经济学人:西班牙和加泰罗尼亚 加泰罗尼亚的绯闻

 　　Spain and the Catalans

　　西班牙和加泰罗尼亚

　　Scandal in Catalonia

　　加泰罗尼亚的绯闻

　　Jordi Pujol's confession¹ undermines Catalans' hopes of independence

　　Jordi Pujol的忏悔摧毁了加泰罗尼亚人独立的希望

　　IT IS not the narrative² that Catalan separatists hoped for as they face a stand-off with the Madrid government over a planned independence vote in November. Instead of a debate about evil Castilian conquistadors, their cause has been overshadowed by a scandal over a fallen hero, Jordi Pujol, who served for six terms as leader of Catalonia.

　　加泰罗尼亚的分裂主义者希望能够通过11月计划的独立投票脱离马德里政府，这并非是道听途说。但是，人们并未声讨邪恶的卡斯提尔征服者，他们的注意力全被坠落的英雄人物—Jordi Pujol的丑闻吸引了。Jordi Pujol曾是加泰罗尼亚连续六届的领导人。

　　加泰罗尼亚的绯闻.jpg

　　Four weeks ago Mr Pujol admitted that his family had hidden money in Switzerland for the past 35 years. “We never found the right moment to declare it,” he said breezily. The confession comes at an awkward time. Mr Pujol's hand-picked successor as head of his Convergence and Union (CiU) group, and Catalonia's current leader, Artur Mas, has promised a referendum on November 9th. Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, will ban it. Separatists hoped this would swell³ their ranks. But now all the talk is of the 84-year-old Mr Pujol, a political giant in his region.

　　4周前，Pujol承认其家族在过去的35年内一直在往瑞士的银行里藏钱。他轻声说：“我们一直找不到适当的时机宣布这一事情”。他在一个尴尬的时刻发表了这个声明。Pujol精挑细选的继任者，汇合党的主席和加泰罗尼亚目前的领导人Artur Mas之前承诺将于11月9日发起公民投票。西班牙总理Mariano Rajoy马里亚诺·拉霍伊·布雷将禁止这一活动。分裂主义者希望这能够提高他们的排名。但是现在所有的话题都集中在该阵营的政治巨擘，84岁的Pujol身上。

　　The man who set Catalonia on a path from no self-government to an annual budget of 25.5 billion ($33.9 billion, about half of Ireland's) liked to be called “president” or “the most honourable”. A foundation bearing his name specialises in ethics⁴. In 23 years as president until 2003, he became a master at persuading Catalans that they were victims of Madrid. The battle cry of the independence campaign is that the rest of Spain steals Catalan taxes and wastes them on lazy southerners. Now Mr Pujol himself has been found hiding his own stash⁵ of cash.

　　这个创立了加泰罗尼亚的人见证了加泰罗尼亚从无政府一直到年均255亿欧元预算案（339亿美元，约有爱尔兰一半的产值）更多地被称为“总统”或“最尊贵的人”。一个专门研究伦理道德的基金会以他的名字命名。截止2003年为止长达23年总统任期使他非常擅长说服加泰罗尼亚人让他们相信自己是马德里政府的受害者。独立运动的呼声主要是西班牙的其他地区偷了加泰罗尼亚的税收并浪费在了懒惰的南方人身上。而今却发现Pujol自己偷偷地藏钱。

　　Other family members are under investigation⁶. A son, also called Jordi, goes before a judge in mid-September to answer questions about tax fraud and money-laundering after a girlfriend accused him of carrying bags of 500 notes to Andorra. Another son, Oriol, has quit as secretary-general of the senior partner in the CiU group, Catalan Democratic Convergence: an investigating judge suspects him of taking bribes⁷. A legion of longtime Pujol-haters in Spain are dancing on the dynasty's political grave and hoping that this may kill the referendum.

