英語(yǔ)外刊精讀

1、 New film: 12 Years A Slave 新片上映：為奴十二年Jan 9th 2014 / the EconomistEARLY in Steve McQueens “12 Years A Slave”, a Louisiana plantation-owner returns home with the two slaves hes just bought, a man and a woman. Waiting on the veranda, his genteel wife notices that the woman is crying, and asks why. “Se

2、parated from her children,” sighs the husband, not unsympathetically. “Cant be helped.”在史蒂夫麥奎因執(zhí)導(dǎo)的電影為奴十二年開頭，有位路易斯安那的種植園主帶著他剛買的一男一女兩個(gè)黑奴回家。他溫文爾雅的妻子等在陽(yáng)臺(tái)上，看到那個(gè)女奴在哭泣，就問(wèn)為什么?！八秃⒆臃珠_了，”做丈夫的嘆了口氣，不無(wú)同情地說(shuō)，“沒(méi)辦法?！盩hose last three words are the key to Mr McQueens devastating film, in that they, like so many other s

3、equences, present slavery as the norm: long-established, legal and legitimized by scripture. To its mid-19th-century characters, theres nothing unusual about keeping human beings as property, and no way that the institution can be changed. In the preceding scene, a jovial slave-trader (Paul Giamatti

4、) is showing customers his wares. “This is a nigger of considerable talent,” he remarks, but theres nothing in the way the line is spoken to suggest that anyone in the shop might be shocked. The trader sees his terrified, naked merchandise as no different from any other commodity.這三個(gè)字成為麥奎因這部令人震驚的電影的

5、關(guān)鍵詞，像許多鏡頭表現(xiàn)的那樣，人們把奴隸制視為常態(tài)：由來(lái)已久、合乎法律、天經(jīng)地義。對(duì)于本片19世紀(jì)中期的角色來(lái)說(shuō)，把人作為財(cái)產(chǎn)是很平常的事，沒(méi)有辦法改變這種制度。在前面的場(chǎng)景中，有個(gè)快活的奴隸販子（保羅吉亞瑪提飾演）向主顧展示他的貨品。他說(shuō)，“這是個(gè)很有才華的黑鬼，”可是這里沒(méi)有臺(tái)詞暗示店里的人可能受到驚嚇。在奴隸販子看來(lái)，赤裸受驚的黑奴和其他貨色沒(méi)什么不同。In another astonishing scene, the hero, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, pictured), is hanged from a tree by a noose.

6、 For an agonizingly long time, he gulps for air, his feet only just touching the muddy ground. But Mr. McQueen doesnt ratchet up the tension with dramatic music or exploitative close-ups. He simply lets the ordeal carry on and on, while in the background, servants go about their business and childre

7、n play. Its not until the film is almost over that a Canadian laborer articulates the notion that slavery might be wrong. In the meantime, even Northup accepts that its a fact of life. His only complaint is that it shouldnt be a fact of his life.在另一幕驚人的場(chǎng)景中，主人公所羅門諾瑟普（切瓦特埃加福特飾演，如圖）被絞索吊在樹上。在令人痛苦的漫長(zhǎng)折磨中，

8、他大口喘著粗氣，腳尖剛剛碰到泥濘的地面。但是麥奎因并沒(méi)有用激動(dòng)人心的音樂(lè)或突出的特寫鏡頭加劇緊張的氣氛。他只是讓這種殘酷的折磨繼續(xù)下去，在鏡頭的背景中，仆人干著自己的活兒，孩子們嬉戲玩耍。這種情形持續(xù)到影片即將結(jié)束，加拿大工人闡述奴隸制可能是錯(cuò)誤的概念。與此同時(shí)，就連諾瑟普都認(rèn)為，這是生活的現(xiàn)實(shí)。他唯一的抱怨是，這不該是他生活的現(xiàn)實(shí)。Northup, upon whose memoir the film is based, begins the narrative as a free man. In 1841, hes living as a respected, middle-class v

9、iolinist with his wife and two children in Saratoga, New York. But after an elegant evenings dining in Washington DC, he is kidnapped. He wakes to find himself chained up in a cell and informed that hes a “runaway nigger” from Georgia. When he objects, his jailer whips him viciously. Another prisone

