听、读、译（120）Courting Russia

Source: The Economist (2017.02.11, Page 07, 1101 words)

首译 by一扬

修改 by 杆杆、军军

校对 by 杆杆

Courting Russia

兄弟恋

Donald Trump seeks a grand bargain with Vladimir Putin. This is a terrible idea

唐纳德·特朗普妄想和弗拉基米尔·普京讨价还价，真是个馊主意。

1            GEORGE W. BUSH looked into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and thought he saw his soul. He was wrong. Barack Obama attempted to “reset” relations with Russia, but by the end of his term in office Russia had annexed Crimea, stirred up conflict elsewhere in Ukraine and filled the power vacuum that Mr Obama had left in Syria. Donald Trump appears to want to go much further and forge an entirely new strategic alignment with Russia. Can he succeed, or will he be the third American president in a row to be outfoxed by Mr Putin?

乔治·W·布什瞥了普京一眼就自以为看透了他，但他错了。巴拉克·奥巴马妄图“重设”关系，但在他最后的任期内，不仅吞并了克里米亚，处处与乌克兰对掐，还填补了奥巴马在叙利亚留下的权力真空。现在唐纳德·特朗普似乎还想更进一步，与建立全新的战略联盟。他是会成功还是会成为被普京智取的第三任总统？

Crimea 克里米亚半岛(乌克兰南部半岛，在黑海与亚速海之间)，前苏联自治共和国，今为乌克兰的一地区

outfox V-T If you outfox someone, you defeat them in some way because you are more clever than they are. 智胜

2            The details of Mr Trump’s realignment are still vague and changeable. That is partly because of disagreements in his inner circle. Even as his ambassador to the UN offered “clear and strong condemnation” of “Russia’s aggressive actions” in Ukraine, the president’s bromance with Mr Putin was still smouldering. When an interviewer on Fox News put it to Mr Trump this week that Mr Putin is “a killer”, he retorted: “There are a lot of killers. What, you think our country’s so innocent?”

特朗普的联盟细节仍不明朗，存在变数，这可能是因为特朗普内阁意见不一。，总统间的友情还在不断升温。本周，福克斯新闻采访特朗普时提出普京是“杀手”，特朗普回击说，“杀手多着呢，怎么，你以为我们就清白？”

bromance 兄弟罗曼史，也可以理解为“兄弟情”，指两个男人关系很好，但不涉及“性”的同性关系

smoulder 1.V-I If something smoulders, it burns slowly, producing smoke but not flames. 闷烧

          2.V-I If a feeling such as anger or hatred smoulders inside you, you continue to feel it but do not show it. (愤怒或仇恨等情感) 郁积

        3.V-I If you say that someone smoulders, you mean that they are sexually attractive, usually in a mysterious or very intense way. (神秘或强烈的性吸引而产生的) 放电

3            For an American president to suggest that his own country is as murderous as Russia is unprecedented, wrong and a gift to Moscow’s propagandists. And for Mr. Trump to think that Mr.

Putin has much to offer America is a miscalculation not just of Russian power and interests, but also of the value of what America might have to give up in return.

堂堂总统居然说自己的国家和一样杀戮重重，这种调子在历史上从未有过，错得离谱，。特朗普认为普京会给带来很多好处，根本就是错估了的实力和利益，也对将来不得不放弃的价值观做出了错误的判断。

The art of the deal meets the tsar of the steal

商业奇才遇上掠夺老大

4            Going by the chatter around Mr Trump, the span for Russia looks something like this: America would team up with Mr Putin to destroy “radical Islamic terror”—and in particular, Islamic State (IS). At the same time Russia might agree to abandon its collaboration with Iran, an old enemy for America in the Middle East and a threat to its allies, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. In Europe Russia would stop fomenting conflict in Ukraine, agree not to harass NATO members on its door-step and, possibly, enter nuclear-arms-control talks. In the longer term, closer ties with Russia could also help curb Chinese expansion. Stephen Bannon, Mr Trump’s most alarming adviser, said last year that he had “no doubt” that “we’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to ten years.” If so, America will need allies, and Russia is a nuclear power with a 4,200km (2,600-mile) border with China. What’s not to like?

