CHARLES CHEUNG'S BLOG

Stars and soggy bottoms

soggy 浸水的, 沉闷的

Jan 4th 2007

From Economist.com

A new-year salvo of bouquets and brickbats

salvo 保留条款

bouquets 花束

brickbats 碎砖, 砖片, 不逊之言, 批评的话, 贬责话

STAR in the making: Toomas Hendrik Ilves, president of Estonia. Suave, savvy and cynical, this Swedish-born, American-educated political heavyweight has returned from a big job at the European Parliament to put his pint-sized country on the map. Whether delivering the West’s message to Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia (“Misha: just shut the **** up”), charming George Bush, or hobnobbing with Carl Bildt, his Swedish foreign-minister chum, Mr Ilves had a flying start in 2006 and will be the ex-captive nations’ best spokesman in 2007.

Estonia 爱沙尼亚

suave 温和的

savvy 有见识和精明能干的

cynical 愤世嫉俗的

heavyweight  特别重的人(或物),最重量级拳击手(或摔交手), 聪明绝顶的人

parliament 国会, 议会

pint-size 小型的, 比标准的要小一些的

hobnob with 小型的, 比标准的要小一些的

chum <俗>(特指男孩子之间)密友, 室友

ex- 表示“由...出来, 自”之义

captive n.俘虏, 被美色或爱情迷住的人 adj.被俘的, 被迷住的

Biggest disappointment: Poland’s Law and Justice government, which wasted most of 2006 in political intrigue. The dropping of a popular prime minister, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, was an unforgivable display of jealousy by Law and Justice’s party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. His own lacklustre and devious performance in the top job has since highlighted his predecessor’s merits. Poland’s prickly and incompetent foreign policy is a black hole in the heart of Europe.

intrigue n.阴谋, 诡计  vi.密谋, 私通  vt.激起...的兴趣, 用诡计取得

unforgivable 不可原谅[饶恕]的

jealousy 嫉妒

lacklustre 无光泽的

devious 偏僻的, 迂回的, 曲折的

prickly 多刺的

incompetent  adj.不合格的, 不胜任的  n.无能力者

Most worrying trend: Between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas there is not a single strong reforming government. Drift, muddle and sleaze were the hallmarks of 2006. Internal and external pressure ought to bring better government—but in some countries political meltdown is a serious danger. Russia’s divide-and-rule policy, of flattery, cheap gas and bribes, is nobbling Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovenia. Post-communist elites are wired for quick deals and personal gain, not long-term national interest. The Kremlin knows this.

Baltic 波罗的海的, 波罗的海诸国的, 波罗的语的

Adriatic 亚得里亚海的, 亚得里亚海沿岸(或岛屿)居民的

drift n.冲洗, 漂流物, 观望, 漂流 v.(使)漂流

muddle vt.混合, 使微醉, 使咬字不清晰, 鬼混 vi.胡乱对付 n.困惑, 混浊状态, 糊涂

sleaze 不名誉不名誉的状况、品质或外表：

hallmark 特点

meltdown 彻底垮台

flattery 谄媚, 阿谀, 巴结, 奉承, 捧场话, 恭维话, 谄媚的举动

bribe n.贿赂 vt.贿赂, 向...行贿

nobble (暗中破坏)使其不能取胜, 诈骗

elite <法>[集合名词]精华, 精锐, 中坚分子

wired

Kremlin 克里姆林宫的

Politics of the gutter award: Given jointly to Ferenc Gyurcsany, prime minister of Hungary, for admitting that his government had lied, and for turning a blind eye to police brutality; and to Hungary's opposition leader, Viktor Orban, for cynical populism and mystifyingly authoritarian socialist-style policies.

gutter n.水槽, 檐槽, 排水沟, 槽, 贫民区  vt.开沟于 vi.流 n.装订线

jointly 共同地, 连带地

brutality 残忍, 野蛮的行为

turn a blind eye to …

populism 人民党主义, 旧俄民粹主义

mystify 迷惑

authoritarian 独裁的, 独裁主义的

Unsung heroes: Another joint award, to Gediminas Kirkilas, Lithuania’s prime minister, whose minority administration has surpassed all expectations; and to his old friend and ally, the conservative opposition leader, Andrius Kubilius. A rare example of personal friendship and patriotism surmounting party interest.

unsung 未唱的, 未在诗歌中歌颂过的, 未赞颂的

surpass 超越, 胜过

ally v.结盟, 与...(在血统, 性质等上)有关联, 同盟 n.同盟国, 支持者

patriotism 爱国心, 爱国精神

patriot 爱国者

surmount 战胜, 超越, 克服, 在...顶上

Loser: Abandoned by the West, and with a defeatist political elite unable to look beyond Russia, Moldova is sinking. If any post-communist country faces real collapse, it is this one. Nothing seems to be working in its favour, save that its neighbour, Romania, has just joined the EU.

Moldova 摩尔多瓦

collapse n.倒塌, 崩溃, 失败, 虚脱  vi.倒塌, 崩溃, 瓦解, 失败, 病倒

Eurocrat of the year: Andris Piebalgs, the EU’s energy commissioner, a sparkling advertisement for the post-communist countries’ political abilities. Unlike most of his fellow commissioners, he understands both the technicalities of his brief and its political dimensions, and has the nerve to take on the powerful energy lobbies in Europe’s biggest countries who are as contemptuous of politicians as they are cowardly towards Russia. Clone him.

Eurocrat 欧洲共同市场的官员或职员

commissioner 委员, 专员

sparkling 闪烁的, 闪闪发光的, 发泡的

lobby 游说议员者

contemptuous 轻蔑的, 侮辱的

cowardly 胆怯地

clone n.无性系, 无性繁殖, 克隆 v.无性繁殖, 复制

Most clubbable country: Slovenia, post-communist Europe’s most prosperous state, has joined the euro-zone, proving that the common currency need not remain an “old Europe” club. A cautious sort of place: Slovenes talk like Estonians, but act like Austrians.

clubbable <俚>适合俱乐部会员资格的, 善交际的

the common currency

Soggy bottom: Croatia’s sullen and obstructive approach to pluralism, media freedom and the rule of law remains an alarming pothole on the road to further EU enlargement. Nobody wants to upset the murky and convenient status quo.

sullen 愠怒的, 沉沉不乐的, (天气等)阴沉的

obstructive adj.阻碍的, 妨碍的 n.妨碍物

pluralism 复数, 兼职

pothole [地]壶穴

murky 黑暗的

quo

Symbolic triumph: Radek Sikorski, Poland’s defence minister, switched his ministry’s entire wine order to Georgia. If the Georgian wine industry gets its act together on quality control and deliveries, that will be the tipple of choice to celebrate 2008.

triumph n.胜利, 成功 v.获得胜利

switch n.开关, 电闸, 转换 vt.转换, 转变

ministry (政府的)部门

Georgia 乔治亚州

tipple n. 致醉的饮料, 烈酒 vt.不断喝 vi.饮烈酒

Big question: East-west migration. The worst-governed ex-communist countries have lost a million people or more to emigration. Now local job markets are tight, and wages are rising, but not enough to attract many migrants back. The opportunities and the quality of government are still so much better in western Europe. Until that gap narrows, worries of depopulation in the east, and overcrowding in the west, will grow.