雅思哥经济学人精读
原 文 译 文
China
中国
Red moon rising
红月升起
If China dominates science, should the world worry?
如果中国主导科学，世界应该担心吗？
1. A hundred years ago a wave of student protests broke over China’s great cities. Desperate to reverse a century of decline, the leaders of the May Fourth Movement wanted to jettison Confucianism and import the dynamism of the West. The creation of a modern China would come about, they argued, by recruiting “Mr. Science” and “Mr. Democracy”. Today the country that the May Fourth students helped shape is more than ever consumed by the pursuit of national greatness. China’s landing of a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon on January 3rd, a first for any country, was a mark of its soaring ambition.
一百年前，中国大城市爆发了一股学生抗议浪潮。五四运动带头人极度渴望扭转中国一个世纪的衰落，因而想要摒弃旧思想、引进西方活力。他们认为，引进“德先生”和“赛先生”，能带来一个新中国。如今，五四运动的学生们帮助建立的新中国比以往任何时候都更加追求国家繁荣。1月3日，中国成为第一个在月球背面着陆宇宙飞船的国家，展示了中国的雄心。
2. There is no doubting Mr. Xi’s determination. Modern science depends on money, institutions and oodles of brainpower . Partly because its government can marshal all three, China is hurtling up the rankings of scientific achievement, as our investigations show. It has spent many billions of dollars on machines to detect dark matter and neutrinos , and on institutes galore that delve into everything from genomics and quantum communications to renewable energy and advanced materials. An analysis of 17.2m papers in 2013-18, by Nikkei, a Japanese publisher, and Elsevier, a scientific publisher, found that more came from China than from any other country in 23 of the 30 busiest fields, such as sodium-ion batteries and neuron-activation analysis. The quality of American research has remained higher, but China has been catching up, accounting for 11% of the most influential papers in 2014-16.
习近平带领中国复兴的决心毋庸置疑。现代科学依赖于金钱、制度和大量的智力。正如我们的调查所显示的，中国的科学成就排名正急速上升，部分原因是中国政府能够统筹三方面的工作。中国已经在探测暗物质和中微子的机器上花费了数十亿美元，并在研究基因组学、量子通信、可再生能源和先进材料等方方面面的机构上投入了大量资金。日本出版商日经新闻和科学出版商爱思维叶对2013-18年1720万篇论文进行了分析，发现在钠离子电池和神经激活分析等30个最热门的领域中，来自中国的论文居首。美国的研究质量一直较高，而中国一直在迎头赶上，在2014-16年度最具影响力的论文中，中国占到了11%。
3. Such is the pressure on Chinese scientists to make breakthroughs that some put ends before means. Last year He Jiankui, an academic from Shenzhen, edited the genomes of embryos without proper regard for their post-partum welfare—or that of any children they might go on to have. Chinese artificial-intelligence (AI) researchers are thought to train their algorithms on data harvested from Chinese citizens with little oversight.
这些都是中国科学家取得成就的压力，以至于有些科学家相对于方法更注重结果。去年，深圳学者贺建奎编辑胚胎基因组时未适当考虑其产后福利，亦或是之后可能会有的孩子。很多人认为人工智能研究人员在缺乏监管的情况下，从公民那里获取数据来训练算法。
4. The looming prospect of a dominant, rule-breaking, high-tech China alarms Western politicians, and not just because of the new weaponry it will develop. China already deploys AI techniques like facial recognition to monitor its population in real time. The outside world might find a China dabbling in genetic enhancement, autonomous AIs or geoengineering extremely frightening. These fears are justified. A scientific superpower wrapped up in a one-party dictatorship is indeed intimidating. But the effects of China’s growing scientific clout do not all point one way.
主导、不循规蹈矩、高科技的中国正在出现，这样的前景让西方政客紧张起来，不仅害怕将会发展新武器。中国已经部署了人脸识别等人工智能技术来实时监测人口。其他国家可能会发现，一个涉足基因增强、自主人工智能或地球工程的中国极具威慑力。这些担忧是合理的。这个科技超级大国的确令人生畏。但中国日益增长的科学影响力并不都指向一个方向。
5. For a start, Chinese science is about much more than weapons. From better batteries and new treatments for disease to fundamental discoveries about, say, dark matter, the world has much to gain from China’s efforts. Moreover, it is unclear whether Mr. Xi is right. If Chinese research really is to lead the field, then science may end up changing China in ways he is not expecting.