10、r then advises him that his only chance of survival is to keep quiet about his true identity.在這本根據(jù)同名回憶錄改編的電影中，諾瑟普作為自由人開始了他的講述。1841年，他是位受人尊敬的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)小提琴家，與他的妻子和兩個(gè)孩子生活在紐約州薩拉托加。但是在華盛頓特區(qū)享用了精美的晚餐后，他遭到了綁架。當(dāng)他醒來(lái)時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己鎖在囚室里，被告知他是從佐治亞州“逃跑的黑鬼”。他竭力反抗，卻遭到了獄卒的狠毒鞭打。另一名囚犯勸告他，他唯一生存的機(jī)會(huì)就是對(duì)自己的真實(shí)身份保持沉默。And so Northup is tra

11、nsported beyond the Mason-Dixon Line to a nightmarish new existence where he has no choice but to pick cotton, cut sugar cane and bide his time. His first owner treats him kindlybut he still treats him as a possession. His next owner seems to have some cloudy comprehension of the insanity of slavery

12、, but he would rather blot out that comprehension with alcohol and fevered sadism than face it.因此，諾瑟普被運(yùn)往梅森 - 狄克遜線以南，到達(dá)噩夢(mèng)般的新世界，他別無(wú)選擇，只能摘棉花、砍甘蔗和等待時(shí)機(jī)。他的第一個(gè)主人待他態(tài)度和藹盡管他依然把諾瑟普當(dāng)做自己的財(cái)產(chǎn)。他的下一個(gè)主人似乎對(duì)奴隸制的殘暴有模糊的意識(shí)，但是他寧愿用酒精和狂熱的虐待來(lái)遮掩這種意識(shí)，而不是直接面對(duì)。Mr McQueen, the black British director of “Hunger” and “Shame”, and Jo

13、hn Ridley, his African-American screenwriter, tell an extraordinary story of endurance, guile and hope, a story which could easily have inspired a conventional Hollywood melodrama. But they avoid all the shortcuts and clichs which a typical, issue-based film might have employed. There are no grandil

14、oquent speeches to hammer home the message, and no captions or voice-overs to fill in the historical context. The performances are breathtaking, but theyre subtle and complex enough not to demand the viewers love or hatred. And, as horrific as the gory violence is, Mr McQueen doesnt revel in it.執(zhí)導(dǎo)過(guò)電

15、影饑餓和羞恥的英國(guó)黑人導(dǎo)演麥奎因和非洲裔美國(guó)編劇約翰雷利講述了忍耐、狡猾和希望的精彩故事，這個(gè)故事原本很容易落入傳統(tǒng)好萊塢通俗劇的俗套。但是他們沒(méi)有走捷徑，也沒(méi)有效仿典型事件電影可能采用的陳詞濫調(diào)。本片沒(méi)有用慷慨激昂的演說(shuō)向觀眾傳遞信息，沒(méi)有用字幕或配音代替歷史背景。演員的演技令人驚嘆，但是他們的表演含蓄豐富，并不想喚起觀眾的愛(ài)或仇恨。血腥的暴力鏡頭極為可怕，但是麥奎因并不沉浸于這種場(chǎng)景。Despite having won the Turner prize for his work as a video artist, he never lets the cinematography or

16、editing draw attention to itself. Perhaps inspired by Hannah Arendts concept of “the banality of evil”, he prefers to take the viewer back in time to a period when slavery was mundane; he recreates its day-to-day practicalities and its offhand brutalities; and he leaves it to us to decide how to rea

17、ct. Its unlikely that a more accomplished, mature or crushingly powerful film will be released in 2014.作為影像藝術(shù)家，麥奎因憑借他的作品榮獲過(guò)特納獎(jiǎng)，然而他從來(lái)沒(méi)有通過(guò)電影藝術(shù)或鏡頭剪輯來(lái)吸引觀眾注意本片。也許他的創(chuàng)作靈感來(lái)自漢娜阿倫特“平庸之惡”的概念，他更喜歡讓觀眾重新回顧奴隸制平淡無(wú)奇的那個(gè)年代；他再現(xiàn)了奴隸制的日常實(shí)際和殘酷暴行；他讓我們自己決定如何反應(yīng)。在2014年即將上映的電影中，不可能有比為奴十二年更出色、更成熟、更打動(dòng)人心的影片。McDonalds University 麥當(dāng)