纵观特朗普，对夸夸其谈，内容大致如下：，特别是；鉴于伊朗是在中东的宿敌，也给巴林、沙特阿拉伯等盟友带来威胁，可能会同意不与伊朗合作；在欧洲，很可能与乌克兰搁置争端，不挑衅家门口的北约成员国，。长远看来，与建立紧密的联系也有助于牵制中国的扩张。特朗普智囊团最激进的顾问斯蒂芬·（Stephen Bannon）去年就说，他“确信”“5至10年间会在中国开战。”如果真是这样，就需要盟友。作为一个核大国，与中国的边界线长达4200公里（合2600英里）。何乐而不为呢？

foment V-T If someone or something foments trouble or violent opposition, they cause it to develop. 煽动

alarming ADJ Something that is alarming makes you feel afraid or anxious that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen. 令人惊恐的

5            Pretty much everything. Russian hacking may have helped Mr Trump at the polls, but that does not mean he can trust Mr Putin. The Kremlin’s interests and America’s are worlds apart.

特朗普想得很美。的黑客攻击也许让他赢得了选票，但这并不意味着普京就值得信赖。毕竟克里姆林宫的利益和的利益根本不是一回事儿。

6        In Syria, for example, Mr Putin makes a big noise about fighting IS terrorists, but he has made no real effort to do so. His price for working with America could be to secure a permanent Russian military presence in the Middle East by propping up Bashar al-Assad, whose regime was revealed this week to have hanged thousands of Syrians after two- or three-minute trials. None of this is good for Syria, regional stability or America. Even if Mr Putin and Mr Trump shared a common goal (they don’t) and Americans did not mind becoming complicit in Russian atrocities (they should), American and Russian forces cannot easily fight side by side. Their systems do not work together. To make them do so would require sharing military secrets that the Pentagon spends a fortune protecting. Besides, Russian aircraft do not add much to the coalition air power already attacking IS. Ground troops would, but Mr Putin is highly unlikely to deploy them.

以叙利亚为例，，但并不见他有何实际行动。另外，与合作，。据本周报道，巴沙尔政府仅通过2-3分钟的审判就绞死了成千上万的叙利亚民众。上述举措不管是对叙利亚、地区稳定还是来说都不是什么好事。就算普京和特朗普目标一致（实际上并不一致），人也不介意与残暴的串通一气（当然非常介意），两国军队也不可能轻易地并肩战斗。两国的体系无法合作。如果非要合作，那就只能共享机密，但五角大楼会誓死保护这些机密。此外，的空军也不会花大力气支持打击的空军联盟。地面作战部队倒是有可能，但普京极有可能不愿部署。

prop  PHRASAL VERB Prop up means the same as . 支撑; 维持

deploy  V-T To deploy troops or military resources means to organize or position them so that they are ready to be used. 部署

7            Likewise, Russia is not about to confront Iran. The country’s troops are a complement to Russian air power. Iran is a promising market for Russian exports. And, most of all, the two countries are neighbours who show every sign of working together to manage the Middle East, not of wanting to fight over it.

同理，也不打算伊朗，因为伊朗军队与空军互补，伊朗还是的潜在出口市场。最重要的是，这两个国家是邻国，一直合作致力于接管中东，不会为此针锋相对。

8            The notion that Russia would be a good ally against China is even less realistic. Russia is far weaker than China, with a declining economy and population and a smaller army. Mr. Putin has neither the power nor the inclination to pick a quarrel with Beijing. On the contrary, he values trade with China, fears its military might. Even if it were wise for America to escalate confrontation with China—which it is not—Mr Putin would be no help at all.

