经济学人199:炼金术士克里斯蒂娜

 　　Science in Argentina

　　阿根廷的科学发展

　　Cristina the alchemist

　　炼金术士克里斯蒂娜

　　Argentina is trying to build a scientific establishment

　　阿根廷正努力打造一个科学机构

　　SOUTH AFRICA is not the only middle-income country which aspires² to join the world's scientific powers.

　　南非并不是唯一渴望加入世界科学强国的中等收入国家。

　　Argentina would like to as well.

　　怀有同样渴望的还有阿根廷。

　　The place is proud of its three Nobel science prizes—the largest haul of any Latin American nation—even if the most recent was awarded in 1984.

　　曾经三次荣获诺贝尔科学奖，但即使最后一次获奖发生在1984年，阿根廷仍然以此为傲，因为这是任何拉丁美洲国家都无法比拟的成就。

　　But many researchers fled in the 1990s, when budgets were slashed³. Now the government is trying to attract them back, and to encourage younger talent to consider a scientific career.

　　但在20世纪90年代，预算大幅削减，许多研究人员抽身而去。如今，政府正在努力将其吸引回国，并鼓励青年人才以科学为职业。

　　When Néstor Kirchner, the predecessor⁴ and late husband of the current president, Cristina Fernandez, took office in 2003, Argentina was spending just 0.41% of its GDP on research and development.

　　前总统内斯托尔·基什内尔于2003年上台，当时阿根廷在研究和开发上的投入仅占其GDP的0.41%。

　　Now, that figure is 0.64%.

　　如今的投入占到0.64%。

　　Kirchner raised researchers' salaries, launched a scheme to repatriate⁵ departed scientists and gave tax breaks to software companies.

　　基什内尔总统提高了研究人员的工资，推出召回离国科学家的方案，允许软件开发公司享受税收上的优惠。

　　Ms Fernandez followed suit by creating a science ministry⁶ and putting a biologist, Lino Barao, in charge of it.

　　费尔南德斯夫人也相继建立起科技部，并任命生物学家巴拉尼奥为部长。

　　She also increased grants to firms that try to develop new products.

　　她还提高了给新产品研发公司的拨款。

　　Many of the Kirchners' critics were sceptical, seeing the ministry either as a political marketing⁷ ploy⁸ or as a soft touch for lobbyists seeking unjustified subsidies⁹.

　　许多针对基什内尔的批评家们持一种怀疑态度，他们认为科技部既是一种政治营销策略，又会被那些寻求不正当补贴的说客轻易利用。

　　But the strategy seems to be working.

　　然而整个策略却似乎正在发挥作用。

　　With help from the Inter-American Development Bank the government has, since 2004, lured¹⁰ back 854 expatriate scientists.

　　2004年，在美洲开发银行的帮助下，阿根廷政府总共将854名移居国外的科学家吸引回国，

　　It has done so by providing new laboratories and equipment for them, moving their families, and forking out extra money for their salaries.

　　为他们提供新的实验室和仪器，安置其家人，分拨额外资金作为他们的酬劳。

　　As a consequence, according to Dr Baraao,

　　根据尼奥教授所说，

　　Argentine researchers have published 179 articles in leading journals in the past decade, compared with just 30 in the 1990s.

　　之后阿根廷的研究员们在过去的十年里发表在前沿期刊的文章就有179篇，而90年代却只有30篇。

　　Most of the returners are academics. But commercial science has benefited, too.

　　大多数归国人员都是学术派，但商业科学却也从中受益。

　　Indear, a joint¹¹ public-private biotechnology-research centre based in Santa Fe, recently worked out how to transfer a gene¹² for drought resistance from sunflowers to crops such as maize¹³, soyabeans and wheat.

　　总部位于圣达菲的一家公私合营生物技术研究中心Indear，近日研发出如何将向日葵中的抗旱基因转移到玉米大豆及小麦等农作物上，此举可将旱地产量提升至40%。

　　That can increase yields in droughts by up to 40%. And the government has also doled¹⁴ out 54m in grants for the development of products that include coagulant¹⁵ factors to treat haemophilia,

　　同时，政府还发放5400万美元开发包括发凝血因子在内的产品，

　　transgenic cattle which secrete¹⁶ valuable hormones¹⁷ in their milk, and better ways of probing for oil deposits.

　　以治疗血友病，研究分泌珍贵激素的转基因奶牛，以及提高石油储备的勘探技术。

　　Help for high-tech¹⁸ innovation comes in other forms, too.

　　对高科技创新的扶持还不止这些。

　　The state offers, for example, to pay the cost of patenting inventions in foreign jurisdictions¹⁹ and of hiring lawyers to defend those patents.

　　例如，政府会为在海外司法审批的发明支付专利申请费用，并出钱雇佣律师为之辩护。

　　It also acts as a headhunter for information-technology firms seeking employees with PhDs, and will pay part of the salaries of such recruits.