18、勞漢堡大學(xué)BRITISH universities can be depressing. The dons moan about their pay and students worry they will end up frying burgersor jobless. Perhaps they should try visiting McDonalds University in Londons East Finchley.英國(guó)的大學(xué)可能正是不景氣的時(shí)候，教師們抱怨著自己的薪水，學(xué)生們擔(dān)心自己最后只能找到做漢堡包的工作甚至待業(yè)在家?；蛟S他們應(yīng)當(dāng)去瞧瞧倫敦東芬奇利區(qū)的麥當(dāng)勞大學(xué)。Studen

19、ts are often “rough and ready”, with poor qualifications and low self-esteem. But ambition-igniting murals display the ladder of opportunity that leads from the grill to the corner office (McDonalds chief executives have always started at the bottom). A map of the world shows the seven counterpart u

20、niversities. Cabinets display trophies such as the Sunday Times award for being one of Britains best 25 employers.麥當(dāng)勞大學(xué)招收的學(xué)生也不過(guò)“馬馬虎虎”，而且資歷平庸、缺乏自尊，但學(xué)校里的壁畫張貼著從烤架操作工到辦公室高管之間一級(jí)級(jí)的躍升機(jī)會(huì)（麥當(dāng)勞的主管往往都是從基層一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)干起的），讓人燃起勃勃雄心。一張世界地圖上標(biāo)注著全球七所麥當(dāng)勞漢堡大學(xué)。櫥窗里展示著學(xué)校榮獲的獎(jiǎng)杯獎(jiǎng)牌，比如星期日泰晤士報(bào)評(píng)選的全英最佳二十五名雇主獎(jiǎng)等等。McDonalds is one of Britain

21、s biggest trainers. It gets about 1m applicants a year, accepting only one in 15, and spends 40m ($61m) a year on training. The Finchley campus, opened by Margaret Thatcher, then the local MP, in 1989, is one of the biggest training centers in Europemany of the classrooms are equipped with booths fo

22、r interpreters. It is part of a bigger system. An employees web-portal, Our Lounge, provides training as well as details about that days shifts, and allows employees to compete against each other in work-related video games.麥當(dāng)勞是全英國(guó)最大的培訓(xùn)機(jī)構(gòu)之一。每年麥當(dāng)勞會(huì)收到100萬(wàn)份左右的求職申請(qǐng)，僅錄取其中的十五分之一作為雇員，并出資4000萬(wàn)英鎊（6100萬(wàn)美元）用于培

23、訓(xùn)。在首相撒切爾夫人和當(dāng)?shù)貒?guó)會(huì)議員的支持下，位于東芬奇利區(qū)的麥當(dāng)勞漢堡大學(xué)于1989年成立。這所學(xué)校是全歐洲規(guī)模數(shù)一數(shù)二的的培訓(xùn)中心，許多教室都配有專門的同傳間。芬奇利校區(qū)僅僅是麥當(dāng)勞龐大教育體系中的一個(gè)分支。麥當(dāng)勞專屬員工門戶網(wǎng)站“我們的休息室（Our Lounge）”在提供訓(xùn)練之余，還有每日輪班詳情，員工還可以在網(wǎng)站上一起玩一些同工作有關(guān)的游戲。The focus is on practicalities. A retired policeman conducts a fast-paced class on conflict management. He shows a video of

24、a woman driven berserk by the fact that she cannot get chicken McNuggets at breakfast time. He asks the class if they have ever had a difficult customer, and every hand goes up. Students are then urged to share their advice.培訓(xùn)的重點(diǎn)在于實(shí)用性。一名退休的警察在大學(xué)內(nèi)教授沖突管理的快班課程。課上他放映了一段錄像，一名女性顧客因早餐時(shí)間不能點(diǎn)麥樂(lè)雞而大發(fā)雷霆。老師問(wèn)全班同學(xué)是

25、否碰到過(guò)這樣難纏的顧客，每個(gè)同學(xué)都舉手表示深有體會(huì)。之后，老師就要求學(xué)生們分享他們的處理建議。Self-esteem and self-management are on the syllabus, too. Steven Coveys “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is a popular text. A year-long apprenticeship program emphasizing English and math leads to a nationally recognized qualification. McDonald

