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Once a symbol of hope, the EU fails to inspire its most important constituency
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IT IS Sunday night at the rooftop bar of the Wombat’s Hostelin Berlin and the tequila is starting to flow. But there is still time for aquick chat about the European Union’s common agricultural policy. Drew, asparky 20-year-old University of London student, cannot abide the “mad”subsidies the EU pays to its farmers. “I’m an anarchist.” And yet he thinksBritain would be foolish to vote to leave the European Union in the referendumthe government will hold by the end of 2017.
周日晚上，在柏林的wombat廉价酒店的顶楼酒吧里，人们已经开喝龙舌兰酒了。但是还有一点点时间可以让我们去探讨欧盟的公共农业政策。德鲁是一个活泼机敏的伦敦大学20岁学生，他无法忍受欧盟给农民们提供的 “疯狂”补贴。 “我是一个无政府主义者，”他说。但是他认为英国不应该在2017年将会到来的全民公投中投票离开欧盟体系，他认为离开是一个愚蠢的举措。
全民公投，全体选民一起投票表决对于某一重大政治事件同意与否
And yet he thinks Britain would be foolish to vote to leave the European Union in the referendum the government will hold by the end of 2017.
很多文章喜欢用and yet 或者nevertheless来表达一个较缓和的转折语气，而不是一味使用however。would be是虚拟语气，来表达对于将来未发生的事情的某一状态进行虚拟。 “要是投票表决离开欧盟” 其实还没有发生。
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Drew and his19-year-old girlfriend Emma, like millions of young Europeans before them, arespending the summer in a carefree haze of travel and fun, the fruits of the freedomafforded by an Interrail pass. Launched in 1972 to mark the 50th anniversary ofan international rail industry group, Interrail was a single ticket thatgranted access to a large part of Europe’s rail network, turning much of thecontinent west of the Iron Curtain into a playground for youngsters as theyhopped on and off trains, guzzling cheap booze and meeting like-minded soulsalong the way. Over the years Interrail’s popularity has wanted in the face ofcompeting entertainments like low-cost flights; sales peaked in the mid-1980sat over 300,000 passes a year. Yet numbers have picked up in recent years; lastyear 230,000 Europeans bought a pass, almost one-quarter of them from Britain.And for many of the young travelers whom your correspondent met during afive-day jaunt through Europe, the wide-eyed rite-of-passage quality of anInterrail trip appears as strong as ever.
就跟他们之前成千上万的年轻欧洲人一样，德鲁和他19岁的女朋友艾玛会花一整个夏天体验轻松的旅行和欢乐气氛，这是由欧洲旅行通票带来的自由。欧洲通票是为了纪念国际铁路工业集团的50周年于1972年开始发售的。它使得人们可以用一张票坐火车去到欧洲大部分地区，这使得欧洲在铁幕以西的部分基本变成了年轻人的游乐场，他们大口喝着便宜的劣质酒，和观点想同的家伙们碰面唠嗑儿。多年以来，由于竞争性的娱乐设施比如低成本航空等的出现，欧洲通票一度不受欢迎：在80年代中期每年通票销售能够达到300000张。但是最近几年销售额又开始上升，去年一年在欧洲卖掉230000张通票，其中有四分之一是英国人买的。对于很多穿过欧洲经历5天短途旅行去见笔友的年轻人来说，这种天真烂漫的成人仪式跟以前一样有着巨大的吸引力。
通过仪式（一种标志成熟或者重要阶段的仪式，比如成人礼，比如铜人阵之类），重大事件
Launched in 1972 to mark the 50th anniversary of an international rail industry group, Interrail was a single ticket that granted access to a large part of Europe’s rail network, turning much of the continent west of the Iron Curtain into a playground for youngsters as they hopped on and off trains, guzzling cheap booze and meeting like-minded souls along the way.
主语是第二分句的interrail，第一个分句做定语描述通票的历史，第二个分句讲本质，第三个分句是前文grant access to 的伴随动作: turn the continent into playground, 第四个分句描述年轻人的动作，是悬垂结构。
就跟他们之前成千上万的年轻欧洲人一样，德鲁和他19岁的女朋友艾玛会花一整个夏天体验轻松的旅行和欢乐气氛，这是由欧洲旅行通票带来的自由。欧洲通票是为了纪念国际铁路工业集团的50周年于1972年开始发售的。它使得人们可以用一张票坐火车去到欧洲大部分地区，这使得欧洲在铁幕以西的部分基本变成了年轻人的游乐场，他们大口喝着便宜的劣质酒，和观点想同的家伙们碰面唠嗑儿。多年以来，由于竞争性的娱乐设施比如低成本航空等的出现，欧洲通票一度不受欢迎：在80年代中期每年通票销售能够达到300000张。但是最近几年销售额又开始上升，去年一年在欧洲卖掉230000张通票，其中有四分之一是英国人买的。对于很多穿过欧洲经历5天短途旅行去见笔友的年轻人来说，这种天真烂漫的成人仪式跟以前一样有着巨大的吸引力。
通过仪式（一种标志成熟或者重要阶段的仪式，比如成人礼，比如铜人阵之类），重大事件
Launched in 1972 to mark the 50th anniversary of an international rail industry group, Interrail was a single ticket that granted access to a large part of Europe’s rail network, turning much of the continent west of the Iron Curtain into a playground for youngsters as they hopped on and off trains, guzzling cheap booze and meeting like-minded souls along the way.
