[E328]Dear prudence|经济学人
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist《经济学人》2016年第4期，Leaders版块。
Taiwan's election
By rights, Taiwan should be a fully sovereign country today; Tsai Ing-wen must accept that it cannot yet be one
Jan 23rd 2016
IT HAD been widely predicted, yet the landslide victory[以绝对优势取得胜利;压倒性胜利] for Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan’s presidential race[总统竞选] on January 16th, along with the emphatic performance of her Democratic Progressive Party[民进党] (DPP) in the legislative election[立委选举], is nevertheless remarkable. The vibrancy['vaɪbrənsi][振动;活力] of the campaigning; the engagement of young voters; a smooth expected transfer of power; Asia’s first female leader not to come from a political dynasty: there is much to celebrate. A dictatorship has budded amazingly into a mature democracy, a country with stable institutions and impressive prosperity, ranking 33rd in the world by income per person, richer than Portugal[葡萄牙] or Greece[希腊].
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▷ emphatic [ɪm'fætɪk]
【释义】Emphatic means forceful and clear. Nicole's mother was emphatic when she told her not to come home late again.
adj. 强硬的;着重的;加强语气的;显著的
He gave us an emphatic denial.
他对我们坚决否认。
▷ dictatorship [dɪk'tetɚ'ʃɪp]
【释义】A dictatorship is a government or a social situation where one person makes all the rules and decisions without input from anyone else.
n. 专政;独裁权;独裁者职位
A dictatorship contravenes the liberty of individuals.
独裁政治与个人自由相抵触。
▷ bud [bʌd]
【释义】The young part of a plant that's almost ready to flower or unfurl new leaves is called the bud. As a verb bud also means to grow or develop.
n. 芽,萌芽;蓓蕾
vi. 发芽,萌芽
vt. 使发芽
Nip it in the bud
防患于未然/消灭于萌芽状态
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Rightly, neighbours have been quick to congratulate Ms Tsai. All, that is, except powerful China, which deems Taiwan to be[认为…是] a renegade province that must return to the motherland, and if necessary be forced to. For all that[尽管;虽然如此] Taiwanese resent being dictated to[受人摆布/支配/指挥], and Ms Tsai’s own party leans towards[倾向(偏向)] formal independence, the new president must accept that history constrains[kən'stren][约束;限制;强迫;束缚] Taiwanese aspirations, and her options. Not to do so would jeopardise['dʒepədaiz][危及;损害]Taiwan’s future—and the region’s peace.
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▷ renegade ['rɛnɪɡed]
【释义】A renegade is a person who has deserted their cause or defied convention; they're rebels and sometimes outlaws, or even traitors.
adj. 叛徒的;背弃的;脱离的
n. 叛徒;变节者;脱党者
vi. 背叛;脱离
This morning's verdict would break the renegade.
今天上午的裁决将会彻底击溃这个叛徒的阴谋。
▷ resent [rɪ'zɛnt]
【释义】To resent something is to feel anger or bitterness toward it. You might resent someone who has treated you poorly.
vt. 怨恨;愤恨;厌恶
Does he resent my being here?
我在此他感到不愉快吗?
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The Taiwanese, for the most part, voted for Ms Tsai not on the “one-China question” but to improve living standards at home, as voters in mature democracies tend to. A donnish expert on trade law[贸易法], Ms Tsai picked up a party in tatters[支离破碎;破烂不堪] in 2008 after its first, disastrous, presidency. Since then the DPP, founded by human-rights activists[人权活动分子] persecuted during the thuggish days of the Nationalist or Kuomintang (KMT) dictatorship, has shown growing competence in local government. Competence[能力,胜任;权限], not political ideology[政治意识形态], is how it smashed the KMT’s unbroken[未破损的,完整的] lock on the legislature. The KMT’s once-mighty[曾经强大的] machine, built on cash and cronyism['kronɪɪzəm][任人唯亲;任用亲信], has hit the buffers; it faces a Herculean task[艰巨的任务] to reinvent itself[改造自己] along more modern lines.
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▷ donnish ['dɑnɪʃ]
【释义】marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
adj. 类似英国学者的;谨慎的;博学的;严肃的
It seemed that he might look forward to a donnish life devoted to private study.
他似乎期待着一种潜心搞个人研究的学者式生活。
▷ persecute ['pɝsɪkjut]
【释义】To persecute is to make someone suffer or to keep them in bad circumstances. In some parts of the world governments or military groups persecute, or punish, people for religious beliefs, often sending them to prisons or work camps.
vt. 迫害;困扰;同…捣乱
They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.
