经济学人147:美国大使馆,挖壕筑壑

 　　America’s embassies

　　美国大使馆

　　First, dig your moat

　　挖壕筑壑

　　Designing buildings for America’s diplomats¹ is getting ever trickier²

　　为美国外交官员设计建筑变得愈加棘手

　　Jul 30th 2011 | WASHINGTON, DC | from the print edition

　　“NOBODY can be messing with our embassy,” declared Barack Obama in mid-July, after a pro-government mob pelted³ America’s mission in Damascus with stones, eggs and tomatoes. That is not true, however, of the put-upon architects who have to design America’s embassies: they are constantly being hit with new restrictions⁴, from both their own government and the host country.

　　“任何人都不能滋扰我们的大使馆，” 美国总统奥巴马七月中旬向外界如是宣布。此前，大马士革亲政府民众曾向美国大使馆投掷石头、鸡蛋和西红柿。然而对于那些受雇于美国，迫于无奈才设计美国大使馆的建筑师来说，他们可没这样的好运：他们经常因为本国政府和东道主国家施加的种种新限制而苦恼不已。

　　Ever since the bombing of the American embassy in Beirut in 1983, security has been the overarching concern when designing new embassies. Safety rules have been tightened⁵ repeatedly, and incorporated into a “standard embassy design” that dictates⁶ which offices should be adjacent to which (keep the bigwigs away from the public areas), how far embassy buildings should be set back from nearby roads (100 feet, or 30 metres), what materials can be used for walls and windows (nothing that is easy to climb or shatter) and so on. The result, critics say, is a dull series of near-identical, boxy bunkers. As John Kerry, who heads the Senate foreign-relations committee, put it in 2009, “We are building some of the ugliest embassies I’ve ever seen…I cringe when I see what we’re doing.”

　　自从美国驻贝鲁特大使馆在1983年发生爆炸事件以来，对于新使馆设计的安全性考虑向来是有过之而无不及。安全规则一再收紧并被纳入“标准使馆设计”——规定了各办公区的相邻性原则（政要办公区要远离公共区域）、使馆建筑距离附近公路应有的距离（100英尺或30米）和墙体和窗户所使用的材料（避免任何攀爬的可能性或可破坏性）等诸多因素。批评者认为，按此规则设计出的使馆不过是一系列单调得近乎相同、四四方方的掩体而已。正如参议院外交关系委员会主席约翰·克里2009年所言：“我们正在建造一些我见过的最丑陋的大使馆…每当见此情景我就深感厌恶”。

　　He is not alone. Londoners are less than thrilled by the thought of the “crystalline cube” that will slowly rise from the semi-gentrified riverine site of Nine Elms. This, at $1 billion the most expensive American embassy ever built, was made necessary when Grosvenor Square in Mayfair became too unsafe, despite the bomb-blast barriers that make the place look like a damper version of Baghdad.The new embassy will be separated from malicious⁷ sightseers by rolling parkland and a moat—100 feet wide, as required.

　　不只克里有此想法。伦敦人对于九号榆树巷半人工河处徐徐崛起的“水晶立方”建筑丝毫没有兴奋之感。尽管防炸弹爆炸障碍物使得新大使馆看上去象阴影笼罩的巴格达，但当梅费尔区格罗夫纳广场安全性无法保障时，花费10亿美元建造这座美国史上最昂贵的大使馆就显得很有必要了。通过种植草坪和挖掘100英尺宽（视需要而定）的护城河，有不良意图的观光客将无法接近这座新使馆。

　　Embassy architects argue that they are creative where the rules permit it. Thomas McCarthy of Page Southerland Page, a Texan firm which has designed 17 American diplomatic compounds, is very proud of the tributes to local tradition it incorporated into the embassy in Ouagadougou, for example, in the form of a shaded but open-air waiting area and a zigzag⁸ decorative⁹ motif¹⁰ on the external walls. But aesthetics¹¹ and security are just two of a host of competing priorities.

　　大使馆的建筑师们表示，他们在规定允许的范围内充分地发挥了创造力。德州公司Page Southerland Page公司的托马斯·麦卡锡曾为美国设计过17座外交使馆建筑群。他为将当地传统融入到驻瓦加杜古大使馆建筑所做出的贡献感到自豪，比如，阴凉却露天的等候室和外部墙面曲折的绘画图案。但美学和安全性只是大量优先竞争因素中的两个而已。

　　The State Department insists on fixed¹² prices and completion dates, with predetermined penalties for overruns. Yet conditions in the host country can be unpredictable to say the least. Page Southerland Page has had half a dozen projects interrupted by civil wars or terrorist scares. Even in places at peace, the obstacles can be hard to foresee: a dead tree on the site in Phnom Penh turned out to be revered¹³ by locals, forcing the design to be changed to preserve it; in Kigali, excavations¹⁴ for the foundations unearthed¹⁵ human remains¹⁶; in Kiev the winters are so cold that it was hard to keep the concrete from freezing; and in Monrovia an arms embargo¹⁷ impeded¹⁸ the import of the explosives needed to blast away some awkward rocks.

　　美国国务院坚持固定的建筑成本和竣工日期，对预算超支或延期完工有预定的处罚。然而退一步说，东道主国家的局势是难以预知的。Page Southerland Page公司已经有六项建筑工程因内战或恐怖威胁而中断。即使在和平地区，有些障碍也是难以预料的：在柬埔寨金边市，为了保存一棵当地人所尊崇的死树，建筑师不得不更改建筑设计；在基加利，工人挖掘地基时出土了人类骸骨；在基辅，酷寒的冬天经常使混凝土冻结而无法使用；在蒙罗维亚，武器禁运阻碍了炸药的进口，使得一些棘手的岩石无法引爆清除。

　　It took six months for imported goods to get from Congo-Brazzaville’s main port to the embassy site in the interior, Mr McCarthy notes, but that was an improvement on the Sudan, where the government refused to issue certain import permits and visas at all. Yet ever more imported material and outside expertise¹⁹ is needed since Mr Obama began a recent drive to make government buildings, including embassies, more energy-efficient. And then there are America’s rules about procurement²⁰ and contracting, with standards on everything from sustainability to labour relations. Think of it not as messing so much as digressing.

　　麦卡锡注意到，将进口货物由刚果主要港口布拉柴维尔运抵内陆的美国大使馆需要六个月时间。苏丹政府以前拒绝发放某些进口许可证及签证，但现在情况已有所好转。然而，由于奥巴马近期已将美大使馆在内的所有美国政府建筑纳入节能计划，美驻外大使馆建筑工地将会比以往更加需要进口材料和外援专业技术人员。美国有自己的一套采购和合同签订规则，并为可持续性到劳动关系的方方面面制定了标准。与其说它离题太远不如说它是一团糟。

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

3 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

6 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

8 zigzag   

n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行

参考例句：

• The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。
• The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

9 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

10 motif   

n.(图案的)基本花纹，(衣服的)花边；主题

参考例句：

• Alienation is a central motif in her novels.疏离感是她小说的一个重要的主题。
• The jacket has a rose motif on the collar.这件夹克衫领子上有一朵玫瑰花的图案。

11 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

14 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

15 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

16 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。

17 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

18 impeded   

阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Work on the building was impeded by severe weather. 楼房的施工因天气恶劣而停了下来。
• He was impeded in his work. 他的工作受阻。

19 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

20 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。