时代周刊:缅因州龙虾产业陷入疫情危机(1)

How Maine and its lobsters² got caught in America's crises

缅因州及其龙虾被困疫情危机之下

By John Walcott

文/约翰·沃尔科特

Standing³ on the deck of the Captain Carl, his 34-ft. lobster¹ boat,

站在长34英尺的捕虾船“卡尔船长”的甲板上，

Jeff Woodman reflects on how the rocky shores of Spruce Head, Maine,

杰夫·伍德曼沉思了起来，缅因州云杉头布满礁石的海滩

have become an unlikely front line in two very different fights:

如何就接连变成了两场截然不同的战争——

President Donald Trump⁴'s global tariff⁵ wars and America's battle against the coronavirus.

特朗普总统的全球关税战争和美国的抗疫之战——的前线？

"Lobstering has been a family business. I'm third-generation," says Woodman.

“捕龙虾一直是一门家庭生意，我们家干这行已经干了三代了，”伍德曼说。

"But it's changing."

“如今形势已经变了。”

Maine's lobster sales are sinking fast.

缅因州的龙虾销量正在迅速下滑。

China was the industry's best customer until 2018,

2018年之前，中国一直是该行业最大的客户，

when Beijing retaliated⁶ for U.S. tariffs⁷ on Chinese goods by slapping a 25% levy⁸ on the elite⁹ treat,

2018年，美国加大对中国商品的关税力度后，北京推出了对美国龙虾加征25%进口关税的政策，

while reducing its tariff on Canadian catches.

同时降低了针对加拿大捕捞品的关税。

As the Trump Administration has faced off with the E.U.,

由于特朗普政府与欧盟的对峙，

Europe also has been buying more lobster from Canada.

欧洲也加大了从加拿大进口龙虾的力度。

By early this year, Maine's year-on-year lobster exports to China and Europe had both dropped by about 50%.

今年年初，缅因州对中国和欧洲的龙虾出口均同比下降50%左右。

The market for Homarus americanus had shrunk to little more than domestic consumers

波士顿龙虾的市场几乎只剩下国内消费者

and a limited number of wealthy epicures¹⁰ in Asia and the Middle East,

以及为数不多来自亚洲和中东地区的多金老饕。

says Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers¹¹' Association.

缅因州龙虾交易商协会执行董事安妮·蔡利基斯透露。

"Then comes COVID," Tselikis says.

“接着新冠疫情又来了，”蔡利基斯说。

The major U.S. buyers of Maine lobster, from casinos to cruise ships, all shut down.

赌场、游轮等缅因州龙虾主要的国内买家悉数歇业。

The state's lobstermen and women are still venturing out,

该州龙虾行业的男男女女照旧出海打捞，

but about a third have received nearly $15 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans

但他们中间大约1/3的人获得了近1500万美元的联邦薪资保护计划（PPP）贷款，

to help them cope with COVID-19-related losses.

帮助他们应对新冠肺炎造成的损失。

Mainers aren't used to being caught in national crises.

缅因州人尚不习惯陷入国家危机。

Despite the long tradition of Beltway residents flocking to the state each summer,

尽管环城公路地带的居民每年夏天都会蜂拥至该州，

America's Vacationland has an ambivalent¹² relationship with the federal government.

（缅因州这个）度假圣地与联邦政府的关系却颇为矛盾。

Policies devised with good intentions in the Capitol haven't always survived the voyage Down East

国会大厦好意制定的政策并不总能像以“云包”姿势--尾巴朝下，爪子向上--登机，

as well as a plane full of live lobster can travel in a "cloud pack"—tails down, claws up—from Spruce Head to Europe.

从云杉头飞到欧洲的鲜活龙虾那样在顺风向东航行的过程中幸存下来。

1 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

2 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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。

5 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

6 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

7 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

8 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 epicures   

n.讲究饮食的人( epicure的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Military men have produced, or diverged in, noteworthy epicures. 军人中已经产生了，或者说分化出了引人注目的享乐主义者。 来自辞典例句

11 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

12 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。