Week 71
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables. No, say the American: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries. It is not just farmers who are complaining. An electric razor that meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine needs the EU's okay before it hits the market in Europe.
As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products. They hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and the EU on May 28TH. Although negotiators are optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.
Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and they hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing. The EU -- following fine continental traditions -- wants agreement on general principles, which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.
From: The Economist, May 24th, 1997
本课竟然看到了一篇来自《The Economist》的文章。
The Economist is anEnglish-languageweekly magazine-formatnewspaperowned by theEconomist Group and edited at offices inLondon. Continuous publication began under its founder,James Wilson(businessman), in September 1843. In 2015 its average weekly circulation was a little over 1.5 million, about half of which were sold in the United States.The publication belongs to the Economist Group. It is 50% owned by the English branch of the Rothschild family（罗斯柴尔德家族） and by the Agnelli family （阿涅利家族）through its holding company Exor. The remaining 50% is held by private investors including the editors and staff. The Rothschilds and the Agnellis are represented on the board of directors. A board of trustees formally appoints the editor, who cannot be removed without its permission. Although The Economist has a global emphasis and scope, about two-thirds of the 75 staff journalists are based in the London borough of Westminster. For the year to March 2016 the Economist Group declared operating profit of £61m.Previous major shareholders include Pearson PLC.
The Economist takes an editorial stance of classical and economic liberalism that supports free trade, globalisation, free immigration, and cultural liberalism (such as supporting legal recognition for same-sex marriage or drug liberalisation).
The publication has described itself as "...a product of the Caledonian liberalism of Adam Smith and David Hume". It targets highly educated, cultured readers and claims an audience containing many influential executives and policy-makers. The publication's CEO described this recent global change, which was first noticed in the 1990s and accelerated in the beginning of the 21st century, as a "new age of Mass Intelligence".
It has long been respected as "one of the most competent and subtle Western periodicals on public affairs".The publication was a major source of financial and economic information for Karl Marx in the formulation of socialist theory; he wrote: "the London Economist, the European organ of the aristocracy of finance, described most strikingly the attitude of this class."
The Economist's primary focus is world events, politics and business, but it also runs regular sections on science and technology as well as books and the arts. Approximately every two weeks, the publication includes an in-depth special report (previously called surveys) on a given topic. The five main categories are Countries and Regions, Business, Finance and Economics, Science and Technology, and Other. Every three months, it publishes a technology report called Technology Quarterly or TQ, a special section focusing on recent trends and developments in science and technology.
The publication runs several opinion columns whose names reflect their topic:
Analects（论语） (China) – named after The Analects, a collection of Confucian sayings, this column was established in February 2012.
Bagehot (Britain) – named for Walter Bagehot /ˈbædʒət/, 19th-century British constitutional expert and early editor of The Economist. From July 2010 until June 2012 it was written by David Rennie. Since April 2017 it has been written by Adrian Wooldridge.
Bello (Latin America) – named for Andrés Bello, a Venezuelan diplomat, poet, legislator and philosopher, who lived and worked in Chile. The column was established in January 2014 and is written by Michael Reid.
Charlemagne （查理曼 ）（Europe) – named for Charlemagne, Emperor of the Frankish Empire. It is written by Tom Nuttall and earlier it was written by David Rennie (2007–2010) and by Anton La Guardia (2010–2014).
Lexington（列克星敦 ） (United States) – named for Lexington, Massachusetts, the site of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. From June 2010 until May 2012 it was written by Peter David, until his death in a car accident.
Buttonwood (Finance) – named for the buttonwood tree where early Wall Street traders gathered. Until September 2006 this was available only as an on-line column, but it is now included in the print edition. It is written by Philip Coggan.
Banyan (Asia) – named for the banyan tree, this column was established in April 2009 and focuses on various issues across the Asian continent, and is written by Dominic Ziegler.
Baobab (Africa & Middle East) – named for the baobab tree, this column was established in July 2010 and focuses on various issues across the African continent.
Babbage (Technology) – named for the inventor Charles Babbage, this column was established in March 2010 and focuses on various technology related issues.
Prospero (Books and arts) – named after the character from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, this column reviews books and focuses on arts-related issues.
Game Theory（博弈论） (Sport) – named after the science of predicting outcomes in a certain situation, this column focuses on "sports major and minor" and "the politics, economics, science and statistics of the games we play and watch".
Schumpeter （熊彼特 ）(Business) – named for the economist Joseph Schumpeter, this column was established in September 2009 and is written by Patrick Foulis.
Johnson （约翰逊 ）(language) – named for Samuel Johnson, this column returned to the publication in 2016 and covers language. It is written by Robert Lane Greene.
