2023考研英語(yǔ)閱讀好景不再
Busted flush
好景不再
How a Sino-Lao special economic zone hit the skids
一個(gè)中國(guó)老撾邊境經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)如何走向衰落
AT HOME and abroad, China is a byword for fast-track development, where yesterdays paddy field istomorrows factory, highway or hotel. Less noticed isthat such development can just as quickly go intoreverse. Golden City, in Boten, just over the border from China in tiny Laos, is a case in point.
無(wú)論是在國(guó)內(nèi)還是國(guó)外，中國(guó)都是超速發(fā)展的代名詞。在那里，也許昨天還是一片稻田，而明天就發(fā)展成為工廠、高速公路或賓館。然而很少有人會(huì)意識(shí)到，這種發(fā)展也可能會(huì)迅速走向蕭條，位于中國(guó)老撾邊境老撾一側(cè)的磨丁黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)就是這樣。
When a Hong Kong-registered company signed a 30-year, renewable lease with the Laogovernment in 2003 to set up a 1,640-hectare special economic zone built with mainland moneyand expertise, Golden City was touted as a futuristic hub for trade and tourism. The builderspromptly went to work, and a cluster of pastel blocks rose amid the green hills of northernLaos. Thousands of Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs poured into the enclave, drawn largelyby the forbidden pleasures and profits of gambling, which is illegal in China, except in Macau.Today the main casino, inside a three-star hotel, lies abandoned, its baize tables thick withdust.
2003年，一家香港注冊(cè)的公司同老撾政府簽訂了一份30年可續(xù)期的合約。合約規(guī)定利用中國(guó)大陸的資金和技術(shù)建立一個(gè)1640公頃的黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)，并致力于把那里打造成一個(gè)未來(lái)的旅游商貿(mào)中心。建設(shè)者們立刻開(kāi)始行動(dòng)，許多漂亮的社區(qū)出現(xiàn)在老撾的崇山峻嶺之間。除了澳門(mén)外，賭博業(yè)在中國(guó)是違法的，然而出于賭博所帶來(lái)的快感和暴利的誘惑，成千上萬(wàn)的中國(guó)人開(kāi)始涌入這塊飛地黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)。現(xiàn)在特區(qū)最大的擁有一座三星級(jí)賓館的賭場(chǎng)已經(jīng)關(guān)張，賭桌上落了厚厚的灰塵。
The trouble started in December, when Chinese gamblers found that the operators refused tolet them leave until they had coughed up for betting losses. Officials from Hubei provinceapparently negotiated the release of several hostages, but many more continued to be heldagainst their will. Accounts in the Chinese media say that casino recruiters lured gamblers withoffers of free travel and hotel rooms, only to be kept captive and beaten when their credit ranout. Lao villagers swap grisly tales of corpses dumped in the river.
去年12月開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)麻煩。中國(guó)的賭客發(fā)現(xiàn)如果不能還清欠賭債，就別想離開(kāi)賭場(chǎng)。盡管河北省政府已經(jīng)解救了一些人質(zhì)，但仍有很多人被繼續(xù)扣押。據(jù)中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道，這些賭場(chǎng)的外聯(lián)人通過(guò)免費(fèi)機(jī)票和住宿引誘賭客，當(dāng)他們輸光所有的籌碼后，就會(huì)被拘禁和毒打。老撾村民中一直流傳著尸體被丟到河里的恐怖故事。
Chinese authorities have since put the boot into Boten. In March the foreign ministry warnedcitizens not to gamble in Laos and accused Golden City of cheating its cross-bordercustomers. It said it had demanded that Laos close down the casino. Last month the casinoduly shut, and the smaller gaming halls have since gone too. The 232-room hotel, which isalmost empty, will be next.
中國(guó)政府已經(jīng)開(kāi)始關(guān)注磨丁問(wèn)題。3月份，外交部警告中國(guó)公民不要去老撾賭博，譴責(zé)黃金城欺詐中國(guó)跨境消費(fèi)者，同時(shí)提請(qǐng)老撾政府關(guān)閉賭場(chǎng)。上個(gè)月，賭場(chǎng)適時(shí)地關(guān)閉了，一些小的游戲廳也消失了，接下來(lái)輪到一個(gè)有232個(gè)房間的邊關(guān)，那里現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)空無(wú)一人。
Most shop and restaurant owners have packed upand left, as have the Thai transvestite show and thelegions of prostitutes. Stricter visa rules for Chinesetourists have added to the squeeze. A Laopoliceman, who admits to having nothing to do, putsthe towns dwindling population at 2,000, downfrom 10,000 at its peak. The enclaves economyseems to have collapsed just as the builders hit theirstride with a new high-rise hotel and a shoppingcentre bristling with columns in the classical style.
