經濟學人翻譯練習 The Economist

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邊聽邊讀

經濟學人 The Economist

選自 | May 5th 2018 | Britain | 板塊

「That could be me」

Britain』s new home secretary confronts a formidable list of challenges

SAJIDJAVID belongs to a tribe that is millions-strong in America but vanishingly small in Britain: devotees of the libertarian philosopher-cum-novelist Ayn Rand. Twice a year Mr Javid makes a point of reading the courtroom scene in「The Fountainhead」, in which the hero proclaims that he would rather go to prison than bow down before the will of the crowd. The great theme of Rand』s writings is the ability of heroic individuals to bend the arc of history to their will. Mr Javid will need plenty of the Randian spirit if he is to make a success of his new portfolio.

The home secretary』s immediate task is to contain the panic over the Windrushs candal, in which thousands of Caribbean Britons were misidentified as illegal immigrants. His long-term job is to tackle two festering problems. The first of those is the chronic lack of order in the Home Office. Mr Javid has to 「get agrip」, as Tories love to put it. His new department has a justified reputation as the graveyard of government ministers and their agendas. It is a sprawling empire in which thousands of officials administer often contradictory policies that can deprive people of their liberty or their right to stay in the country. The Home Office is currently grappling with the trickiest problem in its recent history: designing a new immigration system for a Brexited Britain, while atthe same time dealing with the consequences of Britain』s biggest-ever wave of immigration.

The second festering problem is the public』s lack of faith in Britain』s immigration system. Restoring it will involve striking a delicate balance between compassion and control. Mr Javid needs to reassure those who have been disconcerted by the government』s 「hostile environment」 policy—not just members of the Windrush generation but also EU nationals and other legal residents—that they have nothing to worry about. But he also needs to reassure the majority of Britons who think that immigration is too high and that illegal migrants represent a serious problem. He got off to a good start, with two feisty appearances in the House of Commons, disowning the noxious phrase 「hostile environment」,outlining measures to safeguard Windrush migrants from further injustice and promising them compensation.

These tasks would probably overwhelm even Rand』s hero, Howard Roark. But Mr Javid nevertheless enjoys a couple of important advantages. One is his background. Heis the first Muslim to hold one of Britain』s great offices of state. His father arrived in Britain from Pakistan in 1961 with￡1in his pocket and made his living as a bus driver while his mother ran a shop. Mr Javid demonstrated that Labour doesn』t have a monopoly on anger over Windrush bytelling the Sunday Telegraph on April 29th (before getting his new job) that 「that could be my mum…my dad…my uncle…it could be me.」

His other advantage is his distance from the prime minister. Ms Rudd never really freed herself from her predecessor』s shadow because she took over at the Home Office when Mrs May was in her pomp as prime minister. Mr Javid is taking overat a time when Mrs May is weak—and weak precisely because of policies that she pioneered as home secretary. Mr Javid also has a history of poor relations with his boss. He was one of the most briefed against ministers when Mrs May was riding high, and one of the most brutal critics of her Downing Street operation after the election debacle. He belongs to a very different Conservative tradition. Mrs May is a 1950s Tory who hankers after a more homogenous Britain.Mr Javid is a 1980s Tory who has a portrait of Margaret Thatcher hanging in his office.

This could be a recipe for a fractious relationship at the heart of government. Mrs May is as proud as she is rigid, and still likes to start her sentences with the phrase: 「When I was home secretary」. But it could be a chance to forge a more realistic immigration policy. Mr Javid needs to start by persuading his boss to abandon her fixation with including students in migration figures. He then needs to go on to change the logic of immigration thinking: forget about the arbitrary targets, like reducing net in flows to the tens of thousands, and focus instead on the country』s long-term needs, particularly when it comes to recruiting highly skilled workers, who can boost productivity, and willing hands who can make up labour shortages in the health service, care homes and the building trade. That is what voters tell pollsters they want. Mr Javid』s job is to bring policy in line.

Sajid shrugged

His promotion brings significant problems with it. In his previous job as secretary for local government he spent two years tackling the severe shortage of housing that is putting home ownership beyond the reach of a generation of Britons. His successor, James Brokenshire, will take time to master his brief and get the measure of the vested interests that have run riot in this area. Meanwhile, Mr Javid will significantly shift the balance of power at the top of the government in a Eurosceptic direction, as Ms Rudd』s replacement in the Brexit inner cabinet. Though he supported Remain in the referendum, he did so more to suck up to David Cameron than out of any conviction. He likes the idea of a small-state, light-regulation Britain forging its own Randian future. Brexiteers are crowing about his intervention on May 2nd against Mrs May』s proposed 「customs partnership」 with the EU.