26、s has paid for almost 100 people to get degrees from Manchester Metropolitan University.自我尊重、自我管理也在麥當(dāng)勞漢堡大學(xué)的教學(xué)大綱之內(nèi)。史蒂文.科維的“高效人士的七個(gè)習(xí)慣”是學(xué)校的通行教材。長(zhǎng)達(dá)一年的學(xué)徒教學(xué)計(jì)劃著重教授英語(yǔ)、數(shù)學(xué)，并授予國(guó)家認(rèn)可的學(xué)歷證書。迄今，麥當(dāng)勞已經(jīng)出資幫助近100名學(xué)員拿到了在曼徹斯特城市大學(xué)的學(xué)位。The company professes to be unfazed by the fact that many alumni will end up working elsew

27、here. It needs to train people who might be managing a business with a 5m turnover by their mid-20s. It also needs to satisfy the companys appetite for senior managers, one of whom will eventually control the entire global McDonalds empire.許多學(xué)員在畢業(yè)后并不任職于麥當(dāng)勞，而這家快餐業(yè)巨頭宣稱并不為此感到煩惱。麥當(dāng)勞需要培養(yǎng)出在二十五六歲就能夠掌管500萬(wàn)英

28、磅營(yíng)業(yè)額業(yè)務(wù)的管理人員。同樣，麥當(dāng)勞漢堡大學(xué)更需要培養(yǎng)出一批高級(jí)經(jīng)理儲(chǔ)備，以滿足公司的發(fā)展需要。未來(lái)，這些高級(jí)經(jīng)理中終將有人來(lái)執(zhí)掌整個(gè)麥當(dāng)勞餐飲帝國(guó)。Food firms and fat-fighters食品公司與減肥斗士Five leading food companies have introduced a labeling scheme for their products in the British market, in an attempt to assuage critics who say they encourage obesity. But consumer groups

29、are unhappy all the same. Is the food industry, like tobacco before it, about to be engulfed by a wave of lawsuits brought on health grounds?五家業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)先的食品公司采取了一項(xiàng)方案，就是在其投入英國(guó)市場(chǎng)的食品上作出標(biāo)注，力圖堵住那些說(shuō)他們鼓勵(lì)肥胖的批評(píng)人士的嘴。不過(guò)，消費(fèi)者團(tuán)體也不開心。食品業(yè)會(huì)像之前的煙草一樣，被卷入一場(chǎng)關(guān)乎健康的訴訟之中嗎？KEEPING fit requires a combination of healthy eating and r

30、egular exercise. On the second of these at least, the worlds food companies can claim to be setting a good example: they have been working up quite a sweat in their attempts to fend off assaults by governments, consumer groups and lawyers who accuse them of peddling products that encourage obesity.

31、This week saw the unveiling of another industry initiative: five leading food producersDanone, Kellogg, Nestl, Kraft and PepsiCointroduced a labeling scheme for the British market which will show “guideline daily amounts” for calories, fats, sugar and salt on packaging. The new labels will start to

32、appear on the firms crisps, chocolate bars, cheese slices and the like over the next few months. A number of other food giants, such as Cadbury Schweppes and Masterfoods, have already started putting guideline labels on their products.將健康的飲食習(xí)慣和經(jīng)常性的鍛煉二者結(jié)合才可以讓身體保持健康。至少就第二點(diǎn)而言，全球的食品公司可以說(shuō)是樹立了一個(gè)很好的典范：為了避開

33、政府、消費(fèi)者團(tuán)體以及律師們的抨擊，食品公司四處兜售促進(jìn)肥胖的產(chǎn)品，已經(jīng)累得大汗淋漓了。本周，食品業(yè)的另一舉措也公諸于世：五家業(yè)內(nèi)領(lǐng)先的食品廠商Danone, Kellogg, Nestl, Kraft以及PepsiCo在英國(guó)市場(chǎng)實(shí)施了一項(xiàng)商品標(biāo)注計(jì)劃，即在包裝上標(biāo)明卡路里（熱量）、脂肪、糖和鹽的“每日攝入量指南”。在接下來(lái)的幾個(gè)月里，這些食品公司的土豆條、巧克力棒、干酪片等等包裝上將開始出現(xiàn)這類新標(biāo)注。其它許多食品業(yè)巨頭如Cadbury Schweppes 和Masterfoods也已經(jīng)著手在其產(chǎn)品上加入指導(dǎo)性標(biāo)記。The food companies say doing this will

