2016年经济学人 摄位车上进行的秘密活动 游客们当心

 

Undercover on a Segway

摄位车上进行的“秘密活动”

Tourists beware

游客们当心

A report from the seamy underworld of unlicensed tour guides

关于无证导游这个阴暗地下世界的报道

A TERRIBLE threat stalks the streets ofWashington,DC: unlicensed tour guides. These brazen¹ lawbreakers imperil the public by showing them around the nation's capital without a permit. Your correspondent went undercover to observe at first hand the dangers tourists face in their clutches. It was harrowing. First, your correspondent had to balance on a Segway, a two-wheeled vehicle from which she could have fallen several inches to the cold, hard pavement. “Just try to relax,” purred Bill Main, the outlaw² guide, “It's easy.” With white knuckles³ and a pink helmet, the tour began.

华盛顿特区大街上正蔓延着一个可怕的威胁：无证导游。这些无耻的违法者扰乱公共秩序，在没有许可的情况下带领游客们参观这个国家的首都。记者亲历地下世界去观察第一手游客们关键时刻面临的危险。这让人很恐惧。首先，记者必须在摄位车上保持平衡，这种两轮电动车有让她从任何一边摔向冰冷坚硬的人行道上的可能性。“别担心，”违法导游Bill Main发出喉音说道，“很简单的。”在兴奋、紧张中带着一个粉色的头盔，这趟行程开始了。

Mr Main never took the exam to become a tour guide, so your correspondent braced⁴ herself to hear a torrent⁵ of errors. Would he claim that the White House was once destroyed by aliens, as in the film “Independence Day”? No. Actually, he was pretty good. Yet he could be jailed for 90 days if caught.Washingtonrequires all guides to pay $200 and take an exam. That adds up: Segs in the City, the firm Mr Main runs with his wife, Tonia Edwards, employs a dozen guides.

Main从未参加过成为导游的考试，因此记者准备好了听到一大串错误信息。他会说白宫曾被外星人摧毁过一次么，就像电影“独立日”中的场景那样？不会，事实上，他很好。然而如果他被抓到了会被判监禁90天。华盛顿要求所有导游付费200刀然后参加考试。还要加上：Main和太太Tonia Edwards运营的公司城市摄位车公司雇佣的大批导游。

The permit system protects incumbents⁶, raises prices and kills jobs. Mr Main also believes that it violates his right to free speech. Robert McNamara of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm, agrees. “The government cannot restrict speech unless there is evidence the speech is causing harm,” he explains. Tour guide patter hardly qualifies. Mr McNamara helped Segs in the City file a lawsuit⁷ against the city government in 2010. The city won; Mr Main's appeal reached a DC federal court on May 5th. The city defends the licence as an essential safeguard for consumers.

许可系统保护了在职者们，提高了价格，削减了岗位Main也相信系统侵犯了他的言语自由权。自由论法律公司——司法研究所的Robert McNamara同意他的话。“政府不能限制Main的言语除非有证据说他造成了伤害，”他说道。导游的话很难界定资格。McNamara在2010年帮助城市摄位车旅游公司起诉了市政府。但是政府胜诉了；Main在5月5号上诉到特区联邦法庭。市政府辩护到证书是为消费者设置的必要护卫。

In the 1950s only one American worker in 20 needed a permit from the government; today that figure is around one in three. Some jobs, such as doctors, clearly need strict controls. But some states require licences for florists⁸ and interior designers. Such permits tend to cost hundreds of dollars and months of extra training, yet offer little benefit to consumers, says Morris Kleiner, an economist⁹ at theUniversityofMinnesota. Sometimes customers, like undercover tourists, can look after themselves.

20世纪50年代政府平均20人中之批准了一位美国工人成为导游；今天数据到了大约三个过一个。一些工作，比如说医生，明确需要严格控制。但是一些州要求花匠和室内设计者考取证书。这种许可证需要花费数百美元和长达数月的额外培训，然而这对消费者来说受益甚微，明尼苏达大学的经济学家Morris Kleiner说。一些客户，比如“从事间谍活动的”旅游者们，能照看好他们自己。

1 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

2 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

3 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

6 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 florists   

n.花商，花农，花卉研究者( florist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The little dressmaker bought an envelope of nasturtium seeds at the florists. 那个个子矮小的女裁缝在花铺里买了一包金莲花种子。 来自辞典例句
• I have more important things to do than petulant florists. 我有比教训坏脾气的花匠更重要的事情要做。 来自互联网

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。