2023年经济学人 英国禁狗的缘由（1）

 

 

    The great British public loves two things: dogs and banning things.

    英国公众喜欢两样东西:狗和禁物。

    What happens when the two passions collide?

    当这两种东西激情碰撞时会发生什么?

    To answer that, consider the plight¹ of the Bully² xl, a pooch that can grow to be 60kg.

    要回答这个问题，请考虑一下大型恶霸犬(一种可以长到60公斤重的狗)的困境。

    To fans the creature is a gentle giant.

    对于粉丝来说，大型恶霸犬是一个温和的巨人。

    To campaigners, it is a menace behind a sharp increase in fatal attacks.

    对活动人士来说，它们是致命袭击急剧增加的一个威胁。

    After a man was killed by a pair of the dogs in Staffordshire on September 14th, , the government sided with the campaigners.

    9月14日，在斯塔福德郡的一名男子被怀疑是大型恶霸犬的两只狗咬死后，政府站在了活动人士一边。

    Adopting the solemn manner of a prime minister declaring war, Rishi Sunak said that the Bully xl would be banned by the end of the year.

    里希·苏纳克以首相宣战的庄严姿态宣布，到今年年底，这种狗将被禁止饲养。

    Although they account for barely 1% of all dogs, Bully xl carry out almost half of all reported attacks, says Bully Watch, a campaign group.

    尽管大型恶霸犬只占所有狗的1%，但据“霸凌观察”组织称，几乎一半的攻击事件都是由它们造成的。

    The data are sketchy³, as not all dog bites are recorded.

    数据很粗略，因为并不是所有的狗咬伤都有记录。

    But nor are they are equal.

    但也不是所有的狗咬伤都是一样的。

    Nibbles⁴ from a chihuahua is one thing; a mauling by a monster mutt is another.

    被吉娃娃咬是一回事; 被一只怪物般的混种狗咬伤是另一回事。

    Before the Bully can be banned, however, the government is scrambling⁵ to define it.

    在这种狗被禁之前，英国政府首先必须给它下个定义。

    Only then would it be added to a list of four existing illegal breeds with consequences for anyone who owns, sells, breeds or abandons them.

    然后，这种狗将被添加到现有的四种非法品种名单中,任何拥有、销售、培育或遗弃这些品种的人都将面临后果。

1 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

2 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

3 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

4 nibbles   

vt.& vi.啃，一点一点地咬（nibble的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• A fish nibbles at the bait. 一条鱼在轻轻地啃鱼饵。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Units of four bits are sometimes referred to as nibbles. 有时将四位数字组成的单元叫做半字节。 来自辞典例句

5 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》