The Javid package might not sound like an overwhelmingly attractive one. Mrs May is exchanging the likelihood of regression in housing and EU dealmaking for the mere possibility of progress atthe Home Office. But she has probably chosen the right man for the urgent job of preventing the Windrush scandal from consuming her government. In fairy tales told by libertarian philosophers, fire-breathing heroes come along and solve humanity』s problems. In Mrs May』s all-too-real world, flawed individuals stagger from crisis to crisis in a desperate attempt to stave off complete disaster.

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內容翻譯

「That could be me」也許就會是我

Britain"s new home secretary confronts a formidable list of challenges英國新任內政大臣①正面臨諸多困難與挑戰。

SAJID JAVID belongs to a tribe that is millions-strong in America butvanishingly/難以察覺/small in Britain: devotees of the libertarian philosopher-cum-novelist Ayn Rand. Twice a year Mr Javid makes a point of reading the courtroom scene in 「The Fountainhead」, in which the hero proclaims that he would rather go to prison than bow down before the will of the crowd. The great theme of Rand』s writings is the ability of heroic individuals to bend the arc of history to their will. Mr Javid will need plenty of the Randian spirit if he is to make a success of his new portfolio.賽義德·賈維德所屬的這個群體，是一個在美洲有數百萬人之多，而在英國卻小到難以察覺的這樣一個群體。這個群體就是自由主義的哲學家兼作家安·蘭德②的信徒們。賈維德每年都要堅持閱讀兩次小說《源泉》③中的法庭的橋段。這本小說中，主人公宣稱自己寧願忍受牢獄之災，也不願意在眾人的意志面前低頭。蘭德在寫作中的一大主題就是主人公個人改變歷史進程的能力。賈維德如果想要在他的部長職位上有所成功的話，就需要很多蘭德精神的鼓舞。

The home secretary』s immediate task is to contain the panic over the Windrush scandal, in which thousands of Caribbean Britons were misidentified as illegal immigrants. His long-term job is to tackle twofestering/惡化的/problems. The first of those is the chronic lack of order in the Home Office.Mr Javid has to 「get a grip」, as Tories love to put it.His new department has a justified reputation as thegraveyard/埋葬廠/of government ministers and their agendas.內政部眼下的任務就是控制「疾風」⑥醜聞的恐慌。這次的醜聞中，成千上萬的由加勒比海移民的英國人，被誤認為是非法移民。賈維德的長期工作是解決兩件不斷惡化的問題。第一件就是解決內政部長久以來的混亂無序。賈維德需要梳理思路，這也正是保守黨喜歡說的。他的新辦公室在推翻政府部長以及他們的議題方面名不虛傳。It is asprawling/蔓延的/empire in which thousands of officials administer often contradictory policies that can deprive people of their liberty or their right to stay in the country. The Home Office is currentlygrappling with/處理/the trickiest problem in its recent history: designing a new immigration system for aBrexited/脫歐/Britain, while at the same time dealing with the consequences of Britain』s biggest-ever wave of immigration.在這個龐大的帝國里，成千上萬的政府部長們制定各種自相矛盾的政策，這些政策剝奪了民眾留在這個國家的自由和權利。英國內政部現在正在處理他們近代以來最複雜的問題：為脫歐後的英國制定新的移民政策，並且要同時處理好英國史上最大的移民潮。

The second festering problem is the public』s lack of faith in Britain』s immigration system. Restoring it will involve striking a delicate balance between compassion and control. Mr Javid needs to reassure those who have been disconcerted by the government』s「hostile environment」 policy—not just members of the Windrush generation but also EU nationals and other legal residents—that they have nothing to worry about. But he also needs to reassure the majority of Britons who think that immigration is too high and that illegal migrants represent a serious problem. He got off to a good start, with two feisty appearances in the House of Commons,disowning/否認/the noxious phrase 「hostile environment」, outlining measures to safeguard Windrush migrants from further injustice and promising themcompensation/補償/.第二個棘手的問題就是英國民眾對於移民政策缺乏信任。想要重建起信任，就要在對移民的同情和把控之中找到微妙的平衡。那些在政府的對外來移民的「敵對環境政策」下受到影響的人們，賈維德需要讓他們消除顧慮。這些人不僅僅是「疾風世代」，也是歐盟和其他地方的合法公民，他們本不該有任何需要擔心的。但同時，賈維德還需要讓那些覺得移民太多，而非法移民已經構成了嚴重的社會問題的人，讓他們打消顧慮。他在兩次內政部的活躍表現中，都否認了「敵對環境」這一錯誤做法，這讓他在部長職位上有了一個好的開始。概述了保護「疾風」移民不受更多不公平待遇的措施，並且承諾會對他們之前遭受的待遇進行補償。

