2018年经济学人 推特治国:特朗普政府的外交政策(2)

 

Many people find reassurance¹ in the sober, capable military men who surround him.

许多人在他身边的那些头脑冷静、办事干练的军方人士那里寻找安慰。

His chief of staff, his defence secretary and his national security adviser² all understand the horrors of war and will stop him from doing anything rash, the argument goes.

这种观点认为，他的幕僚长、国防部长和国家安全顾问，全都了解战争的可怕，因而会阻止他有任何鲁莽之举。

Optimists³ even speculate that he might emulate⁴ Ronald Reagan, by shaking up the diplomatic establishment, restoring America's military muscle and projecting such strength abroad that a frightened, over-stretched North Korea will crumble⁵ like the Soviet⁶ Union.

乐观派甚至预测，他可能效仿里根，通过重组外交机构，借以恢复美国的军事力量并将其投放到国外。这样，受到惊吓、超负荷运转的北朝鲜就会像苏联一样崩溃。

Others confidently predict that even if he causes short-term damage to America's standing⁷ in the world, Mr Trump⁸ will be voted out in 2020 and things will return to normal.

其他人信心十足地预测，就算他给美国的世界地位造成短期的危害，特朗普也会在2020年落选。届时，事态将恢复正常。

All this is wishful thinking.

这全是一厢情愿。

On security, Mr Trump has avoided some terrible mistakes.

在安全上，特朗普避免了一些可怕的错误。

He has not started a needless row with China over Taiwan's ambiguous status, as he once threatened to do.

他没有如其所威胁的那样，就台湾的模糊地位与中国开启一场不必要的争端。

Congress and the election-hacking scandal prevented him from pursuing a grand bargain with Vladimir Putin that might have left Russia's neighbours at the Kremlin's mercy.

国会与选举黑客丑闻阻碍了他与普京达成一笔可能让俄罗斯邻国受克里姆林宫摆布的大交易。

And he has apparently⁹ coaxed¹⁰ China to exert a little more pressure on North Korea to stop expanding its nuclear arsenal¹¹.

同时，他还明显地劝诱中国对北朝鲜多少施加一些压力，使其停止扩张核武库。

However, he has made some serious errors, too, such as undermining the deal with Iran that curbs¹² its ability to make nuclear bombs.

然而，他也犯了一些严重的错误。例如，他架空了与伊朗的那份遏制其制造核弹能力的协议。

And his instincts are atrocious.

再者，他本性是邪恶的。

He imagines he has nothing to learn from history.

他认为自己没有什么要从历史中吸取。

He warms to strongmen, such as Mr Putin and Xi Jinping.

他对待普和习之类的强人热情有加。

His love of generals is matched by a disdain¹³ for diplomats—he has gutted¹⁴ the State Department, losing busloads of experienced ambassadors.

他对将军的看重正好与他对外交官的鄙视相般配——他掏空了国务院，失去了大批经验丰富的外交官。

His tweeting is no joke: he undermines and contradicts his officials without warning, and makes reckless threats against Kim Jong Un, whose paranoia¹⁵ needs no stoking.

他发推不是开玩笑：他不加警告就拆他官员的台并发表与他们相矛盾，并且还对被害妄想症无需刺激的金正恩发出鲁莽的威胁。

1 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

5 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 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。

8 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。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 coaxed   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱

参考例句：

• She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
• I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

12 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

13 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

14 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。