2021年经济学人 人类之蜜糖,动物之砒霜(1)

Books & arts

文艺板块

Book review

书评

Interspecies relations

种间关系

Creature discomforts¹

动物的烦恼

How to Love Animals. By Henry Mance.

《如何爱动物》。作者：亨利·曼斯

Cat videos are the definition of clickbait, dogs are prized for their companionable qualities, and the most popular cartoons feature bears, rabbits, ducks and pigs. But in an age when so many people profess² to be animal-lovers, a remarkable³ number behave in ways that suggest the opposite — eating meat of dubious⁴ provenance⁵ or fish that suffocated⁶ on the decks of trawlers, controlling pets with chastening strictness and gawping at wretchedly constrained⁷ elephants in zoos.

猫咪视频是吸睛利器，狗狗因友善的品质而备受青睐，熊、兔子、鸭子和猪往往是大火卡通片的主角。在当今时代，许多人都自诩爱动物人士，但还是有相当一部分人的举止截然相反，他们会吃来源可疑的肉或在拖网渔船甲板上窒息的鱼，会严厉管教动物，还会去动物园里观赏可怜受困的大象。

As Henry Mance, a British journalist, observes, “animals have worse prospects⁸ in the very time that we have supposedly been looking out for them.” His lively first book argues for a profound reassessment of humans’ relationships with other species. It is a polemic⁹ framed as a personal quest. He takes a job at a slaughterhouse and graphically¹⁰ reports his efforts to rip the wool off freshly killed sheep. He learns to fish, goes on a fruitless deer hunt and visits a lab where drugs are tested on mice and frogs. He observes at close quarters the effects of both deforestation and re-wilding; he attends a Californian dog-fanciers’ convention where corgis are dressed as sharks while their owners dress as corgis.

英国记者亨利·曼斯观察到，“我们自认是在为动物着想，却让它们的前景更加糟糕。”曼斯的第一本书生动明快，主张重新深入考虑人类与其他物种的关系。这是一本以个人探索为论辩框架的书。曼斯在一家屠宰场找到了一份工作，并生动地报道了自己从刚杀掉的羊身上扯下羊毛的经历。他学会了钓鱼，进行了一次无果的猎鹿活动，还参观了一间用老鼠和青蛙进行药物测试的实验室。他近距离观察到森林砍伐和再荒野化的影响；他参加了加州的一个爱狗者大会，在大会上，柯吉犬被打扮成鲨鱼，而主人们则打扮成柯吉犬。

Some of Mr Mance’s conclusions are unsurprising. Covid-19 has been a sharp education in the cost of disrupting ecosystems¹¹. Animals widely regarded as expendable, such as wolves, turn out to play vital roles in keeping other species in check. Though as a child the author adored zoos, marvelling¹² at the tigers and pandas, he now has misgivings¹³ about these “soulless, motionless” places, which strike him as “the conservation equivalent of a police line-up”. He is an advocate of veganism, but worries that it may be a “niche pursuit” and “a sign of society fragmenting, rather than animal interests winning”.

曼斯得出的某些结论并不出人意料。新冠疫情已然成为尖锐的教训，是人类破坏生态系统的代价。某些人们广泛认为可杀掉的动物在控制其他物种方面却起着至关重要的作用，比如狼。尽管曼斯小时候很喜欢动物园，每每惊叹于老虎和大熊猫，但现在的他对这些“没有生气、一动不动”的地方心存疑虑，他觉得“这样的保护与警察列队没什么两样”。他是素食主义的倡导者，但担心这可能会成为“小众的追求”，变成“社会分裂的标志，却没能让动物利益取胜”。

1 discomforts   

n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼

参考例句：

• Travellers in space have to endure many discomforts in their rockets. 宇宙旅行家不得不在火箭中忍受许多不舒适的东西 来自《用法词典》
• On that particular morning even these discomforts added to my pleasure. 在那样一个特定的早晨，即使是这种种的不舒适也仿佛给我增添了满足感。 来自辞典例句

2 profess   

v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰

参考例句：

• I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
• What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

5 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。

6 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

7 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 polemic   

n.争论，论战

参考例句：

• He launched into a fierce polemic against the government's policies.他猛烈地抨击政府的政策。
• He wrote a splendid polemic in my favour.他写了一篇出色的文章为我辩护。

10 graphically   

adv.通过图表；生动地，轮廓分明地

参考例句：

• This data is shown graphically on the opposite page. 对页以图表显示这些数据。
• The data can be represented graphically in a line diagram. 这些数据可以用单线图表现出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

12 marvelling   

v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• \"Yes,'said the clerk, marvelling at such ignorance of a common fact. “是的，\"那人说，很奇怪她竟会不知道这么一件普通的事情。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Chueh-hui watched, marvelling at how easy it was for people to forget. 觉慧默默地旁观着这一切，他也忍不住笑了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

13 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》