2021年经济学人 总能逆风翻盘的欧盟怎么折在了疫情上?(2)

Part of Europe’s problem is demography¹. EU populations are old by global standards, making them more susceptible² to the disease. Other less well understood factors, such as crowded cities, may also make Europeans vulnerable. The cross-border mobility³ that is one of the EU’s great achievements probably worked in favour of the virus, and no one will want to curb⁴ that when the pandemic eases.

欧洲的部分问题在于其人口组成。从全球标准来看，欧盟人口老龄化较为严重，这使他们更容易感染新冠。其他因素尚未研究透彻，但例如拥挤的城市也可能会让欧洲人变得易感。作为欧盟重大成就之一的跨境流动却可能有利于病毒传播，而且没有人愿意在疫情缓和时遏制流动。

But part of Europe’s problem is politics. Jean Monnet, a French diplomat⁵ who helped found the European project, famously wrote that “Europe will be forged in crisis.” When things are at their worst, those words are seized on to suggest the EU will snatch victory from the jaws⁶ of defeat. Sure enough, during the euro crisis the European Central Bank (ECB) eventually saved the day with new policies; likewise, the migration⁷ crisis of 2015 greatly enhanced Frontex, the EU’s border-security force.

但欧洲的部分问题还在于其政治。曾帮助建立欧洲计划的法国外交官让·莫内曾有句名言：“欧洲将在危机中锻造”。人们会用这些话暗示处境最糟糕的欧盟将转败为胜。果然，在欧元危机期间，欧洲央行（ECB）最终以新政策力挽狂澜；同样，2015年的移民危机也大大增强了欧盟边防局的实力。

However, Monnet’s dictum is also a source of complacency. The civil war in Yugoslavia in the 1990s led to the declaration that “This is the hour of Europe”. Years of carnage followed. Likewise, last year’s decision to give the European Commission sole responsibility for buying and sharing out covid-19 vaccines⁸ for 450m people has been a buck-passing disaster.

然而，莫内的名言也让欧盟自满。20世纪90年代南斯拉夫内战引发了“这是属于欧洲的时刻”的宣言。数年的大屠杀接踵而至。同样，去年决定让欧盟委员会全权负责为4.5亿人购买和分享新冠疫苗，也是一场互相推诿的灾难。

It made sense to pool the research eff?ort of 27 countries and their funds for pre-purchasing vaccines, just as Operation Warp⁹ Speed in America brought together 50 states. However, the EU’s bureaucracy mismanaged the contract negotiations¹⁰, perhaps because national governments generally oversee¹¹ public health. The project was handled chiefl?y by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who gleefully called the decision to expand her empire a “European success story”.

将27个国家的研究成果及其资金集中用于预购疫苗是有意义的，就像美国将50个州集中在一起的“空间机战行动”一样。然而，也许是因为欧洲各国政府普遍监督公共卫生，从而致使欧盟的官僚机构对合同谈判管理不善。该项目由欧盟委员会主席乌苏拉·冯·德莱恩负责，她得意洋洋地称扩大其帝国的决定为“欧洲的成功范例”。

1 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

2 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

3 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 warp   

vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见

参考例句：

• The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。
• A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。