之之

Kremlin critics and Russian bloggers on Tuesday mercilessly mocked President Dmitry Medvedev after microphones picked up him promising to "transmit" a message from Barack Obama to Vladimir Putin.

克里姆林宫批评人士和俄罗斯的博主们本周二无情地嘲讽了俄罗斯总统德米特里•梅德韦杰夫。此前，由于他在与奥巴马会面时没关麦克风，使得他承诺会把奥巴马的话“转达”给普京一事遭到曝光。

"I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir," Medvedev was heard telling Obama in English in a "hot-mike" exchange on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea that has already caused a storm in the United States.

在韩国核安全峰会的非正式会议期间，梅德韦杰夫用英语告诉奥巴马：“我明白，我会把这个消息转达给普京的。”这起“麦克风门”已经在美国引发轰动。

Medvedev was responding to a vow by Obama that the United States will be more flexible on some bilateral issues such as missile defence once, as he expects, he is re-elected as US president in November elections.

奥巴马“悄悄”告诉梅德韦杰夫，如果他能如愿在今年11月的美国大选中顺利连任，会承诺在反导系统等双边问题上采取更加灵活的政策。梅德韦杰夫随后做出上述回答。

Russian bloggers immediately circulated Medvedev's phrase on Twitter, ridiculing Medvedev for his apparent admission that all information needs to go through the all-powerful Russian number one Putin.

俄罗斯的微博博主们立即在推特上传播了梅德韦杰夫的话，讽刺他明显承认所有消息都需要传达给俄罗斯“头号掌权人”普京。

"Today, let's all respond to every tweet: 'I will transmit this to Vladimir'," tweeted opposition movement leader Alexei Navalny.

俄罗斯反对运动领袖阿列克谢•纳瓦尼说：“今天，让我们在每条微博下都回复‘我会把它转达给普京’。”

"Vladimiru", the Russian for "to Vladimir" became a worldwide Twitter trend in a matter of a couple of hours Tuesday morning as bloggers used it as a universal response to any sort of statement or demand.

周二上午，短短几个小时之内，“转达给普京”（俄语中是Vladimiru）一词就在推特上成为全球的传播热点。人们把它用做所有语句或要求的通用回答。

Medvedev is already widely seen as a lame duck head of state as he will cede the Kremlin on May 7 after four years in power to president-elect Putin, even though he is expected to become prime minister.

人们普遍认为梅德韦杰夫是个“跛脚鸭总统”。在执政四年后，他将于今年5月7日卸任总统，将权力移交给当选总统普京，但据称他会出任总理。

Bloggers circulated an image of Putin answering his cell phone in the country side, with the caption saying "Hello, I am Vladimir. Did anyone transmit anything to me?"

网友们还大量转发普京在乡村用手机接听电话的照片，图片说明写道：“你好，我是普京。有人传话给我吗？”

Medvedev, who was picked as his successor by Putin in 2008, was never able to shake off his reputation as a president who is not entirely first in command.

梅德韦杰夫在2008年当选为普京的继任者，一直没能摆脱人们对他“并不是第一领导人”的印象。

Last September similar footage made its way onto the Internet of Medvedev pushing finance minister Alexei Kudrin to quit at a government meeting, to which Kudrin replied "I will consult with the prime minister."

去年九月，类似的一段视频也流传到网上。视频中，梅德韦杰夫在一次政府会议上敦促财政部长阿列克谢•库德林辞职，库德林回应他说：“我会征求一下总理的意见。”

之之

Last weekend, the Chinese Men Team reported Ma Long as their candidate for the third person which only means the other contender, Ma Lin is already out from the London Olympics. After such news, Ma Lin released a meaningful message for everyone saying that it is all for the continuous glory of the Chinese Men Team in table tennis. Ma Lin's words eventually struck Liu Guoliang who admitted being depressed from the result.