首先，中国的科学不仅用于武器方面。从更优电池和新医疗手段，到诸如暗物质之类的基本发现，世界都能从中国的进步中获益良多。此外，目前还不清楚习是否正确。如果中国研究真的要引领科学界，那么科学可能会以他意想不到的方式改变中国。
6. Mr. Xi talks of science and technology as a national project. However, in most scientific research, chauvinism is a handicap. Expertise, good ideas and creativity do not respect national frontiers. Research takes place in teams, which may involve dozens of scientists. Published papers get you only so far: conferences and face-to-face encounters are essential to grasp the subtleties of what everyone else is up to. There is competition, to be sure; military and commercial research must remain secret. But pure science thrives on collaboration and exchange.
习近平谈到科学技术是一个国家项目。然而，在大多数科学研究中，沙文主义是一个障碍。研究是在团队中进行的，可能涉及几十名科学家。发表的论文只能止步于此：而想要了解其他人在做什么，会议和面对面的接触至关重要。当然，竞争是存在的；军事和商业研究必须保密。但是，纯科学的繁荣依赖于合作和交流。
7. This gives Chinese scientists an incentive to observe international rules—because that is what will win its researchers access to the best conferences, laboratories and journals, and because unethical science diminishes China’s soft power. Mr He’s gene-editing may well be remembered not just for his ethical breach, but also for the furious condemnation he received from his Chinese colleagues and the threat of punishment from the authorities. The satellite destruction in 2007 caused outrage in China. It has not been repeated.
这让中国科学家有了遵守国际规则的动力。有两个原因，第一，研究人员因此可以参加顶级会议、加入顶尖图书馆、在核心期刊上发表文章，第二，不道德的科学会削弱中国的软实力。贺建奎的基因编辑会被铭记，不仅仅是因为他违背了道德，还因为他受到同行的强烈谴责和政府的管制。2007年的卫星毁灭事件在中国引起公愤。目前还没有类似的事情发生。
8. The tantalizing question is how this bears on Mr. Democracy. Nothing says the best scientists have to believe in political freedom. And yet critical thinking, scepticism, empiricism and frequent contact with foreign colleagues threaten authoritarians . Soviet Russia sought to resolve that contradiction by giving its scientists privileges, but isolating many of them in closed cities.
发人深思的问题在于这和“德先生”有关。最优秀的科学家必须信奉政治自由这种说法毫无根据。然而，批判性思维、怀疑主义、经验主义以及与外国同行的频繁接触，对威权主义者构成了威胁。苏联曾试图通过给予科学家特权来解决这种矛盾，但却将很多科学家隔离在封闭的城市。
9. China will not be able to corral its rapidly growing scientific elite in that way. Although many researchers will be satisfied with just their academic freedom, only a small number need seek broader self-expression to cause problems for the Government. Think of Andrei Sakharov, who developed the Russian hydrogen bomb, and later became a chief Soviet dissident . When the official version of reality was tired and stilted , both stood out as seekers of the truth. That gave them immense moral authority.
通过这样的方式，中国无法聚集快速增长的科学精英。尽管许多研究人员只满足于学术自由，但是只要有小部分人追求更广泛的自我表达，就会给政府带来麻烦。想想安德烈萨哈罗夫吧，他研发了俄罗斯的氢弹，后成为苏联的主要异见人士。当官方对事实的描述烦人呆板时，这样的人就会作为真理的追寻者脱颖而出。这给了他们巨大的道德权威。
10. Some in the West may feel threatened by China’s advances in science, and therefore aim to keep its researchers at arm’s length. That would be wise for weapons science and commercial research, where elaborate mechanisms to preserve secrecy already exist and could be strengthened. But to extend an arm’s-length approach to ordinary research would be self-defeating. Collaboration is the best way of ensuring that Chinese science is responsible and transparent.
西方某些人士可能会感觉收到了中国科学进步的威胁，所以要和中国研究人员保持一定的距离。这在武器科学和商业研究方面是明智之举，因为在这些方面复杂的保密机制已经存在且可以继续加强。但是，将保持距离的方法延伸到普通的研究将会弄巧成拙。合作是确保中国科学负责任和透明的最佳方式。
11. Hard as it is to imagine, Mr. Xi could end up facing a much tougher choice: to be content with lagging behind , or to give his scientists the freedom they need and risk the consequences. In that sense, he is running the biggest experiment of all.