　　同时还为信息技术公司充当猎头，搜寻有博士学历的员工，并支付其部分薪金。

　　None of these programmes has faced allegations of corruption²⁰.

　　所有的项目都没有发生有关贪污的起诉。

　　Whether all this activity will have the effect of stimulating²¹ high-tech industry, as Ms Fernandez hopes, remains²² to be seen.

　　然而，整个方案是否会像费尔南德夫人希望的那样推动高科技工业的发展，还得拭目以待。

　　Argentine scientists are happy to take taxpayers²³' money but according to Luis Dambra, a professor at the IAE business school in Buenos Aires, they look down their noses at the idea of actually getting their hands dirty by going into industry.

　　花着纳税人的钱让阿根廷的科学家们十分高兴，不过布宜诺斯爱丽丝IAE商学院的路易斯·丹布尔教授认为，进入工业领域就是自降身段的说法让科学家们嗤之以鼻。

　　Mr Dambra, though, says industry is equally to blame.

　　尽管如此，丹布尔先生表示工业同样应该被斥责。

　　In 2009, only 21% of Argentine R&D was paid for by the private sector²⁴, compared with 44% of Brazil's.

　　2009年，阿根廷研发领域仅有21%的费用是由私营部门支付，相比巴西就达到了44%。

　　Firms that might recruit academic scientists often do not see the point.

　　那些有可能聘请学术科学家的公司却总是忽略了这一点。

　　Even those that do may struggle to accommodate people with a non-commercial background into the business world.

　　即便那些看到这一点的公司也可能争抢着将非商科背景的研究员安置在商业领域。

　　Attitudes can change, of course.

　　当然，态度看法总是发生变化的。

　　In the 1980s many British academics were as snobbish²⁵ about commerce as Argentina's are now.

　　19世纪80年代，许多英国学者看待商业的态度和今天的阿根廷人一样不屑一顾。

　　These days, Britain's top universities are gung-ho for spin-outs and the revenue they can provide. But it takes time and consistent policy to make such changes and Argentina is notorious for sudden alterations²⁶ in the political weather.

　　而现在英国的顶尖大学都在为其所能提供的额外产物和收益而狂热。但是这些转变都需要长久的时间和一贯的政策才能得以确保，而阿根廷却因为在政界中风云突变而名声狼藉。

　　That makes the country a perilous²⁷ place to invest, whatever the current climate.

　　无论现阶段状况如何，整个国家都成了投资者的危险之地。

　　1.establishment n.确立；建立；家业

　　Because of the establishment of the patriarchy, androgyny gradually retreated from the mainstream²⁸ society.

　　但由于父权制度的确立，“双性同体”思想逐渐从主流文化中隐退。

　　2.aspire¹ v.热望；立志

　　Do you aspire to know the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths?

　　你是否热望要知道上帝的长阔高深？

　　3.attract v.吸引；引来

　　The flower show attracted large crowds this year.

　　今年的花展吸引了大批观众。

　　4.predecessor n.祖先；前任；原有事物

　　The Yunxian Man fossil skull²⁹ is believed by scientists to belong to homo erectus, a predecessor of homo sapiens that walked on their two legs with an upright body posture³⁰.

　　科学家们认为袁县人属于直立人，是靠两条腿直立行走的智力人的祖先。

　　5.scheme n.阴谋；计划；方案

　　Their scheme was exposed.

　　他们的阴谋被暴露了。

1 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

2 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

5 repatriate   

v.遣返；返回；n.被遣返回国者

参考例句：

• The government safely repatriates victims.政府安全遣返了受害者。
• In this part,you need to formulate in detail repatriate the plan.在这一部分，你需要制定详细的归国计划。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

9 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

14 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

15 coagulant   

n.凝结剂；凝血剂

参考例句：

• Increased coagulant dosage results in greater sludge yield for ultimate disposal.增加凝聚剂用量会增大最后处理的污泥量。
• The ice cream of this brand has too much coagulant.这个牌子的冰淇淋添加了过多的凝固剂。

16 secrete   

vt.分泌；隐匿，使隐秘

参考例句：

• The pores of your body secrete sweat.身上的毛孔分泌汗液。
• Squirrels secrete a supply of nuts for winter.松鼠为准备过冬而藏坚果。

17 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

18 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

19 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

21 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

24 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

25 snobbish   

adj.势利的，谄上欺下的

参考例句：

• She's much too snobbish to stay at that plain hotel.她很势利，不愿住在那个普通旅馆。
• I'd expected her to be snobbish but she was warm and friendly.我原以为她会非常势利，但她却非常热情和友好。

26 alterations   

n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变

参考例句：

• Any alterations should be written in neatly to the left side. 改动部分应书写清晰，插在正文的左侧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code. 基因突变是指DNA 密码的改变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

28 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

29 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

30 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。