中国建造的通向海边的埃塞俄比亚新铁路

 　　ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The sleek¹, white train glides² through the hilly Ethiopian countryside, the first to travel this route in nearly a decade.

　　亚的斯亚贝巴，埃塞俄比亚——整洁的白色火车滑行穿过丘陵起伏的埃塞俄比亚乡村，在近十年里第一列火车经过这条线路。

　　The contrast is stark³ as the new, Chinese-made electric train passes horse-drawn carriages, oxen hauling plows⁴ and crowds of curious village children. But soon it crosses over a gleaming six-lane expressway and snakes past a row of newly erected⁵ wind turbines — all Chinese-built and, like the train, part of Ethiopia’s ongoing⁶ effort to remake itself.

　　中国制造电气化火车经过马拉的车厢、牛拉犁和成群好奇的村庄孩子，这些景象形成了鲜明的对比。但是火车很快跨越一个瞬息一现六车道高速公路和蛇爬过的一排新建的直立着的风力发电机——这些全部是中国建造的，像火车行驶那样，埃塞俄比亚持续努力的一部分来重塑自己。

　　The standard-gauge rail line, which will be officially inaugurated this week, stretches 470 miles from the capital, Addis Ababa, to the port of Djibouti, which handles 90 percent of the landlocked country’s trade and is its main window to the outside world. Seventy percent of the $3.4 billion project is financed by China’s Export-Import Bank, and it is one of the biggest of the mega-projects that Ethiopia says will transform its largely agricultural economy — once known for little more than famine and coffee — into East Africa’s manufacturing hub.

　　这条标准轨距铁路线将会在本周正式揭牌，它从首都亚的斯亚贝巴延绵470英里到吉布提口岸，首都亚的斯亚贝巴处理着该内陆国90%的贸易并且它是对外部世界的主要窗口。34亿美元项目的70%由中国进出口银行提供资金，并且它是最大的大型项目之一，埃塞俄比亚认为该项目将会很大程度上改变农业经济——成为东非制造业中心——该国曾经仅仅是因为饥荒和咖啡而闻名。

　　“Our economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and the world, so at the end of the day, when the train is connected to the port and transporting that much freight, .?.?. it will add value,” said Mekonnen Getachew, the railway’s project manager, speaking after a recent trial run for journalists .

　　“我们的经济是非洲和世界上增长最快经济体之一，所以在这一天结束时，当火车与港口连接进而运输更多的货物，它会增加价值，”梅克恩·格塔丘说，这位铁路项目经理，在最近一次试车运行之后对新闻记者发表了讲话。

　　Between 2005 and 2015, Ethiopia’s economy grew at an average rate of 10 percent a year, and the country took pride in its reputation as Africa’s latest success story. But that is starting to unravel⁷, with the worst drought in 50 years halving⁸ the growth rate and widespread social unrest erupting in two of the country’s most populous⁹ regions.

　　在2005年和2015年间，埃塞俄比亚经济以每年平均10%速度增长，并且该国因为非洲最新成功故事的名声，而为此骄傲。但是这种情况开始瓦解，随着50年来最严重干旱把增长率减半并且大范围的社会动荡在该国两个人口最稠密的地区爆发。

　　A finish-line protest at this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by an Ethio-pian marathon runner alerted the world to the country’s internal problems.

　　在今年的里约热内卢的奥运会上，一名马拉松运动员伊索·皮安在完成线路上抗议以提醒世界注意该国内部的问题。

　　The drought’s effect has been so dire¹⁰ that the new railroad was pressed into service in November, before construction was even completed, to get emergency imports of wheat closer to famine-stricken areas.

　　干旱的影响是非常严峻的，以至于这条新铁路甚至在完工之前在去年十一月被暂时征用，以获得紧急进口小麦去更接近饥荒受灾区域。

　　Without the train, Ethiopia’s imports and exports must travel between Djibouti and Addis Ababa on a winding¹¹, pitted road plied¹² by more than 1,500 trucks daily, a trip that takes two days. When the railroad is fully¹³ operational, travel time for freight will be cut to just 12 hours — and 10 hours for the faster passenger trains.

　　如果没有火车，埃塞俄比亚的进口和出口必须在吉布提和亚的斯亚贝巴之间缠绕行进，维修加油的公路每天被超过1500辆卡车使用，一次行程花费两天。当铁路完全运转时，货运行程时间将会减少到只有12小时而更快的旅客列车只有10小时。

　　The new line actually replaces a narrow-gauge railroad built by France starting in 1894, when it controlled Djibouti. The French left behind elegant, arcaded¹⁴ train stations, inscribed¹⁵ “Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Ethiopien,” in the heart of Addis Ababa and in the eastern city of Dire Dawa, but the line was largely defunct¹⁶ by the mid-2000s, a victim of war and neglect.

