【課文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)題。
What makes trading between rich countries difficult?
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 is 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 then 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
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語(yǔ)】
slaughter v. 屠宰
fit adj. 適合
grace v. 給...增光
tariff n. 關(guān)稅
standard n. 標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
dialysis n. 分離，分解;透析，滲析
electrocute v. 使觸電身亡
eliminate v. 消滅
accord n. 協(xié)議
device n. 儀器，器械
hammer out v. 推敲
pact n. 合同，條約，公約
【課文注釋】
1.Chickens slaughtered in...to grace European tables.在這句話(huà)中引用了布魯塞爾官員的評(píng)論，卻沒(méi)有放在引號(hào)之中。這種方式常用語(yǔ)報(bào)刊文章，對(duì)讀者的直接影響更大。在claim officials in Brussels中，動(dòng)詞claim置于名詞前。
2.slaughter，屠殺，殺戮。
例句：Thousands were slaughtered by the invading army.
數(shù)以千計(jì)的人被侵略軍殺害了。
在運(yùn)動(dòng)比賽中，可以用slaughter表示慘敗。
例句：The total slaughter of the home team disappointed all fans.
主隊(duì)的慘敗讓所有球迷失望不已。
3.it is differences in national regulations...between rich countries，是各國(guó)管理?xiàng)l例上的差異，而不是關(guān)稅阻礙了發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家之間的貿(mào)易。
這是一個(gè)it引導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)調(diào)句。強(qiáng)調(diào)句句型：It is...that...(強(qiáng)調(diào)人或事物)/ It is...who...(強(qiáng)調(diào)人)。在通常情況下，去掉這個(gè)句型，句子依然是成立的——這是判斷一個(gè)句子是否為強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)的重要標(biāo)志。
例句：It was my mother who finally called the police.
終報(bào)警的是我母親。
去掉強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)：My mother finally called the police.意思沒(méi)有變，只是語(yǔ)氣減弱了。
特別注意：強(qiáng)調(diào)句中that/who不可省。
4.put/throw sand in the wheels of，阻礙，阻撓。
例句：The terrorist attack put sand in the wheels of the ongoing peace talk.
恐怖襲擊阻撓了正在進(jìn)行的和平談判的進(jìn)程。
5.So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? 這是另一個(gè)沒(méi)有引號(hào)的直接引語(yǔ)的例子。注意why have two...do中的語(yǔ)序，這是非?？谡Z(yǔ)化的直接引語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)序。
6.hard-pressed
If you will be hard-pressed to do something, you will have great difficulty doing it.做某事很困難。
例句：This year the airline will be hard-pressed to make a profit.
今年，航空公司想要盈利很困難。
7.apply to，適用于、應(yīng)用于。
例句：The laws apply to everyone irrespective of race, creed or colour.
法律適用于所有的人，不分種族、 信仰或膚色。
apply for，申請(qǐng)。
例句：Don't apply for that job: you're in danger of overreaching yourself.
不要申請(qǐng)那份工作，以免有不自量力之嫌。
8.extend to，拓展至、延伸至，可表示空間、時(shí)間、范圍、領(lǐng)域上的延伸。
例句：It might be possible to extend the technique to other crop plants.
或許有可能將該技術(shù)拓展應(yīng)用到其它作物的種植上。
【參考譯文】
布魯塞爾的官員說(shuō)，在美國(guó)屠宰的雞不適于用來(lái)裝點(diǎn)歐洲的餐桌。不，美國(guó)人說(shuō)，我們的家禽很好，只是我們使用了另一種清洗方式。當(dāng)前，是各國(guó)管理?xiàng)l例上的差異，而不是關(guān)稅阻礙了發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家之間的貿(mào)易。并不僅僅是農(nóng)民在抱怨。一把符合歐洲聯(lián)盟安全標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的電動(dòng)剃須刀必須得到美國(guó)檢測(cè)人員的認(rèn)可，方可在美國(guó)市場(chǎng)上銷(xiāo)售;而美國(guó)制造的透析儀也要得到歐盟的首肯才能進(jìn)入歐洲市場(chǎng)。
碰巧在歐洲使用安全的剃須刀不大可能使美國(guó)人觸電身亡，因此，大西洋兩岸的企業(yè)都在問(wèn)，當(dāng)一套測(cè)試可以解決問(wèn)題時(shí)，為什么需要兩套呢?政治家在原則上同意了， 因此，美國(guó)和歐洲一直在尋求達(dá)成協(xié)議，以便為許多產(chǎn)品取消雙重檢查。他們希望盡早達(dá)成協(xié)議，為5月28日舉行的美國(guó)和歐洲貿(mào)易的高通級(jí)會(huì)議作準(zhǔn)備。然談判代表持樂(lè)觀態(tài)度，但協(xié)議細(xì)節(jié)如此復(fù)雜，他們所面臨的困難很可能使他們無(wú)法取得一致。
為什么呢?困難之一是起草這些協(xié)議。美國(guó)人很愿意就醫(yī)療器械的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)達(dá)成一個(gè)協(xié)議，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵蓋 -- 比如說(shuō) -- 電子產(chǎn)品和藥品的生產(chǎn)。歐洲人遵循優(yōu)良的大陸傳統(tǒng)，則希望就普遍的原則取得一致，而這些原則適用于許多不同產(chǎn)品，同時(shí)可能延伸到其它國(guó)家。
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽(tīng)錄音，然后回答以下問(wèn)題。
What makes trading between rich countries difficult?
