经济学人95:跌落并下滑 Slip and slide

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;Russia and the West;Slip and slide

　　文艺；书评；俄罗斯与西方世界; 跌落并下滑;

　　Change or Decay: Russia's Dilemma¹ and the West's Response. By Lilia Shevtsova and Andrew Wood.

　　是变化还是衰退：俄罗斯的困境及西方的回应。作者丽莉娅·谢夫索娃、安德鲁·伍德。

　　This book, says Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet² leader, in a foreword, “is different, and deserves to make an impact”. The first is certainly true. It takes the form of a lengthy³ series of exchanges between two old friends: Lilia Shevtsova, a Russian who works for America's Carnegie Endowment in Moscow, and Sir Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador there. Their subject is the relationship between Russia and the West, still neurotic⁴ and plagued with misunderstandings 20 years after the Soviet collapse⁵. Why do so many Russians feel threatened, betrayed and disappointed by the West? Some there see it as a flawed paradigm⁶ of human rights, free elections and the rule of law. Others find it a self-righteous bully⁷.

　　“这本书与众不同，能够产生有益的影响。”前苏联领导人米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫在前言中如是说。第一个当然是对的。它就像两个老朋友之间的长话家常：效力于位于莫斯科的美国卡内基基金会的俄罗斯人丽莉娅·谢夫索娃，以及曾被派驻在那里的英国前任大使安德鲁·伍德。他们的主题是俄罗斯和西方之间的关系，这种关系在苏联解体后的20年仍有些敏感并且存在误解。为什么如此多的俄罗斯人感到了来自西方的威胁、背叛和失望？一些人认为是有缺陷的关于人权、自由选举和法治示范。另一些人则认为是一种自以为是的霸权。

　　Ms Shevtsova politely bemoans⁸ a “failure of imagination” in the West. Too comfortable with the old bipolar world, it splurged cash when it should have imposed conditions, was stingy when it should have been generous and naive⁹ when it should have been tough. Tolerance¹⁰ for Boris Yeltsin's faults opened the way for the rigged elections and crony capitalism¹¹ of Vladimir Putin's ex-KGB regime. Her interlocutor's realism is an excellent foil for this idealistic approach. European and American leaders, he argues, were “stumbling about in the dark”. For all their faults, it would have been unrealistic to expect much more of them. Mr Yeltsin's rule did not inevitably¹² presage¹³ Mr Putin's.

　　谢夫索娃对西方的“失败的想象力”稍感惋惜。安逸于过去的两极世界，在应该强加条件的时候挥霍现金，在应该大方的时候吝啬，在应该严厉的时候幼稚。对鲍里斯·叶利钦所犯错误的容忍为作弊选举和裙带资本主义——普京的前苏联国家安全委员会政权——打开了道路。她的谈话者的现实主义是这种现实方法的陪衬。他认为，欧美领导人“正在黑暗中跌倒”。鉴于他们所有的过错，再指望他们是不现实的。叶利钦的统治不见得就预示着普京的统治。

　　New failures come in for scrutiny¹⁴ too. America in 2009 “reset” relations with the regime in Russia, bringing some gains but sacrificing (in the authors' eyes) Western moral credibility. They rightly decry¹⁵ the unhealthily close ties of some European politicians to their counterparts in Russia.

　　新的过错也受到极大关注。2009美国曾重新设定和俄罗斯国家政权的关系，取得了一定成果，但牺牲了（在作者眼中）西方的道德信誉。他们谴责了一些欧洲和俄罗斯政客之间过分亲密的关系。

　　The debate coins useful and vivid terms. Ms Shevtsova's description of the “imitation partnership” between Russia and the West is acute. So is Sir Andrew's description of the West as a simultaneous magnet, threat and rebuke¹⁶ to Russia. He recasts the West's message to Russian oligarchs wanting to immigrate¹⁷: “give me your rich, your sated, yearning¹⁸ to breathe safe.” A sharp insight concerns asymmetry¹⁹. Russian leaders obsessively²⁰ search for slights, weaknesses and plots in the world outside. Traffic the other way is scant²¹. Ms Shevtsova notes how few Russians realise that the world is “fed up with our problems”.

