英漢翻譯1500.doc

英漢1500字文章翻譯姓名： 李燕靈 學號： 0803012322 班級： 08商務C班 Families Pay the Price家庭付出了代價Bob Herbert 鮑勃赫伯特“Its like watching your son playing in traffic, and theres nothing you can do. “- Janet Bellows, mother of a soldier who has been assigned to a second tour in Iraq. “就像看著自己的孩子在車流中玩耍但卻束手無策?！?珍妮特貝洛斯，一個第二次被分配給到伊拉克的士兵的母親說到。Back in the 1960s, when it seemed as if every other draftee in the Army was being sent to Vietnam, I was sent off to Korea, where I was assigned to the intelligence office of an engineer battalion.早在20世紀60年代,似乎當其他被征召入伍的士兵被派去越南時,我被派去了韓國,在那里我被指派到情報辦公室的工程師一大隊。Twenty years old and half a world away from home, I looked forward to mail call the way junkies craved their next fix. My teenage sister, Sandy, got all of her high school girlfriends to write to me, which led some of the guys in my unit to think I was some kind of Don Juan. I considered it impolite to correct any misconceptions they might have had.二十歲就和家里相隔半個地球遠，我期待著用郵件的方式點名了那些懇求得到一次用量的毒品的吸毒者。我年少妹妹桑迪帶著所有她高中學校的女朋友寫信給我，這導致我們單位的一些球員認為我是個風流蕩子。我認為去糾正他們對我可能有的誤解是不禮貌的。You could depend on the mail for an emotional lift - most of the time. But there were times when I would open an envelope and read, in the inky handwriting of my mother or father or sister, that a friend of mine, someone I had grown up with or gone to school with, or a new friend I had met in the Army, had been killed in Vietnam. Just like that. Gone. Life over at 18, 19, 20. 大部分時間里你可以依賴的郵件傳遞得到一種情感的鼓舞。但有好幾次當我打開一個信封來讀時, 在我母親或父親或姐妹漆黑的筆跡里我總是會看到類似的這樣的事-和我一起長大或一起上學的朋友,又或者是我在軍隊里剛認識的新朋友已經(jīng)喪生在越南。就這樣走了，生命停止在18或19或20歲。I can still remember the weird feelings that would come over me in those surreal moments, including the irrational idea that I was somehow responsible for the death. In the twisted logic of grief, I would feel that if I had never opened the envelope, the person would still be alive. I remember being overwhelmed with the desire to reseal the letter in the envelope and bring my dead friend back to life.我還記得那種奇怪的感覺會在那些不真實的時刻里影響著我,包括我不知道如何為死亡負責的不合理想法。在這種悲痛的扭曲之下,我就會覺得如果我從未打開信封,那些人就還會活著的。還記得我會被某種欲望所淹沒而相信當我重新打開那封信后讓我那死去的朋友會復活過來。This weeks hideous attack in Mosul reminded me of those long ago days. Once again American troops sent on a fools errand are coming home in coffins, or without their right arms or left legs, or paralyzed, or so messed up mentally theyll never be the same. Troops are being shoved two or three times into the furnace of Iraq by astonishingly incompetent leaders who have been unable or unwilling to provide them with the proper training, adequate equipment or even a clearly defined mission.本周發(fā)生在摩蘇爾的駭人聽聞的襲擊使我想起那些很久以前的日子。被派去戰(zhàn)場卻執(zhí)行了徒勞的任務的美國軍隊再一次回家了，他們有的是呆在棺材里回來的，有的是缺胳膊少腿的回來的，有的是癱瘓著回來的，或者甚至是精神崩潰著回來的，總之他們不再和以前一樣了。士兵們?nèi)瑑纱蔚乇荒切O其無能的領導人推向了伊拉克這個火爐，這這些領導人已經(jīng)無法或者不愿意向他們提供適當?shù)呐嘤?充足的設備或者甚至是分配一個明確的任務。It is a mind-boggling tragedy. And the suffering goes far beyond the men and women targeted by the insurgents. Each death in Iraq blows a hole in a family and sets off concentric circles of grief that touch everyone else who knew and cared for the fallen soldier. If the human stakes were understood well enough by the political leaders of this country, it might make them a little more reluctant to launch foolish, unnecessary and ultimately unwinnable wars.這是一個難以想象的悲劇。而這些遭受這種痛苦的人的人數(shù)遠遠超過了在戰(zhàn)爭中被擊斃之人的人數(shù)。每次死在伊拉克的士兵都使他們的家庭不再完整,這使得了解和關心這些失去生命的士兵的人都忍受著同心圓似的悲痛。