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(3)

From the perspective of gunmakers, something has to be done.

从枪支制造商的立场来看，他们必须采取行动。

Floating new restrictions¹ on gun rights could be the jolt² the industry needs to bounce back from its Trump³ slump⁴, political and industry insiders say.

政界和枪支行业的内部人士表示，特朗普上位之后，行业一直不景气，如今行业需要反弹，控枪政策的浮动或许能够给行业带来大变动。

If past is prologue⁵, Keane says, the tragedy in Parkland and the ensuing debate could spur an urgency among Americans to stock up.

基恩表示，如果之前的一切还只是个序幕，那么，帕克兰的悲剧以及随之而来的争论可能会激发国民囤货的紧迫感。

The Obama years offer a clear window into this phenomenon.

奥巴马执政期间的情况就是个明显的例子。

Based on FBI background-check figures, gun sales jumped 42% after Obama won the 2008 election.

联邦调查局的背景调查数据显示，2008年奥巴马赢得大选之后，枪支的销售额增长了42％。

After the December 2012 shootings in Newtown, background checks rose 49% from the year before.

2012年12月新镇发生枪击事件后，背景调查的规模比头一年增加了49％。

(Obama had won re-election a month earlier.)

（月前，奥巴马刚赢得连任资格。）

Following the December 2015 shootings in San Bernardino, checks spiked⁶ 44%.

2015年12月圣贝纳迪诺枪击事件发生后，背景调查规模飙升了44％。

And when a gunman opened fire at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando in June 2016, background checks leaped 39%.

2016年6月一名持枪男子朝奥兰多一家LGBT夜总会开枪时，背景调查又上升了39个百分点。

That isn't happening in the Trump presidency⁷.

而特朗普就任任期没有发生上述情况。

"There was some fear-based buying that would take place from time to time," said James Debney, American Outdoor's chief executive officer, during a conference call with investors⁸ in December.

美国“户外”公司首席执行官詹姆斯·布德尼去年12月在与投资者召开电话会议时曾表示，“因为恐惧而购买枪支的行为时常都会发生。”

There is no fear-based buying right now.

“现在已经没有这种行为了。”

In October, the month a shooter killed 58 and injured 851 at a Las Vegas concert—

10月，就是一名杀手在拉斯维加斯音乐会上杀害58人，致伤851人的那个月 -

the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history—

该案已成为现代美国历史上最恶劣的大规模枪击事件 -

background checks were down 13% from the previous year.

背景调查比去年下降了13％。

The NRA and its allies have been adapting to this new economic landscape.

全国步枪协会及其盟友一直在适应特朗普时代的新经济格局。

After Las Vegas, the NRA signaled that it would not hold against lawmakers any efforts to regulate bump stocks, devices that modify semiautomatic weapons to fire more quickly.

拉斯维加斯枪击案后，全国步枪协会表示不会破坏立法者管控撞火枪托——提高半自动武器射击速度的一个装置——的工作。

Gun enthusiasts⁹ rushed to the store to stockpile them.

引得枪支爱好者们纷纷冲到店里囤货。

Yet there was no real progress on gun control in Congress in the 136 days between the Las Vegas and Parkland shootings.

然而，在拉斯维加斯枪击案和帕克兰枪击案之间的136天里，国会在控枪方面并没有取得实质性的进展。

"Time is the enemy," explains one Republican consultant¹⁰. "Every passing day makes this less urgent."

“时间就是敌人，”一位共和党顾问解释道。 “每过一天，这件事的紧急性就会减少一分。”

1 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

2 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

3 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。

4 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

5 prologue   

n.开场白，序言；开端，序幕

参考例句：

• A poor wedding is a prologue to misery.不幸的婚姻是痛苦的开始。
• The prologue to the novel is written in the form of a newspaper account.这本小说的序言是以报纸报道的形式写的。

6 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

10 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。