虽然很难想象，但习可能最终面临一个更加艰难的选择：要么满足于落后，要么给科学家自由，并冒着承担后果的风险。从这个意义上说，他正在进行最大的实验。
精 读 解 析
P1—P2: 中国科技正在崛起。
P3—P4： 中国科技崛起带来的影响以及引起的担忧。
P5—P10： 中国科技发展并不会走向令人担忧的结果，相反，科技会以意想不到的方式改变中国：纯科学的繁荣依赖于合作和交流，这让中国科学家有了遵守国际规则的动力；科学家会享有更多的自由也会获得更大的道德权威；合作是确保中国科学负责任和透明的最佳方式。
P11： 习近平主席面临的两难选择：给科学家以自由或者满足于落后。
jettison /'dets()n/ vt. 抛弃,丢弃
【例句】
They jettisoned big boxes to make the bus lighter.
他们抛弃公共汽车上的货物,使车减轻重量。
oodles of 大量; 很多
【例句】
The overseas Indians brought oodles of useful experience.
海外印度人带来了大量的有益经验。
brainpower /'brenpa/ n. 智能,智囊,智囊团
【例句】
Research by the Australian National University in Canberra suggests drinking in moderation boost your brainpower.
位于堪培拉的澳大利亚国立大学的一项调查显示，适度喝酒可以提高大脑的思维能力。
hurtle up 赶上
【例句】
Ogden hurtled up the path and erupted onto the main lane, his arms over his head, where he collided with the glossy chestnut horse ridden by a very handsome, dark-haired young man.
奥格登用手臂护着脑袋，冲上土路，又飞快地拐上主路，撞上了那匹油亮亮的枣红马。
marshal /'mɑ()l/ n. 元帅；司仪v. 整理；引领；编列
【例句】
The marshal rode at the head of the parade.
典礼官在检阅队伍的前面骑马行进。
dark matter 暗物质
注：在宇宙学中，暗物质（dark matter），是指无法通过电磁波的观测进行研究，也就是不与电磁力产生作用的物质。人们目前只能透过重力产生的效应得知，而且已经发现宇宙中有大量暗物质的存在。
neutrinos /nju'trin/ n. 中微子
galore /g'l/ adv. 丰富地adj. 丰富的；大量的
【例句】
She certainly had courage galore, as well as the gift of impressing foreigners, who often rallied to her in times of need.
当然，她有着非凡的勇气，总能给外国人留下很深的印象，在她需要的时候外国人总是支持她。
delve into 钻研；深入研究
【例句】
With ingenuity and no little courage he has travelled far and wide, within Somalia and among the Somali diaspora in Britain and America, delving into the soul of a ravaged community.
他凭着机智和非凡的勇气广游四方，他去过索马里，也采访过流散在英美的索马里人，剖析了这个遭受蹂躏的地区的灵魂。
genomics /dnmks/基因组学
【例句】
Sanger is a non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute.
桑格研究所是英国一家非营利性的基因学和遗传学研究所。
quantum /'kwntm/ n. <物>量子；定量;总量；剧增；突飞猛进；重大进展
【例句】
Quantum mechanics was developed in the 1920s.
量子力学从上世纪20年代开始发展。
renewable /rnu:bl/ adj. 可继续的,可续订的；可再生的
【例句】
This renewable energy is used in people's everyday lives.
人们日常生活中每天都会用到这种可再生能源。
genome /'di:num/ n. [生]基因组；[生]染色体组
【例句】
The cells in an embryo start with one master genome.
胚胎上的细胞始於一个最先的基因组。
algorithm /'lgr()m/ n. 运算法则
【例句】
We're mostly working on a lossless compression algorithm.
我们最近在开发一种无损压缩算法。
dabble /'db()l/ v. 溅湿；浸入水中；涉足；涉猎；
【短语】
dabble at
涉猎；涉足于
dabble inv. 涉猎
【例句】
I have to be careful, he continued, turning to me with a smile, for I dabble with poisons a good deal.
我不得不小心一点，他转过脸来对我笑了一笑，接着又说，因为我常和毒气接触。
geoengineering地球工程
【例句】
Though Dr Russell's experiment had been designed mainly to look at how clouds form naturally, it paves the way for future work on geoengineering.
