时代周刊 帕克兰枪击案后共和党为何开始兜售枪支管控政策(2)

It may seem a paradox¹ that gun manufacturers have suffered during the Trump² era.

特朗普执政期间，枪支制造商的日子并不好过，这听起来似乎有点儿矛盾。

Firearms sales are down across the industry:

整个行业的枪支销量都在下降：

the combined revenues of Sturm, Ruger & Co.; Vista³ Outdoor; Winchester; Remington and American Outdoor Brands (formerly known as Smith & Wesson) fell 13% in fiscal⁴ 2017.

2017财年，斯特姆-鲁格，户外、温彻斯特、雷明顿和美国户外品牌（前身为史密斯＆维森）的总收益跌了13％。

FBI background checks, the metric used as a proxy⁵ to track sales, fell 8.4% last year from a record-breaking 2016.

FBI背景审查，跟踪销售记录的代理所用的指标，从2016年破纪录的水平下跌了8.4％。

It was the largest year-over-year drop this century,

这是本世纪以来同比下降幅度最大的一次，

and some of the world's largest gunmakers have cut back on production and slashed⁶ payrolls⁷ as a result.

为此，世界上最大的几家枪支制造商已经削减产量，缩减工资。

The slide has shown no sign of stopping:

然而，这一倾斜并没有带来好转的迹象：

two days before the Parkland shooting, Remington declared it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy⁸ protection after its 2017 sales took a 30% nosedive.

帕克兰枪击案发生前两天，雷明顿还宣布它将在2017年销售额下跌30％之后申请破产保护。

The explanation is simple.

原因很简单。

In the gun industry, fear is good for the bottom line.

在枪支行业，恐惧对他们的商业底线来说是件好事。

Under Barack Obama, gun owners rushed to buy firepower they feared was going to be outlawed⁹.

奥巴马执政期间，枪支所有者们就因为担心武器被取缔而大力抢购。

As Trump took office, the U.S. gun market was approaching saturation¹⁰.

特朗普上台时，美国枪支市场已经趋于饱和。

Gun owners have what they need, says Robert Evans of Pennington Capital, a Minneapolis investment firm.

明尼阿波利斯投资公司“彭宁顿资本”的罗伯特·埃文斯说：“枪主们已经有他们需要的东西了。”

"The stockpiling mentality¹¹ is over and likely won't change unless you see a new administration or a change in the makeup¹² of Congress."

“如今大家已经没有囤货的想法了，这一想法未来可能也不会改变，除非新的政府上台，或者国会成员重新洗牌。”

It's therefore not a little ironic¹³ that the NRA spent $54 million helping¹⁴ to elect Trump and other gunfriendly Republicans.

所以，全国步枪协会耗资5400万美元来帮特朗普等对枪支态度更为友好的共和党人赢得选举一事就显得十分讽刺。

Had Hillary Clinton won the White House, gun sales would be soaring to new heights, industry analysts¹⁵ say;

行业分析师谈到，如果希拉里·克林顿赢得了总统选举，枪支的销量将会飙升到新高；

after all, in 1994, President Bill Clinton oversaw¹⁶ the nation's only ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004.

毕竟，1994年，比尔·克林顿总统监督了该国唯一一次禁止攻击性武器的禁令，该禁令于2004年到期。

Polls predicting a second President Clinton drove gun futures¹⁷ into a tizzy.

预测又一个克林顿会当选总统的民调让枪支行业的未来陷入了恐慌。

Manufacturers cranked out more firearms than ever in 2016—over 11 million, according to data released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

美国烟酒枪炮及爆裂物管理局公布的数据显示，枪支制造商们2016年制造的枪支数量比以往任何时候都多 - 超过了1100万支。

The year 2016 was a record year by far, says Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association.

枪械行业贸易协会——全国射击运动基金会的劳伦斯·基恩说，到目前为止，2016年可以说是创纪录的一年。

Everybody understood that that level of sales wasn't sustainable.

“大家都知道，那种销量不是每年都有的。”

Indeed, the more than 25 million background checks last year was still more than double the total in the years before Obama ran.

事实上，去年2500多万次的背景调查次数仍然是奥巴马竞选前几年调查次数综合的两倍多。

Much of that inventory¹⁸ backlog¹⁹ is now being sold off at rebate²⁰.

当时的大部分库存积压现在都在打折出售。

1 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 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。

6 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》

7 payrolls   

n.（公司员工的）工资名单( payroll的名词复数 )；（公司的）工资总支出，工薪总额

参考例句：

• Indices of employment, payrolls, and production steadied in February 1931931年2月，就业、工资额和生产指数稳定。 来自辞典例句
• Wall Street responded to the payrolls figures with gusto. 华尔街对就业数据作出了积极的反应。 来自互联网

8 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

9 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

10 saturation   

n.饱和(状态)；浸透

参考例句：

• The company's sales are now close to saturation in many western countries.这家公司的产品销售量在许多西方国家已接近饱和。
• Road traffic has reached saturation point.公路交通已达到饱和点。

11 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

12 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

13 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

17 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

18 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

19 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

20 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。