新闻周刊:非洲第一个超级大国的到来比你想象的要快(1)

Black China: Africa's First Superpower Is Coming Sooner Than You Think

黑人中国:非洲第一个超级大国的到来比你想象的要快

By Sam Hill

作者：萨姆·希尔

It's midnight in a medieval palace in the oldest city in West Africa: Kano, Nigeria.

午夜时分，在西非最古老的城市——尼日利亚卡诺的一座中世纪宫殿里。

A thousand years ago, this was one of the richest cities in the world, the terminus of the cross-Saharan trade that brought salt to exchange for slaves, gold and ivory. The palace has 5-foot thick walls, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, stone pathways and ornate mosaic¹ domes². On the walls are large color photographs of a serious-looking man wearing a white turban with a veil across the bottom of his face. The two tails of the ceremonial knot that holds the veil in place look like bunny ears.

一千年前，这里曾是世界上最富裕的城市之一，是撒哈拉以南地区的贸易枢纽，这里用盐交换奴隶、黄金和象牙。宫殿有5英尺厚的墙壁，从地板到天花板的书架，石径和华丽的马赛克圆顶。墙上挂着一幅很大的彩色照片，照片上是一个表情严肃的男人，他戴着一条白色的头巾，脸上蒙着面纱。用来固定面纱的仪式结的两端看起来就像兔子耳朵。

The man is Muhammadu Sanusi II, the 14th emir of Kano, the second most important religious position in Nigeria. I watch as his assistant crawls across the carpet on his hands and knees. Bowing his head to the floor, he hands my business card up to the emir, then crawls away backward. Sanusi motions me to sit.

这个人就是穆罕默德·萨努西二世，卡诺的第14位埃米尔，尼日利亚第二重要的宗教地位。我看着他的助手用手和膝盖爬过地毯。他低下头，把我的名片递给埃米尔，然后向后爬去。萨努西示意我坐下。

I'm here to find out what the future holds for Nigeria. I've been told the emir is one of the "three or four" people who may know the answer. It's an important question, and not just for Nigerians. In 30 years, Nigeria will be, by population, larger than the U.S. By the end of the century it will be the third largest nation in the world, behind India and China, and the most densely³ populated large country, with more people per square mile than even India. It will have more Muslims than any other country in the world, and more Christians⁴. And if it can get its socioeconomic act together, it may also be the continent's first superpower. It's got a tremendous number of advantages that should help it do that: resources, scale, talent, work ethic⁵ and a democratic government, but it has an equally long list of challenges.

我来这里是为了了解尼日利亚的未来。有人告诉我，埃米尔是知道答案的“三、四个人”之一。这是一个重要的问题，不仅仅是对尼日利亚人来说。30年后，尼日利亚的人口将超过美国。到本世纪末，中国将成为世界第三大国，仅次于印度和中国，也是人口最稠密的大国，每平方英里的人口甚至超过印度。它将拥有世界上最多的穆斯林和更多的基督徒。如果它能使其社会经济行动协调一致，它也可能成为欧洲大陆的第一个超级大国。它有大量的优势可以帮助它做到这一点:资源、规模、人才、职业道德和民主政府，但它同样面临着一长串的挑战。

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

3 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

4 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

5 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。