　　这条新线路实际上取代了由法国始于1894年建造的一条窄轨铁路，当时法国控制着吉布提。法国人在亚的斯亚贝巴中心和东部城市尔达瓦遗留下了优雅的、有拱廊的火车站，火车站题写着“吉布提-埃塞俄比亚铁路”，但是这条线路在2000年代中期大部分报废了，是一场战争的牺牲品和被疏于维护。

　　The century-old tracks can still be seen in places from the new train, but the Chinese elected to build all new stations. The palatial¹⁷ multistory buildings stand well outside cities and towns, suggesting that the new line will be used more for freight than for passengers.

　　具有百年历史的轨迹仍然可以在新火车的地方被看到，而中国人委任建造全部新的火车站。这些宏伟多层的建筑良好地矗立在城市和城镇之外，这表明新线路将会被更多用于货物而不是旅客。

　　The rail link to Djibouti will be just the beginning, the government says. Plans have been made for 1,500 more miles of track to criss-cross the country, including to its borders with Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan — all part of an African Union goal of once more uniting the continent by rail.

　　政府说，这条连接吉布提的铁路将只是一个开始。超过1500英里的轨道计划已经规划好，该轨道让该国纵横交错，包括与它接壤的肯尼亚、苏丹和南苏丹——一部分非洲联盟目标因为铁路又一次团结成大陆。

　　Ethiopia is a lot closer to achieving its part of this goal than most African countries, largely because of the massive support and financing from China.

　　埃塞俄比亚与大多数非洲国家相比很接近完成这个目标的一部分，主要因为大量支援和融资来源于中国。

　　According to the China Global Investment tracker, Beijing has poured more than $20.6 billion into Ethiopia since 2005, much of it in low-interest loans to build infrastructure¹⁸, such as roads, rail lines and telecommunication¹⁹.

　　根据中国全球投资跟踪系统，北京自2005年以来已经倾入超过206亿美元到埃塞俄比亚，大多数资金以低利率贷款用于建造基础设施，例如公路、铁路线和通信。

　　On the train, with its clean, blond-wood interiors, loudspeakers announce the stations in three languages: Amharic, English and Chinese. All the attendants are Chinese.

　　在火车上，它有着干净、金色木质纹理的内部，扩音器用三种语言：阿姆哈拉语、英语和中文播报车站。所有的服务员是中国人。

　　For its first five years, the new railway will be managed by a Chinese company to allow time to train enough Ethiopians to take over running it.

　　在最初的五年里，这个新铁路将会由一家中国公司来管理以便有时间去培养足够的埃塞俄比亚人来接管运行它。

　　The train line is a key part of the government’s strategy to industrialize the country by luring²⁰ foreign investment — and the 70-mile trip last weekend between Addis Ababa and Adama attests²¹ to the plan’s success so far. From the window, the view includes not just traditional farms but also greenhouses marking the country’s burgeoning²² commercial flower industry and distant plumes²³ of smoke from new factories.

　　铁路线是政府战略的一个关键部分，从而通过引诱外国投资实现该国的工业化——而上周在亚的斯亚贝巴和阿达玛之间70英里的运行证明到目前为止该计划的成功。从火车窗口上看，视野不仅包括了传统农场而且还有温室，这标志着该国增长迅速的商业花卉产业还有遥远的来自新工厂羽毛状的烟雾。

　　Chinese cement and shoe companies, Indian painting and textile firms, and numerous Turkish enterprises have set up shop here in recent years, attracted by Ethiopia’s cheap labor²⁴ and electricity — and eventually, the government hopes, by its superior infrastructure.

　　中国的水泥和制鞋公司、印度绘画和纺织品工厂，还有许多土耳其企业在最近几年里已经在这里开设商店，这些企业被埃塞俄比亚廉价劳动力和电力所吸引——而最终，政府希望企业被它的优秀的基础设施所吸引。

　　Foreign direct investment has grown from just $108 million in 2009 to an estimated $2 billion in 2016.

　　外国直接投资已经从2009年只有108百万美元增长到2016年预估的20亿美元。

　　A report by the World Bank last year, though, warned that Ethiopia still had far to go in its quest to move labor from agriculture to industrial jobs. About 80 percent of the jobs in the country are still in farming. Meanwhile, unemployment is at 17 percent nationally and at 24 percent in the capital.

　　尽管，世界银行去年的一份报告，警告埃塞俄比亚寻求把劳动力从农业转移到工业工作上仍然很遥远。在该国，大约80%工作仍然是农业。同时，全国失业率是17%而在首都是24%。

　　The economy remains²⁵ closed and state-controlled, and the small and medium enterprises that would probably produce the most jobs are having trouble getting financing. Even foreign firms, which are given preferential treatment, complain about bureaucracy, red tape and the difficulty of repatriating²⁶ profits and acquiring hard currency.

