2021年经济学人 无比迷人又神秘不可预测的西西里岛(1)

Mediterranean¹ history - under the volcano

地中海的历史-于火山下

The Invention of Sicily. By Jamie Mackay.

《西西里岛起源》杰米·麦凯

Sicily beguiles².

西西里令人着迷。

It offers coves³ with limpid⁴ water; Greek temples, such as those at Agrigento and Segesta, that are among the best preserved in the Mediterranean;

它有清澈的海水；有希腊神庙，地中海保存最完好的就位于阿格里琴托和塞格斯塔；

a Roman amphitheatre at Taormina still used for its original dramatic purpose;

有罗马露天剧场，陶尔米纳的那个剧场仍保留了最初的戏剧用途；

grandiose⁵ Baroque palazzi; bustling⁶ street markets; some of the best food to be had in Italy; an expanding range of fine wines at reasonable prices;

有宏伟的巴洛克式宫殿；有熙熙攘攘的街市；有意大利一些最好的食物；有品种繁多且价格合理的优质葡萄酒；

and a cathedral in Palermo that is a riot of eclecticism⁷.

有位于巴勒莫融合了各种折衷主义设计的大教堂。

Etna on a spring morning, still capped with snow and belching⁸ smoke, is among Europe’s greatest sights.

春天的早晨，埃特纳火山仍被积雪和薄雾覆盖，这是欧洲最壮丽的景观之一。

The ancient Greeks saw Sicily as rich and fertile yet “dangerous and unpredictable”.

古希腊人认为西西里岛是个肥沃富饶之地，但它“危险且不可预测”。

For Jamie Mackay, author of this brief and pacey history of the island, their perception reflected a dual⁹ view of Sicily that would be expressed in different forms up to the present day.

杰米·麦凯讲述了这座岛简短而充满活力的历史，在他看来，他们的这种想法反映了人们对西西里岛的双重看法，这种看法直到今天仍以不同的形式表现出来。

In Mr Mackay’s telling, a tipping-point arrived at the dawn of the 14th century after several hundred years of relatively¹⁰ enlightened rule by Byzantine Greeks, Arabs and Normans.

麦凯先生讲述道，经过拜占庭希腊人、阿拉伯人和诺曼人几百年相对开明的统治之后，14世纪初一个转折点出现了。

The uprising that came to be known as the Sicilian Vespers sparked a war that led to the expulsion of the island’s French rulers.

后来被称为西西里晚祷的起义引发了一场战争，导致岛上的法国统治者被驱逐。

But it is only too characteristic of Sicily’s ill fortune that this popular victory should ultimately have had such dismal¹¹ effects.

但是，这场人民的胜利最终竟产生了如此令人沮丧的后果，这正是西西里岛不幸的典型。

Sovereignty over an ethnically¹² and religiously diverse island passed, via the rulers of Aragon and Catalonia, to those of a newly unified¹³ Spain, obsessed¹⁴ with confessional uniformity and, by implication, racial purity.

主张种族和宗教多样化的时代已经过去，从阿拉贡和加泰罗尼亚的统治者，到新近统一的西班牙统治者，都痴迷宗教统一，也暗中追求着种族纯洁性。

Sicily became an outlying territory in an empire that favoured traditional social arrangements and a profoundly conservative form of Catholicism.

西西里岛曾是罗马帝国的一个边缘地区，那时帝国偏爱传统的社会制度和极度保守的天主教组织。

For almost 400 years, Mr Mackay notes, Sicily had been governed by an urban elite¹⁵ in Palermo.

麦凯指出，近400年来，西西里一直由巴勒莫的城市精英统治。

“Following the Vespers, though, power moved progressively away from these individuals, and into the hands of rural landowners and church authorities.”

“然而，晚祷起义之后，权力逐渐从这些人手中转移到了农村土地所有者和教会权威的手中。”

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 beguiles   

v.欺骗( beguile的第三人称单数 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• There are far subtler ways that sight bewitches and beguiles. 运用视觉引诱蛊惑人有很多技巧。 来自互联网
• Heaven and Earth of peace beguiles. 欺骗着平安的天堂和人世。 来自互联网

3 coves   

n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 )；家伙

参考例句：

• Grenada's unique layout includes many finger-like coves, making the island a popular destination. 格林纳达独特的地形布局包括许多手指状的洞穴，使得这个岛屿成为一个受人欢迎的航海地。 来自互联网

4 limpid   

adj.清澈的，透明的

参考例句：

• He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。
• The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。

5 grandiose   

adj.宏伟的，宏大的，堂皇的，铺张的

参考例句：

• His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.他那种夸大的举止给第一次遇见他的人留下了深刻的印象。
• As the fog vanished,a grandiose landscape unfolded before the tourists.雾气散去之后，一幅壮丽的景观展现在游客面前。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

7 eclecticism   

n.折衷主义

参考例句：

• Eclecticism is good,that they keeped the style and avoided the defects.兼收并蓄是好，避免了很多中国传统样式的问题，却依然古色古香。
• All of the groups moved towards a broader eclecticism and synthesis.所有的乐队都朝着更广泛的折衷主义和结合主义的方向前进。

8 belching   

n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The Tartars employed another weapon, the so-called Chinese dragon belching fire. 鞑靼人使用了另一种武器，所谓中国龙喷火器。
• Billows of smoke were belching from the chimney. 巨浪似的烟正从烟囱里喷出来。

9 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

12 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

13 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

14 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

15 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。