【经济学人】四面“鸥“歌丨2017.02.11丨总第806期

SAVOURING the moment before the first bite of a pasty on a beautiful sunny day, Pamela, a holidaymaker, gazed across Porthgwidden beach in St Ives, on the Cornish coast. She didn’t see the seagull until it was too late. The bird missed the pasty but took a chunk out of her hand. Blood poured down her arm and the seagull squawked away.

在一个阳光明媚的日子，一个名为帕梅拉的度假者来到康沃尔海岸，她凝视圣艾夫斯的波斯唯登沙滩，正尽情享受馅饼入口之前的这一刻。当她看到海鸥的时候为时已晚。海鸥没咬到馅饼，却咬掉了她手上的肉。鲜血顺着她的手臂涌出，海鸥叫着飞走了。

• Pasty 肉馅饼

• Cornish 康沃尔

Seagull attacks are a big problem in coastal settlements, where about a tenth of Britons live. Politicians want change. On February 7th Oliver Colvile, MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, led a debate in Parliament about the menace. MPs shared their horror stories. John Woodcock, who represents Barrow and Furness on the north-west coast, spoke of the “blighted and besieged people” of his embattled constituency.

海鸥的袭击在沿海的居住区是个严重的问题，而有约十分之一的英国人都在沿海地区生活。政治家们想改变现状。2月7日，普利茅斯萨顿和德文波特选区的国会议员奥利弗·克维拉在议会上发起了一场关于海鸥威胁的辩论。国会议员们分享了他们一个个恐怖的故事。位于西北海岸的巴罗和弗内斯的代表约翰·伍德科克谈到了他被海鸥围困的选区中饱受摧残、深陷困扰的人们。

• MP：member of Parliament国会议员

• Menace：n.威胁，恐吓

• Blight：adj.枯萎的，摧残的

• Besiege：adj.围困的，受困的

• Embattle：adj.严阵以待的，被敌人围困的，心烦意乱的

• Constituency：选区，全体选民

It is difficult to fight back against the feathered fiends. All species of gull are protected, making a widespread cull impossible. Yet polls suggest that most Britons—normally a sentimental bunch when it comes to animals—would like the legislation changed. Brexiteers point out that, after leaving the EU, Britain will be able to set more bloodthirsty conservation policies.

抵抗这些有羽毛的恶魔是非常艰难的。所有的鸥类物种都是被保护的，因此进行大规模的限量捕杀是不可能的。虽然英国人在涉及到动物问题时一般都多愁善感，但是民意调查却显示大部分的英国人希望通过修改立法。（期待您的翻译，明天会有针对这句话的长难句解析哟~）

• Fiend：n.恶魔，魔鬼

• Gull：n.鸟，鸥，愚笨之人

• Cull：n.剔出来杀掉的动物

• Brexiteer：脱盟论者

Those in the know see little point in a cull, however. Among them is Ron Tulley, a local councillor in St Ives, where giant, beady-eyed gulls saunter down the main drag. In July a girl was airlifted to hospital after plunging off a harbour wall when a seagull swooped for her ice-cream. Mr Tulley nonetheless argues that localised culls would not solve the problem. Seagulls would continue to be attracted by the throngs of people eating pasties and chips. At this time of year up to 750,000 herring gulls (the archetypal seagull) circle over Britain, so a nationwide cull would be costly.

然而，那些知情人士却对限量捕杀不以为然。其中包括罗恩·塔里，他是圣艾夫斯的地方政务委员会委员，而在圣艾夫斯的主要街道上就有体型巨大、眼睛锐利的海鸥休闲漫步。在七月份，一只海鸥从天上俯冲而下啄食一个女孩的冰淇淋，导致女孩从海港的堤岸护边上跌落，是救援飞机将她送至医院的。即便如此，塔里仍称局部的限量捕杀并不能解决问题。吃馅饼和薯条的庞大人群会继续诱惑着海鸥。每年的这个时候，多达七十五万只鲭鸥（通常的海鸥品种）在英国盘旋，所以全国范围内的限量捕杀成本高昂。

• Airlift 空运

• Swoop 俯冲

• Localised 局部的

• Throng 人群

• herring gulls鲭鸥

Seaside towns can wage war in subtler ways. Rubbish in the streets is sure to attract the birds. Putting coloured bunting up, or fitting spikes to buildings, deters them. But council budgets are tight. Per-person spending by Cornwall’s local government has fallen by about a fifth since 2009, squeezing spending on the environment and refuse.

海边小镇可以以更微妙的方式对付海鸥。大街上的垃圾必然会吸引鸟类。立起鲜艳的旗帜和给建筑安上尖钉阻止了它们乱翻垃圾。但委员会预算紧张。康沃尔地方政府的人均支出自2009年以来已经下降了约五分之一，这压缩了用于环境治理和废弃物处理的经费。

• Subtler:adj. 精细的；巧妙的，敏感的。   

• Rubbish:n.碎屑，垃圾，废物

• tight :adj.坚实的；坚固的，坚牢的     

• squeeze:v.挤压，压迫

More money looks unlikely to arrive, so tourists will have to stay alert. Seagulls like to approach from behind, which means no more fish and chips with your feet dangling over the harbourside—but at least no nasty surprises.

获得更多的资金来保障安全是不太可能了，所以游客将不得不保持警惕。海鸥喜欢从人身后靠近，这就意味着坐在港口双脚闲晃时再不能吃炸鱼和薯条了，但是这样至少能避免引来令人讨厌的“惊喜“。

• Nasty: adj.讨厌的, 恶劣的

翻译 ▍Neo，陌上，下罗小柜员，夏凉生

审核 ▍白夜叉

编辑 ▍Joi