很多商店餐館的老板，甚至是人妖表演團(tuán)和妓女都離開(kāi)了這里，中國(guó)更加嚴(yán)格的簽證管理更是雪上加霜。一個(gè)老撾警察說(shuō)，他們什么都沒(méi)做，但這里的流動(dòng)人口還是從高峰時(shí)期的10000減少到了現(xiàn)在的2000。建設(shè)者原本想再新建一個(gè)高層的賓館和一座有很多古典風(fēng)格廊柱的購(gòu)物中心，正當(dāng)他們準(zhǔn)備大干一場(chǎng)的時(shí)候，這塊飛地的經(jīng)濟(jì)似乎突然要崩潰了。
Golden City says it has pumped $130m into the projects first phase, including funds fromoutside investors. A company official, Ginger He, puts a brave face on things, arguing that theslump is a chance to rebrand the enclave as a wholesome tourist destination and import-export zone. She blames the bad publicity on shady Chinese concessionaires who ran the cardgames in the casinoas if the company had expected angels. Golden City has since declaredforce majeure to revoke its contracts. Investors might wish to sue under Lao law. But Miss Hepoints out that China had ordered Laos to close the casino. Little brother cannot fight with bigbrother, she says
黃金城方面表示公司在該項(xiàng)目一期共投入130萬(wàn)美元，其中包括部分外部融資。一位公司負(fù)責(zé)人Ginger He對(duì)這次突變似乎很不以為然，并表示這是一次很好的機(jī)會(huì)，特區(qū)可以借此步入正軌，并重新將自己打造為一個(gè)旅游目的地和進(jìn)出口貿(mào)易集散地。她把外界的負(fù)面報(bào)道都?xì)w罪于那些在賭場(chǎng)里代理經(jīng)營(yíng)紙牌項(xiàng)目的丑惡中國(guó)人似乎公司原本一直認(rèn)為他們是守法良民。黃金城宣布因?yàn)椴豢煽沽獬霞s，投資者準(zhǔn)備依據(jù)老撾法律進(jìn)行起訴，不過(guò)He小姐說(shuō)，中國(guó)政府已經(jīng)要求老撾關(guān)閉賭場(chǎng)，胳膊擰不過(guò)大腿啊。
At the best of times, cross-border casinos are risky investments, since China often cracksdown on outbound gamblers. Warlords in Myanmar have previously felt the consequences,with gambling dens left to rot in the jungle after borders grew tighter. Business folk in Botensay the action may have moved to casinos elsewhere in Laos and Myanmar. A Macau-basedcompany has recently completed a giant riverside casino in the so-called Golden Triangle, whereLaos meets Thailand and Myanmar.
即便是在情況最好的時(shí)候，境外開(kāi)設(shè)賭場(chǎng)也是高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的投資，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)政府經(jīng)常會(huì)打擊出境的賭徒。緬甸軍政府就嘗過(guò)這樣的苦果，隨著中國(guó)邊境吃緊，那里的賭場(chǎng)就在叢林里荒廢了。磨丁的生意人說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在的打擊行動(dòng)可能會(huì)使賭場(chǎng)轉(zhuǎn)移到老撾或者緬甸的其他地方。一個(gè)總部在澳門(mén)的公司剛剛在老撾泰國(guó)和緬甸交界處建成了一座規(guī)模宏大的河景賭場(chǎng)金三角。
But Golden City was supposed to represent more than just a fast buck. The developerspersuaded Laos of the benefits of allowing a Chinese-run enclave. Its residents, they said,would form a huge community and a modern society, in the words of their brochure. Thezone also took on some of the trappings of the Chinese state, including uniformed securityguards, development slogans and even the Chinese currency. This gave the false impressionthat it enjoyed official backing. Instead, it became an irritant that Beijing had to put in its place.
但是黃金城并非只做一些投機(jī)的生意，開(kāi)發(fā)商還向老撾政府許諾了許多建設(shè)一塊中國(guó)人管理的飛地的好處，在他們的宣傳冊(cè)上，他們揚(yáng)言要把當(dāng)?shù)亟ǔ梢粋€(gè)龐大的社區(qū)和現(xiàn)代化的社會(huì)。他們還在開(kāi)發(fā)區(qū)里應(yīng)用了很多中國(guó)元素，例如保安的服裝、開(kāi)發(fā)的口號(hào)甚至使用中國(guó)貨幣。這些都給人們一種假象，他們背后有中國(guó)官方背景。這些也刺激了北京盡快平息這里的混亂。
Busted flush
好景不再
How a Sino-Lao special economic zone hit the skids
一個(gè)中國(guó)老撾邊境經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)如何走向衰落
AT HOME and abroad, China is a byword for fast-track development, where yesterdays paddy field istomorrows factory, highway or hotel. Less noticed isthat such development can just as quickly go intoreverse. Golden City, in Boten, just over the border from China in tiny Laos, is a case in point.