如果人類的利害關系能夠為他們國家的這些政治領導人所很好的理解，這可能會使他們有點更不愿意去發(fā)動愚蠢的、不必要的和最終無法取勝的戰(zhàn)爭。Lisa Hoffman and Annette Rainville of the Scripps Howard News Service have reported, in an extremely moving article, that nearly 900 American children have lost a parent to the war in Iraq. More than 40 fathers died without seeing their babies.斯克里普斯霍華德新聞社的麗莎霍夫曼和安妮特雷恩維爾在一篇非常令人感動的文章里報道說在對伊拉克的戰(zhàn)爭里將近900名美國兒童失去了一個家長。甚至有40個父親到死都沒見過自己的孩子。The article begins with a description of a deeply sad 4-year-old named Jack Shanaberger, whose father was killed in an ambush in March. Jack told his mother he didnt want to be a father when he grew up. I dont want to be a daddy, he said, because daddies die.這篇文章的開端描述一個名叫杰克莎納伯格的四歲小男孩，他很傷心因為他的父親在三月份因遭遇埋伏而死了。杰克告訴他的媽媽說當他長大以后他不想成為一個爸爸。他說：“我不想成為一個爸爸，因為當爸爸會死?！盨ix female soldiers who died in the war left a total of 10 children. This is a new form of wartime heartbreak for the U.S. 在戰(zhàn)爭中犧牲的6位女士兵遺留下10個孩子。這是一種新形式的戰(zhàn)爭令美國人心碎。We have completely lost our way with this fiasco in Iraq. The president seems almost perversely out of touch. The idea of democracy taking hold in what was a place of tyranny and hatred and destruction is such a hopeful moment in the history of the world, he said this week.在伊拉克的慘敗使我們完全迷失了方向。總統(tǒng)似乎是斷然地失去了聯(lián)系。他這個星期說：“民主思想一個暴政的地方占有了一席之地，而憎恨和毀滅卻發(fā)生在世界歷史里這個充滿希望的時刻。The truth, of course, is that we cant even secure the road to the Baghdad airport, or protect our own troops lining up for lunch inside a military compound. The coming elections are a slapstick version of democracy. International observers wont even go to Iraq to monitor the elections because its too dangerous. Theyll be watching, as if through binoculars, from Jordan.當然，事實是我們甚至都不能保障自己一路上能夠安全到達巴格達機場或者是保護我們自己的軍隊在軍方基地去排隊買午飯。即將舉行的選舉是演滑稽戲似的民主。國際觀察家甚至不會去伊拉克監(jiān)督選舉,因為太危險了。他們只會從約但河遠遠地看著,仿佛透過望遠鏡看著。Nobody has a plan. We dont have enough troops to secure the country, and the Iraqi forces have shown neither the strength nor the will to do it themselves. Election officials are being murdered in the streets. The insurgency is growing in both strength and sophistication. At least three more marines and one soldier were killed yesterday, ensuring the grimmest of holidays for their families and loved ones.沒有人有一個計劃。我們沒有足夠的軍隊來保障國家,而伊拉克部隊也已經(jīng)顯示出了他們沒有了力量也不愿意自己去打戰(zhàn)了。負責選舉的官員被殘酷地殺害了在街上。暴亂情況愈演愈烈，也越來越復雜。昨天至少有三名海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊員和一名士兵被打死,可以確定的是昨天對于他們的家人和所愛的人來說是最悲傷的假期。One of the things that President Bush might consider while on his current vacation is whether there are any limits to the price our troops should be prepared to pay for his misadventure in Iraq, or whether the suffering and dying will simply go on indefinitely. 有一件事布什總統(tǒng)可能會考慮到，考慮在他度假之時是否要限制我們的軍隊應當準備的為他在伊拉克可能遭遇不幸而支付的開銷，或者考慮是否讓苦難和死亡無限期地完全持續(xù)下去。Are We There Yet?我們還在那里嗎？Americas recovery will be much slower than that from most recessions; but the government can help a bit.這次美國的經(jīng)濟復蘇將會比以往的經(jīng)濟衰退后的復蘇更為緩慢；但是美國政府還是起到一些作用來幫助經(jīng)濟復蘇?！癢HITHER goest thou, America?” That question, posed by Jack Kerouac on behalf of the Beat generation half a century ago, is the biggest uncertainty hanging over the world economy. And it reflects the foremost worry for American voters, who go to the polls for the congressional mid-term elections on November 2nd with the countrys unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at nearly one in ten. They should prepare themselves for a long, hard ride.