英镑贬值 硬退欧预示英国走向封闭

 　　The surprising thing about the fall in the value of sterling¹ is that it has not been more precipitous.

　　关于英镑贬值，令人意外的是贬值幅度没有更加陡峭。

　　Britain is shuffling² towards an outright³ rupture⁴ with the EU and an immigration clampdown that would weaken engagement with the world beyond.

　　英国正逐渐滑向与欧盟彻底断绝关系，并对移民关上大门，从而削弱它与世界其他地区的接触。

　　The government has yet to grasp a simple fact of globalisation: nations cannot declare themselves open for business and then close the door to foreigners.

　　英国政府至今没有搞懂全球化的一个简单事实：一个国家不可能宣称自己对商业开放，随后却对外国人关上大门。

　　Britain will be poorer after Brexit — the pound’s devaluation is acting⁶ as a transmission mechanism⁷ to reduce living standards.

　　英国在脱离欧盟后将变得更加贫穷——英镑贬值正作为一种传导机制，降低英国人的生活水平。

　　Just how much poorer will depend on the quality of the relationship Britain retains with its biggest trading partner and on whether it can compensate⁸ for lost European opportunities by becoming a more attractive destination for others.

　　最终在多大程度上变穷，将取决于英国与其最大贸易伙伴能够保留的关系质量，以及它能否成为对其他国家更具吸引力的经贸往来对象，从而弥补在欧洲失去的机遇。

　　A soft Brexit and an open economy should be the goal.

　　目标应该是软退欧和开放经济。

　　The preoccupation, some would say obsession⁹, with immigration points in the opposite direction, to a hard break with the EU and a less hospitable¹⁰ business environment for nations further afield.

　　念念不忘（一些人会说纠结于）移民问题指向相反的方向，即与欧盟彻底斩断关系，同时对欧洲以外国家来说商业环境变得不那么友好。

　　Theresa May’s debut¹¹ this week at an EU summit in Brussels will see the prime minister pressed by European colleagues for a clear sense of Britain’s direction.

　　特里萨.梅(Theresa May)本周首次作为英国首相出席在布鲁塞尔举行的欧盟峰会，届时欧洲其他国家领导人将追问她：英国究竟会怎么走？他们将会失望。

　　They will be disappointed.

　　英国政府迄今仍未提出一套连贯的分手战略。

　　The government has yet to come up with a coherent strategy for disengagement.

　　英国政府拿不出计划，有的只是一系列不一致的冲动，

　　In place of a plan, there are a series of inconsistent impulses and a cabinet power struggle between anti-EU zealots and economic pragmatists.

　　以及内阁中反欧盟狂热分子与经济务实主义者之间的权斗。

　　At the Conservative party conference Mrs May felt obliged to lean towards zealotry.

　　在保守党大会上，梅觉得有必要偏向狂热分子。

　　Britain’s red lines, she said, include national control of borders and an end to the jurisdiction¹² of the European Court of Justice.

　　她说，英国的红线包括国家控制边境以及终结欧洲法院(European Court of Justice)的司法管辖权。

　　Now she is beginning to assess the likely economic costs of such a stance.

　　现在她开始评估此类立场可能造成的经济代价。

　　After talks the other day with Mrs May in Copenhagen, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Denmark’s prime minister, remarked: There’s quite a lot of work that needs to be done in the UK before there is a clear view of what the British want.

　　丹麦首相拉尔斯.勒克.拉斯穆森(Lars Loekke Rasmussen)最近在哥本哈根与梅交谈之后表示：英国需要做大量工作，才能明确表述英国想要什么。

　　That is a charitable interpretation¹³ of the infighting in Whitehall.

　　此言是对白厅内斗的委婉解读。

　　On the one side, the argument is the now familiar one about whether to opt¹⁴ for a clean break with the EU or try to seek a close association that preserves privileged access to the single market; on the other, the debate is whether a post-Brexit Britain can become a beacon¹⁵ of free trade and a destination of choice for global businesses.

　　一方面，如今人们耳熟能详的争论是：应该与欧盟一刀两断，还是试图争取一种密切联系，保住单一市场的优惠准入？另一方面，人们就退欧后的英国能否成为自由贸易的灯塔和全球企业的首选目的地展开辩论。

　　Some of the more fervent¹⁶ Brexiters like to say that an unequivocal rupture, freeing Britain from all EU encumbrances¹⁷, would be the prelude¹⁸ to an opening-up to the rest of the world.

　　一些比较狂热的退欧人士喜欢说，让英国摆脱所有欧盟累赘的坚决分手，将是英国向世界其他国家开放的序曲。

　　Britain would swap¹⁹ its ties with a sclerotic Europe for a stake in the dynamism of rising economies such as China and India.

　　英国将与僵化的欧洲斩断关系，代之以参与中国和印度等充满活力的崛起中的经济体。

　　Liam Fox, the trade secretary, imagines this buccaneering Britain as a global champion of free trade and economic liberalism: Singapore writ²⁰ large.

　　按照英国贸易大臣利亚姆.福克斯(Liam Fox)的想象，这个敢于闯荡的英国将成为全球自由贸易和经济自由主义的捍卫者：一个放大版本的新加坡。

　　The flaw is that is not what people on the Leave side thought they were voting for in the June referendum.

