2023年经济学人 非洲国家致富秘诀（1）

 

 

    Africa’s soil is studded with buried treasure.

    非洲的土地上到处都是埋藏的宝藏。

    Half the world’s diamonds are mined there.

    世界上一半的钻石都是在那里开采的。

    The largest producers of cobalt, manganese and uranium are all African countries.

    钴、锰和铀的最大生产国都是非洲国家。

    Since 2000 more big petroleum¹ discoveries have been made in sub-Saharan Africa than in any other region.

    自2000年以来，在撒哈拉以南的非洲地区发现的大型石油比其他任何地区都多。

    Yet Africans are not wrong when they talk of a “resource curse”.

    然而，当非洲人谈到“资源诅咒”时，他们也没有错。

    The continent’s political elite² have squandered³ or stolen much of the bounty⁴, often aided by unscrupulous private firms.

    非洲大陆的政治精英们挥霍或窃取了大部分的赏金，而这些行为背后往往有无良私营公司的帮助。

    The World Bank predicts that by 2030, 62% of the world’s very poor people will live in resource-rich sub-Saharan countries, up from 12% in 2000.

    世界银行预测，到2030年，世界上62%的极度贫困人口将生活在资源丰富的撒哈拉以南国家，而2000年这一比例为12%。

    Resource-rich states are more likely to suffer dictatorship or civil war.

    资源丰富的国家更有可能遭受独裁统治或内战。

    Managing resources better is crucial to the future of Africa.

    更好地管理资源对非洲的未来至关重要。

    The world is hungry for its hydrocarbons⁵.

    世界对碳氢化合物如饥似渴。

    Its minerals are needed for cleaner energy.

    它的矿产品是清洁能源所必需的。

    Sadly African politicians risk wasting the moment.

    遗憾的是，非洲的政客们正冒着浪费时机的风险。

    Few pursue the right policies.

    很少有人会采取正确的政策。

    One African country, however, has been a glittering exception, at least until recently—Botswana.

    然而，至少到最近为止，有个非洲国家是最耀眼的例外——博茨瓦纳。

    At independence in 1966 Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world.

    1966年独立时，博茨瓦纳是世界上最贫穷的国家之一。

    It sold beef but little else.

    它只卖牛肉。

    It was home to just 22 university graduates.

    这里只有22名大学毕业生。

    Over the next four decades its economic-growth rate rivalled that of China, Singapore and South Korea;在接下来的40年里，它的经济增长率与中国、新加坡和韩国不相上下;today it is one of the richest countries in Africa.

    今天，它是非洲最富有的国家之一。

    A necessary condition for its rise was the discovery in 1967 of diamonds by De Beers, a mining giant.

    1967年，矿业巨头戴比尔斯发现了钻石，这是其崛起的必要条件。

    But that was not sufficient: the transformation⁶ of Botswana also required the right policies.

    但这还不够：博茨瓦纳的转型还需要正确的政策。

    Several stand out.

    有几个政策很突出。

    Botswana has long offered secure property rights and a stable, clear tax regime.

    博茨瓦纳长期以来一直提供有保障的产权和稳定、明确的税收制度。

    Today De Beers reckons that Botswana keeps four-fifths of the revenues from Debswana, their joint⁷ mining venture, through taxes, royalties⁸ and dividends⁹.

    如今，戴比尔斯估计博茨瓦纳通过税收、特许权使用费和股息，从他们的合资矿业企业德比斯瓦纳获得了五分之四的收入。

    Elsewhere in Africa firms are reluctant to invest huge sums when mines can be seized or tax rates are volatile¹⁰.

    在非洲其他地方，当矿山有可能被查封或税率不稳定时，企业就不愿投入巨额资金。

    Neighbouring South Africa is among the world’s ten least attractive countries for investors¹¹ in mines, according to the Fraser Institute, a think-tank.

    据智库弗雷泽研究所称，其邻国南非是世界上对矿业投资者最不具吸引力的十个国家之一。

1 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

4 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

5 hydrocarbons   

n.碳氢化合物，烃( hydrocarbon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hydrocarbons (HC), like carbon monoxide, represent unburned and wasted fuel. 碳氢化合物(HC)像一氧化碳一样，为未燃尽的和被浪费掉的燃料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• With this restricted frequency range it is not applicable to hydrocarbons. 这个较紧缩的频率范围不适用于烃类。 来自辞典例句

6 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

7 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。

8 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

9 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

10 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

11 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