2018年经济学人 沙特改革大幕已开启(1)

 

The Saudi revolution begins

沙特改革大幕已开启

Muhammad bin¹ Salman could transform the Arab and Islamic world for the better.

沙特阿拉伯王储穆罕默德·本·萨尔曼，可能会把阿拉伯和伊斯兰世界变得更好，

How to ensure he succeeds

该如何确保他能够成功做到

One Saudi cleric thundered that letting women drive would lead to immorality² and alack of virgins³.

一位沙特牧师怒声呵斥，女性开车，伤风败俗，有损女性贞洁。

Another declared that women were incapable⁴ of taking the wheel because they were half-brained.

另有一位牧师宣称，女性没能力开车，因为智商太低。

Still another drew on science, ruling that driving would damage their ovaries.

还有一位牧师引用科学做出裁断，开车会损害女性卵巢。

Such tosh is at last being cast aside.

这样的胡言乱语，最终还是得靠边儿站。

On June 24th Saudi women will be allowed to drive their cars.

6月24日，沙特女性将被允许开车上路。

That is one step towards emancipation⁵; among the others must be an end

这是迈向女性解放的重大一步，不过，沙特女性的解放之路，还有很多步要迈出，

to male "guardianship⁶", for example, in deciding women can study or travel abroad.

比如，也必须结束男性在决定女性能否上学或出国旅行等方面所拥有的“监护权”。

Yet getting women behind the wheel is a welcome blow against the idea that Islamic piety⁷ is best shown by repressing them.

虔敬的伊斯兰传统观念是压迫女性，而允许女性开车无疑对其是一次重击。

Female drivers are the most visible aspect of a social revolution,

大街上出现女性司机，是这项社会革命最显著的一个方面，

one brought about not from the streets

而这项成绩并非源自街头，

but the palace of Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince.

而是源自沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨尔曼的宫殿。

Cinemas have opened;

电影院也开了，

music is performed in public;

公共场所也能表演音乐了，

the killjoy morality police are off the streets.

街上也没有煞风景的道德警察了。

Social liberalisation is part of the crownprince's ambition to wean the economy away from oil.

社会自由化是王储萨尔曼试图让沙特经济摆脱对石油的依赖这套宏大战略的一部分。

But as our special report sets out, his changes come with more authoritarianism⁸ at home,

不过，正如我们本期特别报道所指出的，王储萨尔曼所带来的系列变化，就国内来讲，带有很重的威权主义色彩，

and recklessness abroad.

就国外来说，则显得有些鲁莽不计后果。

The world must hope that the bold prince triumphs over the brutish one.

整个世界一定都希望萨尔曼王储雄心大胆的那一面，将胜过他粗野蛮横的那一面。

Saudi Arabia is uniquely disliked by Westerners of all politicalstripes.

西方所有的政治派别都不喜欢沙特阿拉伯。

They are appalled⁹ by its sharia punishments and mistreatment of women,

西方人震惊于伊斯兰教法对妇女的惩罚和虐待，

and scared by its Wahhabi form of Islam,

齿寒于伊斯兰教瓦哈比教派的形式，

which has fed gruesome jihadist ideologies¹⁰ such as that of Islamic State.

正是这种形式助长了可怕的圣战意识形态，比如伊斯兰国。

Despite the kingdom's wealth, businessmen would rather work in freewheeling Dubai than Riyadh.

尽管沙特拥有巨额财富，但商人们宁愿在从心所欲的迪拜工作，也不愿在利雅得工作。

Fellow Arabs often deride¹¹ Saudis as rich, lazy and arrogant¹².

阿拉伯同胞经常嘲笑沙特人财大气粗、游手好闲、目中无人。

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 immorality   

n. 不道德, 无道义

参考例句：

• All the churchmen have preached against immorality. 所有牧师都讲道反对不道德的行为。
• Where the European sees immorality and lawlessness, strict law rules in reality. 在欧洲人视为不道德和无规则的地方，事实上都盛行着一种严格的规则。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

3 virgins   

处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母）

参考例句：

• They were both virgins when they met and married. 他们从相识到结婚前都未曾经历男女之事。
• Men want virgins as concubines. 人家买姨太太的要整货。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

4 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

5 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

7 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

8 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

9 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

11 deride   

v.嘲弄，愚弄

参考例句：

• Some critics deride the group as self - appointed food police.一些批评人士嘲讽这个组织为“自封的食品警察”。
• They deride his effort as childish.他们嘲笑他的努力，认为太孩子气。

12 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。