巴马觉得，疲惫不堪的美国应该远远躲开另一场外国灾难。
        　　That conclusion, however understandable, is mistaken. As the world’s superpower,America is likely to be sucked intoSyria eventually. Even if the president can resist humanitarian arguments, he will find it hard to ignore his country’s interests.
        　　无论这个结论看上去多么合情合理，都是错误的。作为世界超级大国，美国最后很可能还是会被叙利亚卷进去。即便奥巴马总统不为人道主义的理由所动，他仍会发现自己国家的利益很难忽视。
        　　If the fight drags on,Syria will degenerate into a patchwork of warring fiefs. Almost everythingAmerica wants to achieve in theMiddle East will become harder. Containing terrorism, ensuring the supply of energy and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction: unlike, say, the 15-year civil war inLebanon,Syria’s disintegration threatens them all.
        　　如果战争拖延下去，叙利亚会处处战火不断。几乎美国想在中东达成的任何目标都会变得更为艰难。跟黎巴嫩15年的内战可不一样，叙利亚的解体会让遏制恐怖主义、保障能源供给和防止大规模杀伤性武器扩散等种种事务都受到威胁。
        　　About a fifth of the rebels—and some of the best organised—are jihadists. They pose a threat to moderate Syrians, including Sunnis, and they could use lawless territory as a base for international terror. If they menaceIsrael across the Golan Heights,Israel will protect itself fiercely, which is sure to inflame Arab opinion. A dividedSyria could tearLebanon apart, because the Assads will stir up their supporters there.Jordan, poor and fragile, will be destabilised by refugees and Islamists. Oil-rich, Shia-majorityIraq can barely hold itself together; as Iraqi Sunnis are drawn into the fray, divisions there will only deepen. Coping with the fallout fromSyria, including Mr Assad’s arsenal of chemical weapons, could complicate the aim of preventingIran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Mr Obama wanted to avoidSyria, butSyria will come and get him.
        　　大约有五分之一的叛军，其中一些是最有组织的，是圣战分子。这些人对温和派叙利亚人 (包括逊尼派)构成了威胁，而且他们可能会利用法律无法约束的地区作为国际恐怖主义活动的基地。如果他们跨过戈兰高地威胁以色列，以色列会用激烈手段保护自己，而这必会激起阿拉伯世界的反应。四分五裂的叙利亚可能会分裂黎巴嫩，因为阿萨德家族会煽动他们当地的支持者。又穷又弱的约旦会因难民和伊斯兰分子而动荡。石油丰富、什叶派占多数的伊拉克会很难维持统一;伊拉克的逊尼派会被扯进纷争，分裂只会加深。处理叙利亚遗留问题，包括阿萨德的化学武器库问题，会使阻止伊朗拥有核武器一事更加复杂。奥巴马想躲开叙利亚，但叙利亚会找上他。
        　　Doing nothing is a policy, too
        　　什么都不做也是种政策
        　　Syria is more dangerous today than it was in October, when this newspaper called for a no-fly zone in order to ground Mr Assad’s air force. Mr Obama’s policy of waiting for the conflagration inSyria to burn itself out is failing. Rather than see things deteriorate still further, he should act.
                               

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        　　如今叙利亚比去年十月的时候更危险，当时本报呼吁要设立一个禁飞区，禁止阿萨德的空军上天。奥巴马想让叙利亚的冲突自然平息的政策是失败的。他应该采取行动，而不是坐看局势恶化。
        　　His aim should be to preserve what is left ofSyria. That means trying to convince the people around Mr Assad that their choice is between ruinous defeat and turfing out the Assad family as a prelude to talks with the rebels. A no-fly zone is still needed to ground Mr Assad’s air force and destroy some of his missiles. It would be a big, bold signal ofAmerica’s resolve to Mr Assad’s supporters.America should recognise a transitional government, selected fromSyria’s opposition. It should arm non-jihadist rebel groups—including with limited numbers of anti-aircraft missiles.France andBritain would back this, even if other Europeans would not.Russia supports Mr Assad in part to frustrate Mr Obama. Europe andAmerica should keep on trying to tempt it to give him up, by promising it a stake in a liberatedSyria.
        　　奥巴马的目标应该是保住叙利亚剩下的东西。这需要说服阿萨德身边的人，让他们认识到他们的选择在于：是战败走向毁灭，还是将阿萨德家族赶下台，作为与叛军谈判的前奏。设立禁飞区禁飞阿萨德空军并破坏他的一些导弹仍然有必要。这对阿萨德的支持者将是一个明确、坚定的信号，表明美国的决心。美国应承认从叙利亚反对派中选出的过渡政府。美国还应武装叛军中的非圣战主义者，包括提供有限数量的地空导弹。法国和英国会支持这种做法，即便其他欧洲国家不同意。俄罗斯支持阿萨德某种程度上说是要跟奥巴马作对。欧洲和美国应该承诺俄罗斯在新叙利亚中分一杯羹，以诱惑俄罗斯放弃阿萨德。
        　　There are no guarantees that this policy will work. But it will at least build links with the non-jihadist rebels whomAmerica will need as allies in the chaos if Mr Assad stays. Today those moderate Syrians feel utterly abandoned.
        　　无法保证这种政策能够奏效。但它至少能够建立跟不属于圣战分子的叛军的联系，如果阿萨德还在台上，混乱不会停止，美国需要跟这部分叛军合作。如今那些温和派的叙利亚人觉得自己已经被彻底抛弃。