新闻周刊:非洲第一个超级大国的到来比你想象的要快(8)

There are thousands of startups in Nigeria, and they're not just producing high-tech¹ products targeted at the upper and middle classes. Some are trying to get traction² in that tricky³ ground between making a profit and taking on big social problems. After finishing her MBA at MIT, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola started WeCyclers, basically a motorbike-based trash collection business that serves the 60 percent of Lagos' population that lives in slum neighborhoods where people are too poor to pay for trash collection. WeCyclers takes their waste and pays them with money it earns from recycling.

尼日利亚有成千上万的初创公司，他们不仅生产针对中上阶层的高科技产品。有些公司正试图在盈利和解决重大社会问题之间找到平衡点。比利基斯·阿德比伊-阿比奥拉在麻省理工学院完成MBA学业后，创办了WeCyclers，这基本上是一家基于摩托车的垃圾收集公司，为拉各斯60%的人口提供服务。WeCyclers回收人们的废物，并用回收所得的钱支付给他们。

The spirit of small business is everywhere. The informal sector⁴—street vendors⁵, local businesses and tradespeople—is booming as well, particularly in Lagos. Nigerians have a work ethic⁶ that makes Scandinavians look like slackers.

小企业精神无处不在。民营行业——街头小贩、当地企业和商人——也在蓬勃发展，尤其是在拉各斯。尼日利亚人的职业道德让斯堪的纳维亚人看起来像懒虫。

No one sits in Nigeria. It's impossible to walk down the street without being approached by someone selling something, from peanuts to windshield wipers to an on-the-spot manicure. In Kaduna, the governor has converted a section of the market into a "recycling program" to provide employment for youth. It's backbreaking and dangerous work: smashing old alternators to pieces with hammers to pluck out the copper⁷ wire inside; bending old, razor-sharp roofing sheet metal to make bread bins⁸; and melting down aluminum⁹ cans to recast them into cooking pots. The program has no shortage of applicants¹⁰, many of whom are less interested in getting the basic skills the program provides than in earning money to pay their school fees so they can move on to better jobs. Nigerians are passionate¹¹ about education and self-improvement.

尼日利亚没有人闲坐着。走在大街上，不可能不被兜售东西的人接近，从花生到挡风玻璃雨刷，再到街头美甲。在卡杜纳，州长将市场的一部分改造成“回收计划”，为年轻人提供就业机会。这是一项繁重而危险的工作：用锤子把旧的交流发电机砸成碎片，把里面的铜线敲掉；把旧的、锋利的屋顶金属板弄弯来制作面包箱；熔化铝罐，重新铸造成烹饪锅。该项目并不缺少申请者，他们中的许多人对获得该项目提供的基本技能更感兴趣，更感兴趣的是赚钱支付学费，以便能找到更好的工作。尼日利亚人热衷于教育和自我完善。

That's all great. But movies, high tech and street retail¹² are not enough to support three-quarters of a billion people. As Aiyesimoju says, "Google's been a great success, but it hasn't transformed the American economy" alone. Transformation¹³ will require addressing core industries like petroleum¹⁴, manufacturing and agriculture, making them more efficient and competitive. In the case of petroleum, there's also the need to streamline¹⁵ the state company that oversees¹⁶ the industry, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. In the case of agriculture, it's moving away from subsistence farming using almost Stone Age tools and techniques toward modern high-yield farming and redeploying those displaced workers in what Tufts University economics professor Margaret McMillan calls the "modern sector." So far, progress is spotty.

这都很好。但电影、高科技和街头零售不足以养活7.5亿人。正如埃耶西莫朱所说，“谷歌取得了巨大的成功，但它并没有改变美国经济”。转型将需要解决石油、制造业和农业等核心产业，使其更有效率、更有竞争力。就石油行业而言，还需要精简监督该行业的国有公司——尼日利亚国家石油公司。就农业而言，还正在用石器时代的工具和技术，从自给自足的农业转向现代高产农业，并重新部署那些流离失所的工人，塔夫茨大学经济学教授玛格丽特·麦克米伦称之为“现代部门”。到目前为止，进展参差不齐。

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

3 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

4 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。

5 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

7 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

8 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

9 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

10 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

11 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

14 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

15 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

16 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网