34、empower consumers, allowing them to make informed decisions about which foods are healthy. But consumer groups have cried foul. They point out that the Food Standards Agency, a government watchdog, is due to recommend a different type of labeling scheme next month: a “traffic light” system using col

35、ors to tell consumers whether products have low, medium or high levels of fat, salt and the like. The food firms, they say, have rushed to introduce their own, fuzzier guidelines first in a cynical attempt to undermine the governments planwhich they fear might hurt their sales. In consumer tests, th

36、e traffic light performed better than rival labeling schemes.這些食品公司說(shuō)，這么做可以讓消費(fèi)者在確定何種食品為健康食品時(shí)心知肚明。但是消費(fèi)者團(tuán)體大聲疾呼食品公司此舉純屬犯規(guī)，他們指出，作為政府監(jiān)督機(jī)構(gòu)，食品標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局應(yīng)該在下個(gè)月推出一項(xiàng)不同的標(biāo)注措施“紅綠燈”方法，亦即應(yīng)用不同顏色，提醒消費(fèi)者食品的脂肪、糖、鹽分等含量是低、中等還是高。他們說(shuō)，食品公司突然率先采用他們自定的那些模糊指南，是對(duì)政府計(jì)劃的恣意破壞，他們害怕政府的計(jì)劃會(huì)讓他們的產(chǎn)品賣不出去。對(duì)消費(fèi)者進(jìn)行調(diào)查后顯示，“紅綠燈”方法比食品公司的標(biāo)注方案效果要好。Neverthel

37、ess, the food companies argue that the traffic-light system is too simplistic and likely to scare people away from certain products that are fine if consumed in moderation, or in conjunction with plenty of exercise which most observers, including the medical profession, agree is crucial for anyone w

38、anting to stay in shape. They also point out that they have competitors to worry aboutnamely the big supermarket chains with their own-label products. Last April, Tesco, the biggest of these, announced that it was rejecting the traffic-light system in favor of a less stark “signposting” approach. It

39、s rivals fear that adopting color-coding could put them at a competitive disadvantage. Better labeling has become an important weapon of the food giants armory as they fight back against their critics but time tells which is favored by consumers.然而，食品公司辯稱，“紅綠燈”方法過(guò)于簡(jiǎn)單，某些產(chǎn)品會(huì)因此嚇跑消費(fèi)者，而這些產(chǎn)品如果食用適量或者結(jié)合充分鍛煉

40、，對(duì)人都是十分有益的，而且包括醫(yī)學(xué)專家在內(nèi)的大多數(shù)觀察人士都認(rèn)為，這些食品對(duì)于任何想要保持好體形的人而言都至關(guān)重要。同時(shí)，他們還指出，他們要顧及一些競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者，也就是那些對(duì)產(chǎn)品加上各自標(biāo)注的大型超市連鎖店的做法。去年四月，最大一家超市連鎖店Tesco宣布，他們反對(duì)采用“紅綠燈”方法，取而代之的是一種更為靈活的“路標(biāo)”法。因此，食品公司擔(dān)心，若采用顏色編碼（也就是紅綠燈法），會(huì)令他們?cè)诟?jìng)爭(zhēng)中處于劣勢(shì)。在食品業(yè)巨頭們回?fù)襞u(píng)意見(jiàn)的過(guò)程中，更好的標(biāo)注方式已經(jīng)成為他們“武器庫(kù)”中的一個(gè)“殺手锏”，但是消費(fèi)者支持哪種標(biāo)注方式，我們拭目以待。The Pressure of Obesity 肥胖的壓力The p

41、ressure on the industry is most acute in America, which leads the world in obesity. The proportion of Americans characterized as overweight has risen steadily from 47% (bad enough in itself) in the late 1970s to around two-thirds, including over 30% who are clinically obese. Fast-food chains America

42、n sales grew from about $6 billion in 1970 to an estimated $134 billion in 2005. Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation”, an influential book attacking the industry, has pointed out that Americans spend more on fast food than they do on higher education, PCs or new carsworrying, when a single m

43、eal at a KFC of less than a pound-weight of food plus a large Pepsi can top 1,600 calories, not far short of the daily intake recommended by the government for adults doing only “l(fā)ight physical activity”.肥胖人數(shù)居世界首位的美國(guó)食品業(yè)承受的壓力最大。上世紀(jì)70年代末期，美國(guó)人中超重人口所占比例從47%（這個(gè)數(shù)字本身已經(jīng)糟糕透了）逐步增長(zhǎng)到大約三分之二，其中包括30%以上臨床肥胖癥患者，而美國(guó)快

