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Ukraine’s government
乌克兰政府
A political soap-opera, continued
政治肥皂剧继续
May 29th 2008 | KIEV
From The Economist print edition
2008年5月29日/基辅
《经济学人》印刷版
The politicians fight among themselves, and liberalising reforms cease
政治家内斗不断，自由化进程停滞
AP美联社
继续阅读“[2008.05.31] A political soap-opera, continued 乌克兰政治闹剧继续”
The European Union and Russia
欧盟和俄罗斯
Uneasy partnership
合作前途未卜
May 29th 2008 | BRUSSELS
From The Economist print edition
2008年5月29日/布鲁塞尔
《经济学人》印刷版
The European Union has agreed on what it wants from Russia. But not how fast
关于向俄罗斯要什么，欧盟已经达成一致，但问题是进度要多快
继续阅读“[2008.05.31] The European Union and Russia 合作绝非坦途”
Kosovo’s future
科索沃前景
Divided rule
多方角力
May 29th 2008 | PRISTINA
From The Economist print edition
2008年5月29日/普里什蒂那
《经济学人》印刷版
The European Union runs into roadblocks in its plans for Kosovo
欧盟解决科索沃问题的方案陷入泥潭
Oil and gas
油气
Drying up
日渐枯竭
May 29th 2008
From The Economist print edition
2008年5月29日
摘自《经济学人》印刷版
Production in the North Sea is falling faster than predicted
北海油气产量的下滑速度之快远远高于预计 继续阅读“[2008.05.31] Drying up 北海油气日渐枯竭”
Germany’s tax debate
德国税收争论
Whether or when to cut
税收热议
May 22nd 2008 | BERLIN
From The Economist print edition
An argument about tax cuts causes divisions within as well as between parties
一场关于减税的争论不仅在党际，而且在党内造成了分歧
GERMANY’S grand coalition is supposedly a union of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and their left-leaning foes, the Social Democrats (SPD). Lately, it has been more like an irascible marriage between those who wish to cut taxes fast and those who do not. Most CDU deputies in the Bundestag want tax cuts. The SPD chief, Kurt Beck, even says his party will cook up cuts of its own. But barring the way are the CDU chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the SPD finance minister, Peer Steinbrück. They want to keep a promise to balance the federal budget by 2011. Tax cuts in this parliament? “Not while I’m around,” growls Mr Steinbrück.
德国的大联合政府一般认为是中间偏右的基督教民主联盟（CDU）和他们的左派对手社会民主党（SPD）的联合。但最近，这 个政府变得更像是减税支持者和反对减税者之间暴躁的联姻。众议院的大部分CDU成员希望减税。SPD领导科特贝克甚至说要设计他们自己的减税方案。但是挡 在他们前面的是CDU成员首相安吉拉默克尔，和SPD成员财政部长施泰因布吕克。他们想在2011年之前恪守平衡联邦预算的承诺。在这届议会减税？“只要 我在就别想，”施泰因布吕克吼道。 继续阅读“[2008.05.22] Whether or when to cut 德国税收热议”
Txt msgng in Frnc
短信用语横行法国
Parlez-vous SMS?
法语短信你懂吗？
May 22nd 2008 | PARIS
From The Economist print edition
A new threat to the French language
法语要面对新威胁
THE baccalauréat exam season approaches, and with it ritual agonising over the standard of French spelling. These days, fingers are pointed not only at progressive teaching, the decline of the dictée or the legacy of May 1968. The new culprit is text-messaging.
法国高考日益临近，随之而来的是学生的法语拼写水平令人忧心忡忡。近日来，人们千夫所指的不再是教育改革问题，听写水平下降，或是1968年五月学潮的余波。最新的罪魁祸首就是短信用语。
继续阅读“[2008.05.22]Parlez-vous SMS? 法语短信你懂吗？”
Football clubs
足球俱乐部
We won, so let’s make it worse
赢得了冠军，输了啥？
May 22nd 2008
From The Economist print edition
A tale of globalisation and its malcontents
全球化与反全球化的故事
ENGLISH hearts, you would think, are swelling with pride. In Moscow on May 21st for the first time two English teams faced each other in the final of the Champions League, a football competition that pits 32 of the best teams across Europe against each other. Manchester United prevailed over Chelsea, as the rest of the continent looked on.