主语是第二分句的interrail，第一个分句做定语描述通票的历史，第二个分句讲本质，第三个分句是前文grant access to 的伴随动作: turn the continent into playground, 第四个分句描述年轻人的动作，是悬垂结构。
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Interrail’s spirit of openness longseemed to foreshadow developments within Europe itself, as walls tumbled,borders disappeared and currencies melted into one another (Interrail expandedto the ex-communist east in 1994). In today’s more troubled Europe, though,tested by financial and migration crises, the summer rail adventure has takenon new connotations. Europe’s young have borne the brunt of recent economicwoes: across the EU unemployment for those under 25, although dropping, stillstand at over 20%, and in Spain and Greece around half the young workforce isjobless. In the early 2000s the median income of Europeans between 16 and 24was growing faster than that of other generations; today the reverse is true.Home and car ownership are down and university debt is up. Particularly insouthern Europe, many are facing the prospect of a standard of living worsethan that of their parents.
欧洲通票的开放精神看起来预示着欧洲本身的发展，尤其是当（柏林）墙倒塌，国与国之间的边界消失，货比融为一体的时候（欧洲通票1994年开始扩展到了前共产主义的国家）。但是，在当今更困窘的、经受着金融和移民危机检验的欧洲，这种夏天的铁路冒险有了新的内涵。金融危机首当其冲影响了欧洲的年轻人：整个欧盟失业率低于25%的那些国家的失业率虽然在下降，但是仍高于20%。而西班牙和希腊的年轻劳动力中几乎一半是失业的。在刚刚2000年的时候，16到24岁的人当中中位数的收入是所有年龄段中增长最快的，而现在，他们的增长最慢。房子及汽车拥有率在下降，而学业贷款在增加。尤其是在南欧，很多年轻人面临着生活水准低于他们父母当年生活水平的情况。
bear the brunt of 首当其冲
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Yet this generation is better travelledand educated than any that came before. Around two-thirds of school-leavers acrossthe EU’s 28 member states enter higher education today; just 18% did in the(much smaller) European Economic Community in 1972. Jim Hadfield, who runs theCircus Hostel in Berlin, says his guests know far more about the city’s historythan when he arrived in 1998.
但是这一代人比以前所有世代都见过更多世面，受到过更好的教育。欧盟28个成员国的中学毕业生中几乎有三分之二进到了高等教育体系。而在1972年的（小得多的）欧共体中只有18%的中学毕业生再接受高等教育。吉姆哈德菲尔德是柏林的马戏团旅店老板，他说他的顾客比起他1998年第一次来到德国时知道更多关于这个城市的事情。
欧共体（欧洲经济共同体）
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Asked what the EUmeans to them, 57% of Europeans between 15 and 24 years old cite the freedom totravel, work and study anywhere they like. To many young Interrailers it seemsthe natural order of things; the border checks they encounter on leaving theEU, at times delivered with an impatient rap on the cabin window as theirsleeper train enters the Balkans, arrive as a shock and are seen as almostimpertinent.
当被问起欧盟对于他们来说是什么的时候，57%的15到24岁的欧洲人认为欧盟对他们来说意味着旅行自由，想在哪里工作和学习都可以。对于很多年轻的欧洲通票使用者来说，这是很自然的事情；当他们离开欧盟时，比如当他们坐卧铺进入到巴尔干地区常会遇到边检，往往就是工作人员在他们的车窗外很不耐烦地敲窗子，这种边检让他们感到震惊，也被他们认为几乎是不礼貌的行为。
impertinent 不礼貌
the border checks they encounter on leaving the EU, at times delivered with an impatient rap on the cabin window as their sleeper train enters the Balkans, arrive as a shock and are seen as almost impertinent.
第二个分句是插入语，在理解句子意思时建议跳过，主句部分就是the checks arrive as a shock and are seen as impertinent.中间插入语详细描述了这种边检的检查方法。
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Yet in recent weeksthe travelers have in some parts of Europe encountered a sharper reminder thatthe freedoms they enjoy are not shared by everyone. Hamish, a 24-year-oldBritish chemical-engineering graduate, says his “jawdropped” when he alighted atBudapest’s Keleti station to find himself confronted with the sight ofthousands of migrants, mainly Syrians, waiting to be granted permission toboard trains to Austria and Germany. Gregor, a thoughtful Bavarian studentInterrailing from Hungary to Greece, found himself thinking about the plight ofthe refugees whose journey he was making in reverse. As the child of Polishparents who fled to Germany in 1988 he notes that he has more reason than manyto cherish the freedoms Europe can offer.