随着伦敦奥运会的脚步日益临近，有关中国乒乓球队谁能最终参加伦敦奥运会的形势也越发清晰。国家乒乓球队总教练刘国梁宣布马龙成为直通伦敦的奥运第三人时，这就意味着马琳和这届奥运会说再见了。
At 32 years old, Ma Lin's career is already a legend! For twelve years since the not so good experience in the Sydney Olympics, Ma Lin has been working really hard and walked wonderfully step by step. Despite not getting a Grand Slam in his career, Ma Lin is still sufficiently successful than Wang Liqin and Wang Hao who has the Olympic Grand Slam from Singles, Doubles, and the Team events.
对于已经32岁的老将来说，尽管仍保持着高水平的竞技状态，但很有可能他也永远地和奥运会说再见了。

之之

The young man had a simple question: "Would you often come riding with me on my bike?" It's the kind of line that worked for many suitors in China, the kingdom of bicycles, during its austere decades under Chairman Mao. But Ma Nuo, a Beijing model, seeks loftier transport and wealthier dates.

        回想毛主席年代的艰苦岁月里，中国还只是个自行车王国。那时年轻男士通常会问意中人一个简单的问题：“你愿意让我骑自行车载你出去吗？”而这种求爱方式却很奏效。但现如今，北京模特马诺所追寻的却是高级轿车和豪华约会。

　　Even if a date went bad, "I'd rather cry in a BMW" was her giggling, withering rejection, watched by millions on China's top-rated TV entertainment show. Material girls such as Ma, 22, have rocketed If You Are the One and its rival dating show, Take Me Out, to the summit of Chinese television fame.

　　在国内收视最高的电视综艺节目中，她微笑着在数百万电视观众的注视下给对方一个让人无语的回答：就算约会出了问题，“我宁愿坐在宝马里哭”。像马诺这样22岁的“物质女孩”使《非诚勿扰》及其竞争对手《我们约会吧》一跃成为中国最著名的电视节目。

　　The programs, which both first aired in January, have generated discussion about money worship among China's younger generation. Publicity-generating scandals include allegations of fake contestants and nude photos, posted online, of one contestant, who says she was coerced.

　　自1月份开播以来，两档节目成功引发了人们对中国年轻一代拜金主义的激烈讨论。然而，宣传期间却爆出一系列丑闻，先是有人爆料某些选手是托儿，后又有人在网上发布某选手的不雅照，而该选手声称自己是被逼的。

　　The shows' popularity is easy to explain, says Tian Fanjiang, CEO of baihe.com, a matchmaking website. "There are 180 million single people in China," Tian says. "They and their parents are all worried about the marriage problem."

　　百合网首席执行官田范江说，这类节目受欢迎很容易解释。田说：“中国有1.8亿单身者，他们自己和他们的父母都为婚姻问题担心。”

By the standards of the USA, China's twice-weekly, hour-long hit shows can appear tame. For Chinese viewers, they have proved riveting, turning traditional matchmaking on its head and celebrating instant celebrity.

　　但是，按照美国的标准，这种每周两次、每次一小时的相亲节目可能不算什么。而对中国观众而言，它们却极具吸引力，不仅颠覆了传统相亲模式，还能让人一夜成名。

　　Although dating programs have aired for almost two decades here, they didn't look like this.

　　虽然电视相亲节目已经在中国存在了近2 0年，但过去跟现在大有不同。

         "In the old shows, people just introduced themselves, and there was little mutual choice," says Wang Gang, who produces If You Are the One for Jiangsu Satellite TV. Wang says his show offers confrontation, nerves and suspense. "Our style is new, and the mass audience has got bored of singing and dancing programs."

　　“过去的相亲节目中，人们只是自我介绍，几乎没有什么互相选择的环节。”江苏卫视《非诚勿扰》栏目制片人王刚表示，该节目为大家提供一个面对面的机会，节目紧张充满悬念。“我们的节目风格新颖，大众也已经厌倦了歌舞类节目。”

　　　"The Chinese family is unique in the world, as we have a one-child policy," says Take Me Out producer Liu Lei, "but parents attach great importance to carrying on the family name, so marriage is a big issue."

　　（湖南卫视）《我们约会吧》的制片人刘蕾说：“中国的家庭在世界上是独特的，我们有独生子女政策。但家长对延续家族姓氏非常重视，所以婚姻是很重要的问题。”

　       Liu insists that the money-worship of some contestants does not reflect mainstream Chinese society, but she concedes, "Many girls really love rich men."

　　刘蕾坚持说，某些征婚者对金钱的崇拜不能反映中国社会主流，但她也承认：“很多女孩的确爱有钱人。”

Matchmakers are rushing to cash in at matchmaking fairs and other events.