Bartleby (Work and management) - named after the titular character of an Herman Melville short story, this column was established in May 2018.
adj. of a good enough standard for sb. or sth. 适合的，有没有达到某个标准的
be fit for …
be fit to do …
use the right word：fit, suitable, appropriate, felicitous, proper
fit：达到某一标准的
eg. The food is not fit for human consumption.
suitable：适合某个场景的
eg. I haven’t any suitable clothes for the wedding.
appropriate：看上去搭配协调的
eg. Your dress is appropriate for a formal party.
felicitous：言论等合适的
eg. felicitous remarks 恰如其分的言论
proper
v. 使荣耀
eg. The queen graced us with her presence.
v. 装饰，装点
eg. Her face has graced the covers of magazines across the world.
graceful
disgrace n. & v. 使丢脸
SYN丢脸
shame
humiliate
bring shame / disgrace on …
disgraceful 丢人的，可耻的
safety / moral / living standards
eg. enjoy a high / low standard of living
eg. International Standards Organization (ISO)
SYNcriterion / criteria 通用标准，可以用于从中选优的标准
eg. admission criterion 录取标准
eg. the criteria we use to select candidates
SYNyardstick / benchmark 抽象标准，隐喻意义
eg. The yardstick / benchmark of truth is practice.
v. to kill a person or an animal by means of an electric current
"cute"= carry out
几个同词根的词：
execute 执行
execute one’s command / one’s will
He was executed for treason（叛国罪）.
persecute 迫害
Jews were persecuted by Nazis（纳粹）.
prosecute 起诉
Trespassers will be prosecuted.
v. to completely get rid of sth. that is unnecessary or unwanted
彻底清除
eg. The credit card eliminates the need for cash or checks.
相关扩展：
remove
get rid of
root out 拔除
eradicate (“radi”=root radish) 根除
eg. eradicate crime / poverty
abolish 废除
eg. abolish capital punishment / death penalty 死刑
n. 协议，条约
use the right word：协议，条约
accord / treaty 国之间的条约
pact 协议，条约，pact重要性没treaty强
compact 协定；协议；契约；合约 under strong pressures of obligation and mutual trust
contract 合同 by law
agreement 泛泛，大范畴的合同，协议，条约
v. 敲定了……
hammer out sth
to decide on an agreement, contract etc. after a lot of discussion and disagreement 敲定了……
eg. The two countries finally hammered out an agreement.
=reach / come to an agreement
keep / honor an agreement 维持合约
break / violate an agreement 撕毁合约
the capital and largest city in Belgium（比利时）, centrally situated in northern Europe. Brussels is internationally important as the headquarters of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
=put obstacles in the way of
=stand in the way of
=hinder
=impede/ imˈpiːd /
=hamper
it is / was … that / who …强调句式
more than：
1.more than sth. 不仅仅是……
far more than 远不止，远不仅……
2.more than + adj./adv. 极其/非常……
eg. He is more than selfish.
more than A can / could … A不能承受，买不起
eg. Dancing proved to be more than the dish could bear, for during the party it capsized and sank in seven feet of water.
The beauty of the West Lake is more than words can describe. 无法言喻
当前面体现的时间长的时候，before译成“才”
对照写法 contrast
approve
vt. to officially accept sth.
approved/rejected 批准/驳回
approve of … 同意
eg. Catherine’s parents now approve of her marriage.
disapprove of 不同意
=frown on 皱眉
hit（口语）
v. arrive at; reach
1.用于评述主句，“碰巧”
=as luck would have it
=by coincidence
用as it happens引出一个陈述句，表示所陈述的情形有些出人意料，相当于汉语里说“你还别说，碰巧还真有这样的事情发生呢"，含有惊讶之意。既然有惊讶之意，我们可以用它来引出一个陈述，该陈述与前面的陈述形成对照或对比。
as it happens与as we know的区别
as it happens引出的是一个未知情形，确切来说，是一个对听者（或读者）来说是未知而对说话者（或作者）来说是已知的情形；而as we know引出的是一个已知情形， 即交际双方都共同知晓的信息。
2.用于描述名词，“原原本本地，原封不动地”
pl名词时用as they happen
eg. Why not try to train your character?
n. set; collection; group
do
v. be enough
have been doing：现在完成进行时，对一个动作是否持续不关心，只关心到现在一直持续就行了。
in principle
if you agree sth. in principle, you agree a general plan or idea but have not yet considered the details
大方向上同意，细节不管
be optimistic about …
Bankers are cautiously optimistic about the country’s economic future.
optimism/optimist
OPPpessimistic 悲观的
be pessimistic about …
pessimism/pessimist
The room is large enough to take another bed.
be … enough to do 太……以至于……
= be so … as to do
be hard-pressed to do sth. 无法做……；很难做……
construct a sentence 造句
construct an agreement 起草协议
say / let’s say: 假定，比方说
Let’s go out for a walk, (let’s) say, along the river.
Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.
当全文引用太多时，全是“”符号，为了美观用自由直接引语 free direct speech，不写引号。
