时代周刊:穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼兜售分裂中东计划(5)

He paid more than half a billion dollars for a yacht

他花了5亿多美元买了一艘游艇，

and $300 million for a goldencrusted chateau¹ near Versailles,

又花了3亿美元在凡尔赛宫附近买了一座金碧闪闪的城堡，

all with money that he insists he earned on his own.

但他坚称，那些钱都是他自己挣的。

"If I'm corrupted², please show me the proof," he says.

“如果说我腐败，请出示证据，”他说。

"It is well known that King Salman and his sons and his team, they are super clean.

“众所周知，萨勒曼国王和他的儿子们，他的团队都是非常清白的。

Everyone in Saudi Arabia knows that."

这点沙特人是无人不知无人不晓。”

Whether shakedown or rough justice,

无论丽思卡尔顿事件是勒索还是粗暴的审判，

the Ritz episode eliminated his chief political rivals and cemented his power.

这一举动都一举铲除了王储的主要政治对手，又巩固了他的权力。

"It was a kind of coup³ d'état—a bloodless coup d'état—of the old system," says former ambassador Freeman.

“这是旧体制的一次政变，一次不流血的政变。”前大使弗里曼说。

But it also had the effect of rattling⁴ investor⁵ faith in the kingdom's stability.

但这次事件还是动摇了投资者对沙特社会稳定性的信心。

"All power that had been distributed under the previous constitutional arrangement very widely under a checks-and-balances arrangement

“在以前的宪法的规定下，在制衡安排下广泛分配的所有权力，

has been compressed and concentrated into the hands of one man, says Freeman."

都被压缩并集中在了一个人的手里。”弗里曼说。

That in turn undercut bin⁶ Salman's revamp of Saudi Arabia's economy, society and world status—

这反过来又削弱了本·萨勒曼改革沙特阿拉伯经济、社会和世界地位的努力——

all the things he came to the U.S. to promote.

而他这次来美国就是为宣传这些努力而来的。

Bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan calls for establishing a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest.

本·萨勒曼的“2030年愿景”计划呼吁的就是建立一个价值2万亿美元的，全世界规模最大的主权财富基金。

Half, he says, would be invested inside the kingdom—

他说，届时，一半资金用来投资沙特国内的事业——

he talks enthusiastically about the future of carbon fiber⁷

他热情洋溢地谈论起了碳纤维的未来，

and plans to make Saudi Arabia the world leader in solar energy—

还计划让沙特阿拉伯成为世界太阳能的领导者——

and half in enterprises abroad.

一半用来投资国外企业。

He also wants to partially⁸ privatize Saudi Aramco in what would likely be the largest initial public offering in history.

他还希望将沙特阿美部分私有化，而这可能成为历史上规模最大的首次公开发行(IPO)。

But after the Ritz, the IPO came off the calendar and the U.S. tour went on.

但在丽思卡尔顿事件后，IPO就被从日程安排中撤了下来，美国之行则按计划继续。

IN MANHATTAN, the crown prince hit Starbucks with former mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

在曼哈顿，王储与前市长、亿万富翁迈克尔·布隆伯格在星巴克会了面。

He wore a blazer and a shirt open at the collar.

当时他穿的是一件运动夹克和领口敞开的衬衫。

It was full regalia at MIT, but a business suit in Seattle for Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

在麻省理工时王储穿的是全套正装，在西雅图和杰夫·贝佐斯、比尔·盖茨会面时穿的则是商务套装。

Clothes may not make the man, but if your message is modernity and flexibility⁹, they say more than "reformer,"

着装或许不能代表一个人，但如果你想传达的信息是现代性和灵活性，那着装可比“改革者”这一称号更管用。

a label blanched¹⁰ of meaning by its application to a parade of more traditional Saudi royals.

因为“改革者”这一标签因适用于更为传统的一群沙特王室成员而失去了意义。

And bin Salman has turned heads.

本·萨勒曼吸引了不少的眼球。

"No one has said what he has been saying in the entire history of the kingdom,"

“在整个王国的历史上，都没有人说过他一直在说的那些话。”

says Bilal Y. Saab, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

中东研究所高级研究员萨博说到。

"It's significant."

“这点是很重要的。”

Bin Salman has made some concrete changes.

本·萨勒曼已经做出了一些具体的改变。

In June, women will drive on Saudi roads, independent from male chaperones.

今年6月以后，女性即使没有男性陪伴也能在沙特的马路上开车了。

Music festivals and movie theaters are opening,

尽管男女分开坐的问题仍然存在，

though questions remain about separate seating for men and women.

但音乐节和电影院仍在陆陆续续地开幕。

The kingdom's religious police are being reined¹¹ in.

王国的宗教警察正在受到控制。

In a setting as sterile¹² and controlled as Saudi Arabia,

在像沙特阿拉伯这样贫瘠且被高度控制的环境中，

these modest changes have generated genuine enthusiasm among activists¹³, many of whom had been skeptical¹⁴ of bin Salman.

这些温和的改变已经点燃了积极分子，许多都曾对本·萨勒曼持怀疑态度，由衷的热情。

1 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

2 corrupted   

（使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏

参考例句：

• The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。
• The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reined   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• Then, all of a sudden, he reined up his tired horse. 这时，他突然把疲倦的马勒住了。
• The officer reined in his horse at a crossroads. 军官在十字路口勒住了马。

12 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。