2015年经济学人 马德里 臭气熏天

 

Madrid

马德里

Stinky

臭气熏天

Cleaners on strike in Spain's capital

西班牙首都马德里的清洁工罢工了

THE paint is fresh at Creme Delacreme, a chic¹ new restaurant on the fringes of Madrid's bustling² Chueca district. But a rancid, shoulder-high pile of rubbish blocks the pavement across the narrow street as the Spanish capital buckles³ under the weight of a cleaners' strike that started on November 4th. Monica García, the boss, had originally planned to open days after the strike began, but is glad she did not. “Imagine having people sitting at the window tables, looking out at that filth,” she says. But when, she worries, will Madrid be clean again?

这是一家时髦的新餐馆奶油小屋门口的照片。奶油小屋位于马德里繁华的楚埃卡区的边缘。但是11月4日开始的清洁工大罢工让马德里深受其苦，而这条小街道的人行道上也堆满了一人多高的垃圾，散发出阵阵恶臭。奶油小屋的老板，莫妮卡·加西亚原打算在罢工开始后开张，但现在她很庆幸自己没有这样做。她说，“想象下人们坐在窗边，看到外面那堆垃圾的情景”。但是她也在担心，何时马德里才能再次恢复整洁？

The rubbish strike has seen unions and contractors⁴ tussle⁵ over proposals to change working conditions and lay off 1,400 cleaners. The city recently renewed its cleaning contracts, boasting of a 10% saving. Now, to the dismay of a city hall headed by Ana Botella, the mayor from the centre-right Popular Party, three of the four companies involved want to fire workers. Rather than tidy up, some now prowl the city at night, emptying bins⁶ onto pavements.

这场垃圾罢工源于工会和承包商拒绝了清洁工改善工作环境的提议并解雇了1,400名工人。马德里市最近更新了其清洁合同，减少了10%的开支。目前，令来自右翼民众党的现任市长安娜·波特利亚深感沮丧的是，四分之三的清洁公司都想解雇工人。现在，清洁工不但不不工作了，甚至有些晚上会偷偷溜出来，把空箱子扔到人行道上。

The strike is a symptom of wider malaise in the city. Madrile?os are glum⁷ about losing, in September, yet another bid to host the Olympics. Since 2008, as Spain's most indebted city reined⁸ in spending, they have put up with dearer public transport, higher taxes and service cuts. And even though Spain is timidly emerging from double-dip recession, scavenging and begging are on the rise.

这场罢工预示着马德里市不断加大的不安感。九月，马德里人一边患得患失一边又申办奥运会。自从2008年马德里成为西班牙负债最高的城市以来，马德里人不得不忍受越来越昂贵的公共交通费用，税收增加和服务削减等。即使西班牙正缓慢地从双底衰退的境况中渐渐走出来，但是拾荒者和乞讨者人数却在上升。

Madrid's attraction as a tourist destination, drawing visitors to its famous museums and nightlife, is fading. Visits were down by 10% in the summer months, whereas tourism boomed across the rest of cheap-rate Spain. Officials blame high airport fees and fewer long-haul visitors thanks to the airline mega-merger between Iberia and British Airways⁹. But there is more underused, high-cost infrastructure¹⁰, such as a network of new toll¹¹ roads that is struggling as cash-strapped drivers stick to clogged-up, but free, routes into Madrid.

马德里市是一个旅游胜地，吸引世界各地的游客参观其博物馆，感受其丰富多彩的夜生活。然而，现在它的魅力逐渐减少。夏天，马德里游客数量减少了10%，而其他消费水平较低的西班牙城市的旅游业呈现出一派欣欣向荣的景象。政府官员们抱怨高额的飞机费用，而长途的游客们也非常不喜欢西班牙国家航空公司与英国航空公司并购。此外，马德里还有大量未充分利用的、昂贵的基础设施，比如，尽管新的收费公路网免费，但去往马德里的路上却常常遇到交通堵塞，因为司机们都想省钱。

Officials claim Madrid is already noticing last quarter's uptick in Spain's economy. There is an increase in new firms, requests for planning permission are up and the city recently sold 128m ($172m) of housing rental¹² units to Magic Real Estate Blackstone, a private-equity firm. Unemployment is still a shocking 20%, but below the national average of 27%. With her stringent¹³ austerity policies, Ms Botella is not popular: polls suggest that the city will swing left for the first time in 25 years in elections due in 2015.

政府官员发表声明说，马德里已经注意到最后一个季度西班牙经济有所上升。新公司的数量有所增长，而建筑许可的需求也有所增加。此外，马德里市最近向一家私募股权的公司，魔法房地产百事通售出了价值一亿两千八百万欧元（折合一亿七千两百万美院）住房租赁单位。马德里的失业率仍然是让人触目惊心的20%，但低于比全国平均27%的失业率低。由于安娜严苛的紧缩政策，她不大受人们欢迎：民调显示，在2015年的竞选中，马德里人可能会倾向于左派政党，这是25年以来的第一次。

Sheldon Adelson, an American gambling¹⁴ billionaire, wants to build a huge Las Vegas-style complex just outside the city. That will create welcome construction jobs. But bishops¹⁵ warn that becoming Europe's gambling capital will also bring organised crime and prostitution.

一位美国靠赌博发家的亿万富翁谢尔登·阿德尔森想在马德里市外建一座大型的拉斯维加斯式的综合区域。这会产生大量的建筑工作，但是西班牙主教提醒说马德里将会成为欧洲的赌博首都，并带来一系列有组织的犯罪和卖淫活动。

1 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

2 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

3 buckles   

搭扣，扣环( buckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She gazed proudly at the shiny buckles on her shoes. 她骄傲地注视着鞋上闪亮的扣环。
• When the plate becomes unstable, it buckles laterally. 当板失去稳定时，就发生横向屈曲。

4 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tussle   

n.&v.扭打，搏斗，争辩

参考例句：

• They began to tussle with each other for the handgun.他们互相扭打起来，抢夺那支手枪。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

6 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

8 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。

9 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

12 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

13 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

14 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

15 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。