44、餐連鎖店的銷售額則從1970年的60億美元增加到2005年的大約1340億美元。旨在抨擊快餐業(yè)、頗具影響力的快餐國(guó)度一書作者埃里克施羅瑟曾指出，美國(guó)人吃快餐花的錢要比花在高等教育、個(gè)人電腦或者買新汽車上的錢多。令他感到擔(dān)憂的是，在肯德基快餐店光吃一頓不到一磅重的餐點(diǎn)，再喝一大杯百事可樂(lè)，攝入熱量就可能超過(guò)1600卡路里，這比美國(guó)政府為僅從事“輕度體力活動(dòng)”的成人所推薦的每日攝取量并不低多少。Where the United States leads, others are following. In the European Union, up to 27% of men are consid

45、ered to be obese, and almost a quarter of all children are deemed overweight. Britain, with its love of burgers and packaged meals, is seen as following closest on Americas heels, but the rate of obesity has started to swell on the continent too. Some 11% of the adult population of France were obese

46、 in 2003, up from 8% in 1997 (the actual level may be higher still since the figures are based on polls asking people if they are fat, and self-reporting produces underestimates). France has latched on to the fast-food culture: it is one of the biggest and most profitable European markets for McDona

47、lds.凡是有美國(guó)帶頭的地方，別國(guó)都會(huì)亦步亦趨。在歐盟國(guó)家，高達(dá)27%的男性被認(rèn)為患有肥胖癥，幾乎四分之一的兒童則被認(rèn)為體重超常。愛(ài)吃漢堡包和打包食物的英國(guó)被看作是跟美國(guó)最貼近的“跟屁蟲”，不過(guò)其“肥胖隊(duì)伍”同樣開始日益壯大。在法國(guó)，成人患肥胖癥的比率從1997年的8%一下子增加到2003年的11%（由于統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)主要基于問(wèn)卷調(diào)查，因此實(shí)際水平可能更高自己說(shuō)自己的情況往往導(dǎo)致低估實(shí)際水平嘛）。法國(guó)已經(jīng)領(lǐng)悟了快餐文化的真諦：它就是麥當(dāng)勞公司在歐洲最大、最賺錢的市場(chǎng)之一。No wonder, then, that the past few years have been bad for food co

48、mpaniesand terrible for the fast-food lot. Attacks on the industry have changed the psychological climate in which it operates, and they may yet change the legislative climate too. So far, lawsuits brought on health-and-safety grounds have been more of a warning than a general threat. Nevertheless,

49、some lawyers still see a similarity between the position of food companies now and that of tobacco companies in the 1960s and 1970s, when private lawsuits paved the way for a coordinated attack on “big tobacco” by attorneys-general. Worries about rising obesity rates among children, and fear of subs

50、equent legal actions, have caused companies to scale back their marketing of fatty food and soft drinks to minors.那么，過(guò)去這幾年食品公司的日子不太好過(guò)，而快餐業(yè)就更加糟糕。對(duì)食品業(yè)的抨擊，已經(jīng)帶來(lái)了人們消費(fèi)心理上的變化，或許也還將改變立法。迄今為止，基于健康安全的訴訟更多的是一種警醒，而沒(méi)有對(duì)食品業(yè)形成真正的威脅。不過(guò)，有的律師仍然察覺(jué)到目前食品公司的處境與上世紀(jì)六、七十年代時(shí)的煙草公司有一定的相似之處。當(dāng)時(shí)，眾多個(gè)人訴訟為后來(lái)各州首席檢察官針對(duì)“煙草業(yè)巨頭”發(fā)動(dòng)“協(xié)同攻擊”鋪平

51、了道路。各家食品公司關(guān)注到兒童肥胖比例正日益增長(zhǎng)，并擔(dān)心被起訴，已經(jīng)開始逐步縮減針對(duì)未成年人的高脂食品和軟飲料的銷售。In several countries, government pronouncements and actions have added to the pressure on the industry. The British governments push to introduce traffic-light labeling comes in the wake of a hard-hitting report from the House of Commons Hea

52、lth Select Committee, whose chairman said: “The devastating consequences of the epidemic of obesity are likely to have a profound impact over the next century.” In France, a law has been passed to impose a 1.5% tax on the advertising budgets of food companies if they do not encourage healthy eating.

