经济学人:委内瑞拉 政治宣传改头换面(1)

 　　The Americas 美洲

　　Venezuela: Rotten tomatoes 委内瑞拉：烂番茄

　　Propaganda isn't what it used to be. 政治宣传已经与以往不同。

　　In weeks of almost daily protests, opponents of Venezuela's authoritarian¹ regime have found different ways to express their anger. 委内瑞拉权威主义的反对者们找到了表达愤怒的方法，他们在这几周里几乎每天都上街游行。

　　They have held raucous² banner-waving marches, a silent demonstration³ and a sit-in on Caracas's main roads. 他们在加拉斯加的主干道上举行了沉默的、静坐的游行示威。

　　At least 29 people have died since March in the worst unrest in three years. 在这动荡的三年里至少有29人由于游行而死亡。

　　Many of these were killed by armed gangs that support the government, called colectivos. 其中大多数人是被支持委内瑞拉政府的武装团伙“colectivos”杀害的。

　　The protests persist because the government has made life intolerable: shortages of food and medicine are acute,  由于政府的不作为，使得食物和药品短缺的情况变得非常严重，

　　the murder rate is probably the world's highest and democracy has been extinguished. 犯罪率可能居于世界首位，民主的火苗也熄灭了，这一系列的事情，导致委内瑞拉的抗议游行持续不断。

　　But all is well in the world of Nicolas Maduro, the country's much-loathed president. 但是，在国内令人讨厌的总统Nicolas Maduro却在世界上舞台上一帆风顺。

　　While chaos⁴ engulfs⁵ Venezuela's cities, his social-media team has been seeking to humanise the dictator with video vignettes that emphasise⁶ his homespun origins and simple wisdom. 当委内瑞拉的城市陷入混乱局面时，Nicolas Maduro的社交媒体团队一直在寻求美化其独裁者形象的方法，这个方法就是将那些强调总统出身朴素，拥有的小智慧的视频上传到脸书网上。

　　In one video, posted on his Facebook page, he rhapsodises on the innocence⁷ of childhood as he perches⁸ awkwardly on a playground swing. 有他热情谈论他充满童真的童年，他笨拙的小身体坐在操场的秋千上。

　　In another, he admires a panorama⁹ of an apparently¹⁰ tranquil¹¹ Caracas from the safety of a cable-car gondola¹². 还有，他在缆车上俯瞰外表充满宁静的加拉加斯全景。

　　Sometimes he takes to the wheel of his car with his wife, Cilia Flores, sitting glumly¹³ beside him; this is an occasion to reminisce about his early career as a bus driver. 有时他还会和妻子Cilia Flores一起开车兜风，但Cilia Flores一脸阴郁的坐在他旁边；这是一个缅怀他早年认识的一位公交司机生涯好时机。

　　The social-media stream is an addition to the information arsenal¹⁴ of chavismo, the leftist movement founded by the late Hugo Chavez and carried on with less elan by Mr Maduro. 社交媒体平台是对查韦斯的信息库的补充，这是由已故的Hugo Chavez所创立的左翼运动，并由缺少锐气的Maduro相继进行。

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 engulfs   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Hemingway suppresses emtion, Wolfe engulfs the reader in feeling. 海明威感情压抑，沃尔夫却把读者卷进感情的漩涡。 来自辞典例句
• Consumption ideological trend engulfs the entire world at present age. 当今时代，消费主义呈现席卷全球之势。 来自互联网

6 emphasise   

vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重

参考例句：

• What special feature do you think I should emphasise? 你认为我该强调什么呢？
• The exercises heavily emphasise the required readings.练习非常强调必须的阅读。

7 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

8 perches   

栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼

参考例句：

• Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
• The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去，吱吱地叫着。

9 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

12 gondola   

n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船

参考例句：

• The road is too narrow to allow the passage of gondola.这条街太窄大型货车不能通过。
• I have a gondola here.我开来了一条平底船。

13 glumly   

adv.忧郁地，闷闷不乐地；阴郁地

参考例句：

• He stared at it glumly, and soon became lost in thought. 他惘然沉入了瞑想。 来自子夜部分
• The President sat glumly rubbing his upper molar, saying nothing. 总统愁眉苦脸地坐在那里，磨着他的上牙，一句话也没有说。 来自辞典例句

14 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。