無(wú)論是在國(guó)內(nèi)還是國(guó)外，中國(guó)都是超速發(fā)展的代名詞。在那里，也許昨天還是一片稻田，而明天就發(fā)展成為工廠、高速公路或賓館。然而很少有人會(huì)意識(shí)到，這種發(fā)展也可能會(huì)迅速走向蕭條，位于中國(guó)老撾邊境老撾一側(cè)的磨丁黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)就是這樣。
When a Hong Kong-registered company signed a 30-year, renewable lease with the Laogovernment in 2003 to set up a 1,640-hectare special economic zone built with mainland moneyand expertise, Golden City was touted as a futuristic hub for trade and tourism. The builderspromptly went to work, and a cluster of pastel blocks rose amid the green hills of northernLaos. Thousands of Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs poured into the enclave, drawn largelyby the forbidden pleasures and profits of gambling, which is illegal in China, except in Macau.Today the main casino, inside a three-star hotel, lies abandoned, its baize tables thick withdust.
2003年，一家香港注冊(cè)的公司同老撾政府簽訂了一份30年可續(xù)期的合約。合約規(guī)定利用中國(guó)大陸的資金和技術(shù)建立一個(gè)1640公頃的黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)，并致力于把那里打造成一個(gè)未來(lái)的旅游商貿(mào)中心。建設(shè)者們立刻開(kāi)始行動(dòng)，許多漂亮的社區(qū)出現(xiàn)在老撾的崇山峻嶺之間。除了澳門(mén)外，賭博業(yè)在中國(guó)是違法的，然而出于賭博所帶來(lái)的快感和暴利的誘惑，成千上萬(wàn)的中國(guó)人開(kāi)始涌入這塊飛地黃金城經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)。現(xiàn)在特區(qū)最大的擁有一座三星級(jí)賓館的賭場(chǎng)已經(jīng)關(guān)張，賭桌上落了厚厚的灰塵。
The trouble started in December, when Chinese gamblers found that the operators refused tolet them leave until they had coughed up for betting losses. Officials from Hubei provinceapparently negotiated the release of several hostages, but many more continued to be heldagainst their will. Accounts in the Chinese media say that casino recruiters lured gamblers withoffers of free travel and hotel rooms, only to be kept captive and beaten when their credit ranout. Lao villagers swap grisly tales of corpses dumped in the river.
去年12月開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)麻煩。中國(guó)的賭客發(fā)現(xiàn)如果不能還清欠賭債，就別想離開(kāi)賭場(chǎng)。盡管河北省政府已經(jīng)解救了一些人質(zhì)，但仍有很多人被繼續(xù)扣押。據(jù)中國(guó)媒體報(bào)道，這些賭場(chǎng)的外聯(lián)人通過(guò)免費(fèi)機(jī)票和住宿引誘賭客，當(dāng)他們輸光所有的籌碼后，就會(huì)被拘禁和毒打。老撾村民中一直流傳著尸體被丟到河里的恐怖故事。
Chinese authorities have since put the boot into Boten. In March the foreign ministry warnedcitizens not to gamble in Laos and accused Golden City of cheating its cross-bordercustomers. It said it had demanded that Laos close down the casino. Last month the casinoduly shut, and the smaller gaming halls have since gone too. The 232-room hotel, which isalmost empty, will be next.
中國(guó)政府已經(jīng)開(kāi)始關(guān)注磨丁問(wèn)題。3月份，外交部警告中國(guó)公民不要去老撾賭博，譴責(zé)黃金城欺詐中國(guó)跨境消費(fèi)者，同時(shí)提請(qǐng)老撾政府關(guān)閉賭場(chǎng)。上個(gè)月，賭場(chǎng)適時(shí)地關(guān)閉了，一些小的游戲廳也消失了，接下來(lái)輪到一個(gè)有232個(gè)房間的邊關(guān)，那里現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)空無(wú)一人。
Most shop and restaurant owners have packed upand left, as have the Thai transvestite show and thelegions of prostitutes. Stricter visa rules for Chinesetourists have added to the squeeze. A Laopoliceman, who admits to having nothing to do, putsthe towns dwindling population at 2,000, downfrom 10,000 at its peak. The enclaves economyseems to have collapsed just as the builders hit theirstride with a new high-rise hotel and a shoppingcentre bristling with columns in the classical style.