但是最近几周，旅行者们在欧洲部分地区遇到一些让他们更难忘的景象，使得他们更加珍惜这一自由，并不是所有人都有这样的自由。哈密士是一个24岁的英国化学工程专业研究生，他说当他在布达佩斯的Keleti车站下车时遇到成百上千的大部分从叙利亚来的移民，他们在等待获得许可乘上去奥地利和德国的火车时，他“下巴掉下来了”。格里格是一个有思想的巴伐利亚学生，他从匈牙利坐通票旅行去希腊，当他看到很多难民的行进方向正好跟他相反时，他陷入了沉思。尤其是因为他的父母是1988年时从德国逃难的波兰人，他发觉他比很多人更应该珍惜欧洲带给他的自由。
plight 不幸，困境
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Others fear what themigrant crisis reveals about their fellow citizens. Katharina, a 21-year-oldmathematics student from Vienna travelling throughout the Balkans, is notworried about her own future. (At 10.8%, Austria’s youth-unemployment rate isthe third lowest in the EU.) But the xenophobic reaction of many of her fellowAustrians to the refugees spilling into the country makes her worry, she says,that one day she might no longer feel at home there.
其他人担心难民危机会暴露自己国人的劣根性。卡特琳娜是一个21岁的数学系学生，她从维也纳旅行漫步巴尔干地区，她对自己的未来倒是不担心（奥地利的年轻人失业率是欧盟第三低的，只有10.8%）。但是当难民涌入自己国家的时候国人对于难民的排外情绪让她很担忧，她说她很担心有一天在祖国会觉得像在外国一样。
涌进这个国家
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Similarly Nico and Isa, who havetravelled from Germany’s east to visit a Star Wars exhibition in Cologne, citeantagonism towards foreigners as their main reason for pessimism about Europe.The fence erected by Hungary’s government along its border with Serbia, saysNico, is an unhappy reminder of the old east German state.
类似的，尼克和艾莎从德国东部旅行到科隆参加星战展览，他们说对于外国人的仇恨是他们对欧洲悲观的原因。匈牙利政府沿着塞尔维亚边境竖起的围墙让尼克难过地回想起柏林墙。
科隆，古龙（香水）
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Like most Germans thepair were surprised to hear that much of Europe admires Germany’s handling ofthe refugee crisis. Yet not everyone takes such a liberal view. Julien, aFrench engineer making his way through the Balkans to Turkey, explains that hepities the refugees but doesn’t think Europe can handle them all. Soonafterwards he slips into talk of Jewish conspiracies and the virtues of MarineLe Pen, the French far-right leader.
跟大多数德国人一样，这对情侣对于欧洲其他国家对德国处理难民危机的方法表示的崇敬之情感到震惊。但是不是所有人的观点如此开明。尤里安是一个法国工程师，他去土耳其途经巴尔干地区，他解释说他很同情这些难民，但是他认为不应该由欧洲来收留他们。很快他就偏题了，开始大谈特谈犹太阴谋论和法国极右领导人勒庞是个好人之类的话题。
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Interrailers aredisproportionately educated and affluent; a multi-country pass starts at Euro281 ($315). Yet they are hardly immune to economic difficulty. Hamish isfrustrated to find himself living with his parents again as he prepares tobegin another degree and accumulate more debt, having failed to land the rightjob in London. Szyman, a Polish musician encountered next to his double bass ona crowded train bound for Berlin, says he could tell something was up a fewyears ago when his Dutch orchestra saw its public subsidy cut by Euro 1m a yearand was forced to lay him off. Having sneaked into the first-class section of atrain to Prague, four mechanical-engineering undergraduates from Aberdeenheaded for careers in the offshore oil-and-gas industry are more interested indrinking cheap Czech beer than fretting about their careers. But one confidesthat the drop in the oil price has cast a shadow over his prospects.
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The EU’s greatestcheerleaders today are to be found among those who cannot fully share itsbenefits. Your correspondent met Syrian refugees at Belgrade’s railway stationwho expressed their excitement at the prospect of rejoining family in Dortmund,and young Turks on their way to Prague who contrast the freedoms of Europe withthe creeping authoritarianism of their own government.
【专栏作者】
王乐：“乐乐”，新东方美研项目教学主管，七年GRE教学、管理经验。GRE/GMAT名师，词汇达人，《GRE词汇一本通》首席作者，理科暖男，近期荣升萌爸；真正学、教、管理一体的男神人物。个人GRE词汇学习公众号：Wangle-Overseas.
“烤鸡”的人都来这里
来了，你好；
不来，别人好！
你说你喜欢夜空中最亮的星，
却在无尽的夜里醉生梦死
你说你喜欢太阳，
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你说你喜欢出国留学，
可单词也只是背了abandon
所以，我害怕你也说喜欢托福，
但连【托福独家】都没关注！
