您现在的位置: 跨考网公共课英语阅读正文

2016考研英语阅读题源经济学人文章:要钱还是要命?

最后更新时间:2015-09-08 14:23:04
辅导课程:暑期集训 在线咨询
复习紧张,焦头烂额?逆风轻袭,来跨考秋季集训营,帮你寻方法,定方案! 了解一下>>

  每年考研英语阅读篇章很多都取材于经济学人,因此随着2016年考研越来越近,建议考生们多读一些阅读理解出处的文章,提升阅读能力!

  2016考研英语阅读题源经济学人文章:要钱还是要命?

  Breaking up the Treasury

  财政部分裂

  Your money or your life

  要钱还是要命?

  The knives are out for Whitehall's mightiestdepartment

  利刃直指白厅最强大的部门

  TONY BLAIR once kidnapped a civil servant. It was2005 and the then prime minister, who was heading to EU budget talks in Luxembourg,needed an economic expert. So he purloined a Treasury official. The reluctant bureaucrat waslater dumped in Paris without passport or money, recalls Jonathan Powell, a former adviser, inhis book “The New Machiavelli”. Oddly, the man “just wanted our assurance that we wouldn'ttell the Treasury that he had been travelling with us.” If the news got out, his career could haveended.

  托尼·布莱尔曾绑架过一位公务员。这发生在2005年,当时正前往卢森堡参加欧盟预算谈判的首相急需一位经济专家。所以他带走了一名财政部官员。据前任顾问乔纳森·鲍威尔在他的书作《新马基雅弗利》中回忆,那位本就不情不愿的官员在巴黎被丢下,不仅没有护照,更是身无分文。可奇怪的是,他“只想我们保证不会告诉财政部他与我们同行。”如果消息走漏,他的事业也就完蛋了。

  The tale illustrates the potency of Britain's finance ministry, which has long wielded more powerthan its international counterparts—or, it sometimes seems, the prime minister's office. In thepost-war years the Treasury was a hub for Keynesian demand management. Under MargaretThatcher it became the engine room of a monetarist revolution. It commandeered social policyduring Mr Blair's administration. Now it oversees austerity, the lodestar of the coalitiongovernment.

  这个故事正说明了英国财政部的权势,它的权利涉及范围之广已超过它的国际同行,有时似乎更甚于首相办公室。在战后几年财政部曾是凯恩斯主义需求管理的中心。在玛格丽特·撒切尔任职期间,财政部成为了货币改革的中流砥柱。布莱尔手下行政机构的社会政策也被它霸占。如今它监视财政紧缩,这正是联合政府的目标。

  Yet a report published on September 4th, “The Destruction of HM Treasury”, says Whitehall'sleviathan should count its days. The two authors know their stuff. Stian Westlake directs policyat the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, a charity taken seriously byTreasury types. Giles Wilkes was an adviser to Vince Cable, the business secretary.

  但是9月4日出版的报告《英国财政部的破坏》指出白厅兴风作浪的时日无多了。报告的两位作者有非常确切的报告素材。他们分别是斯蒂安·韦斯特莱克和贾尔斯·韦尔克斯,前者在国家科学、技术和艺术基金会指导政治,因为这个基金会是由财政部严肃对待的慈善项目。后者曾担任商务部长维斯·凯博的顾问。

  Mr Westlake and Mr Wilkes argue that the rhythm of twice-yearly financial statements, in thebudget and the autumn statement, makes the Treasury short-term in outlook and prone toheadline-grabbing wheezes. Moreover, all three main parties have embraced the interventionist“sector strategies” championed by Michael Heseltine on the right and Lord Adonis on the left.Because the Treasury detests that sort of economic meddling, politicians have it in their sights.The department's functions might, the authors suggest, be distributed to an expanded primeminister's office, a stronger business department and a dedicated finance ministry.

  韦斯特莱克和韦尔克斯在预算和秋季声明中辩解道,财务报表一年两次的节奏是财政部短期之内在前景和倾向方面的头条伎俩。另外,三个主要党派均已与右翼代表迈克尔·赫塞尔廷和左翼代表阿多尼斯勋爵共同掌管的干预性“部门策略”合作。因为财政部憎恨的正是这种经济干预,而这正在政客们的掌控之中。两位作者还猜测,这个新的部门的作用或许是用来扩大首相办公室的权利,建立起一个更强大的商务部和一个专用的财政部。

  A plan to dismantle the Treasury was pitched to—and well received by—senior Labour figures ata private seminar last winter. Shadow cabinet ministers talk eagerly about the idea, though inthe ruling Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties it is more a niche interest.

