之之

We're all about having a healthy work-life balance, but it's inevitable to have ups and downs. If you're struggling to cope with workplace stress, you might be cheered by this Harvard Business Review article, which says you can make your stress work to your advantage。

人人都希望能保持工作与生活的平衡，但是事情往往起伏不定。如果你一直都在为职场压力而苦苦挣扎，那么《哈佛商业评论》里刊登的这篇文章可能能让你振奋一下，因为这篇报道指出人们可以利用工作压力，化压力为动力。

Shawn Achor, HBR writer, says: "Stress can cause the human brain to use more of its capabilities, improve memory and intelligence, increase productivity, and even speed recovery from things like knee surgery. Research indicates that stress, even at high levels, creates greater mental toughness, deeper relationships, heightened awareness, new perspectives, a sense of mastery, a greater appreciation for life, a heightened sense of meaning, and strengthened priorities."

作者肖恩表示，压力可以激发人大脑的潜力，增强记忆力和智力，提高生产力，甚至可以加速身体的复原能力，比如从膝盖手术中康复。研究指出，即使是高强度的压力也有利于增强意志力、加深各方联系、提高关注力、激发新想法、加强控制力、提升对生活的领悟力和理解力，更能分清事情的轻重缓急。

We hear all about the negatives of stress but rarely hear about some of the better effects. Not to mention, it's easy to tap into the benefits of stress — you just need to view it as enhancing rather than debilitating。

我们常常听到的都是关于压力的负面效应，很少能听到这样的关于压力的好处。转化压力其实不难，只要把压力想成是提高能力的方法而不是面对的困境就可以了。

The results of this research don't mean that we should all strive for more stress at work. Instead, we should try to channel that energy into something that will have a more productive outcome. For example, if work issues are weighing you down, clean your house as a way of harnessing the energy of your frustrations and putting it to good use. Other great outlets include exercising and organizing your clutter。

这个研究结果并不是要鼓励我们多给自己压力，而是要转化压力，去做更有效率的事情。比如说，当你工作得喘不过气来的时候，你可以去打扫屋子，把你的怒气怨气都转换成能量去做些有益的事。你也可以去做运动或者做做整理工作来转化压力。

之之

中央电视台记者：总理您好。我们特别关注民营企业的发展问题。因为在这些年当中我们看到国务院先后出台了两个36条去引导和鼓励民营资本不断获得健康发展。对此有很多民营企业是充满期待的。但是我们也听到有一些民营企业认为，政府对非公经济的支持是雷声大、雨点小，实际过程当中有很多民间投资还会面临有形或者无形的障碍，似乎“玻璃门”的现象并没有得到有效解决，而且在社会上针对“国进民退”的说法也有不少争议。请问总理，您如何来看待这样一个问题？

CCTV: We pay particular attention to the development of private enterprises in China. The State Council has released two sets of 36 guidelines for encouraging and supporting the development of non-governmental investment, raising a lot of hope on the part of private enterprises in China. However, it is also the view of some private enterprises that they have heard loud thunders but seen few raindrops in terms of government support for the non-public sector, or in other words, much has been said, but little has been done. And those businesses still face visible or invisible obstacles in their operation and the problem of the "glass door" has not been well addressed. There is also a view that in China the state-owned enterprises are forging ahead but private ones are falling behind. What is your view, Mr. Premier?

温家宝：我们的方针是要巩固和发展公有制经济，同时支持、鼓励和引导非公经济的发展，就是坚持“两个毫不动摇”。我们在2005年出台了支持、鼓励和引导非公经济发展的36条。去年我们又出台了鼓励和引导民营资本投资的36条。应该说，这两个36条“雷声”不小。为什么说它雷声不小呢？因为我们明确地提出，无论在法律层面，还是在政策层面，无论是在财税金融政策，还是在准入政策上，我们对不同所有制的企业都一视同仁，鼓励相互竞争，共同发展。为什么许多非公企业还感到“雨点”小？甚至提出存在所谓“玻璃门”和“弹簧门”的现象，我以为最重要的就是落实不够。大家如果注意这两个文件，后一个36条其实是对第一个36条的补充，它在政策和准入的细节上都作了许多明确的规定。我们正在着手制定新36条的贯彻细则。我相信，这两个文件将会进一步推进非公经济的发展。

Premier Wen Jiabao: Our policy is that we will unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector of the economy and at the same time, unswervingly support, encourage and guide the development of the non-public sector of the economy. In 2005, the State Council formulated the 36 guidelines on supporting, encouraging and guiding the development of non-public sector. Last year, we introduced the new 36 guidelines on encouraging and guiding the non-governmental investment. I should say that the thunder is indeed loud. We have stated in clear-cut terms that we will treat all enterprises of different ownerships in the same way in terms of laws and policies, including fiscal, taxation, financial and market access policies. We encourage these different economic entities to compete with each other and achieve common development. So why do some private enterprises still feel that they have seen few raindrops and that there still exist such problems as the "glass door" and "swing door"? I think this is mainly because the policies and measures have not been fully implemented. The new 36 guidelines is seen as a supplementary document to the first set of 36 guidelines, because a lot of detailed arrangements have been spelled out in the new 36 guidelines in terms of policy and market access. We are formulating the detailed rules for the implementation of the new 36 guidelines. I believe that these two documents will help boost the development of the non-public sector.

