考研

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　　Spain and the Catalans

　　西班牙和加泰罗尼亚

　　Scandal in Catalonia

　　加泰罗尼亚的绯闻

　　Jordi Pujol's confession undermines Catalans' hopesof independence

　　Jordi Pujol的忏悔摧毁了加泰罗尼亚人独立的希望

　　IT IS not the narrative that Catalan separatistshoped for as they face a stand-off with the Madrid government over a planned independencevote in November. Instead of a debate about evil Castilian conquistadors, their cause has beenovershadowed by a scandal over a fallen hero, Jordi Pujol, who served for six terms as leaderof Catalonia.

　　加泰罗尼亚的分裂主义者希望能够通过11月计划的独立投票脱离马德里政府，这并非是道听途说。但是，人们并未声讨邪恶的卡斯提尔征服者，他们的注意力全被坠落的英雄人物—Jordi Pujol的丑闻吸引了。Jordi Pujol曾是加泰罗尼亚连续六届的领导人。

　　Four weeks ago Mr Pujol admitted that his family had hidden money in Switzerland for the past35 years. “We never found the right moment to declare it,” he said breezily. The confessioncomes at an awkward time. Mr Pujol's hand-picked successor as head of his Convergence andUnion (CiU) group, and Catalonia's current leader, Artur Mas, has promised a referendum onNovember 9th. Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, will ban it. Separatists hoped this wouldswell their ranks. But now all the talk is of the 84-year-old Mr Pujol, a political giant in hisregion.

　　4周前，Pujol承认其家族在过去的35年内一直在往瑞士的银行里藏钱。他轻声说：“我们一直找不到适当的时机宣布这一事情”。他在一个尴尬的时刻发表了这个声明。Pujol精挑细选的继任者，汇合党的主席和加泰罗尼亚目前的领导人Artur Mas之前承诺将于11月9日发起公民投票。西班牙总理Mariano Rajoy马里亚诺·拉霍伊·布雷将禁止这一活动。分裂主义者希望这能够提高他们的排名。但是现在所有的话题都集中在该阵营的政治巨擘，84岁的Pujol身上。

　　The man who set Catalonia on a path from no self-government to an annual budget of 25.5billion ($33.9 billion, about half of Ireland's) liked to be called “president” or “the mosthonourable”. A foundation bearing his name specialises in ethics. In 23 years as presidentuntil 2003, he became a master at persuading Catalans that they were victims of Madrid. Thebattle cry of the independence campaign is that the rest of Spain steals Catalan taxes andwastes them on lazy southerners. Now Mr Pujol himself has been found hiding his own stash ofcash.

　　这个创立了加泰罗尼亚的人见证了加泰罗尼亚从无政府一直到年均255亿欧元预算案(339亿美元，约有爱尔兰一半的产值)更多地被称为“总统”或“最尊贵的人”。一个专门研究伦理道德的基金会以他的名字命名。截止2003年为止长达23年总统任期使他非常擅长说服加泰罗尼亚人让他们相信自己是马德里政府的受害者。独立运动的呼声主要是西班牙的其他地区偷了加泰罗尼亚的税收并浪费在了懒惰的南方人身上。而今却发现Pujol自己偷偷地藏钱。

　　Other family members are under investigation. A son, also called Jordi, goes before a judge inmid-September to answer questions about tax fraud and money-laundering after a girlfriendaccused him of carrying bags of 500 notes to Andorra. Another son, Oriol, has quit assecretary-general of the senior partner in the CiU group, Catalan Democratic Convergence: aninvestigating judge suspects him of taking bribes. A legion of longtime Pujol-haters in Spain aredancing on the dynasty's political grave and hoping that this may kill the referendum.

　　Pujol其他的家人正在接受调查。儿子Jordi在女友控诉他将价值500欧的包包票据送往安道尔市后，将于九月中旬前在法庭上对税收贪污和洗钱的罪行进行辩解。另一个儿子Oriol辞了加泰罗尼亚民主党派，汇合党高级领导人秘书的职位：调查的法官怀疑他受贿。众多长期反对Pujol的西班牙人在Pujol王朝的政治坟墓上跳舞，希望这能扼杀加泰罗尼亚的公民投票。

　　The scandal will hurt Mr Mas, but it does not sink separatism. He is being tugged in oppositedirections by his referendum pledge. His more moderate coalition partner, Democratic CatalanUnion (UDC), has threatened to quit. The ardently separatist Catalan Republican Left (ERC),which props up his minority government, wants him to defy Madrid by calling an illegalreferendum if need be. It also demands an inquiry if Mr Pujol does not appear before theCatalan parliament.

　　这一绯闻确实会影响Mas，但却不会扼杀独立主义。他在公投的请求下已经转到了对立面。其较为温和的政党联盟，加泰罗尼亚民主联盟(UDC)威胁弃权。支持其少数政党的激进的分裂主义政党——加泰罗尼亚民主共和党(ERC)希望能够通过非法的公投公然反抗西班牙政府。它也要求如果Pujol未出现在加泰罗尼亚的议会上的话，就进行调查。

　　Mr Mas may hold an early election that serves as a proxy for a vote on independence. CarmeForcadell, leader of a Catalan pressure group that has driven the separatist surge, insists onthis if Mr Rajoy blocks the referendum. But opinion polls show CiU trailing ERC. The Pujol affairwill damage it further. If the UDC walks out, Mr Mas's party may be hammered.

　　Mas可能会举行一个前期选举以选出独立的代言人。推进分离主义的加泰罗尼亚压力集团的首领CarmeForcadell 坚信这一点(如果Rajoy阻碍公投的话)。但民意调查显示汇合党远远落后于加泰罗尼亚民主共和党。Pujol事件对其伤害更深。如果UDC退席，Mas政党的发展将遇到巨大阻碍。

　　A test of separatist feeling will come on September 11th, Catalonia's national day. In previousyears Ms Forcadell's group has called out millions to demand an independence vote. Thisyear's protest may be less impressive. Those who want a new deal with Spain but dislike fullindependence may stay away. Anger about the economy, a source of many gripes, isdimming, but the Pujol scandal will spread disillusion. The man who built up Catalan nationalpride is now undermining it.

　　9月11日，加泰罗尼亚的国庆日将测试分裂主义者对此事的态度。前些年Forcadell的政党可以召集起几百万的人要求独立公投。今年的抗议力度可能会减弱。那些希望能与西班牙有一个新的解决方案，但不希望完全独立。导致许多牢骚的对经济的愤怒已经开始减弱，但Pujol事件可能会让人们更加失望。曾经造就加泰罗尼亚辉煌的人现在在毁灭它。

　　【重点解析】

　　1.serve for 充当;用作

　　例句:This box will have to serve for a table until thefurniture arrives.

　　在家具运来之前,这个箱子可以当桌子用。

　　2.accuse of 控告;指责

　　例句:I hate it when people accuse us of that.

　　我讨厌别人就那件事指责我们。

　　3.prop up 支持，资助

　　例句:If you have difficulty sitting like this, prop up your back against a wall.

　　如果这么坐着有困难，就背靠墙坐吧。

　　4.stay away 离开，缺席

　　例句:Take my advice and stay away from him!

　　听我的，离他远远的!