　　Pujol其他的家人正在接受调查。儿子Jordi在女友控诉他将价值500欧的包包票据送往安道尔市后，将于九月中旬前在法庭上对税收贪污和洗钱的罪行进行辩解。另一个儿子Oriol辞了加泰罗尼亚民主党派，汇合党高级领导人秘书的职位：调查的法官怀疑他受贿。众多长期反对Pujol的西班牙人在Pujol王朝的政治坟墓上跳舞，希望这能扼杀加泰罗尼亚的公民投票。

　　The scandal will hurt Mr Mas, but it does not sink separatism. He is being tugged⁸ in opposite directions by his referendum pledge. His more moderate coalition⁹ partner, Democratic Catalan Union (UDC), has threatened to quit. The ardently¹⁰ separatist Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which props¹² up his minority government, wants him to defy Madrid by calling an illegal referendum if need be. It also demands an inquiry¹³ if Mr Pujol does not appear before the Catalan parliament.

　　这一绯闻确实会影响Mas，但却不会扼杀独立主义。他在公投的请求下已经转到了对立面。其较为温和的政党联盟，加泰罗尼亚民主联盟(UDC)威胁弃权。支持其少数政党的激进的分裂主义政党——加泰罗尼亚民主共和党（ERC）希望能够通过非法的公投公然反抗西班牙政府。它也要求如果Pujol未出现在加泰罗尼亚的议会上的话，就进行调查。

　　Mr Mas may hold an early election that serves as a proxy¹⁴ for a vote on independence. Carme Forcadell, leader of a Catalan pressure group that has driven the separatist surge, insists on this if Mr Rajoy blocks the referendum. But opinion polls show CiU trailing ERC. The Pujol affair will damage it further. If the UDC walks out, Mr Mas's party may be hammered.

　　Mas可能会举行一个前期选举以选出独立的代言人。推进分离主义的加泰罗尼亚压力集团的首领Carme Forcadell 坚信这一点（如果Rajoy阻碍公投的话）。但民意调查显示汇合党远远落后于加泰罗尼亚民主共和党。Pujol事件对其伤害更深。如果UDC退席，Mas政党的发展将遇到巨大阻碍。

　　A test of separatist feeling will come on September 11th, Catalonia's national day. In previous years Ms Forcadell's group has called out millions to demand an independence vote. This year's protest may be less impressive. Those who want a new deal with Spain but dislike full independence may stay away. Anger about the economy, a source of many gripes, is dimming, but the Pujol scandal will spread disillusion¹⁵. The man who built up Catalan national pride is now undermining it.

　　9月11日，加泰罗尼亚的国庆日将测试分裂主义者对此事的态度。前些年Forcadell的政党可以召集起几百万的人要求独立公投。今年的抗议力度可能会减弱。那些希望能与西班牙有一个新的解决方案，但不希望完全独立。导致许多牢骚的对经济的愤怒已经开始减弱，但Pujol事件可能会让人们更加失望。曾经造就加泰罗尼亚辉煌的人现在在毁灭它。

　　1.serve for 充当；用作

　　例句:This box will have to serve for a table until the furniture arrives.

　　在家具运来之前,这个箱子可以当桌子用。

　　2.accuse of 控告；指责

　　例句:I hate it when people accuse us of that.

　　我讨厌别人就那件事指责我们。

　　3.prop¹¹ up 支持，资助

　　例句:If you have difficulty sitting like this, prop up your back against a wall.

　　如果这么坐着有困难，就背靠墙坐吧。

　　4.stay away 离开，缺席

　　例句:Take my advice and stay away from him!

　　听我的，离他远远的！

1 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

5 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 ardently   

adv.热心地，热烈地

参考例句：

• The preacher is disserveing the very religion in which he ardently believe. 那传教士在损害他所热烈信奉的宗教。 来自辞典例句
• However ardently they love, however intimate their union, they are never one. 无论他们的相爱多么热烈，无论他们的关系多么亲密，他们决不可能合而为一。 来自辞典例句

11 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

12 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

13 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

14 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

15 disillusion   

vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭

参考例句：

• Do not say anything to disillusion them.别说什么叫他们泄气的话。
• I'd hate to be the one to disillusion him.我不愿意成为那个让他幻想破灭的人。