These tasks would probably overwhelm even Rand』s hero, Howard Roark. But Mr Javid nevertheless enjoys a couple of important advantages. One is his background. He is the first Muslim to hold one of Britain』s great offices of state. His father arrived in Britain from Pakistan in 1961with￡1in his pocket and made his living as a bus driver while his mother ran a shop.即使是蘭德書中的主人公霍華德·羅克，面對這些難題可能也會被壓垮。然而賈維德在這幾個問題上卻擁有著一定的優勢。一個是他的成長背景。賈維德是第一個擔任英國政府高級別官員的穆斯林。他的父親1961年從巴基斯坦來到英國，身上只帶著一英鎊。為了維持生計，他父親當上了公交車司機，母親則開了一家商店。Mr Javid demonstrated that Labour doesn』t have a monopoly on anger over Windrush by telling the Sunday Telegraph on April 29th (before getting his new job) that 「that could be my mum…my dad…my uncle…it could be me.」賈維德認為，對「疾風」世代的憤怒並非只是工黨獨有，他在4月29日的星期日電訊報上說：「那些被驅逐的人里，有一天可能就會有我的母親，我的父親，我的叔叔，甚至可能是我。」

His other advantage is his distance from the prime minister. Ms Rudd never really freed herself from her predecessor』s shadow because she took over at the Home Office when Mrs May was in her pomp as prime minister. Mr Javid is taking over at a time when Mrs May is weak—and weak precisely because of policies that she pioneered as home secretary.他的另一個優勢就是和首相的距離。魯德從未從她前任的影子下解脫，因為她接任內政部長的時候，正值梅姨上任英國首相。而賈維德從魯德手中接任時，梅姨正處於執政低谷。而梅姨這次執政低谷恰恰也是緣起自她做內政大臣時所提倡的政策。Mr Javid also has a history of poor relations with his boss. He was one of the most briefed against ministers when Mrs May was riding high,and one of the most brutal critics of herDowning Street operation after the electiondebacle/崩潰/.He belongs to a very different Conservative tradition. Mrs May is a 1950s Tory who hankers after a morehomogenous/趨同的/Britain. Mr Javid is a 1980s Tory who has a portrait of Margaret Thatcher hanging in his office.賈維德也曾有一段時間與他的領導梅姨關係不和。他是梅姨正意氣風發的時候最反對她的人，也是在保守黨選舉失敗後對英國政府指責最嚴厲的人。賈維德有著非常不一樣的保守黨傳統。梅姨是五十年代的保守黨員，她嚮往著一個統一運作的英國政府。而賈維德是八十年代的黨員，他的辦公室里懸掛著撒切爾夫人的畫像。

This could be a recipe for afractious/難以對待的/relationship at the heart of government. Mrs May is as proud as she isrigid/死板的/, and still likes to start her sentences with the phrase: 「When I was home secretary」. But it could be a chance to forge a more realistic immigration policy. Mr Javid needs to start by persuading his boss to abandon her fixation with including students in migration figures.這將會是處理政府內部錯綜複雜的關係的良方。特蕾莎妹驕傲並且死板，而且仍然喜歡用她慣用的開場白「在我做內政大臣的時候」。但這也許是一個推進更現實的移民政策的時機。賈維德需要說服梅姨摒棄之前設立的包括留學生在內的「強制遣返移民目標數字」，並以此作為他任職的起點He then needs to go on to change the logic of immigration thinking: forget about thearbitrary/獨斷的/targets, like reducing net inflows to the tens of thousands, and focus instead on the country』s long-term needs, particularly when it comes to recruiting highly skilled workers, who can boost productivity, and willing hands who can make up labour shortages in the health service, care homes and the building trade. That is what voters tell pollsters they want. Mr Javid』s job is to bring policy in line.。然後他要做的是轉變關於移民政策的思考邏輯。不要考慮譬如將凈流量減少到幾萬人那些獨斷的目標，而要聚焦國家的長期需求，尤其是在招聘技藝精湛的工人們時，他們可以推動生產力的發展，以及那些願意在短缺的醫療服務業，療養業，以及建築業的情況下貢獻自己力量的人。而這些正是選民告訴民意調查人的他們想要的。賈維德的職責就是要匹配相應的政策。