  在去年冬天的一个非公开研讨会上制定了一个针对工党高级官员的拆除财政部计划,这个计划也被这些官员欣然接受。尽管这对执政的保守党和自由民主党来说只是小众兴趣,但并不妨碍影子内阁的部长们对这个计划讨论的热火朝天。

  Even if any of this comes to pass, however, the Treasury's mandarins will remember thatgovernments have tried to trim their wings before. Harold Wilson's Labour government set upa new Department of Economic Affairs to rival the Treasury. It too was supposed toconcentrate on long-term planning, and it too was created partly for political reasons, toappease the ambitions of George Brown, the perpetually tired and emotional deputy leader ofthe party. The Treasury fought it, and won. Brown moved to the Foreign Office and the upstartdepartment was unceremoniously closed down in 1969. The lesson? Never underestimate thepower, and self-interest, of the Treasury.

  但即便这个计划的任何一条被通过,财政部的官员们将会明白政府曾试图折断他们的羽翼。哈罗德·威尔逊手下的工党政府成立了一个新的经济事务部门来对抗财政部。这个部门应该也是致力于长期的计划,而且它也是因部分政治原因而建立起来的,用来满足疲惫不堪且情绪化的党派副领导人乔治·布朗的野心。财政部与之对抗并最终胜利。布朗调到外交部,而自命不凡的经济事务部于1969年关闭。这一课教给我们什么呢?绝对不要小觑财政部的利欲熏心。

  1.head to 引至,通到

  例句:I let the horse drop his head to crop the springgrass.

  我让马低下头啃吃春天的青草。

  2.break up 分手;打碎;分裂

  例句:Rubber bullets were used to break up thedemonstration.

  橡皮子弹被用来驱散示威人群。

  3.prone to 易于;倾向于

  例句:As they shorten, cells become more prone to disease and death.

  细胞变小后就会更容易感染疾病,也更容易死亡。

  4.set up 建立;设立;创立

  例句:The city police set up roadblocks to check passing vehicles.

  该市警察设置了路障以检查过往车辆。

相关推荐
考研指南
各高校2016年专业课考研大纲2016考研大纲解析
复习指导
微积分与极限微分复习要点归纳
考研阅读常见短语集锦
重点推荐
考研英语阅读必备实用技巧

实例分析:马原辩证法三大规律

关注"跨考教育",听说考研的人都关注了!

跨考考研课程

班型 定向班型 开班时间 高定班 标准班 课程介绍 咨询
秋季集训 冲刺班 9.10-12.20 168000 24800起 小班面授+专业课1对1+专业课定向辅导+协议加强课程(高定班)+专属规划答疑(高定班)+精细化答疑+复试资源(高定班)+复试课包(高定班)+复试指导(高定班)+复试班主任1v1服务(高定班)+复试面授密训(高定班)+复试1v1(高定班)
2023集训畅学 非定向(政英班/数政英班) 每月20日 22800起(协议班) 13800起 先行阶在线课程+基础阶在线课程+强化阶在线课程+真题阶在线课程+冲刺阶在线课程+专业课针对性一对一课程+班主任全程督学服务+全程规划体系+全程测试体系+全程精细化答疑+择校择专业能力定位体系+全年关键环节指导体系+初试加强课+初试专属服务+复试全科标准班服务

①凡本网注明“稿件来源:跨考网”的所有文字、图片和音视频稿件,版权均属北京尚学硕博教育咨询有限公司(含本网和跨考网)所有,任何媒体、网站或个人未经本网协议授权不得转载、链接、转帖或以其他任何方式复制、发表。已经本网协议授权的媒体、网站,在下载使用时必须注明“稿件来源,跨考网”,违者本网将依法追究法律责任。

②本网未注明“稿件来源:跨考网”的文/图等稿件均为转载稿,本网转载仅基于传递更多信息之目的,并不意味着再通转载稿的观点或证实其内容的真实性。如其他媒体、网站或个人从本网下载使用,必须保留本网注明的“稿件来源”,并自负版权等法律责任。如擅自篡改为“稿件来源:跨考网”,本网将依法追究法律责任。

③如本网转载稿涉及版权等问题,请作者见稿后在两周内速来电与跨考网联系,电话:400-883-2220