“美利堅，你的路在何方？”半個世紀前，“垮掉的一代”的代表作家杰克凱魯雅克曾經(jīng)提出這樣的疑問，現(xiàn)在這個問題成為了困擾世界經(jīng)濟的最大的不確定性因素。同時也反應了那些要參加11 月 2 日國會中期選舉的美國選民的最大擔憂，而此時美國接近于10%的失業(yè)率還是居高不下。對此，人們要有所準備，漫漫長路上充滿了坎坷。 The most wrenching recession since the 1930s ended a year ago. But the recoverynone too powerful to begin withslowed sharply earlier this year. GDP grew by a feeble 1.6% at an annual pace in the second quarter, and seems to have been stuck somewhere similar since. The housing market slumped after temporary tax incentives to buy a home expired. So few private jobs were being created that unemployment looked more likely to rise than fall. Fears grew over the summer that if this deceleration continued, Americas economy would slip back into recession.自上世紀30年代以來最嚴重的經(jīng)濟衰退在一年前結(jié)束了。但是復蘇的起步步伐不夠強勁，并且勢頭在今年早些時候大幅放緩。GDP在第二季度的年增長速度僅僅只有1.6%，并且從那以后似乎就再也沒有起色。政府對購買住房給予短期的稅收鼓勵政策， 但是該政策到期之后房地長市場行情就一路下滑。私營領域幾乎沒有創(chuàng)造出新的工作崗位，失業(yè)率不但沒有下降反而有明顯上升趨勢。整個夏天人們都在擔憂著，如果復蘇速度繼續(xù)放緩，美國經(jīng)濟可能再次滑向衰退的深淵里。 Fortunately, those worries now seem exaggerated. Part of the weakness of second-quarter GDP was probably because of a temporary surge in imports from China. The latest statistics, from reasonably good retail sales in August to falling claims for unemployment benefits, point to an economy that, though still weak, is not slumping further. And history suggests that although nascent recoveries often wobble for a quarter or two, they rarely relapse into recession. For now, it is most likely that Americas economy will crawl along with growth at perhaps 2.5%: above stall speed, but far too slow to make much difference to the jobless rate.幸運的是，現(xiàn)在看來這些擔心似乎有些被夸大。第二季度GDP的部分疲軟原因可能是因為從中國的進口有暫時性的上漲。最新的統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)表明，從八月份相當好的零售業(yè)績到失業(yè)津貼的需求量下降來看，經(jīng)濟雖然還是疲軟，但是已經(jīng)沒有了進一步下滑的趨勢。而歷史告訴我們，雖然初期復蘇的腳步可能會在一或兩個季度之內(nèi)搖擺不定，但是很少會再次步入衰退。對于現(xiàn)在而言，最大的可能是美國經(jīng)濟大約會以 2.5%的增長速度緩慢復蘇，但是這種速度太過緩慢以至于還無法大幅改變失業(yè)率。Why, given that America usually rebounds from recession, are the prospects so bleak? Thats because most past recessions have been caused by tight monetary policy. When policy is loosened, demand rebounds. This recession was the result of a financial crisis. Recoveries after financial crises are normally weak and slow as banking systems are repaired and balance-sheets rebuilt. Typically, this period of debt reduction lasts around seven years, which means America would emerge from it in 2014. By some measures, households are reducing their debt burdens unusually fast, but even optimistic seers do not think the process is much more than half over.若說美國經(jīng)濟通常在衰退后會有反彈，那么為什么這次復蘇的前景是如此黯淡呢？原因在于之前發(fā)生過的衰退大多數(shù)是由緊縮的貨幣政策造成的。當政策放松時，需求就會反彈。衰退是金融危機造成的結(jié)果。金融危機后的復蘇通常是疲軟且緩慢的，因為銀行系統(tǒng)需要修復，資產(chǎn)負債表也需要重建。往往這種債務減持時期會持續(xù)7年左右，這就意味著美國至少要到2014 年才能從中抽身。從某種程度上說，美國家庭正在用一些手段來以超常的速度減少債務負擔，但是即使是樂觀的預知者也不認為債務減持的過程已經(jīng)超過一半了。 Battling on the bus前行路上的較量Americas biggest problem is that its politicians have yet to acknowledge that the economy is in for such a long, slow haul, let alone prepare for the consequences. A few brave officials are beginning to sound warnings that the jobless rate is likely to “stay high”. But the political debate is more about assigning blame for the recession than about suggesting imaginative ways to give more oomph to the recovery.