　　问题在于，这不是持退欧立场的人们在今年6月的公投中投票支持的格局。

　　The Brexiters promised to tame the plutocrats and offered a calculatedly nationalist message about turning back the tide of immigration.

　　当初退欧阵营承诺驯服有钱有势的人，同时传达出有关挡住移民潮的精心构思的民族主义信息。

　　Brussels was cast as the agent of a global capitalism²¹ that saw Goldman Sachs and the European Commission in cahoots.

　　布鲁塞尔被描述为全球资本主义的代理人，按照那种逻辑，高盛(Goldman Sachs)和欧盟委员会(European Commission)沆瀣一气。

　　The referendum result was a vote for economic nationalism rather than for laissez faire.

　　公投结果说明选民支持经济民族主义，而非自由放任主义。

　　Mrs May has taken this message to heart, in part because it chimes with her personal political instincts.

　　梅认真对待这个信息，这在一定程度上是因为它与她本人的政治直觉合拍。

　　She has castigated²² overpaid corporate²³ bosses, called for worker representatives on company boards, imposed stricter controls on foreign investment in strategic sectors²⁴ of the economy, and emphasised the role of government in shaping the economic landscape.

　　她谴责薪酬过高的企业老板，呼吁工人代表加入公司董事会，对战略经济领域的外国投资施加更严厉控制，并注重政府在塑造经济格局中的角色。

　　What the prime minister is looking for is a new social contract in which big business acknowledges a wider set of responsibilities.

　　这位英国首相寻求一种新型社会契约，让大企业承担更广泛的责任。

　　The prime minister has a point.

　　梅不无道理。

　　But she has also reinstated a pledge to cut net migration⁵ by more than two-thirds: from its present level of more than 320,000 a year to less than 100,000.

　　但她也重申将净移民数量削减三分之二以上：从当前的每年逾32万人降至不足10万人。

　　To put that target in perspective: even if the frontiers were shut entirely²⁵ to migrants from the EU — something not demanded by even the most strident Eurosceptics — the numbers arriving from countries such as India, China, the US and Australia would have to be halved²⁶.

　　这个目标在实践中意味着：即便完全禁止欧盟国家公民移民英国——就连最强硬的欧洲怀疑论者也没有这么要求——那也得将印度、中国、美国以及澳大利亚等国家的移民数量削减一半。

　　Next month Mrs May plans to travel to India to promote investment opportunities.

　　下月梅计划访问印度以推介投资机遇。

　　Her hosts will remind her that if foreign companies are to flourish in Britain they need an immigration regime that allows them to attract the best and brightest — not just from India but from across the rest of Europe.

　　她的东道主将会提醒她，要想让外国公司在英国蓬勃发展，就需要有能够吸引最优秀、最聪明人才的移民机制——不仅来自印度，也来自欧洲国家。

　　Whether it is vehicles, banking²⁷, technology, pharmaceuticals²⁸ or food processing, multinational²⁹ supply chains depend on multinational labour forces.

　　无论是汽车、银行、科技、制药还是食品加工行业，跨国供应链有赖于跨国劳动力。

　　Free movement of people is more than one of the pillars of the EU’s single market.

　　人员的自由流动不只是欧盟单一市场的支柱之一，

　　It is a description of the nature of modern businesses.

　　它还是现代企业固有的特质之一。

　　That is why bilateral³⁰ trade agreements almost invariably include provision for visa liberalisation.

　　这就是双边贸易协定几乎无一例外包括免签证内容的原因。

　　So even as it takes Britain towards a hard Brexit, the proposed immigration clampdown makes Britain a less attractive destination for the rest of the world — no small problem for a nation running a current account deficit³¹ of more than 5 per cent of its national income.

　　因此，拟议中的移民限制在把英国推向硬退欧的同时，也使英国对全球其他国家的吸引力下降，这对一个经常账户赤字与国民收入之比超过5%的国家来说，绝不是一个小问题。

　　The reaction of overseas investors³² in marking down the value of the pound has been entirely rational.

　　海外投资者调低英镑价值的反应完全是理性的。

　　It is no more or less than a dispassionate judgment³³ on Britain’s future economic prospects³⁴ if it continues on its present course.

　　这是对英国未来经济前景（如果英国继续当前做法）作出的不带感情色彩的评判。

1 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

2 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

9 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

10 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。

11 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

12 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

15 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

16 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

17 encumbrances   

n.负担( encumbrance的名词复数 )；累赘；妨碍；阻碍

参考例句：

• All encumbrances were cleared out for dancing. 为了跳舞，所有碍手碍脚的东西都被清理出去了。 来自辞典例句
• If he wanted to get away, he had better leave these encumbrances behind. 他要打算逃命，还是得放弃这几个累赘。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

18 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

19 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

20 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

21 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

22 castigated   

v.严厉责骂、批评或惩罚（某人）( castigate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He castigated himself for being so stupid. 他责怪自己太笨。
• He castigated the secretaries for their sloppy job of filing. 由于秘书们档案工作搞得马虎草率，他严厉地斥责了他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 corporate   

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。

24 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

25 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

26 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

28 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

30 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

31 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

32 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

33 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

34 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。