　　如今，婚介机构正你争我赶，利用集体相亲活动和其他活动赚钱。

　    Fifteen thousand women applied for a chance to date a wealthy man at an event May 1 organized by matchmaking website jiayuan.com, says Zhang Guoyu, director of the company's Southwest China branch. In June, 50 of them will meet the men who paid $14,650 for the service.

　　世纪佳缘交友网西南区总监张国玉说，15000名女性报名参加他们公司5月1日举行的活动，争夺与一名富翁的相亲机会。她们当中的5 0人将于6月份与这名男士会面，后者为此支付了14650美元。

　　No TV show can fully reflect social reality, says Yin Hong, a Chinese television scholar at Beijing's Tsinghua University. He prefers If You Are the One because "It's more controversial." Why so popular? "China's social environment is changing, as people dare to express their private life and love values in public," he says.

　　清华大学的电视学者尹鸿说，没有任何一个电视节目能完全反映社会现状。他更喜欢《非诚勿扰》。他说：“这个节目更具争议性，冲突更激烈。”那么，这个节目为什么如此受欢迎呢？他说：“中国的社会环境在不断变化，人们敢于表达私生活和爱情价值观。”

　    China's one-child policy has skewed the gender balance over the past three decades because of farmers' preference for boys.

        30年来，中国独生子女政策使性别失衡，因为农民更偏爱男孩。

　     If women enjoy a greater selection, though, they face other challenges. "Our surveys show that men consider women old after 28," says matchmaker Tian, and women consider a man old after 35.

　　  但是，如果说女性享有更大的选择范围，她们却面临其他挑战。田范江说：“我们的调查显示，男性认为女性过了28岁就老了。”而女性认为男性过了35岁才算老。

　     In Beijing's Zhongshan Park one Sunday, more than 1,000 parents swap details on their single, grown offspring.

　　一个周日，超过1000名家长到北京中山公园互换成年子女的详细资料。

          He Lan, 56, hopes to find a date for his daughter He Fan, 28, who works for an elevator firm. 　　

          56岁的何澜(音)希望给28岁的女儿何帆（音）寻找男朋友，何帆在一家电梯公司工作。

         "It's hard for young people to find partners now, as they are so busy with their jobs," he says.　

　      他说：“年轻人现在找对象很难，因为他们都忙于工作。”

　　   He is a big fan of the dating programs and tuned in Saturday to a new show, I See You.

　　  他很喜欢看那些交友节目，而且周六看了一个新节目--相亲相爱。

　　 "I took down the number and told my daughter she must apply to go on," he says. Her reaction? "Go on it yourself!" he laughs.

　　 他说：“我记下电话号码，告诉我女儿她得去报名。”她的反应呢？“你自己去报吧！”他笑着说。

之之

The purging of Bo Xilai, until recently the popular party chief of Chongqing, makes for riveting drama. The Communist party, hoping to engineer a smooth, once-in-a-decade leadership transition, has been forced to air its filthy laundry in public. One of its rising stars, a “princeling” seemingly destined to become a member of the nine-member standing committee, is blamed for serious, unspecified, breaches of party discipline. His wife stands accused of murder.

