Lesson 8 Trading standards貿易標準
First listen and then answer the following question.聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What makes trading between rich countries difficult?
Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables. No, say the American: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries. It is not just farmers who are complaining. An electric razor that meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine needs the EU's okay before is hits the market in Europe.
布魯塞爾的官員說，在美國屠宰的雞不適于用來裝點歐洲的餐桌。不，美國人說，我們的家禽很好，只是我們使用了另一種清洗方式。當前，是各國管理條例上的差 異，而不是關稅阻礙了發達國家之間的貿易。并不僅僅是農民在抱怨。一把符合歐洲聯盟安全標準的電動剃須刀必須得到美國檢測人員的認可，方可在美國市場上銷 售；而美國制造的透析儀也要得到歐盟的首肯才能進入歐洲市場。
As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products. They hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and the EU on May 28TH. Although negotiators are optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.
碰巧在歐洲使用安全的剃須刀不大可能使美國人觸電身亡，因此，大西洋兩岸的企業都在問，當一套測試可以解決問題時，為什么需要兩套呢？政治家在原則上同意 了， 因此，美國和歐洲一直在尋求達成協議，以便為許多產品取消雙重檢查。他們希望盡早達成協議，為5月28日舉行的美國和歐洲貿易的最高通級會議作準備。然談 判代表持樂觀態度，但協議細節如此復雜，他們所面臨的困難很可能使他們無法取得一致。
Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and them hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing. The EU -- following fine continental traditions -- wants agreement on general principles, which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.
為什么呢？困難之一是起草這些協議。美國人很愿意就醫療器械的標準達成一個協議，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵蓋 -- 比如說 -- 電子產品和藥品的生產。歐洲人遵循優良的大陸傳統，則希望就普遍的原則取得一致，而這些原則適用于許多不同產品，同時可能延伸到其它國家。
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
slaughter
v. 屠宰
fit
adj. 適合
grace
v. 給...增光
tariff
n. 關稅
standard
n. 標準
dialysis
n. 分離，分解；透析，滲析
electrocute
v. 使觸電身亡
eliminate
v. 消滅
accord
n. 協議
device
n. 儀器，器械
hammer out
v. 推敲
pact
n. 合同，條約，公約
Notes on the text課文注釋
1 Chinckens slaughtered in ... to grace European tabes.在這句話中引用了布魯塞爾官員的評論，卻沒有放在引號之中。這種方式常用于報刊文章，對讀者的直接影響更大。在claim officials in Brussels中，動詞claim置于名詞之前。
2 it is differences in national regulations... between rich countries.是各國管理條例上的差異，而不是關稅阻礙了發達國家之間的貿易。這是一個it引導的強調句。put sand in the wheels of, 阻礙，阻擾。
3 So ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic , why have two lots of tests where one would do?這是另一個沒有引導的直接引語的例子。注意why have two... do中的語序，這是非常口語化的直接引語的語序。
Lesson 8 課后練習和答案Exercises and Answer