53、 The industry may claim, with some justification, that ultimate responsibility for bad diet rests with the individual, and that the amount of exercise you do is just as important as the amount of food you eat. But as long as governments, lawyers and health campaigners continue to pile on the pressur

54、e, it will have to work hard to convince them it is doing its bit to stop people piling on the pounds.有幾個(gè)國(guó)家政府已經(jīng)發(fā)布有關(guān)聲明并采取了一些舉措，這讓食品業(yè)感到壓力倍增。英國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)下院健康特別委員會(huì)一份擲地有聲的報(bào)告，迫使英國(guó)政府開始全力引入“紅綠燈”標(biāo)識(shí)方案。該委員會(huì)主席說(shuō)：“肥胖癥的流行所引發(fā)的破壞性后果很可能會(huì)對(duì)下個(gè)世紀(jì)產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)影響?！狈▏?guó)也已通過(guò)一項(xiàng)法律，擬對(duì)不宣揚(yáng)健康飲食的食品公司征收1.5%的廣告預(yù)算稅。食品業(yè)也許會(huì)略顯理直氣壯地申辯，不良飲食的根本責(zé)任應(yīng)由消費(fèi)者個(gè)人承擔(dān)，每個(gè)人

55、的運(yùn)動(dòng)量同進(jìn)食多少同樣重要。不過(guò)，只要政府、律師以及健康飲食倡議人士不停止施壓，食品業(yè)就必須努力讓他們確信，為了不讓人們變得越來(lái)越胖，它正在盡自己的一份綿薄之力。The Ageing of Britains Workforce 英國(guó)勞動(dòng)力的老化A RECENT BBC documentary, “The Town That Never Retired”, sought to show the effects of increasing the state pension age by putting retirees back to work. Although the results wer

56、e entertaining, they need not have bothered. Away from the cameras, unprecedented numbers of older people are staying in work. Since the start of the recession that began in 2008, the number of 16- to 24-year-olds in work has fallen by 597,000. Over the same period the number of workers over the age

57、 of 65 has increased by 240,000.BBC（英國(guó)廣播公司）最近的一部紀(jì)錄片，試圖展現(xiàn)因增加領(lǐng)取國(guó)家退休金的年齡而將退休人員拉回工作的影響。雖然片子效果蠻逗趣，但影片制作者們本無(wú)須這么做。鏡頭之外，仍在工作的年長(zhǎng)者們的數(shù)目空前巨大。自2008的經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條以來(lái)，16至24周歲的工作者們的數(shù)量下降了59,7000。同一時(shí)期，65周歲以上的工作者數(shù)量增加了24,0000The greying of the British workforce dates back to around 2001, since when the proportion of older people

58、 working has nearly doubled. But it has accelerated since the start of the recession. There are several reasons why. Happily, people are living longer and healthier lives, which makes staying in work less daunting than it was. Less happily, low interest rates, a stagnant stock market and the end of

59、many defined-benefit pension schemes (where employees are guaranteed a payout linked to earnings and service) make it a financial necessity. And changing attitudes, spurred by rules against age discrimination, are making it easier than ever.英國(guó)勞動(dòng)力的老化得追溯到2001年，自那時(shí)起，年長(zhǎng)工作者的比例已經(jīng)幾近加倍。但是從大蕭條時(shí)期開始加速。于此，有以下幾點(diǎn)

60、原因。首先，幸運(yùn)的是，人們過(guò)著更長(zhǎng)壽、更健康的生活，這使得繼續(xù)工作不再像以前那樣讓人感到氣餒。不幸的是，低的息率、蕭條的股票市場(chǎng)及很多固定福利退休金計(jì)劃的終結(jié)（在這些計(jì)劃中，從業(yè)者根據(jù)自己的收入及服務(wù)可得到一筆津貼）使之成為財(cái)政上的必然。而且在反年齡歧視規(guī)則的驅(qū)動(dòng)下，人們態(tài)度慢慢改變，這也使之較以往更容易。Most older workers are simply hanging on at the office: 63% of workers over state pension age (currently 65 for men and a little over 61 for women