从重庆市委书记、政治明星到被整肃者，薄熙来的经历可以改编成一出引人入胜的戏剧。中共原本希望十年一度的领导层更迭平稳运行，如今却被迫把不那么光鲜的内部整肃暴露给公众。党内一颗冉冉升起的政治明星、原本似乎铁定会成为中央政治局常委九人之一的“太子党”，如今被定性为严重违纪，具体违纪原因不详。她的妻子涉嫌谋杀。
This is deeply embarrassing for a party that likes to project an image of unity and probity. It is possible that the Communist party leadership will see it as a victory. It has, after all, neutralised a popular politician who sought legitimacy not through party organs but by appealing directly to the public. For an organisation that thrives on discipline and the myth of infallibility that was dangerous indeed.
对一个喜欢展现团结、正派形象的政党而言，薄熙来事件令它非常难堪。不过，中共领导人可能会视其为一场胜利。毕竟，它让一名不通过党组织、而直接取悦于民众来寻求执政合法性的政治明星的努力白费。对一个靠纪律和永不犯错的神话发展壮大起来的政党而言，这种做法确实危险。
Yet the very public purge is deeply problematic. If Mr Bo had merely been a dangerous outlier, the leadership could have quietly sidelined him by not selecting him for the standing committee next autumn. That they felt obliged to remove him so publicly suggests a deep schism at the very top.
然而，这种高度公开化的整肃存在很大的问题。如果薄熙来只是一个危险的局外人，中共领导层本可以悄悄地让他靠边站——只要不在今年秋季的中央政治局常委选举中选他就行了。他们觉得有必要如此公开地罢黜薄熙来，显示中共最高层存在深刻分歧。
Having dispensed with Mr Bo, the transition may be back on track. Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang may well now take up their positions as president and premier respectively. Yet that is not assured. If, as seems likely, deep ideological and factional fissures remain, there could be more drama between now and October.
处理了薄熙来之后，中共的权力过渡可能重回正轨。习近平和李克强可能将分别顺利接任中国国家主席和总理的职位。但还不能完全肯定。如果深刻的意识形态和派系分歧仍未消除（事实似乎如此），从现在到10月之间可能还有更多戏剧上演。
In some senses, the Bo affair has blown the lid off party secrecy. But in another, it has highlighted just what an arcane outfit it remains. Who caused Mr Bo’s downfall and why? Was it Wen Jiabao, the premier, who drove the final nail into Mr Bo’s political coffin? Did he do so because Mr Bo had challenged the party through populist policies, or because his “anti-mafia” campaign had overstepped legal bounds? Or was it just because his wife allegedly bumped off a British businessman? The fact that we have no real answers to such questions proves how unaccountable the Communist party still is.
从某种意义上来说，薄熙来事件捅破了中共的秘密。但从另一个角度来看，它也凸显出这个政党仍然十分神秘。是谁导致了薄熙来的倒台，原因又是什么？终结薄熙来政治生命的最后一根稻草是总理温家宝放上去的吗？温家宝这样做，是因为薄熙来通过民粹主义政策对中共构成了挑战，还是因为他的“打黑”行动僭越法律？抑或只是因为薄熙来的妻子涉嫌杀害一名英国商人？我们无法肯定地回答这些问题，而这恰恰证明，中共仍然让人说不清道不明。
Advocates of the Beijing consensus had portrayed the Chinese leadership as competent and technocratic. The party was, so the theory went, increasingly rules-based and rational. It was subject to periodic, well-ordered transitions of power. That view looks increasingly naive. If we thought the Communist party was stable, we should think again. Just how opaque an organisation it remains was revealed in the extraordinary explanations of the purge it has sought to foist on an increasingly savvy, wired-up public. Hundreds of millions of people with access to microblogging sites have been speculating about the affair for months with surprising accuracy.
鼓吹“北京共识”的人将中国领导层描绘为一群富有能力的技术官僚。他们还认为，中共正变得越来越讲规则，越来越理性。中共的权力更迭已开始定期、有序地进行。但这个观点如今越来越显得幼稚。如果我们曾有过“中共很稳定”的看法，我们应反思。中共试图用极不寻常的理由向民众解释对薄熙来的整肃，而民众现在已越来越聪明、消息也越来越灵通。中共这种做法显示出它仍然多么令人捉摸不透。几个月以来，上亿人在微博上猜测这一事件，而他们的猜测准确得惊人。
In the internet age, the party has lost its ability to settle internal affairs behind closed doors. It has tried to present the downfall of Mr Bo as proof that no one is above the law. It is a nice thought. Instead, the antics of Mr Bo only bolster popular belief in the fabulous wealth and sense of impunity those in the upper echelons of power enjoy.
在网络时代，中共已无法继续关起门来处理内部事务。中共试图用薄熙来的倒台证明：没有人能超越法律。这个想法不错。然而，薄熙来的种种哗众取宠只不过进一步加深了公众的这样一个看法：身处权力金字塔顶端的人拥有巨额财富，即便违法也可以不受追究。
Mr Bo’s Harrow, Oxford and Harvard-educated son became notorious for driving a red Ferrari, symbolising the ostentation and sense of entitlement of the “princelings”. But no one can seriously believe Mr Bo and his family are the only offenders. Many sons and daughters of the party elders, including members of the current leadership, have parlayed their connections into fabulous wealth.
在哈罗公学(Harrow)、牛津大学(Oxford)和哈佛大学(Harvard)受过教育的薄熙来之子，因开一辆红色法拉利(Ferrari)而备受争议，人们认为他过于张扬，对自己“太子党”的身份感到洋洋自得。但没人相信只有薄熙来及其家人招来了愤怒。许多中共元老（包括现任领导人）的子女都利用他们的人脉获得了惊人的财富。
What are the lessons the party could sensibly draw? First, it should ensure that the trial of Gu Kailai, Mr Bo’s wife, is open and transparent. Unfortunately, there is little chance of that. Yet the more this resembles a political witch-hunt and the less a proper criminal investigation, the worse it will be for the party’s image. Second, it ought to spell out what Mr Bo did wrong. If the party has reason to believe his drive against crime and corruption in Chongqing overstepped the mark, it should explain why it did nothing to stop him at the time.
理性地看，中共可能从事件中得到一些怎样的教训？首先，它应保证薄熙来之妻谷开来的审判过程公开、透明。不幸的是，这种可能性微乎其微。不过，这一过程越像一种政治上的“猎巫”、刑事调查越不恰当，对中共形象的影响就越恶劣。其次，中共应明确说明薄熙来的过错。如果中共确实有理由认为，薄熙来在重庆打击犯罪和反腐行动超越了法律界限，它应解释为何当时没有采取任何行动予以制止。
Finally, the new leadership will have to address some of the issues Mr Bo brought to light. The Chongqing party chief was popular for a reason. His anti-corruption, anti-wealth gap, pro-environment policies may well have been deeply suspect. But they struck a chord with people and highlighted the terrible inadequacies of China’s unbalanced growth.
最后，新的中共领导层必须解决薄熙来事件暴露出来的一些问题。这位前重庆市委书记的高人气是有理由的。对他提出的反腐败、反贫富差距和保护环境的政策，人们或许有很深的怀疑。但这些政策确实触动了中国人的心弦，并凸显出中国的不均衡增长存在的严重不足。
The new party leadership will need to tackle those issues head-on if it hopes to regain the legitimacy badly damaged by the Bo affair. That will be the most difficult task of all.
薄熙来事件严重损害了中共的合法性，如果新的领导层希望保持合法性，他们必须毫不回避地解决上述问题。这将是他们面临的最艰巨任务。译者:何黎

