经济学人37:意大利 路漫漫其修远兮

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;The future of Italy:Long life

　　文艺；书评；意大利：路漫漫其修远兮，还需上下而求索

　　Good Italy, Bad Italy: Why Italy Must Conquer Its Demons¹ to Face the Future. By Bill Emmott.

　　比尔·艾默特的新作，《意大利的明与暗：为何意大利必须先涅磐后重生？》

　　Even after the latest euro rescue in Brussels, Italy remains² a time bomb. Its public debt of close to 2 trillion ($2.5 trillion) is the world's third biggest, making it too big to bail³ out. It has lost competitiveness. And its economy is stagnant⁴: between 2001 and 2012 GDP shrank, a worse performance than any other rich country. Fortunately, as Bill Emmott notes in this book, Italy has since last November had a technocratic⁵ cabinet led by Mario Monti that is the country's first reforming government in years.

　　欧元区最新一轮的救助措施，并没能改变意大利危机重重的局面。它的国家债务高达2万亿欧元（2.5万亿美元），位列世界第三，这使得其摆脱困境的可能性微乎其微。意大利已经无竞争力可言，国家经济呈一片衰败之势。2001年至今十年来，意大利是GDP增长最缓慢的发达国家。幸运的是——艾默特在书中指出——自从去年11月，新任总理马里奥·蒙蒂组建了新型技术官僚内阁，这是意大利多年来首次政府改革。

　　Mr Emmott, who was editor-in-chief of this newspaper from 1993 to 2006, has made Italy one of his specialist subjects, inspired partly by libel battles with Mr Monti's predecessor⁶, Silvio Berlusconi. His excellent book is an updated English version of one published in Italian in 2010 under the title “Forza, Italia” (a pun on Mr Berlusconi's party and a football slogan, meaning “Go! Italy”). His thesis is better described by the new title: there are in reality two Italys.

　　艾默特，原《经济学人》杂志主编（1993～2006年）。意大利前总理布卢斯科尼对自己继任者的诽谤，一定程度上激发了艾默尔的兴趣。意大利已经成为他的一项独特研究课题。艾默特的精彩书作，原版为意大利文，出版于2010年，题目为“加油，意大利”。此次发行的是英文更新版本。其实艾默特的观点用下面这个标题会更精确些：事实上，存在着两个意大利。

　　This is often said of the north and south. Last year's 150th anniversary of Italian unification saw acid remarks about its having divided Africa, not united Italy. But Mr Emmott's division is not this one. Rather, he finds good and bad all over the country. On the good side he cites cases such as Mr Monti, young entrepreneurs, strong manufacturing (Italy is second only to Germany in Europe), a revitalised Fiat⁷ and Turin. On the bad, he offers Mr Berlusconi, organised crime and corruption⁸, the public sector⁹, red tape and Naples.

　　意大利的南北之分，由来已久。在去年的意大利统一150周年纪念日，即有一种尖刻的言论称：意大利不该统一，而该分裂。然而艾默特并未从传统意义上进行划分，而是从国家整体层面上发现了意大利的光明与黑暗面。光明面，他拿蒙蒂、年轻的企业家们、强大的制造业（欧洲国家中仅次于德国），复兴的菲亚特和都灵为例。黑暗面，他则主要列举了布卢斯科尼、黑社会组织、腐败、崩溃的政治系统、繁文缛节和那不勒斯的困境。

　　His story is supported by lively anecdotes¹⁰ of the people and firms he meets on his travels, many of them in the course of making a documentary film. It is refreshing¹¹ to read so much that is positive about Italy amid the pervasive¹² gloom: the fight against organised crime in the south, the exporting power of family firms in the north, the impact of Mr Monti's reforms. The author finds plenty of reasons for hope.

　　艾默特的讲述，辅以了他在旅途中见闻的生动轶事，其中许多逸闻趣事还制成了纪录片。在意大利深陷阴暗迷雾之时，能够读到意大利的光明面，实在让人耳目一新：南方对于黑社会的反击，北方家族企业出口贸易的实力，蒙蒂改革的功效等。作者的分析，让人们有理由对未来充满希望。

　　Yet overall his book seems a touch too optimistic. Mr Monti is being as bold as he can, but he has lost popularity, some of his reforms have been watered down and his ability to do things is waning¹³ as next spring's election approaches. The anti-mafia movement in Sicily is heartening, but organised crime has spread to the north as well. Many young Italians are talented and hard-working, but too many deploy¹⁴ their talents abroad rather than at home.

　　但是，总体来说，艾默特稍微有点乐观了。尽管蒙蒂已经竭尽全力去拯救糟糕的局势，但是当初的高支持率已然不再。新政府所进行的部分改革措施被打折扣。同时，在明年大选即将到来之际，蒙蒂正在逐渐丧失他的影响力。一方面，是西西里的“打黑”运动不断升温，一方面，是黑社会已经悄悄往意大利北部蔓延。大批的年轻人们富有才干，工作勤奋，但都在往国外谋求发展，而非报效祖国。

　　Above all, the deep structural¹⁵ failings of Italy—an inefficient¹⁶ public sector, a poor demographic outlook, lousy universities, a calamitously¹⁷ slow judicial¹⁸ system—will take years to put right. The euro crisis has shown the urgent need for reforms, but by stunting¹⁹ growth it has also made them harder. And Italy has few liberals who genuinely believe in reform.

　　总之，意大利结构上的深层次症结——失效的政治系统，老化的社会人口，没落的公立大学，效率奇低的法院系统——所有这些，都需要很长的时间去一一解决。欧元危机已经昭示了改革的迫在眉睫，然而滞缓的国内发展困境又让改革举步维艰。如今在意大利，原本拥护改革的人，现已所剩无几了。

　　Early on Mr Emmott notes the spooky parallels between now and the early 1990s, when Italy's economic problems first became apparent. A promising²⁰ start then turned into 20 wasted years, largely because of Mr Berlusconi's entry on to the political stage. The media mogul's era may be over (even that is not certain). But new populists are rising up, and the next election could be messy. Italy has yet to find its next saviour²¹.

　　在书的开头，艾默特即点明了目前的状况和上个世纪90年代初之间存在的不可思议的相似之处。原本是充满希望的开始，却因为布卢斯科尼在政治舞台的出现，转入了几乎停滞的20年。这位传媒大亨的时代也许是该结束了（尽管还不能确定）。新的平民之星正在冉冉升起。即将到来的选举定不会平静。意大利仍要继续前行，寻找下一个救星。

1 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

4 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

5 technocratic   

adj.由技术专家官员组成的；受技术官僚影响的

参考例句：

• But there is method in Europe's technocratic madness, the official went on. 但欧洲的专家政治论者的愤怒是有原因的，这个位官员接着说道。 来自互联网
• Mr Juppé was floored in part by his contemptuous, technocratic attitude towards union leaders. 朱佩对工会领导蛮横与不屑，是导致他一败涂地的部分原因。 来自互联网

6 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

7 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

8 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。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

12 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

13 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

15 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

16 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

17 calamitously   

adv.灾难地，悲惨地

参考例句：

18 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

19 stunting   

v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To report three-year-old twin brothers with speech stunting. 目的报道孪生兄弟同患语言发育迟缓的临床结果。 来自互联网
• No one should talk while stunting except coach or back spotter. 在技巧进行的过程中，只有教练或后保能说话。 来自互联网

20 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

21 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。