2023年经济学人 英国禁狗的缘由（2）

 

 

    Lawyers argue that the law used, the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991, is a mess.

    律师们辩称，现行的1991年《危险犬类法案》一团糟。

    Animal charities say bad owners are the problem, they can always find large equally menacing dogs.

    动物慈善机构表示，糟糕的主人是问题所在，他们总能找到同样具有威胁性的大型狗。

    The law is, however, relatively¹ effective.

    然而，这项法律相对有效。

    Until the emergence² of the Bully³ xl, a decade ago, dog-related deaths were rare.

    在大型恶霸犬十年前出现之前，与狗有关的死亡很少见。

    Likewise, the law is less brutal⁴ than it was.

    同样，法律也没有以前那么残酷了。

    A cull⁵ is not coming, prohibited breeds will be neutered and kept muzzled⁶ in public.

    不再有选择性捕杀，被禁止的品种将被阉割，并在公共场合戴上口套。

    The affair shows how it can be easy to influence policy.

    这件事表明，影响政策是多么容易。

    The campaign against them began as an one-man operation by an academic.

    反对它们的运动始于一位学者的一人行动。

    By whipping up attention mostly via social media, he and some volunteers won press and politicians interest.

    通过主要通过社交媒体引起关注，他和一些志愿者赢得了媒体和政界人士的兴趣。

    It helps that the problem is cheap to fix, but the posting-to-policy pipeline⁷ can be remarkably⁸ short for a niche⁹ campaign to succeed.

    解决这个问题的成本很低，这是有帮助的，但对于一个利基活动来说，发帖到政策的途径非常高效。

    It pays to be dogged.

    坚持不懈是值得的。

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

3 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。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

6 muzzled   

给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的过去式和过去分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论

参考例句：

• The newspapers were effectively muzzled by strict censorship laws. 严厉的新闻审查法有效地使那些报纸沉默了下来。
• Whenever in the street our dog is muzzled. 每当上街时，我们的狗总是戴上嘴套。

7 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

8 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

9 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。