　　该国经济保持着封闭和国家控制，并且很可能将会产生更多工作的中小企业正在为获得融资发愁。即使是给予优先对待的外国农场，他们抱怨着官僚主义、繁文缛节还有遣返利润和获得硬通货的困难。

　　The new factories are also being built on confiscated²⁷ farm land, which helped spark the protests in the Oromo region that began in November and later spread north to the Amhara region. International rights groups estimate that some 500 people have been killed in the repression²⁸ that ensued.

　　另外新工厂正建设在被没收农地上，这导致了在奥罗莫人地区引发抗议，抗议从11月份开始并且后来传播到北方至阿姆哈拉地区。国际认全组织估计大约500人在随后的镇压中丧生。

　　Just on Sunday, police fired tear gas at a political protest taking place at an Oromo cultural festival in Bishoftu, the next station on the train line after Addis Ababa, and provoked a stampede that killed 52 according to the government — with the opposition²⁹ saying twice as many died.

　　就在周日，一场政治抗议发生在德布雷塞特的一个奥罗莫文化节上，德布雷塞特是在火车线路上在亚的斯亚贝巴之后的下一站，警察对抗议发射了催泪瓦斯，并引发了踩踏事故，按照政府说法踩踏导致52人丧生，而反对派说死亡人数是政府说法的两倍。

　　Linda Thomas-Greenfield, assistant secretary of state for african affairs, last week described the government response as an “intense and somewhat harsh crackdown.”

　　琳达·托马斯·格林菲尔德，负责非洲事务的助理国务卿，上周形容政府反应是一种“强烈的并且稍微严厉的打击。”

　　“We think it could get worse if it’s not addressed — sooner rather than later,” she told Voice of America.

　　“我们认为这可能会变得更糟，如果它得不到解决——宜早不宜迟，”她告诉美国之音。

　　The unrest poses a threat to Ethiopia’s vision of foreign-driven industrialization.

　　动荡不安的局面对埃塞俄比亚由外国驱动工业化的愿景形成一种威胁。

　　On Aug. 29, in the Amhara region, mobs attacked at least seven flower farms belonging to Israeli, Italian, Indian and Belgian companies. In a statement on its website, the Dutch-owned Esmeralda Farms said its entire $11.2 million investment, including machinery³⁰ and greenhouses, was destroyed.

　　在8月29日，在阿姆哈拉地区，暴徒袭击了至少7个属于以色列、意大利、印度和比利时公司的花卉农场。在其网站的声明中，荷兰拥有的埃斯梅拉达农场说它全部的11.2百万美元投资，包括机械和温室，被摧毁了。

　　In the first-person statement, the unnamed author laments³¹ how Ethiopia was once a safe country.

　　在第一人称陈述中，未署名的作者感叹埃塞俄比亚曾经是一个多么安全的国家。

　　“Last year I traveled 24 times to Ethiopia to start up the farm,” the statement said. “It was one of the most peaceful countries in Africa.”

　　“去年我行程24次到埃塞俄比亚去开设农场，”声明说。 “这曾是最和平的非洲国家之一。”

1 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

2 glides   

n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The new dance consists of a series of glides. 这种新舞蹈中有一连串的滑步。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stately swan glides gracefully on the pond. 天鹅在池面上优美地游动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

5 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

8 halving   

n.对分，二等分，减半[航空、航海]等分v.把…分成两半( halve的现在分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• You searched those halving your salary cut your enthusiasm. 你呈现，薪水减半降低了你的任务热情。 来自互联网
• Halving the repeater spacing made it possible to quadruple the bandwidth. 把增音机间隔缩小一半，就能使带宽增加三倍。 来自互联网

9 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

10 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

11 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

12 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 arcaded   

adj.成为拱廊街道的，有列拱的

参考例句：

15 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

17 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

18 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。

19 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

20 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

21 attests   

v.证明( attest的第三人称单数 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓

参考例句：

• The child's good health attests his mother's care. 这孩子健康的身体证实他母亲照料周到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The boy's good health attests to his mother's care. 这个男孩的良好健康就是他母亲细心照顾的明证。 来自辞典例句

22 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

23 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

24 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

25 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

26 repatriating   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Since banks are reducing overall lending, that means repatriating cash. 由于银行总的借贷额在下降，这就意味着资金必然国内回流。 来自互联网
• US immigration officials have again delayed moves start repatriating six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez. 六岁的古巴海难幸存儿童埃利安非常幸运，美国移民局官员已将原本要遣返他的时间再次拖延。 来自互联网

27 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

28 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

29 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

30 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

31 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句