之之

A new U.S. survey shows that Chinese teachers' average wage has almost dropped to the bottom on a list of 28 countries studied, the New York Times reported.

据美国《纽约时报》报道，一项最新美国调查显示，中国教师的平均工资在28个参评国家中几乎排到了垫底位置。

In terms of purchasing power, newly hired Chinese university teachers are the worst off, earning 1632 yuan ($259) each, and the average wage of university teacher in China is only 4537 yuan ($720), according to the statistics released by Philip Altbach and his colleagues at the Center for International Higher Education.

国际高等教育研究中心的菲利普•阿特巴赫和同事公布了他们得出的统计数据，其中，刚入行的中国大学老师收入按购买力平价计算，为每月1632元（约合259美元），为榜单最低值。中国大学老师平均工资也仅为4537元（约合720美元）。

The report aroused hot discussion among Chinese netizens and many university teachers complain about their low income and plain living styles, Xinhua reported.

另据新华社报道，该报告引发中国网友热议，许多大学老师纷纷抱怨他们收入低、生活拮据。

A netizen named "color ink" posted that he has been a university teacher for 37 years, with a monthly wage less than 4000 yuan. However, his students can normally earn 6000 yuan per month soon after graduation. He felt lost and helpless.

一位名叫彩色墨迹的网友发帖称，他在大学从教37年，月工资不足4000元。而他的学生毕业不久就能拿到月薪6000元，他感到非常失落与无奈。

In general, many netizens call for the increase of academics' salaries to ensure their living standards and social status.

总之，很多网友建议应为大学教师加薪，提高他们的生活水平，保障其应有的社会地位。

之之

Tian'anmen Square is one of the largest city squares in the world. It is situated in the heart of Beijing. Tian'anmen was built in 1417 and was the entrance gate to the Forbidden City. Now the square stretches 880 meters from north to south and 500 meters from east to west. The total area is 440,000 square meters. That's about the size of 60 soccer fields, spacious enough to accommodate half a million people.