很多商店餐館的老板，甚至是人妖表演團(tuán)和妓女都離開(kāi)了這里，中國(guó)更加嚴(yán)格的簽證管理更是雪上加霜。一個(gè)老撾警察說(shuō)，他們什么都沒(méi)做，但這里的流動(dòng)人口還是從高峰時(shí)期的10000減少到了現(xiàn)在的2000。建設(shè)者原本想再新建一個(gè)高層的賓館和一座有很多古典風(fēng)格廊柱的購(gòu)物中心，正當(dāng)他們準(zhǔn)備大干一場(chǎng)的時(shí)候，這塊飛地的經(jīng)濟(jì)似乎突然要崩潰了。
Golden City says it has pumped $130m into the projects first phase, including funds fromoutside investors. A company official, Ginger He, puts a brave face on things, arguing that theslump is a chance to rebrand the enclave as a wholesome tourist destination and import-export zone. She blames the bad publicity on shady Chinese concessionaires who ran the cardgames in the casinoas if the company had expected angels. Golden City has since declaredforce majeure to revoke its contracts. Investors might wish to sue under Lao law. But Miss Hepoints out that China had ordered Laos to close the casino. Little brother cannot fight with bigbrother, she says
黃金城方面表示公司在該項(xiàng)目一期共投入130萬(wàn)美元，其中包括部分外部融資。一位公司負(fù)責(zé)人Ginger He對(duì)這次突變似乎很不以為然，并表示這是一次很好的機(jī)會(huì)，特區(qū)可以借此步入正軌，并重新將自己打造為一個(gè)旅游目的地和進(jìn)出口貿(mào)易集散地。她把外界的負(fù)面報(bào)道都?xì)w罪于那些在賭場(chǎng)里代理經(jīng)營(yíng)紙牌項(xiàng)目的丑惡中國(guó)人似乎公司原本一直認(rèn)為他們是守法良民。黃金城宣布因?yàn)椴豢煽沽獬霞s，投資者準(zhǔn)備依據(jù)老撾法律進(jìn)行起訴，不過(guò)He小姐說(shuō)，中國(guó)政府已經(jīng)要求老撾關(guān)閉賭場(chǎng)，胳膊擰不過(guò)大腿啊。
At the best of times, cross-border casinos are risky investments, since China often cracksdown on outbound gamblers. Warlords in Myanmar have previously felt the consequences,with gambling dens left to rot in the jungle after borders grew tighter. Business folk in Botensay the action may have moved to casinos elsewhere in Laos and Myanmar. A Macau-basedcompany has recently completed a giant riverside casino in the so-called Golden Triangle, whereLaos meets Thailand and Myanmar.
即便是在情況最好的時(shí)候，境外開(kāi)設(shè)賭場(chǎng)也是高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的投資，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)政府經(jīng)常會(huì)打擊出境的賭徒。緬甸軍政府就嘗過(guò)這樣的苦果，隨著中國(guó)邊境吃緊，那里的賭場(chǎng)就在叢林里荒廢了。磨丁的生意人說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在的打擊行動(dòng)可能會(huì)使賭場(chǎng)轉(zhuǎn)移到老撾或者緬甸的其他地方。一個(gè)總部在澳門(mén)的公司剛剛在老撾泰國(guó)和緬甸交界處建成了一座規(guī)模宏大的河景賭場(chǎng)金三角。
But Golden City was supposed to represent more than just a fast buck. The developerspersuaded Laos of the benefits of allowing a Chinese-run enclave. Its residents, they said,would form a huge community and a modern society, in the words of their brochure. Thezone also took on some of the trappings of the Chinese state, including uniformed securityguards, development slogans and even the Chinese currency. This gave the false impressionthat it enjoyed official backing. Instead, it became an irritant that Beijing had to put in its place.
但是黃金城并非只做一些投機(jī)的生意，開(kāi)發(fā)商還向老撾政府許諾了許多建設(shè)一塊中國(guó)人管理的飛地的好處，在他們的宣傳冊(cè)上，他們揚(yáng)言要把當(dāng)?shù)亟ǔ梢粋€(gè)龐大的社區(qū)和現(xiàn)代化的社會(huì)。他們還在開(kāi)發(fā)區(qū)里應(yīng)用了很多中國(guó)元素，例如保安的服裝、開(kāi)發(fā)的口號(hào)甚至使用中國(guó)貨幣。這些都給人們一種假象，他們背后有中國(guó)官方背景。這些也刺激了北京盡快平息這里的混亂。