他们迫害那些不符合他们意见的人。
▷ thuggish ['θʌgɪʃ]
adj. 暗杀的;谋财害命的
She brought along a thuggish looking youth to the party with a shaven head and tattoos on his arms.
她带了个光头,臂上刺青的模样凶狠的年轻人到晚会上来。
▷ smash [smæʃ]
【释义】To smash something is to hit or throw it so hard that it breaks or is hurt. It's important to pay careful attention while you're driving so you don't smash into the car in front of you.
vi. 粉碎;打碎
vt. 粉碎;使破产;溃裂
n. 破碎;扣球;冲突;大败
We will smash any aggression.
我们将粉碎任何侵略。
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China’s Communist Party, much happier to deal with its old KMT foe than with the DPP, is displeased[不快的;生气的]. But at least it is not fulminating. Ms Tsai should swiftly demonstrate to President Xi Jinping that her priority is not to seek to upset the balance[打破平衡;打破均势] across the strait but to take on domestic concerns: build more affordable housing[经济适用房;可支付住宅], fix the crisis in the pensions system[养老金制度] and raise the minimum wage[调高最低工资]. She should do more to liberalise the economy[使经济自由化;开放经济] and remove obstacles to the creation of new businesses.
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▷ foe [fəʊ]
【释义】A foe is an enemy. Foes can range from an adversary of one person to that of a nation, from “he is my foe” to “they are my foe.” There is also a “that is my foe” who those who are trying to diet know well, aka chocolate.
n. 敌人;反对者;危害物
They fell with their faces to the foe.
他们倒下了，面朝着敌人，倒下了。
▷ fulminate ['fʊlmɪnet]
【释义】Watch a bomb fulminate or explode and hope you're under safe cover. Have your parents fulminate or blow up at you for coming home past curfew[宵禁;晚钟] and hope you're not grounded for too long.
vi. 爆炸;电闪;怒喝
vt. 使爆;以严词谴责;强烈批评
The newspapers fulminate against the crime.
报纸严厉谴责这个罪行.
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Yet she cannot ignore relations with the mainland altogether. Indeed they may yet come to define her presidency. Not least[尤其;相当重要地], China is Taiwan’s biggest trading partner. Ms Tsai has promised transparency in trade and investment deals with China[承诺实现贸易投资协议的透明]. The KMT’s secrecy sparked protests[引发抗议] two years ago that greatly undermined[破坏;削弱…的基础;逐渐损毁] Ma Ying-jeou, the outgoing president. His successor must find ways to explain to autocrats['ɔtəkræt][独裁者,专制君主;独断独行的人], who themselves rule opaquely, why more scrutiny['skrutəni][详细审查;监视;细看] of agreements will lead to their greater acceptance in Taiwan. And when it comes to her promise to seek membership of the American-led free-trade area, the Trans-Pacific Partnership[跨太平洋伙伴关系协定], she should urge China to join the club in tandem[一前一后地;协力地], as the two countries did when they entered the World Trade Organisation[世界贸易组织] in 2002.
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▷ opaquely [ə'pekli]
adv. 无光泽地；不透明地
Roll out updates instantly and opaquely to the users.
推出对用户不透明的即时更新。
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Swallow your pride[收敛骄气(表示谦逊)], Ms Tsai
Sooner or later China will press Ms Tsai to affirm the formula that has guided cross-strait relations[两岸关系]: that there is but “one China”, even if both sides disagree as to quite what that means[一中各表]. This will be hard for her, given that such a fudge[fʌdʒ][软糖;胡说;谎话] does not reflect the changing view of compatriots[同胞] increasingly inclined to[想要;有…倾向] think of themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese. Yet she must continue the reconciliation[,rek(ə)nsɪlɪ'eɪʃ(ə)n][和解;调和;和谐] across the strait that began under Mr Ma. Even before her inauguratio 50 30902 50 15535 0 0 1416 0 0:00:21 0:00:10 0:00:11 2938n[ɪ,nɔːgjʊ'reɪʃ(ə)n][就职典礼] in May, she should offer to meet Mr Xi for a meeting of no preconditions[无前提条件的]. Throughout, her watchword[口号;标语] should be patience. Real, de jure[法律上的;权利上的] sovereignty for Taiwan can probably come only if a thuggish China, today persecuting rights activists, evolves into a more liberal state[演变成更加自由的国家]. Impossible? Taiwan has done it.
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▷ affirm [ə'fɝm]
【释义】To affirm something is to give it a big "YES" or to confirm that it is true.
vt. 肯定;断言
vi. 确认;断言
They affirm some personal rights for the slave, but not all.
他们肯定奴隶有一些人权，但不具备全部的。
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