拉塞尔的实验是为观察云朵的自然形成而设计，在此也为更多地理工程研究铺路。
autonomous /'tnms/ adj. 自治的；自主的
【例句】
Each of the U.S. states has an autonomous government.
美国的每个州都有一个自治政府。
wrap up v. 掩饰, 伪装, 使全神贯注, 围好围巾, 包起来@v. 完成, 结束（业务协定, 会议等）
【例句】
Markus has wrapped up warmly in a woolly hat
马库斯戴着一顶羊毛帽子，非常暖和。
dictatorship /dk'tetp/ n. 独裁;专政；独裁统治的国家
【例句】
It basically turned into the dictatorship of the self-adorning blowhard Alexander Kerensky.
它基本上变成了自我吹捧亚历山大·克伦斯基的独裁政权。
clout /klat/ n. 破布；敲打；影响力；靶心；大帽钉（等于clout nail）v. 给…打补钉；猛击；用布擦
【例句】
With the end of the Western Empire the Catholic Church gained even more clout.
随着西罗马帝国的灭亡，天主教教会获得了更大的势力。
chauvinism /'v()nz()m/ n. 沙文主义；大国沙文主义
注：沙文主义（英语：Chauvinism）原指极端的、不合理的、过分的爱国主义（因此也是一种民族主义）。如今的含义也囊括其他领域，主要指盲目热爱自己所处的团体，并经常对其他团体怀有恶意与仇恨。
【例句】
He accused those who want to limit it of chauvinism and scaremongering.
他指责那些希望限制该权利的人是沙文主义者和散布谣言者。
handicap /'hndkp/ n. 障碍；(生理或智力上的)缺陷; 残疾；加给强对手的不利条件v. 妨碍; 使不利；使(某人)行动和生活不正常
【例句】
A spatial relations handicap affects your hand-eye coordination.
空间关系障碍影响你的手眼协调。
His lack of English handicaps him.
英语不好对他是一件不利的事。
e xpertise /eksp'tiz/ n. 专门知识或技能
【例句】
Expertise means not needing to be coached.
专家意味着不需再受教。
s ubtlety /'st()lt/ n. 微妙；敏锐；精明
【例句】
The subtleties of politics are often lost on me.
我这人对政治常常有失敏锐。
c ollaboration /k,lb'ren/ n. 合作, 协作；通敌
【短语】
in collaboration with
与…勾结；与…合作
【例句】
Dealing with the problem of remote collaboration.
处理远端协同作业的问题。
He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.
他因通敌而被枪毙了。
outrage /'atred/ n. 暴行；侮辱；愤怒，愤慨v. 对…施暴行；凌辱，强奸；激起愤怒
【例句】
And at first there was massive public outrage.
但最初这种合理的穿着也引起了社会的不满。
diminish /d'mn/ v. 使减少；使变小
【例句】
The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished.
我花在锻炼上的时间逐渐减少。
tantalizing /'tntlaz/ adj. 逗人的，惹弄人的，撩人的，煽情的
【同根】
tantalize vt. 逗弄;引诱；折磨
【例句】
The delicious smell of baking salmon wafted tantalizingly in their direction.
烤好的鱼的诱人香气向他们这个方向不断飘送过来。
authoritarian /,θr'tern/ adj. 权力主义的,专制的n. 权力主义者,专制者,独裁者
【例句】
There was rightwing authoritarian rule everywhere.
当时到处都是右翼独裁统治。
corral /k'rɑl/ n. 畜栏vt. 把…赶入畜栏；召集
【例句】
When the corral has been made ready, the elephants begin to see blazing lights all around them.
当围栏准备好之后，大象开始看到周围灯火通明。
hydrogen /'hadrd()n/ n. 氢
dissident /'dsd()nt/ n. 持异议者, 公开大唱反调者;持不同政见者
【例句】
World War I gives opportunity to Russian dissidents
一战给了俄国持不同政见的人们
s tilted /'stltd/ adj. (动作或言语)生硬的,不自然的
【同根】
stilt n. 高跷；支柱，支撑物vt. 使踏上高跷
【例句】
In an unusually stilted performance, Sarah Palin, John McCain's running-mate in 2008, endorsed Donald Trump for president.
萨拉·佩林（Sarah Pali，2008年约翰·麦凯恩的竞选搭档）异常高调宣布支持唐纳德·特朗普竞选总统。
lag behind 落后
【例句】
He lagged behind in the race.
他在赛跑中落后了。
- THE END -
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