经济学人350:持枪的纯爷们(1)

 　　“TAKE a sticker,” urges the woman from Ambush¹ Firearms. “We are giving away two free guns every day to people wearing them.” What your correspondent would do with an semi-automatic rifle, let alone one that also comes in pink, was not obvious. Welcome to the annual convention of the National Rifle Association (NRA)—this year held in St Louis, Missouri. It is a yearly celebration of freedom, the Second Amendment² right to bear arms, and, above all else, a festival of guns. Seven acres, to be precise, of guns and gear.

　　“拿张贴纸，”一名伏击步枪后的女人催促到。“我们每天向佩戴此贴纸的人免费发放两支枪”。我们不清楚一名记者拿着一把半自动步枪有何用处，更何况这枪式粉红色的。欢迎来到全国步枪协会的年度盛会，今年在密苏里州的圣路易斯市举行。宪法第二修正案允许公民持枪，这不仅是一场自由的庆祝会，更是各色枪支的盛会。更确切地说，整整七英里都摆放着各种枪支和配件。

　　Americans like firearms. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service there were 294m guns in the country in 2007, up from 192m in 1994. More guns might be expected to mean more influence for the NRA, except that the number of households with guns has actually declined fairly consistently since 1973. The people who buy guns, it seems, are usually those who already own them. One probable cause of this decline is a shift to urban living. Moreover, safety-conscious Americans are increasingly aware that, statistically³, a gun is a far greater risk to friends and family than it is of potential use in self-defence.

　　美国人喜欢摆弄枪支。根据国会研究服务报道，美国2007年拥有2亿9400万支枪，而在1994年才仅有1亿9200万支。尽管枪支数量的增加可能让人觉得全国步枪协会的影响力不断增加，但实际上拥有枪支家庭的数量从1973年开始一直大幅下降。看起来，买枪的是那些已经有枪的人。持枪家庭数量下降的一个可能原因是居民生活的城市化。而且，人们逐渐意识到：据统计，枪支给家庭和朋友带来的风险远远大于枪支用于自卫的用途。

　　Nonetheless, some Americans hang on to their weapons because they enjoy hunting or target practice, or live in places with too many wild animals or too few policemen. The right to gun ownership is enshrined in the constitution and is regarded by many as an issue of civil liberty—something that Europeans struggle to understand. So even as outrage⁴ is sparked over shootings such as that of Trayvon Martin in Florida and former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, there is little appetite for gun-control legislation.

　　尽管如此，一些美国人还是喜欢配枪，因为他们要么喜欢打猎或打靶，要么住在野生动物多或者警察太少的地方。持枪权利被写入宪法，而且被许多人视为公民自由。然而欧洲人对这却难以理解。尽管人们对福罗里达州的Trayvon Martin枪击案和前国会女议员Gabrielle Giffords枪击案极其愤怒，这也没有引发枪支管制的立法。

　　Quite the opposite. Behind the march of pro-gun laws across America (such as “stand your ground” ordinances⁵ that allow for the use of force in self-defence, without any obligation to attempt to retreat first, now in effect in more than half the states) is the NRA and its lobbying arm, the mildly-named Institute for Legislative⁶ Action. The NRA’s influence on introducing legislation has been remarkable⁷. The debate about guns is no longer over whether assault rifles ought to be banned, but over whether guns should be allowed in bars, churches and colleges.

　　恰恰相反，全美赞成持枪法案（如“坚守阵地”法案允许使用枪支自卫，在防卫撤退中不负任何责任，这一法令在超过半数的州中生效）的游行队伍中是支持全美赞成持枪法案的是“全国步枪协会”及其游说分支—名字看上去很温和的“立法行动学院”。全国步枪协会在立法运动中的影响极其显著。人们对于枪支的争论点不再是是否应该禁止使用冲锋枪，而是在酒吧、教堂和大学里是否应该禁止携带枪支。

1 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 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。