经济学人323:德国武器公司 不和武器说再见

　　Business
商业报道
German weapons firms
德国武器公司
No farewell to arms
不和武器说再见
Political pressure and bribery¹ allegations are unlikely to hurt Germany's exporters of military equipment.
看起来政治压力和受贿指控都不会影响德国的军事装备出口公司。
SINCE the second world war, Germany has rarely sent soldiers to combat zones.
自二战以来，德国几乎不曾向战争地区派兵。
But it exports a lot of weapons: more than Britain, France or any other country besides America and Russia.
然而它却出口了大量武器：超过英国、法国以及除美国、俄罗斯之外的所有其他国家。
Some German makers³ of military gear are part of civilian⁴ industrial giants, such as Airbus Group, and ThyssenKrupp, a steelmaker.
德国的武器制造商中有些隶属于私有的工业巨头，比如空客集团，还有钢铁制造商蒂森克虏伯集团。
But the biggest German company known mainly for weapons, Rheinmetall, is just 26th in the world league of arms-exporting firms.
然而，即使是德国著名的以武器业务为主的公司中最大的莱茵金属公司，在世界武器出口公司中也仅仅排在26位。
And Krauss Maffei Wegmann, which makes the Leopard⁵ 2 tank, is 54th.
而制造出豹2坦克的Krauss Maffei Wegmann则位居54位。
Germans are, in general, proud of their export prowess.
总的来说，德国对自己的出口实力感到骄傲。
But although foreign sales of weaponry bring in almost 1 billion a year, they are a delicate subject, and lately beset⁶ by bad press.
但是尽管武器外贸带来了将近10亿欧元一年的利润，这是一项非常微妙的行业，并且近日承受的巨大压力。
Several German firms are accused of bribery in Greece.
数家德国公司被指控在希腊行贿。
A former defence official there has said that of 8m in bribes⁷ he took, 3.2m came from German firms, including Wegmann and Rheinmetall.
希腊一位前国防部官员曾说，在他被行贿的800万欧元中有320万来自于德国公司，其中包括Wegman和莱茵金属公司。
On January 3rd KMW's alleged⁸ middleman was detained after a court hearing.
在1月3日，一位宣称的KMW中间人在庭审后被拘留。
The firm itself denies any bribery.
该公司自己否认有行贿行为。
2_副本.jpgAtlas, a maker² of naval¹⁰ weapons owned jointly¹² by Airbus and ThyssenKrupp, is under fire too.
空客集团和蒂森克虏伯共有的海军武器制造商Atlas⁹也正受到打击。
A former representative in Athens has reportedly admitted to bribery; the company says it is investigating the matter.
一位前雅典代表在报道中承认行贿；该公司则表示其正在进行调查。
On another front, the industry faces criticism over the countries it sells to—most recently over a deal to sell Leopard 2s to Saudi Arabia.
另一方面，该产业因其售卖武器的对象而受到批评—最近是因为向沙特阿拉伯卖出豹2。
Arms sales to anywhere other than NATO and NATO-equivalent countries are in principle forbidden.
向北约以及北约等同国家以外的国家和地区销售武器从原则上说是禁止的。
But the Federal Security Council, headed by Chancellor¹³ Angela Merkel, can approve exceptions when foreign policy dictates¹⁴, as long as they do not harm human rights.
但是由总理安吉拉默克尔领导的联邦安全局可以在外交政策需要时批准一些特殊情况，只要他们对于人权没有损害。
Peace campaigners fear that the exceptions are becoming less exceptional.
和平活动者们担心这些些特殊情况正变得越来越不特殊。
NATO countries' budgets are being squeezed, so Germany's armsmakers are looking farther abroad.
北约国家正紧缩财政，因而德国武器制造商们只能将目光转向了远方的国家。
Rheinmetall, for example, has a target of 50% of exports outside Europe by 2015.
比如，莱茵金属基团计划在2015年前将欧洲以外地区的出口比重提高到50%。
Asia is a growing target: Singapore recently signed a 1.6 billion deal for ThyssenKrupp submarines.
亚洲是一个快速成长的目标：新加坡最近签署了一份价值16亿欧元的合同用于购买蒂森克虏伯潜艇。
German small arms are also popular. Heckler & Koch's G3 rifle is the world's most popular after the Russian AK-47.
德国的小型武器同样很受欢迎。赫克勒-科赫G3步枪的受欢迎程度仅次于俄国的AK47。
Germany was a leader in pushing the UN to restrict the flow of small arms to war-torn countries.
德国是推动联合国限制对战争频繁地区的小型武器出售的领导者之一。
But such weapons leak across borders nonetheless.
尽管如此，此类武器依然会进入这些地区。
This is why Helmut Schmidt, a former chancellor, in December urged Germany to restrict arms exports, calling gun deaths a slow-motion Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
这也是为何前总理赫尔穆特施密特在12月督促德国限制武器出口，他称枪支引发死亡如同慢性的广岛和长崎原子弹爆炸。
His fellow Social Democrat¹⁵, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, promised to restrict sales if his party made it into government after last September's elections.
他的社会民主党同僚，弗兰克沃尔特施泰因迈尔曾承诺如果去年9月选举后其党派成功执政，就会限制武器出口。
It did: Mr Steinmeier is now foreign minister, and sits on the Federal Security Council.
这一条件已经实现：施泰因迈尔现在是外交部长，并任职于联邦安全委员会。
But Germany's arms exports are probably in little danger, since they have the same reputation for reliability¹⁶ as its cars and other industrial goods.
但是德国的武器出口看似并无危险，因为它的武器产品在可靠性方面有着和汽车及其他工业产品一样的好名声。