至于将成为中国的有力盟军的说法则更不切实际。不敌中国，经济衰退，人口减少，军队规模小。普京既无能力也无意愿与北京交恶。相反，普京非常重视与中国的贸易往来，忌惮中国的实力。即便升级，对有利（其实根本不是），普京也会袖手旁观。

might N-UNCOUNT great strength and power 力量，威力，权力

bully V-T If someone bullies you, they use their strength or power to hurt or frighten you. 欺负

9            The gravest risk of Mr Trump miscalculating, however, is in Europe. Here Mr Putin’s wishlist falls into three classes: things he should not get until he behaves better, such as the lifting of Western sanctions; things he should not get in any circumstances, such as the recognition of his seizure of Ukrainian territory; and things that would undermine the rules-based global order, such as American connivance in weakening NATO.

但是，特朗普失算带来的最大威胁是在欧洲。普京有三愿：一是表现良好即可实现的愿望，如西方解除对俄制裁；二是永远无法实现的愿望，；三是已有的世界秩序，如默许削弱北约。

10           Mr Putin would love it if Mr Trump gave him a freer hand in Russia’s “near abroad”, for example by scrapping America’s anti-missile defences in Europe and halting NATO enlargement with the membership of Montenegro, which is due this year. Mr Trump appears not to realise what gigantic concessions these would be. He gives mixed signals about the value of NATO, calling it “obsolete” last month but vowing to support it this week. Some of his advisers seem not to care if the EU falls apart; like Mr Putin, they embrace leaders such as Marine Le Pen who would like nothing more. Mr Bannon, while admitting that Russia is a kleptocracy, sees Mr Putin as part of a

global revolt by nationalists and traditionalists against the liberal elite—and therefore a natural ally for Mr Trump.

如果特朗普在的“近邻国家”也随意让步，比如取消在欧洲部署的反导防御系统，放弃黑山今年加入北约的扩张计划，普京一定会喜出望外。但是，特朗普似乎还没有意识到这对来说是多大的让步。他对北约的态度也很闪烁，上个月称北约“过时”，这一周又立志支持。他的一些幕僚似乎也不关心欧盟分裂，还和普京一样支持巴不得欧洲分裂的马琳·勒庞。尽管承认俄政府腐败，却认为普京也是全球反自由精英的民族主义者和保守主义者之一，因此自然将其视作特朗普的盟友。

scrap V-T If you scrap something, you get rid of it or cancel it. 取消; 放弃

kleptocracy a government where officials are politically corrupt and financially self-interested 腐朽政府

Played for a sucker by a silovik

被普京耍得团团转

11           The quest for a grand bargain with Mr Putin is delusional. No matter how great a negotiator Mr Trump is, no good deal is to be had. Indeed, an overlooked risk is that Mr Trump, double-crossed and thin-skinned, will end up presiding over a dangerous and destabilising falling-out with Mr Putin.

和普京讨价还价只是特朗普的妄想。无论特朗普的谈判能力有多高超，绝不会做成一笔好生意。显然，容易激动的特朗普得知自己被欺骗后，与普京之间必会掀起一场腥风血雨，这个风险不容小觑。

Silovik 强力集团，这两位都是普京的核心集团“强力集团”（Silovik）的成员。

Played for a sucker骗钱to treat someone as if they are stupid

double-cross  V-T If someone you trust double-crosses you, they do something which harms you instead of doing something they had promised to do. 出卖

fall out with  与…争吵；与…发生纠纷；吵架

12           Better than either a bargain or a falling-out would be to work at the small things to improve America’s relations with Russia. This might include arms control and stopping Russian and American forces accidentally coming to blows. Congressional Republicans and his more sensible advisers, such as his secretaries of state and defence, should strive to convince Mr Trump of this. The alternative would be very bad indeed.

从小处着手改善关系远比讨价还价或撕破脸要好，比如控制军备、阻止军队擦枪走火。国会的共和党议员和比特朗普更理智的幕僚，如国务卿和国防部长，都应该不遗余力地劝服特朗普，否则后果十分严重。

come to blows  开始互殴