纽约时报 沙特王储欲打造后现代生态乌托邦(3)

As M.B.S. conjures¹ this brave new world - no journey will take more than 20 minutes! zero carbon emissions²! - you get the sense that his chutzpah is nothing short of metaphysical.

当MBS变出这个勇敢的新世界时——任何旅程都不会超过20分钟！而且零碳排放！——你会感觉到他那大胆的行为简直是形而上学。

He appears to believe that nature itself is at his command.

他似乎相信大自然是由他指挥的。

This shouldn't be entirely³ surprising, because M.B.S. has been promoting equally outlandish ideas since 2017, when he first introduced Neom, the broader futurist development of which the Line forms a part. (The name is a portmanteau of Greek and Arabic words for "new" and "future.")

这并不完全令人惊讶，因为MBS自2017年首次提出Neom这一概念以来，就一直在推广同样天方夜谭的理念，Neom是一种更广泛的未来派发展，而The Line正是Neom的一部分。（这个名字由希腊语和阿拉伯语组成，表示“新的”和“未来”。）

The Neom prospectus⁴ described "a new way of life from birth to death reaching genetic⁵ mutations to increase human strength and I.Q.," according to a 2019 article in The Wall Street Journal.

《华尔街日报》2019年的一篇文章称，Neom的简介描述了“一种从出生到死亡的新生活方式，通过基因突变来增加人类的力量和智商”。

Cloud-seeding would bring rain to the desert.

人工降雨会给沙漠带来雨水。

The project includes serious, realistic planning on desalination⁶, alternative energy and desert agriculture, I was told by Ali Shihabi, a member of the Neom advisory⁷ board.

Neom咨询委员会成员阿里·沙哈比告诉我，该项目包括对海水淡化、可替代能源和沙漠农业进行认真、现实的规划。

But those ideas were overshadowed by wild-eyed talk of super-high-speed trains, robotic maids and beaches with glowing sand.

但这些想法的光彩被超高速列车、机器人女佣和闪闪发光的沙滩的狂野言论所掩盖。

The hubris⁸ underlying⁹ these proposals, nourished by generations of yes men (including well-paid Western consultants), will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in Saudi Arabia.

一代又一代唯唯诺诺者（包括高薪的西方顾问）助长了这些提议背后的傲慢，任何在沙特阿拉伯待过的人都会熟悉这些提议。

Still, you might have expected a bit more circumspection¹⁰ from M.B.S., at least right now.

不过，至少现在，你可能还以为MBS会更谨慎一点。

This is the man who stands accused of ordering the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was lured¹¹ to the Saudi Consulate¹² in Istanbul in 2018, then strangled and dismembered with a bone saw by a team sent from Riyadh.

这就是被指控下令谋杀沙特记者贾马尔·哈苏吉的人，哈苏吉在2018年被引诱到沙特驻伊斯坦布尔领事馆，然后被从利雅得派出的一个小组勒死并用骨头锯肢解。

Khashoggi dared to write mildly critical columns in The Washington Post.

哈苏吉敢于在《华盛顿邮报》上撰写温和批评的专栏。

The details of his brutal¹³ killing¹⁴ shocked the world and made M.B.S. a pariah¹⁵.

他残暴杀害的细节震惊了世界，MBS变得为人唾弃。

He has condemned¹⁶ the murder and denies any role in it. (The C.I.A. begs to differ.)

他谴责了这起谋杀案，否认与此有关。（中情局可不这么认为。）

Humility¹⁷ is not in M.B.S.'s genes¹⁸, for better and worse.

不管怎样，MBS的基因里都没有谦逊这一概念。

He continues to harass¹⁹ and jail his critics as if the Khashoggi murder never came to light.

他继续骚扰和监禁他的批评者，就好像哈苏吉谋杀案从未曝光一样。

But his brashness has allowed him to hem²⁰ in Saudi Arabia's religious establishment, putting an end to the kingdom's longtime promotion²¹ of poisonous Islamist doctrine²².

但是，他的鲁莽让他在沙特阿拉伯的宗教机构受限，这终结了沙特长期宣扬恶毒的伊斯兰教义的进程。

He is relaxing the rigid²³ constraints²⁴ on cultural life, and that has made him immensely popular, especially among the young.

他正在放松对文化生活的严格限制，这使他非常受欢迎，特别是在年轻人之中。

1 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 prospectus   

n.计划书；说明书；慕股书

参考例句：

• An order form was included with the prospectus.订单附在说明书上。
• The prospectus is the most important instrument of legal document.招股说明书是上市公司信息披露制度最重要法律文件。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 desalination   

n.脱盐(作用)

参考例句：

• Crops can be grown on this land after desalination. 这片土地经过脱盐就可以种植庄稼了。
• One source is by desalination-taking the salt out of salt water to make it drinkable. 淡水的来源之一是使水淡化--把含盐的水中的盐份去掉，使之能够饮用。

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 hubris   

n.傲慢，骄傲

参考例句：

• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。
• The very hubris of French claims alarmed the other powers.法国贪婪的胃口使其他大国惊恐不安。

9 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

10 circumspection   

n.细心，慎重

参考例句：

• The quality of being circumspection is essential for a secretary. 作为一个秘书，我想细致周到是十分必要的。 来自互联网
• Circumspection: beware the way of communication, always say good to peoples. 慎言：要说于人于己有利的话，注意沟通方式。 来自互联网

11 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

12 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

13 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

16 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

17 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

18 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

19 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

20 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

21 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

22 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

23 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

24 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