美國的最大問題在于政治家仍然不得不承認美國經(jīng)濟注定要經(jīng)受如此漫長的拉鋸戰(zhàn)， 更不用說為隨后的結(jié)果做準備了。少數(shù)勇敢的官員開始敲響這樣的警鐘-失業(yè)率很可能會“居高不下”。但是政治辯論更多的是關注到底誰來承擔衰退的責任，而不是提出富有的創(chuàng)造力的辦法來為經(jīng)濟復蘇提供更多的動力。Republicans argue that Barack Obamas shift towards “big government” explains the economys weakness, and that high unemployment is proof that fiscal stimulus was a bad idea. In fact, most of the growth in government to date has been temporary and unavoidable; the longer-run growth in government is more modest, and reflects the policies of both Mr. Obama and his predecessor. And the notion that high joblessness “proves” that stimulus failed is simply wrong. The mechanics of a financial bust suggest that without a fiscal boost the recession would have been much worse.共和黨人認為巴拉克奧巴馬轉(zhuǎn)而走向“大政府”解釋為什么經(jīng)濟會疲軟，而高失業(yè)率證明經(jīng)濟刺激是個壞主意。事實上，現(xiàn)今大多數(shù)政府規(guī)模的擴大都是暫時性的且不可避免的；長遠的政府規(guī)模擴大要更加適度并且能夠反應奧巴馬和他前任總統(tǒng)的政策。而高失業(yè)率“證明”經(jīng)濟刺激失敗的見解是幾完全錯的。而根據(jù)經(jīng)濟蕭條的規(guī)律，如果沒有財政刺激，經(jīng)濟衰退的情況會更糟。 Democrats have their own class-warfare version of the blame game, in which Wall Streets excesses caused the problem and higher taxes on high-earners are part of the solution. That is why Mr. Obamas legislative priority before the mid-terms is to ensure that the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year for households earning more than $250,000 but are extended for everyone else.民主黨人對于責任承擔有著他們自己的一套評判標準，他們認為是華爾街的過度胡作非為才導致了現(xiàn)在的問題，而對高收入者征收更高的稅只是解決方案的一部分。這就是為什么奧巴馬在中期選舉前在立法上要優(yōu)先確保將布什政府制定的減稅政策的受益范圍要擴大到其他每個人，布什政府的減稅政策原先受益的只是收入超過25萬美元的家庭，而該政策在今年底就到期。This takes an unnecessary risk with the short-term recovery. Americas experience in 1937 and Japans in 1997 are powerful evidence that ill-timed tax rises can tip weak economies back into recession. Higher taxes at the top, along with the waning of fiscal stimulus and belt-tightening by the states, will make a weak growth rate weaker still. Less noticed is that Mr. Obamas fiscal plan will also worsen the medium-term budget mess, by making tax cuts for the middle class permanent.這對于短期的復蘇來說個不必要的風險。美國1937年和日本1997年的經(jīng)驗強有力地證明了不合時宜的增加稅收可能使疲軟的經(jīng)濟再次進入衰退的階段。國家的高稅收政策加上減弱的財政刺激和政府的緊縮政策將使本已疲軟的經(jīng)濟更加無力增長。很少人注意到奧巴馬的針對中產(chǎn)階級的永久性減稅的財政計劃將會減少中期的預算更加糟糕的可能性。 Ways to overhaul the engine 修復經(jīng)濟發(fā)動機的方式In an ideal world America would commit itself now to the medium-term tax reforms and spending cuts needed to get a grip on the budget, while leaving room to keep fiscal policy loose for the moment. But in febrile, partisan Washington that is a pipe-dream. Todays goals can only be more modest: to nurture the weak economy, minimize uncertainty and prepare the ground for tomorrows fiscal debate. To that end, Congress ought to extend all the Bush tax cuts until 2013. Then they should all expireprompting a serious fiscal overhaul, at a time when the economy is stronger.在理想的社會里，美國將會承諾在中期進行稅收改革并且減少必須開支來控制預算，同時在此時留有空間保持寬松的財政政策。但是這只不過是華盛頓里的黨派頭腦發(fā)熱的空想罷了。先進的目標只有更加保守：給虛弱的經(jīng)濟補充營養(yǎng)，最大程度減小不確定性，并且準備好明天財政辯論的依據(jù)。為此國會應該將所有的布什減稅政策延期到2013年。然后當所有的減稅政策到期-在經(jīng)濟情況好轉(zhuǎn)時再來進行徹底的財政大檢查。A broader set of policies could help to work off the hangover faster. One priority is to encourage more write-downs of mortgage debt. Almost a quarter of all Americans with mortgages owe more than their houses are worth. Until that changes the vicious cycle of rising foreclosures and falling prices