Sajid shrugged

「賽義德聳聳肩」⑤

His promotion brings significant problems with it. In his previous job as secretary for local government he spent two years tackling the severe shortage of housing that is putting home ownership beyond the reach of a generation of Britons. Hissuccessor/繼任者/, James Brokenshire, will take time to master hisbrief/研究報告/and get the measure of thevested/既定的/interests that have run riot in this area.賈維德的晉陞也帶來了其他值得注意的問題。在他上一份工作中，時任地方政府大臣的賈維德花了兩年的時間解決住房短缺的問題，住房短缺導致英國的一代人都沒有自己的住房。他的繼任者詹姆斯·布魯克肖爾要花時間了解他的研究報告並且摸清當地大肆出現的既得利益者。Meanwhile, Mr Javid will significantly shift the balance of power at the top of the government in aEurosceptic/疑歐派/direction, as Ms Rudd』s replacement in the Brexit innercabinet/內閣/. Though he supported Remain in thereferendum/全民公決/, he did so more tosuck up to/討好/David Cameron than out of any conviction. He likes the idea of a small-state, light-regulation Britain forging its own Randian future. Brexiteers are crowing about his intervention on May 2nd against Mrs May』s proposed 「customs partnership」 with the EU.與此同時，賈維德替代了魯德在脫歐派核心內閣中的位置，這將會大大改變政府高層中疑歐派的權力平衡。儘管他在全民公決中支持留歐，但他並不是出於信念，更多是想要討好大衛·卡梅隆。賈維德青睞於英國「小政府」志向和寬鬆監管政策，以此來實現英國蘭德式的未來。5月2日，賈維德反對特蕾莎梅對歐洲提出的「關稅合作夥伴計劃」，此舉使脫歐派們對他大肆吹捧。

The Javid package might not sound like an overwhelmingly attractive one.Mrs May is exchanging thelikelihoodofregressionin housing and EUdealmakingfor the mere possibility of progress at the Home Office.But she has probably chosen the right man for the urgent job of preventing the Windrush scandal from consuming her government. In fairy tales told by libertarian philosophers, fire-breathing heroes come along and solve humanity』s problems. In Mrs May』s all-too-real world, flawed individuals stagger from crisis to crisis in a desperate attempt to stave off complete disaster.賈維德方案看起來似乎不是絕對有吸引力的。梅姨捨棄住房市場和歐盟貿易的回歸，而力求換取內政部微弱的改善的可能性，但為了防止英國政府被「疾風」醜聞拖垮，她選擇了合適的人選去解決這個迫在眉睫的問題。在一則自由主義哲學家所講的神話故事中，口吐火焰的英雄們一同出現並解決了人類的難題，但在梅姨的現實世界當中，一個個並不完美的人在一起又一起危機當中，步履蹣跚地躲過一場場滅頂之災。

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內容注釋

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內政大臣

英國內政部的部長，掌管英格蘭和威爾士的內政、全英國的移民和公民事務。現任內政大臣為賈偉德，服務於特蕾莎·梅內閣。現時內政大臣的職責範疇：治安打擊罪行，反恐，公民權責，英國身份證、護照。

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Ayn Rand安·蘭德

蘇聯裔美國著名哲學家、文學家，客觀主義運動首創者，理性的利己主義思想倡導者，被譽為「美國的自由女神」，是全世界有史以來最暢銷的作家之一，是20世紀美國最為知名、小說和論著賣出冊數最多的作家、思想家和公共知識分子之一。

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The Fountainhead《源泉》

安蘭德作品，該書講述的是天才建築師霍華德·羅克單槍匹馬辯護自己的創造產權的故事，是一部為人權辯護的書籍。

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Tories托利黨

即英國保守黨。保守黨是英國的老牌大黨，距今已有300多年的歷史。是英國兩大主要執政黨之一，另一個是英國工黨。按下院所佔議席數計算，保守黨現時是英國第一大黨。保守黨是在20世紀的英國佔主導地位的政黨，出過丘吉爾和撒切爾夫人等著名首相，現任領袖為特雷莎·梅。

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《阿特拉斯聳聳肩》

說法來自於安蘭德小說Atlas Shrugged《阿特拉斯聳聳肩》被認為是蘭德的代表作，小說從女主角達格妮·塔格特的角度出發，檢視一個社會如何在政府擴張對產業管制的情況下逐漸崩潰。

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Windrush，疾風一代 / 疾風醜聞

二戰後，為了解決英國本土勞動力不足的問題，英國從前殖民地國家包括加勒比海地區引入了大批青壯年移民。其中一艘名叫「疾風（Windrush）」號的客船搭載了大量的移民來到英國，所以這些移民也被稱作「疾風一代」。當時這些國家還沒有脫離英國獨立，所以這些地方的移民到了英國後被視為合法的英國公民。

而上周三，前內政大臣的魯德表示自己並不知道內政部訂下了強制遣返被視為非法移民的「疾風一代」人數的具體指標。但是在媒體獲得的外泄文件中卻清楚顯示，魯德早在去年就已經知道2017-2018年內政部強制遣返移民的數量為12.8萬人。魯德因此醜聞被迫辭職。

初涉翻譯，有不準確的地方，請老師們不吝指教。

特別感謝Mr. John Ren

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