翻译时时练-《经济学家》读译参考-第七篇

Memoirs of a quail-shooting man
　　一位鹌鹑捕猎者的自述
　　
　　The biggest decline in hunters is taking place among the working class—among the “Deer Hunter” crowd in the small towns of the north-east, the ★rednecks[15] of the South and the cowboys of the West. Their places are being taken by moneyed professionals, （1）the sort of people who weren't brought up to hunt but who discovered that it is a good way to ★flash their money[16] and make connections. The number of hunters with household incomes above $100,000 increased by more than a quarter in the 1990s. There are so many ★nouveaux chasseurs strutting around[17] the canyons of Manhattan that both Holland & Holland and Barbour have opened shops there.
　　捕猎人数减少最多的是工人阶层，包括东北部小城镇上的“猎鹿一族”、南部的乡下佬以及西部牛仔。腰缠万贯的职业猎人霸占了他们的捕猎领地，这种猎人原来压根不曾想过要去打猎，但后来却发现打猎对于炫耀财富并疏通人际关系而言，是一条不错的门路。20世纪90年代，家庭收入10万美元以上的猎人总数增长了四分之一还多。猎人中的这些新贵趾高气扬地在曼哈顿峡谷中悠哉游哉，引得Holland&Holland和Barbour两大品牌都在那里开张营业了。
　　
　　Mr Cheney's own expedition was a lot closer to “Gosford Park” than “The Deer Hunter”—a group of fat old ★toffs[18] （2）waiting for wildlife to be ★flushed[19] towards them at huge expense. There has also been a big increase in so-called “exotic hunting”, where guests not only go after indigenous species such as wolves and bears, but also blast away at imported zebras and giraffes. （3）Convenience is essential for the hedge-fund crowd. Most exotic hunts take place in ranches from which the animals can't escape (Texas has 600). Exotic hunters can shoot elephants from cars or from the backs of other elephants, sometimes the orphaned calves of the victims of previous hunts. For the truly lazy there is “just-in-time shooting”, where animals are trained to turn up at certain hours, and “internet shooting”, where you can guide the gun from your desk. All this removes much of the inconvenience from hunting. （4）It also removes its main justification—that it is the most natural way of culling local wildlife.
　　切尼先生看上去更像是“高斯福特公园族”而不是“猎鹿一族”。所谓高斯福特公园族是指一群上了年纪的、大腹便便的纨绔子弟，悠然自得地等着出高价雇来的人将猎物赶进他们的射程。还有一种所谓的“异国情调式打猎”也越来越受青睐，其间猎人不仅可以捕猎土产猎物如狼、熊等，还可以猎杀从国外引进的斑马、长颈鹿。对在围场打猎的人来说，方便是第一位的。大多数“异国情调式打猎”都在猎物无法逃走的牧场进行（在得克萨斯州有600个这样的牧场）。异国情调式猎人可以坐在汽车上或是躲在其他大象的身后射杀大象，有时也射杀一些已经中弹的落单小牛。要是实在懒得动，可选择“准时射击”，也就是把猎物训练好，让它们能在特定的时候出现在枪口之下。另外，还有一种“互联网控制射击”，猎人坐在电脑桌前可以遥控猎枪。如此种种，省却了打猎中的很多不便，却也让享受这种方便的猎人们无法自圆其说——他们坚持认为打猎是土产野生物优胜劣汰最合乎情理的方式。（言下之意，就原来意义上的打猎而言，猎物存在于大自然之中，有的有能力逃过猎杀，有的则难免落网，这倒有点像优胜劣汰。然而无论是围猎还是遥控射猎，被猎杀的动物要么无处可逃，要么被迫自投罗网，何言优胜劣汰呢？）
　　
　　America's anti-hunting movement is tiny by British standards. But （5）it is gathering momentum, with the mainstream Humane Society taking an increasingly tough line and even conservatives protesting about exotic hunting. (The examples above are taken from “Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy”, a remarkable book by Matthew Scully, one of Mr Bush's former speechwriters.) The ★squall over [20]Mr Cheney's behaviour in Quailgate will probably die down, providing Mr Whittington survives. But the debate over hunting will go on growing.
　　美国的反狩猎行动相比英国还有些微不足道，不过随着动物保护协会的声势日益高涨，并且连保守派也开始反对异国情调式捕猎，（上述例证引自《统治权——人类之力量、动物之苦难和仁慈之感召》一书，这本好书的作者马修•斯佳丽曾是布什总统的演讲撰稿人之一。）反狩猎行动已经蓄势待发了。假如惠廷顿先生没有生命危险，切尼在鹌鹑门所作所为引发的喧嚣也许将渐渐消逝，不过关于狩猎的争论将会日趋激烈。
　　
　　★★★砖已抛，玉何在？★★★（请有空没事的有心人一一指点，文中标序号（）和▲符合之间的部分）
　　
　　
　　★★★NOTES注释★★★
　　
　　[15] redneck n.【无礼用语】 【俚语】 红脖子，乡下佬（对属于农村劳动阶层、从事露天劳动，特别是美国南方这一阶层白人的贬称）；红脖子（被认为是持有狭隘保守，经常是有偏见的社会政治观点的人）
　　
　　[16]flash their money 炫耀他们是有钱人
　　flash vt.& n.【俚语】 招摇（庸俗华丽的或炫耀式的展览）=flaunt
　　“The antique flash and trash of an older southern California have given way to a sleeker age of cultural hip”(Newsweek)“旧南加州往日的炫丽与糟粕，早已被文化嬉皮的时髦时代取代”(新闻周刊)
　　
　　[17] nouveaux adj.新近到达的，新近产生的
　　chasseur n.（法语）猎人
　　strut vi.昂首阔步，神气十足地走
　　
　　[18]toff：n.有钱人，花花公子
　　
　　[19]flush：v.惊起，从隐蔽处赶出
　　
　　[20]squall：vi.狂风吹袭；狂叫，狂吹 n.尖叫声