　　这个争论创造了有用而生动的术语。谢夫索娃关于俄罗斯和欧洲之间的“效仿合作关系”是敏锐的，同样的，安德鲁认为西方对俄罗斯来说是同步的磁铁、威胁和指责。他重新解释了西方传达给那些想要移民的俄罗斯寡头：“把你们的财富、贪婪、对安全的渴望都给我。”一个有关不对等的深刻洞察。俄罗斯领导人着迷般的在外部世界寻找忽视、软弱和密谋。寻找其他方法时间太短。谢夫索娃指出只有少数的俄罗斯人认识到外部世界“厌恶了我们的问题”。

　　Both see bleak²² views ahead. Ms Shevtsova believes that the elite's misrule is demoralising society and could “bring Russia down in flames”; Sir Andrew says that the “smell of danger is in the air”. Their joint²³ conclusion likens Russia to a theatre: the play is over but the actors will not leave the stage and keep trying to win attention for what has become a plotless rigmarole; the audience feels trapped, bored and frustrated²⁴.

　　双方都看到了前面的问题。谢夫索娃相信上层的暴政正在打击社会士气并可能“带领俄罗斯走向灭亡”；安德鲁则说“空气中有一股危险的气味”。他们共同的结论是把俄罗斯比作一个戏剧：戏剧已经结束，但是演员们不愿离开舞台，并试图为没有情节、冗长的内容赢得关注；观众则感到收困、厌倦、沮丧。

　　Reading the book is like being an eavesdropper²⁵ as two companions take a long country walk. They chew over great mutual²⁶ concerns, sometimes with gentle teasing, mostly helping²⁷ each other over intellectual obstacles, pondering the way ahead and the lessons of the path already taken. The effect is intimate but a touch claustrophobic. One begins to hunger for some other views, even if less elegantly and sympathetically expressed.

　　读这本书就像是偷听两个在乡村道路上漫步的人一样。他们深思共同关心的问题，有时会带有嘲讽，但更多的时候互相帮助来解决智力问题，思索前方的道路以及过去的经验。其效果是亲密的但有一点幽闭恐怖。即使温和地表示了同情，其中一方开始寻求其他观点。

1 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

2 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。

3 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

4 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

7 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

8 bemoans   

v.为（某人或某事）抱怨( bemoan的第三人称单数 )；悲悼；为…恸哭；哀叹

参考例句：

• He always bemoans the shortage of funds for research. 他总是叹息研究经费不足。 来自互联网

9 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

10 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

11 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

12 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

13 presage   

n.预感，不祥感；v.预示

参考例句：

• The change could presage serious problems.这变化可能预示着有严重问题将要发生。
• The lowering clouds presage a storm.暗云低沉是暴风雨的前兆。

14 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

15 decry   

v.危难，谴责

参考例句：

• Some people will decry this,insisting that President Obama should have tried harder to gain bipartisan support.有些人会对此表示谴责，坚持说奥巴马总统原本应该更加努力获得两党的支持。
• Now you decry him as another Hitler because he is a threat to the controlling interest of oil in the middle east.现在你却因为他对中东石油控制权益构成了威胁而谴责他为另一个希特勒。

16 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

17 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

18 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

19 asymmetry   

n.不对称；adj.不对称的，不对等的

参考例句：

• These bands must introduce longitudinal asymmetry in the planetary albedo.这些云带必定引起行星反照率的经向不对称性。
• In any event the asymmetry is clear enough.总之，不对称是非常明显的。

20 obsessively   

ad.着迷般地，过分地

参考例句：

• Peter was obsessively jealous and his behaviour was driving his wife away. 彼得过分嫉妒的举止令他的妻子想离他而去。
• He's rude to his friends and obsessively jealous. 他对他的朋友很无礼而且嫉妒心重。

21 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

22 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

23 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

24 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 eavesdropper   

偷听者

参考例句：

• Now that there is one, the eavesdropper's days may be numbered. 既然现在有这样的设备了，偷窥者的好日子将屈指可数。
• In transit, this information is scrambled and unintelligible to any eavesdropper. 在传输过程，对该信息进行编码，使窃听者无法获知真正的内容。

26 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

27 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。