目前不存在所谓“国进民退”的问题，同样也不存在“民进国退”的问题。应该说，30多年的改革开放，国有经济和个体私营经济都有了很大的发展。对于国有经济的发展，今天我不想着重去谈，单就你提到的民营经济发展来说。在全国的固定资产投资当中，民间投资已经超过50%。在工业企业当中，无论从数量、产值、资产总量还是从业人数，都超过了国有企业，这是一个事实。国有经济虽然比重降低，但它依然掌握着国家经济命脉。国有企业在不断深化改革，特别是通过股份制改革，建立现代企业制度，也吸收了大量的社会资本和民间资本，这样也有利于国有经济的发展。我们一定要坚持“两个毫不动摇”，促进国有经济与民营经济共同发展。

I don't think we have such problem that state-owned enterprises are forging ahead while the private enterprises are falling behind, nor do we have the opposite problem in China. In the past 30 years and more of reform and opening-up, big development has been achieved in both the public sector and the non-public sector of the economy. I don't want to spend too much time talking about the public sector at the press conference today. With respect to the non-public sector that you mentioned, I would like to point out that now non-public investment accounts for over 50% of the total fixed asset investment and private enterprises in the industrial field have overtaken their state-owned counterparts in terms of the number of businesses, output value, total assets and payrolls. This is a fact that we must recognize. The proportion of the public sector in the total economy is coming down; however, the public sector still holds the lifeline of the national economy. State-owned enterprises are deepening their reform. They have introduced the joint-stock system and the modern corporate system. They have attracted a large amount of non-governmental capital and investment. All these are in the interest of the healthy development of the public sector. We will be unswerving in pursuing these policies and strive for the common development of both the public sector and the non-public sector of the economy.

之之

Jobless graduate sues her college over lack of employment

摘要 ：日前，美国一位失业的大学毕业生状告大学母校，要求退还四万多英镑学费。

A jobless graduate has sued her former college for the more than £40,000 she paid in tuition fees after she failed to find work.

Trina Thompson, 27, claims Monroe College in New York did not do enough to help her find employment.

She is seeking to recover the £42,000 she spent on getting her degree from the college in the Bronx.

Court papers showed that Miss Thompson claimed the college's career centre did not provide her with the right advice or tips on available jobs.

"They have not tried hard enough to help me," she wrote about the college in her lawsuit filed at the Bronx Supreme Court.

Her mother, Carol, said her daughter was "very angry at her situation" having "put all her faith" in her college.

Miss Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in information technology in April but has been unable to find work.

She claims she was sent three emails from the college with little job advice.

"I need a full-time job placement and that's what they said they were going to help me with and they didn't," said Miss Thompson.

"The IT career counsellor sent me about three emails saying 'oh I have this job you should apply.' That's it."

A spokesman for the university rejected the claim.

Gary Axelbank, a spokesman for Monroe College, said the lawsuit was completely without merit because the college does assist its graduates in finding employment.

日前，美国一位失业的大学毕业生状告大学母校，要求退还四万多英镑学费。

现年27岁的特瑞娜•汤普森称，纽约门罗大学在帮助她就业方面所做的远远不够。

她要索回自己在（门罗大学）布朗克斯分校攻读学位期间，花费的四万二千英镑学费。

法院案卷表明，汤普森小姐称门罗大学的就业中心没有为她找工作提供正确的建议和指导。

她在向布朗克斯区高级法院递交的诉状中这样写到：“他们没有尽力帮我。”

她的母亲卡罗尔称，女儿“对自己的境况非常恼怒”，原本她对自己的学校“十分信赖”。

汤普森小姐今年4月毕业，并获得信息技术学士学位，但一直没能找到工作。

她称曾接到过校方的三封邮件，但基本没有就业指导。

汤普森小姐说：“我需要一份全职工作，他们承诺过要帮助我，但他们并没有做到。”

“信息技术专业的就业辅导员给我发过三封邮件，里面写着‘噢，我觉得你应该投投这个职位’，就没其它的了。”

校方的一位发言人反驳了这些指控。

门罗大学发言人加里•艾克瑟班克称，这桩控诉完全是无理取闹，因为学校确实在帮助毕业生实现就业。

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？

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

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

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

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

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

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