2020年经济学人 开放不再,繁荣落幕(4)

The book ends on an optimistic note. Populist demagogues eventually lose power because they are hopeless at governing. Four in ten wind up being indicted¹ for corruption², by one count. Citizens get used to change: today American Muslims are as tolerant of homosexuals as the country was overall in 2006. The open society “may yet be saved”, Mr Norberg concludes.

这本书以乐观的口吻结束。民粹主义的煽动者们最终下台，因为他们治理无能。数下来，其中有十分之四最终被指控犯有贪污罪。公民习惯了改变，今天的美国穆斯林对同性恋的宽容程度与2006年美国的总体水平一样。诺伯格总结说，开放的社会“可能会被拯救”。

Mr Yglesias makes a bold case for openness in his own country. If America made both child-rearing and immigration easier, its population could in time swell³ to 1bn. It would thus remain the pre-eminent power, outstripping⁴ China and India. A bigger America would make for a more innovative⁵ and democratic world, he argues.

伊格莱西亚斯大胆地提出了自己的国家实行开放的理由。如果在美国，抚养子女和移民变得更容易，那么美国人口最终可能会膨胀到10亿。这样的情况下，美国将继续保持领先地位，超越中国和印度。他认为，更庞大的美国将有助于建设一个更加创新和民主的世界。

But wouldn’t an America of 1bn people be horribly crowded? No, it would be as sparsely⁶ populated as France is now. Even popular cities could accommodate many more residents if building codes were less restrictive. Enlightened visa rules could revive declining towns. Congestion⁷ could be eased with policies that have worked elsewhere, from road pricing to better railways.

但是，拥有10亿人口的美国不会非常拥挤吗？不，那时的美国会像现在的法国一样地广人稀。如果房屋建筑规则的限制变少，那即使是热门城市也能容纳更多的居民。开明的签证规则可能会重振衰败的城镇。从公路收费到改善铁路等其他方面的政策，可能有助于缓解交通堵塞。

Mr Yglesias is swimming against the tide, and knows it. He notes that a recent immigration bill backed by Donald Trump⁸ is so restrictive that it would not let Kazuo Ishiguro, a British Nobel prizewinner, apply for a work visa unless his job paid $240,000 or more. Yet as Mr Norberg shows, political tides can change.

伊格莱西亚斯深知自己是在逆水行舟。他指出，最近一项有唐纳德·特朗普支持的移民法案限制性非常强，除非英国诺贝尔奖得主石黑一雄的工资高于或等于24万美元，否则他无法申请美国工作签证。然而，就像诺伯格显示的那样，政治潮流是可以改变的。

1 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

4 outstripping   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Demand is outstripping supply. 需求快超过供给了。
• Demand is outstripping current production. 现在需求逐渐超过了生产能力。 来自辞典例句

5 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

6 sparsely   

adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地

参考例句：

• Relative to the size, the city is sparsely populated. 与其面积相比，这个城市的人口是稀少的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was sparsely covered with grass. 地面上稀疏地覆盖草丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

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。