2017考博英语阅读题源经济学人文章每日精析（七十五）

　　peculiarity [pɪ,kjuːlɪ'ærɪtɪ] :n.特性，特质

　　inconsistence [ɪnkən'sɪst(ə)nsɪ] :不一致

　　guest [gest] :n.客人 v.招待

　　explicable [ɪk'splɪkəb(ə)l]:adj.可解释的，可说明的

　　exigency ['eksɪdʒ(ə)nsɪ] :n.紧急事件

　　urgency ['ɜːdʒ(ə)nsɪ] :紧急，催促

　　Mr Epstein is a formidable investigative journalist and his quarry is worthy of his talents. He has unearthed many new details and assembles them, with the publicly known information, into a coherent and largely damning account.

　　爱普斯坦是一位杰出的调查记者，他探求的真相也值得他去发挥才能。爱普斯坦发掘出不少新细节，并把它们同公众已知的信息组合起来，得出一篇连贯一致、令人震惊的记述。

　　Quarry ['kwɒrɪ] 探求

　　The first part of the book examines Mr Snowden’s rather patchy professional career. He was neither (as many believe, and he has claimed) a successful and senior intelligence officer, nor was he a computerwizard. Mysteriously, possibly through his family’s extensive connections with the spy world, he joined the CIA, but proved untrustworthy and incompetent. On leaving, he kept his security clearance, making him eligible for a good job in the private sector, where computer-literate ex-spooks are at a premium. But secrecy rules meant that nobody could check on his past.

　　本书第一部分调查了斯诺登相当牵强的专业生涯。他既不是一位成功的高级情报官员(许多人认为他是，包括他自己也曾这样宣称)，也不是一位电脑奇才。他鬼使神差地进入了中央情报局(CIA)(或许依靠他家庭与间谍领域广泛的联系)，但是结果发现他不可信赖，也无法胜任工作。离开之际，斯诺登保留了他的安全通行证，使得他能够在隐私部门谋求个好职位，在那些部门懂电脑的前间谍很受青睐。然而，保密条例意味着无人可以查看他的履历。

　　Wizard ['wɪzəd] 巫师

　　Clearance ['klɪər(ə)ns] 放行证

　　The author agrees that Mr Snowden performed a “salutary service in alerting both the public and the government to the potential danger of a surveillance leviathan”. The “bureaucratic mission creep”, he argues, “badly needed to be brought under closer oversight by Congress”. He also notes that Mr Snowden inadvertently highlighted the security consequences of “contractorisation”—outsourcing spook work to the private sector.

　　作者承认斯诺登扮演了一个“有益的角色，因其向公众和政府警示庞大的监视系统所隐藏的的潜在危险”。他认为“官僚机构的职能的扩张需要国会更紧密的监督。”他同时强调说，斯诺登先生的无意之举突显了将情报收集工作委托给私人部门的安全问题。

　　Salutary ['sæljʊt(ə)rɪ]：adj. 有益的，有益健康的

　　Surveillance [sə'veɪl(ə)ns]：n. 监督，监视

　　Leviathan [lə'vaɪəθən]：利维坦，《圣经》中的海怪

　　Bureaucratic [,bjɔːrə'krætɪk]：adj. 官僚的，官僚政治的

　　But he also shows that the vast majority of stolen documents had nothing to do with Mr Snowden’spurported concerns about privacy and government surveillance. He switched jobs in order to have access to much bigger secrets. He gave away American technical capabilities—such as the ability to snoop on computers that are not connected to the internet—which are of real value in tracking criminals, terrorists and enemies. To believe that was justified, you have to regard America as being no better than Russia, China or al-Qaeda. He also stoked an ugly, misplaced cynicism about the trustworthiness of government.

　　但是他也解释说明了被偷的大量文件其实和斯诺登先生所声称的对于隐私和政府监视行为的担忧无关。斯诺登为了得到更大的秘密而换了工作。他泄露了美国的技术能力，例如窥探未联网的电脑的这种能力，这种能力对于追踪罪犯、恐怖分子和敌人是非常有用的。你必须将美国视为像俄罗斯、中国和基地组织一样不堪才能相信这种行为是合乎情理的。他还煽动了一场丑陋且不合时宜的、质疑政府可信度问题的犬儒主义风潮。

　　Categorical [kætɪ'gɒrɪk(ə)l]：adj. 绝对的，直截了当的

　　Bluff [blʌf]：n.吓唬，绝壁，断崖

　　Fable ['feɪb(ə)l]：n. 寓言，无稽之谈

　　Mr Epstein is cautious on the biggest question: whether Mr Snowden was acting alone, or under the control of Russian intelligence. The crucial evidence, he says, is Mr Snowden’s contact with digital-privacy activists such as Glenn Greenwald. No Russian handler would allow a well-placed and valuable spy to make such a risky move, Mr Epstein argues. Better to keep him in place, to steal yet more secrets.

　　对于斯诺登先生是自导自演还是受控于俄罗斯情报机构这一最大疑问，爱普斯坦先生的处理非常谨慎。他说最重要的证据就是斯诺登先生与格伦·格林沃尔德这样的数据隐私活动家的接触。爱普斯坦先生认为，俄罗斯的任何一个情报负责人都不会允许一个职位合适、颇有价值的间谍做出这么冒险的行为，最好的处理方式就是让他按兵不动以窃取更多的情报。

　　Crucial ['kruːʃ(ə)l]：adj. 重要的，决定性的

　　That may be too categorical. The intelligence world is full of bluffs and double-bluffs—and errors. Agents misbehave. Aims change over time. But certainly nobody reading this book will easily retain faith in the Hollywood fable of Mr Snowden’s bravery and brilliance.

　　这样说或许太过武断，但是谍报界就是充满了诡计、双重诡计和失误。特工可能犯错，行动目标可能随着时间而变化等等。但是可以确定的是，读过这本书之后，没有人会再轻易全盘相信斯诺登先生那在好莱坞大片中才会见到的勇气和智慧了。

　　Categorical [kætɪ'gɒrɪk(ə)l]：adj. 绝对的，直截了当的

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