纽约时报 沙特王储欲打造后现代生态乌托邦(4)

M.B.S.'s bizarre promotional film is not just a reflection of his royal ambitions.

MBS怪异的宣传片不仅仅反映了他的王室野心。

His technophilia resonates with many young Saudis, and you can't really blame them.

他对技术的狂热引起了许多沙特年轻人的共鸣，你不能真的责怪他们。

Their own cities sprang up almost overnight from obscure patches of desert.

他们自己的城市几乎是在一夜之间从一片模糊的沙漠中崛起的。

Their grandparents watched in awe¹ as black goo spurted² up from the sand, instantly transforming one of the world's poorest countries into one of its richest.

他们的祖父母敬畏地看着黑水从沙子里喷出来，瞬间把世界上最贫穷的国家之一变成最富有的国家之一。

Why shouldn't they believe in flying taxis and artificial moons?

为什么他们不相信飞行出租车和人造月亮？

The last part of the Line video strikes a surprising note: images of congested urban highways and flyovers³ reminiscent of the dystopian 1982 film "Koyaanisqatsi," which presented modernity as a betrayal of the Earth.

这段视频的最后一部分令人惊讶：拥挤的城市公路和立交桥的画面让人想起1982年的反乌托邦电影《失衡生活》，它将现代性表现为对地球的背叛。

The Line, according to the video, will save humanity from this nightmare, eliminating commutes⁴ and pollution and preserving 95 percent of the nature within its confines.

视频显示，The Line将使人类免于这场噩梦，消除通勤和污染，并保护95%的自然环境。

What the prince doesn't say is that there are already thousands of people living in harmony with nature in the same area: a tribal⁵ community that has been there for centuries and is now being replaced by the project.

王子没有说的是，在同一地区已经有成千上万的人与自然和谐相处：这个部落社区已经存在了数百年，现在正被该项目所取代。

One of these tribesmen made videos protesting the evictions - videos of a different sort, you might imagine, than the one M.B.S. has produced.

其中一个部落的人制作了抗议驱逐的视频——你可以想象，这类视频与MBS制作的视频不同。

He was shot dead last year in a confrontation⁶ with Saudi security forces.

他去年在与沙特安全部队的对抗中被枪杀。

Anyone who has spent time in Saudi Arabia's existing cities can sympathize with the desire to start anew. They are dusty and ugly.

任何在沙特阿拉伯现有城市待过一段时间的人都会同情重新开始的愿望，它们又脏又丑。

Narrow-minded clerics preside over corrupt⁷ bureaucracies that are resistant⁸ to change.

心胸狭窄的神职人员掌管着抵制变革的腐败官僚机构。

But the Saudi landscape is already dotted with failed or abandoned megaprojects.

但沙特的土地上已经布满了失败或被遗弃的大型项目。

Some Saudis have responded to M.B.S.'s film with acid comments about the need to renovate⁹ the country's existing towns and neighborhoods before throwing billions into another Xanadu.

一些沙特人对MBS的影片做出了尖锐的回应，认为在向另一个世外桃源投入数十亿美元之前，有必要对该国现有的城镇和社区进行改造。

Jamal Khashoggi suggested as much in a column written with a co-author a few months before he was murdered.

贾马尔·哈苏吉在被谋杀前几个月与一位合著者合著的专栏中提出了同样的建议。

After M.B.S. finishes his presentation, a warm female voice describes life in the Line.

在MBS完成演讲后，一个温暖的女声描述了在The Line里的生活。

The urban dystopia recedes¹⁰, and happier images parade before us: misty¹¹ mountaintops, waves lapping a pristine¹² coast.

城市的反乌托邦渐渐退去，更快乐的画面展现在我们面前：朦胧的山顶，海浪拍打着原始的海岸。

The film's final words, spoken as a multicultural¹⁴ parade of faces flickers¹⁵ across the screen, are deliciously preposterous¹⁶: "A home to all of us - welcome to the Line."

这部影片最后一句话的声音出现时，屏幕上闪烁着多元文化的面孔，这句话非常荒谬：“我们所有人的家——欢迎来到The Line。”

As I heard it, I couldn't help wondering about the woman who spoke¹³ those words.

当我听到这句话的时候，我非常想知道说这些话的那位女性是谁。

Would she even consider moving to a remote desert city, to be subject to 24,7 surveillance and the whims¹⁷ of a murderous prince?

她会考虑搬到一个偏僻的沙漠城市，接受全天候的监视和一个凶残王子的突发奇想吗？

My guess is that she did what so many others who work for the Saudis have done: spoke her lines, picked up the check and fled.

我猜她做了很多为沙特工作的人都做过的事：说出了自己的台词，拿起支票，然后逃走。

1 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

2 spurted   

（液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺

参考例句：

• Water spurted out of the hole. 水从小孔中喷出来。
• Their guns spurted fire. 他们的枪喷射出火焰。

3 flyovers   

n.立交桥，高架公路( flyover的名词复数 )；（单机或编队）低空飞行

参考例句：

• Flyovers have changed the face of the city. 立交桥改变了城市的面貌。 来自辞典例句
• To a limited extent one can compare Beijing to Delhi. Wide roads, flyovers andand formal atmosphere. 在某种程度上，可以把北京与德里做个比较：宽阔的马路、立交桥、城市氛围等。 来自互联网

4 commutes   

上下班路程( commute的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She commutes from Oxford to London every day. 她每天上下班往返于牛津与伦敦之间。
• Barbara lives in Oxford and commutes. 芭芭拉住在牛津，通勤往来。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

9 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

10 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

11 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

12 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

15 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

16 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

17 WHIMS   

虚妄，禅病

参考例句：

• The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
• The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