问答题 The world balance of power is changing. Countries like China, India, Turkey and Brazil are heard from more frequently and on a wider range of subjects. The European Union"s most ambitious global project—creating a universal treaty to reduce carbon emissions—has collapsed, and EU expansion has slowed to a crawl as Europe turns inward to deal with its debt crisis. Japan has ceded its place as the largest economy in Asia to China and appears increasingly on the defensive in the region as China"s hard and soft powers grow. The international specialists have a label for these changes: American decline. The dots look so connectable: The financial crisis, say the experts, comprehensively demonstrated the failure of "Anglo-Saxon" capitalism. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have sapped American strength and, allegedly, destroyed America"s ability to act in the Middle East. Actually, what"s been happening is just as fateful but much more complex. The United States isn"t in decline, but it is in the midst of a major rebalancing.
【正确答案】
【答案解析】世界力量均势正在发生改变。在日渐广泛的议题上,人们越来越频繁地听取中国、印度、土耳其和巴西等国的意见。欧盟最雄心勃勃的全球性工程——订立各国一致遵守的减少碳排放协议的计划——已经流产,而随着欧洲着眼于解决自身债务危机,欧盟的经济扩张也放缓至龟速。日本已将亚洲最大经济体的宝座让给了中国,并且随着中国软硬两方面的实力不断增强,日本在亚洲似乎日益处于防守态势。各国分析人士给上述变化贴上了一个标签:美国的衰落。这些点看上去是紧密相连的:专家说,金融危机全面展示了英美资本主义的失败。阿富汗与伊拉克战争削弱了美国的力量,据说也破坏了美国在中东的行动能力。实际上,这些变化有如命定,但究其原因却更为复杂。美国并不是在走下坡路,而是正在经历重大调整。 [解析] Countries like China, India, Turkey and Brazil are heard from more frequently and on a wider range of subjects.
与hear搭配的介词结构hear from有“听说、得知、听取、审理”这几个义项,在这里,指的是在国际舞台上,发展中国家的意见更多地被“听取”。
在日渐广泛的议题上,人们越来越频繁地听取中国、印度、土耳其和巴西等国的意见。
The European Union"s most ambitious global project—creating a universal treaty to reduce carbon emissions—has collapsed, and EU expansion has slowed to a crawl as Europe turns inward to deal with its debt crisis.
这句话中首先需要注意的是动词“collapse”,它的词典意思包括:“折叠、倒塌、崩溃、(尤指工作劳累后)坐下”,这里需要与计划搭配,表达“计划没有成功”时,我们通常会说“计划流产了”。其次,这句话中的crawl在这里做名词,表示速度非常慢,也就是我们经常说的“龟速”。
欧盟最雄心勃勃的全球性工程——订立各国一致遵守的减少碳排放协议的计划——已经流产,而随着欧洲着眼于解决自身债务危机,欧盟的经济扩张也放缓至龟速。
The United States isn"t in decline, but it is in the midst of a major rebalancing.
“in decline”表示一种“每况愈下,减少中”的状态,但是如果我们说美国正在每况愈下,很显然缺少句子成分,因此我们可以将其补充为“美国的实力正在每况愈下”,或者像参考译文那样加上动词“走”,译为“在走下坡路”。
美国并不是在走下坡路,而是正在经历重大调整。