Even Pieter Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a critic of weapons sales, compares a Heckler & Koch gun to a high-quality Leica camera.
甚至斯特哥尔摩和平研究所的Pieter Wezeman，一位武器销售的批评者，也将赫克勒-科赫枪支比作质量优异的徕卡相机。
Though German soldiers mostly stay clear of combat zones, German weapons are battle-tested; Leopard tanks in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, for example.
虽然德国士兵不曾踏足战争区域，德国的武器可是经过实战检验的；豹型坦克就曾现身前南斯拉夫和阿富汗。
Moreover, there are ways to lessen¹⁷ the controversy¹⁸ of selling things used to wage war.
此外，还有许多方法来减少战争武器销售的争议性。
For example, making guns for a fighter jet assembled elsewhere is less visible than selling a German-made tank.
比如，为在其他地区组装的战斗机制造枪支同直接卖出德国制造的坦克相比要不显眼许多。
Military transport, logistics, surveillance and protective equipment together account for five times as much of German defence firms' output as weapons and ammunition—and are less likely to be blamed for civilian casualties.
军事运输设备、后勤物资、监视和防护设备总计是德国国防公司武器和军火出口额的5倍，而且这些生意不会受到引发平民死亡的谴责。
Stephan Boehm, an analyst¹⁹ at Commerzbank, sees such non-lethal materiel as a bright spot for German exporters.
德国商业银行的分析师Stephan Boehm将这些非致密材料看做是德国出口的闪光点。
The flagging fortunes of Rheinmetall, in particular, should be restored by strong sales of the armoured transporters it produces in a joint¹¹ venture with MAN, a lorry-maker.
需要指出的是，莱茵金属公司的巨大财富中不少就源自于它和货车制造商MAN联合制造的装甲运输车辆的良好销量业绩。
Critics say the government is too willing to let arms firms export to dodgy regimes.
不少批评认为政府太想要将武器公司出口到过于冒险的区域。
The Federation²⁰ of German Security & Defence Industries argues that strong exports are crucial to spread the development costs of the equipment Germany needs to defend itself.
德国安全和国防工业联合会争辩说繁荣的武器出口对于分担德国发展国防设备的花费至关重要。
This would be less of a problem, the lobby group admits, if Europe's fragmented defence industry were consolidated²¹; it says the government should not have vetoed a proposal last year to merge²² EADS with BAE Systems of Britain.
游说者们也承认，如果欧洲散乱的国防工业能得到统一的话，这个问题就会小很多；他们还提到，政府不应在去年否决EADS和英国的BAE System合并的提议。
Weapons account for less than 1% of Germany's exports.
武器出口在德国总出口中所占比重不足1%。
But it is a 1% that it, like other countries, is loth to give up.
但是如同其他国家一样，德国无法割舍这1%。
1.such as 例如；譬如；诸如
What about future steps such as euro bonds?
诸如欧元联盟之类的未来计划怎样？
Imaginary problems such as these are usually hiding real ones.
像这样的臆想的问题通常隐藏真实性的。
2.accuse of 指责，控告
Even the salafis while able to mobilize hundreds for protests against people who they accuse of insulting their religion have yet to convene²³ around a single political ideology²⁴ or party.
即使是沙拉菲派-同时能够调动人们谁对他们的侮辱他们的宗教指责抗议数百-尚未召开围绕一个单一的政治意识形态或政党。
In cairo, as in alexandria, protesters marched on presidential palaces determined²⁵ to remove a leader they accuse of oppressing them.
在开罗和亚历山大，抗议者涌向总统官邸，决心要把这位领导人赶下台，他们指控穆巴拉克压迫人民。
3.admit to 承认；允许
And some men admit to occasional pangs²⁶ of insecurity.
许多男士也承认会偶尔会有不安全感。
Sandy could do nothing but admit to his teacher that he was wrong.
除了向他的老师承认他错了，桑迪不能做什么。
4.as long as 只要；如果；既然
Music has been with us as long as we can collectively remember.
只要音乐与我们同在，我们就会有共同的记忆。
I didn't mind as long as the customers enjoyed the food.
我不在乎，只要我的客人们喜欢我的食物。

1 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

6 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

13 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

14 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

16 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

17 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

18 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

20 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

21 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

22 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

23 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

24 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

25 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

26 pangs   

突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛

参考例句：

• She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
• With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。