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 is 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 then 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
【New words and expressions 生詞和短語(yǔ)】
slaughter v. 屠宰
fit adj. 適合
grace v. 給...增光
tariff n. 關(guān)稅
standard n. 標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
dialysis n. 分離，分解;透析，滲析
electrocute v. 使觸電身亡
eliminate v. 消滅
accord n. 協(xié)議
device n. 儀器，器械
hammer out v. 推敲
pact n. 合同，條約，公約
【課文注釋】
1.Chickens slaughtered in...to grace European tables.在這句話(huà)中引用了布魯塞爾官員的評(píng)論，卻沒(méi)有放在引號(hào)之中。這種方式常用語(yǔ)報(bào)刊文章，對(duì)讀者的直接影響更大。在claim officials in Brussels中，動(dòng)詞claim置于名詞前。
2.slaughter，屠殺，殺戮。
例句：Thousands were slaughtered by the invading army.
數(shù)以千計(jì)的人被侵略軍殺害了。
在運(yùn)動(dòng)比賽中，可以用slaughter表示慘敗。
例句：The total slaughter of the home team disappointed all fans.
主隊(duì)的慘敗讓所有球迷失望不已。
3.it is differences in national regulations...between rich countries，是各國(guó)管理?xiàng)l例上的差異，而不是關(guān)稅阻礙了發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家之間的貿(mào)易。
這是一個(gè)it引導(dǎo)的強(qiáng)調(diào)句。強(qiáng)調(diào)句句型：It is...that...(強(qiáng)調(diào)人或事物)/ It is...who...(強(qiáng)調(diào)人)。在通常情況下，去掉這個(gè)句型，句子依然是成立的——這是判斷一個(gè)句子是否為強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)的重要標(biāo)志。
例句：It was my mother who finally called the police.
終報(bào)警的是我母親。
去掉強(qiáng)調(diào)結(jié)構(gòu)：My mother finally called the police.意思沒(méi)有變，只是語(yǔ)氣減弱了。
特別注意：強(qiáng)調(diào)句中that/who不可省。
4.put/throw sand in the wheels of，阻礙，阻撓。
例句：The terrorist attack put sand in the wheels of the ongoing peace talk.
恐怖襲擊阻撓了正在進(jìn)行的和平談判的進(jìn)程。
5.So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? 這是另一個(gè)沒(méi)有引號(hào)的直接引語(yǔ)的例子。注意why have two...do中的語(yǔ)序，這是非?？谡Z(yǔ)化的直接引語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)序。
6.hard-pressed
If you will be hard-pressed to do something, you will have great difficulty doing it.做某事很困難。
例句：This year the airline will be hard-pressed to make a profit.
今年，航空公司想要盈利很困難。
7.apply to，適用于、應(yīng)用于。
例句：The laws apply to everyone irrespective of race, creed or colour.
法律適用于所有的人，不分種族、 信仰或膚色。
apply for，申請(qǐng)。
例句：Don't apply for that job: you're in danger of overreaching yourself.
不要申請(qǐng)那份工作，以免有不自量力之嫌。
8.extend to，拓展至、延伸至，可表示空間、時(shí)間、范圍、領(lǐng)域上的延伸。
例句：It might be possible to extend the technique to other crop plants.
或許有可能將該技術(shù)拓展應(yīng)用到其它作物的種植上。
【參考譯文】
布魯塞爾的官員說(shuō)，在美國(guó)屠宰的雞不適于用來(lái)裝點(diǎn)歐洲的餐桌。不，美國(guó)人說(shuō)，我們的家禽很好，只是我們使用了另一種清洗方式。當(dāng)前，是各國(guó)管理?xiàng)l例上的差異，而不是關(guān)稅阻礙了發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家之間的貿(mào)易。并不僅僅是農(nóng)民在抱怨。一把符合歐洲聯(lián)盟安全標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的電動(dòng)剃須刀必須得到美國(guó)檢測(cè)人員的認(rèn)可，方可在美國(guó)市場(chǎng)上銷(xiāo)售;而美國(guó)制造的透析儀也要得到歐盟的首肯才能進(jìn)入歐洲市場(chǎng)。
碰巧在歐洲使用安全的剃須刀不大可能使美國(guó)人觸電身亡，因此，大西洋兩岸的企業(yè)都在問(wèn)，當(dāng)一套測(cè)試可以解決問(wèn)題時(shí)，為什么需要兩套呢?政治家在原則上同意了， 因此，美國(guó)和歐洲一直在尋求達(dá)成協(xié)議，以便為許多產(chǎn)品取消雙重檢查。他們希望盡早達(dá)成協(xié)議，為5月28日舉行的美國(guó)和歐洲貿(mào)易的高通級(jí)會(huì)議作準(zhǔn)備。然談判代表持樂(lè)觀態(tài)度，但協(xié)議細(xì)節(jié)如此復(fù)雜，他們所面臨的困難很可能使他們無(wú)法取得一致。
為什么呢?困難之一是起草這些協(xié)議。美國(guó)人很愿意就醫(yī)療器械的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)達(dá)成一個(gè)協(xié)議，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵蓋 -- 比如說(shuō) -- 電子產(chǎn)品和藥品的生產(chǎn)。歐洲人遵循優(yōu)良的大陸傳統(tǒng)，則希望就普遍的原則取得一致，而這些原則適用于許多不同產(chǎn)品，同時(shí)可能延伸到其它國(guó)家。