智慧人生篇章 第9期:奴隶制的逆袭

 　　Monsters, unfortunately, sometimes refuse to stay dead. Diseases once eradicated¹ can creep back and strike at the most vulnerable in countries least equipped to deal with them. And slavery itself blights² many lives today. It's prohibited, of course, under any number of international agreements, but it mutates into different forms, and the end result is the same - human beings being treated merely as exploitable assets.So people who've agreed to be trafficked across continents in the hope of a new beginning find they're trapped in a nightmare of forced labour, brutal³ conditions, and minimal⁴ reward. Women and children, especially, are kidnapped into prostitution. Whole communities are in subjection as bonded⁵ labourers, unable to free themselves from often quite small debts incurred⁶ by previous generations. More than a hundred million children are reckoned to be required to do work which harms them. And on it goes.

　　不幸的是，妖魔鬼怪总会死灰复燃。曾经根除的疾病又开始在最缺乏防御手段的国家、最脆弱的人群中肆虐。现在，奴隶制毁掉了很多人的生活。所有国际条约都是禁止奴隶制的，但它已幻化成其他形式，但万变不离其宗 -- 把人当剥削工具。那些怀揣梦想，远涉重洋开始新生活的人们，最后发现自己陷入了一个噩梦，劳务繁重，环境恶劣，收入微薄。尤其是妇女和小孩，甚至被迫卖淫。整个群体被迫成了廉价劳工，即便是父辈一点微不足道的债务都能让他们不得翻身。据估计，超过1亿儿童被迫从事有害的工作。而这还在继续。

1 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。

2 blights   

使凋萎( blight的第三人称单数 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害

参考例句：

• The crops suffered from frequent blights. 农作物经常遭受病虫害。
• New England was accustomed to didacticism in its literature, and unmitigated didacticism blights the novel. 新英格兰习惯于在文学里说教，可是一味说教，小说就要完蛋。

3 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。

4 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

5 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

6 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。