　　Covering over forty hectares, Tian'anmen Square must rank as the greatest public square on earth. It's a modern creation, in a city that traditionally had no squares, as classical Chinese town planning did not allow for places where crowds could gather. Tian'anmen only came into being when imperial offices were cleared from either side of the great processional way that led south from the palace to Qianmen and the Temple of Heaven. The ancient north–south axis of the city was thus destroyed and the broad east–west thoroughfare, Chang'an Jie, that now carries millions of cyclists every day past the front of the Forbidden City, had the walls across its path removed. In the words of one of the architects: "The very map of Beijing was a reflection of the feudal society, it was meant to demonstrate the power of the emperor. We had to transform it, we had to make Beijing into the capital of socialist China." The easiest approach to the square is from the south, where there's a bus terminus and a subway stop. As the square is lined with railings (for crowd control) you can enter or leave only via the exits at either end or in the middle.

　　Bicycles are not permitted, and the streets either side are one way; the street on the east side is for traffic going south, the west side for northbound traffic.

　　The square has been the stage for many of the epoch-making mass movements of twentieth-century China: the first calls for democracy and liberalism by the students of May 4, 1919, demonstrating against the Treaty of Versailles; the anti-Japanese protests of December 9, 1935, demanding a war of national resistance; the eight stage-managed rallies that kicked off the Cultural Revolution in 1966, when up to a million Red Guards at a time were ferried to Beijing to be exhorted into action and then shipped out again to shake up the provinces; and the brutally repressed Qing Ming demonstration of April 1976, in memory of Zhou Enlai, that first pointed towards the eventual fall of the Gang of Four.

　　Tian'anmen Square unquestionably makes a strong impression, but this concrete plain dotted with worthy statuary and bounded by monumental buildings can seem inhuman. Together with the bloody associations it has for many visitors it often leaves people cold, especially Westerners unused to such magisterial representations of political power. For many Chinese tourists though, the square is a place of pilgrimage. Crowds flock to see the corpse of Chairman Mao, others quietly bow their heads before the Monument to the Heroes, a thirty-metre-high obelisk commemorating the victims of the revolutionary struggle. Among the visitors you will often see monks, and the sight of robed Buddhists standing in front of the uniformed sentries outside the Great Hall of the People makes a striking juxtaposition. Others come just to hang out or to fly kites, but the atmosphere is not relaxed and a ￥5 fine for spitting and littering is rigorously enforced here. At dawn, the flag at the northern end of the square is raised in a military ceremony and lowered again at dusk, which is when most people come to see it. After dark, the square is at its most appealing and, with its sternness softened by mellow lighting, it becomes the haunt of strolling families and lovers.