英国人的心里应当是充满自豪的。5月21日，莫斯科，欧洲冠军联赛的决赛中首次出现了两支英国球队会师的场面。（欧洲冠军联赛是一项足球赛事，参赛者是欧洲各国联赛中的32支最强的队伍。）在这场全欧洲瞩目的比赛中，曼彻斯特联队最终战胜了切尔西。
Ronaldo: not English, but great
C·罗纳尔多：不是英国球员，而是伟大的球员
This was no one-off fluke but the latest indicator of the growing dominance of England’s Premier League, once a poor cousin of Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga. Each of its big four clubs—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United—has reached at least one Champions League final in the past four years.
英国球队双双杀进决赛并不是一时的巧合，而是近年来英格兰超级联赛逐渐领跑于欧洲的标志。曾几何时，英超只是西甲、意甲与德甲的小弟弟；而最近四年中，英超中的四支劲旅（阿森纳，切尔西，利物浦和曼联）都曾至少一次跻身欧冠的决赛赛场。 继续阅读“[2008.05.22] We won, so let’s make it worse 赢得了冠军，输了啥？”
France’s cost of living
法国民众的生活费用
Purchasing-power disparity
购买力悬殊
May 15th 2008 | PARIS
2008年05月15日 巴黎
From The Economist print edition
摘自《经济学人》印刷版
French shoppers want lower prices, but not more competition
法国消费者想要更多低价，而非更多竞争
THAT coffee or cornflakes are cheaper in a German supermarket than a French one is bad enough. That French-owned products, such as Danone yogurt, Vittel water or Riches Monts cheese, are too is an affront. A basket of identical items costs 30% more in France, says a study by La Tribune, a daily.
在德国超市销售的咖啡或玉米片都要比法国超市的更为便宜，这对法国人来说真是糟糕透顶。而法国自家企业生产的产品，例如达能酸奶，维特尔矿泉水或者 Riches Monts奶酪，在德国超市的销售价格也要远远便宜于国内超市，这实在令民众恼怒不堪。据《法国论坛报》的调研显示，同样一篮商品，在法国需要多花费 30%。
Wealthy women
女性富豪
Sex and money
性别与金钱
Jun 14th 2007
From The Economist print edition
By 2020 over half of Britain’s millionaires may be female. Why?
到2020年，英国可能有超过半数的富豪是女性。为什么呢？
IN APRIL this year, 92 females graced the Sunday Times Rich List, an annual round-up of Britain’s 1,000 wealthiest people. Ten years ago there were 64. And rich women are getting richer, too: over the decade the average worth of female millionaires has grown by more than half. Today Britain’s wealthiest woman has £4.9 billion ($9.6 billion) to her name, compared with the paltry £1.5 billion her counterpart had in 1997. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reckons female millionaires will outnumber male ones by 2020, and by 2025 women will control 60% of the nation’s private wealth. They do better at school and in higher education, and they live longer. Girl power, it seems, never had it so good.
今年4月，92名女性登上《星期日泰晤士报》富豪排行榜，令这一汇集了英国1000名有钱人的年度排行熠熠生辉。十年前，上榜的女性有64位，而且有钱的女人也越来越有钱：十年来，女性富豪的平均财产增幅超过50%。如今英国最富有的女人名下拥有价值49亿英镑（96亿美元）的财产，而1997年最富有的女人仅有15亿英镑。据经济和商业研究中心（Centre for Economics and Business Research, CEBR）估测，到2020年女富豪人数将超越男富豪，而到2025年女富豪将控有全国私有财产的60%。这些女富豪上中、小学和大学期间表现都比较优秀，而且都是高寿。“女生们”的力量似乎从未如今天这般强大。