之之

China’s loosening control of renminbi welcomed

中国扩大人民币浮动幅度获各方好评
China’s decision to loosen some of its currency controls, permitting greater volatility in daily trade from Monday, has been welcomed as an important step towards allowing the renminbi to float freely.
中国决定放松一部分汇率管制，从周一起扩大人民币汇率日浮动幅度。此举受到各方欢迎，被视为迈向最终允许人民币汇率自由浮动的重要一步。
From this week, the renminbi will be allowed to rise or fall 1 per cent each day from the daily official rate against the US dollar, double its previous trading range of 0.5 per cent.
从本周起，人民币兑美元交易价相对于当日官方中间价的日浮动幅度由0.5%扩大至1%。
Analysts still expect the central bank to keep the exchange rate stable in the coming months as a buffer against global economic uncertainty, but the band widening lays the groundwork for a future in which market forces, not the government, shape its value.
分析师们预计，中国央行在未来几个月内仍将保持人民币汇率稳定，作为针对全球经济不确定性的缓冲，但扩大浮动幅度之举将为未来由市场力量（而非政府）决定汇率打下基础。
Beijing hopes one day to transform the renminbi into a currency that will vie for a place alongside the dollar and the euro on the global stage. Widening the band brings it closer to that goal, although other, and riskier, reforms to open its capital account are needed first.
北京方面希望有朝一日实现人民币国际化，使其在全球舞台上与美元和欧元分庭抗礼。扩大浮动幅度意味着中国向这个目标走近了一步，尽管中国仍需推行风险较高的其他改革、放开资本账户。
This was an “important step by the People’s Bank of China to increase the flexibility of their currency”, said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁克里斯蒂娜•拉加德(Christine Lagarde)表示，此举是“中国央行提高人民币汇率弹性的一个重要步骤”。
The US Treasury described the move as “positive for China, the United States, and the global economy” if implemented properly, but added that “further progress is needed”.
美国财政部称，此举如果实施得当的话，将“有利于中国、美国乃至全球经济”，但补充称“有必要取得进一步的进展”。
Until now, the mechanics of the Chinese exchange rate have been relatively simple. The central bank has used a trading band since 2005 to guide the renminbi in a “crawling peg” against the dollar. It sets the midpoint of the range in the morning before the market opens, then intervenes throughout the day to keep the currency within the desired bounds.
迄今中国汇率形成机制一直相对简单。中国央行自2005年起采用交易区间来引导人民币汇率“爬行盯住”美元。央行在每日早上市场开盘前设定汇率中间价，然后在全天不时干预汇市，以使汇率保持在规定的浮动幅度内。
Whatever the daily ups and downs, the renminbi has steadily risen against the dollar, appreciating 5-7 per cent a year, apart from a pause during the global financial crisis.
尽管每日有涨有跌，但近年来人民币相对美元稳步走高（年升值幅度达5%至7%），只是在全球金融危机期间暂停了一段时间。
With the band widening, the Chinese currency should become harder to predict. But Beijing is not about to relinquish control of the renminbi. Rather, it wants to broaden what it describes as the “the exchange rate formation mechanism”.
扩大浮动幅度后，人民币汇率应当变得更难预测。但北京方面并不会很快放弃控制汇率。相反，它希望拓宽其所称的“汇率形成机制”。
It wants to use a basket of the currencies of its biggest trading partners – the US dollar, the euro and the yen – as an anchor for the renminbi. In practice, it has relied most on the dollar.
它希望参考一篮子主要贸易伙伴的货币（美元、欧元和日元等）来调节人民币汇率。在实践中，人民币汇率对美元依赖程度最大。
The wider band will make the shift to a flexible basket-based exchange rate feasible by allowing greater “two-way volatility” against the dollar, said Lu Ting, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
美国银行-美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)经济学家陆挺表示，扩大浮动幅度将允许人民币兑美元汇率出现更大的“双向波动”，使人民币转向基于篮子货币的弹性汇率具有可行性。

之之

Working less hours each week will help boost the economy by creating more jobs and improving quality of life, according to a think tank .

据某智囊机构称，减少每周工作时间有助于创造更多工作岗位，提升生活质量，推动经济增长。

The New Economics Foundation (NEF) will meet with other experts at an event in London this week to find a solution to unemployment, the credit crisis and reducing the country's carbon footprint.

新经济基金会将在本周与其他专家在伦敦会面，商讨失业、信贷危机以及减少国家碳足迹等问题的解决办法。

The NEF, which has organised the gathering with the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics, said their solution to the problem would be enforcing a 20-hour working week.

新经济基金会和伦敦政治经济学院的社会排斥分析中心组织了这次会议，他们提出的解决办法是实行20小时工作周。

The foundation has previously suggested a similar strategy and said the move would mean people had more time to think about the effect they are having on the environment and that it would allow for job sharing.

基金会以前曾提出过相似的对策，该组织称，这个行动意味着人们有更多的时间思考他们对于环境的影响，也使工作得以共享。

It admitted that incomes would be reduced dramatically but argued individuals would have more time to carry out worthy tasks.

该组织承认，人们收入会大大减少，但指出每个人都将有更多的时间来做更有价值的事情。

Parents could spend more time with their children or other dependents and there would be more opportunity to get involved with civic duties or charity work.

父母可以花更多的时间陪伴孩子和其它家属，也有更多机会履行公民义务，参与慈善活动。

Anna Coote, co-author the report, told the Observer: "There's a great disequilibrium between people who have got too much paid work, and those who have got too little or none."

报告的合著者安娜•库特告诉《观察家报》说：“有些人承担太多带薪工作，有些人却没有工作或少得可怜，两者之间存在着严重失衡。”

"Are we just living to work, and working to earn, and earning to consume?"

“我们活着就只是为了工作，工作为了赚钱，赚钱为了消费吗？”

She argued that the government needed to think about what constitutes economic success and whether aiming to boost Britain's GDP growth rate should be a priority .

她认为政府要思考经济成功的要素是什么，以及是否应以推动英国GDP增长率为首要目标。

The UK has the longest working week of any major European economy and economists believed, in time, that as technology improved people would be able to spend less time at work.

在欧洲主要经济体中，英国每周的工作时间是最长的。经济学家们认为，当科技发展了，人们最终将能少花些时间在工作上。

Parents of young children already have the right to request more flexible work hours but the NEF is keen to push the government to make this a right for everyone.

带小孩的父母已经有权要求更灵活的工作时间，但是新经济基金会仍然热衷于推动政府采取行动，让每一个人都拥有这个权利。

词汇点津：

in time: 后来渐渐，终于，最终

think tank: 智囊团

之之

Fragile world economy still on ‘life support’

全球经济复苏依然脆弱

The world economy “remains on life support” from central banks and has deteriorated since last autumn, the latest Brookings Institution-Financial Times tracking index shows, despite some recent signs of stabilisation.

最新的布鲁金斯学会(Brookings Institution)—英国《金融时报》追踪指标显示，世界经济“仍然依赖”各国央行来“维持生命”，并且自去年秋天以来世界经济状况有所恶化。
Weakness extends across the Group of 20 leading economies, according to the TIGER (Tracking Indices for the Global Economic Recovery) index, but advanced economies have deteriorated more than developing countries.
全球经济复苏追踪指标(TIGER)显示，经济乏力的现象普遍存在于二十国集团(G20)领先经济体中，但发达经济体的恶化程度比发展中国家更加严重。
The index provides support for the message Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, sent last week that although there has been some improvement since the turn of the year, “the risks remain high, the situation fragile”.
这一指标支持了国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁克里斯蒂娜•拉加德(Christine Lagarde)上周发表的评论，即尽管从年初开始有一些好转，但“风险仍然很高，局面很脆弱”。
Although markets recovered significantly in the first quarter of the year as investors welcomed the European Central Bank’s injection of liquidity into the eurozone’s banks, the outlook for growth and jobs has become more precarious almost everywhere except in the US.
尽管随着投资者欢迎欧洲央行(ECB)向欧洲银行体系注入流动性，今年一季度市场显著复苏，但除了美国外，其他国家的经济增长和就业前景都变得更加不确定了。
Professor Eswar Prasad of the Brookings Institution said: “The global economic recovery is still sputtering due to a lack of robust demand, policy tools that are stretched to their limits and unable to muster much traction, and enormous risks posed by weak financial systems and political uncertainty.”
布鲁金斯学会的埃斯华•普拉萨德(Eswar Prasad)教授指出：“由于缺乏强劲的需求，且政策工具已经用足，无法施加更强的拉动，加上虚弱的金融体系和政治不确定性构成巨大风险，全球经济复苏仍然断断续续。”
The real economy component of the index has been hard hit as growth prospects in Europe, already fragile after the 2011 crisis, have been further undermined by brutal austerity plans in many countries. “This is stifling growth, worsening debt-to-GDP ratios in the short run, and generating an unsustainable political situation at the domestic and pan-European levels,” Prof Prasad said.
该指数的实体经济成分受到了欧洲经济增长前景的巨大打击，欧洲经济在2011年的危机后已经十分脆弱，许多国家实施的无情的财政紧缩方案又令其雪上加霜。普拉萨德教授说：“这会扼杀经济增长，在短期恶化债务与GDP的比值，在各国国内和整个欧洲的层面上造成不可持续的政治局面。”
The US recovery, by contrast has become more robust although it remains vulnerable to shocks and its growth remains modest.
与此形成反差的是，美国经济复苏已经变得更加强劲，尽管美国仍然易受冲击影响，而且经济增长有限。
But it is not just the advanced economies that are suffering. The growth outlook in emerging markets has also deteriorated with output falling short of expectations in all of the Bric countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. “The burden of sustaining world growth is taking a toll on emerging market economies,” Prof Prasad said.
状况不佳的并不仅限于发达经济体。新兴市场国家的增长前景也出现恶化，所有金砖国家（巴西、俄罗斯、印度、中国）的经济产出均逊于预期。普拉萨德说：“维持全球增长的重担，正使新兴市场经济体付出代价。”

之之

Waste or Save

Father: Oh, Jack, you have slept away the whole morning. Don't you know you are wasting time?

Jack: Yes, Dad. But I've saved you a meal, haven' I?

浪费还是节约

父亲：噢，杰克，你又睡了一上午。难道你不知道你这是在浪费时间吗？

杰克：我知道，爸爸。可我还给您节省了一顿饭呢，是不是？