译者点评:这是选自英国《经济学家》杂志的一篇社论。一般来说,阅读此类文章时,要抓住四个基本要素:主要观点、结构、语言风格以及语气。下面从这四个方面对此文进行简要分析。这篇文章主要讲现在生活条件普遍提高,穷人们解决了温饱问题,但他们饮食习惯不良,吃得太多,过于肥胖,易引发各种相关疾病,从而花费国家大量的医疗保健费用。文章认为饮食习惯是个人的事情.如果一个人不顾后果地好吃发胖.那都是个人的选择,政府不能干涉私事。但是,政府又不能对肥胖问题袖手旁观。政府应该采取措施保护各方利益,如禁止商家向学校推销垃圾食品或软饮料等来保护未成年人利益;为了保护瘦人的利益,应该让胖人多付医疗保健费,瘦人则少付;为了保护胖人的利益,政府应对糖果、零食和快餐等容易导致肥胖的食品征税,以促使胖人减少此类消费品。然而,虽然这些措施有助于维护公平和保证效益,但却侵犯了人身自由。因此,文章最后建议还是应该靠良好的饮食习惯来克服肥胖问题。文章分三部分:第一部分引出问题,点明肥胖人群、肥胖原因、肥胖的危害性、肥胖症的普遍性、医生针对肥胖症提出的建议。第二部分说明肥胖问题为什么不能由政府干预解决的原因。第三部分建议政府应如何干预并采取措施来保护各方利益,并指出这些措施的利弊.同时提出克服肥胖的方法。文章在结构上呈递进式,在意思上层层深入。文章语言介于正式与非正式之间:大部分用词属日常用语,但有个别非正式用语,如 porky(fat),也有很正式用语,如 scourge(disaster),fiat(official order),grossness(obesity);句子基本上都较短.但有些句子很工整.如第一段.显得较正式;另外,文章运用了修辞法说明肥胖的极大危害,将肥胖症比作与《圣经》中导致世界末日的“四匹马”(战争、饥荒、瘟疫、死亡)并驾齐驱的一匹马,给人留下深刻印象。本文从瘦人(或富人)的角度谈胖人(或穷人).语气上比较居高临下,对胖人有责备的口吻.觉得他们不但自找麻烦,自己不健康,还殃及瘦人,让瘦人掏腰包为他们付医疗费。文章对胖人似乎没有什么恻隐之心,题目中用“things”来指胖人,明显带有轻蔑之意;最后一句可以说是冷漠无情:如果人们想要吃得臃肿肥硕,早日进坟墓,就让他们去好了。 Translator Comments: This is an editorial from the British “Economist” magazine. In general, when reading such articles, it is necessary to grasp four basic elements: the main point of view, structure, language style, and tone. Below is a brief analysis of the text from these four aspects. This article mainly talks about the general improvement of living conditions. The poor people have solved their food and clothing problems. However, they have poor dietary habits, eat too much, and are overweight and are prone to cause various related diseases, which costs the country a lot of health care costs. The article believes that eating habits are personal things. If a person eats fat regardless of the consequences, it is a personal choice and the government cannot interfere in private matters. However, the government can’t stand idly by on the issue of obesity. The government should take measures to protect the interests of all parties, such as prohibiting merchants from selling junk food or soft drinks to schools to protect the interests of minors; in order to protect the interests of lean people, fat people should be paid more for health care expenses, and lean people should pay less; In order to protect the interests of fat people, the government should levy taxes on foods that are easy to cause obesity, such as candy, snacks, and fast food, so as to encourage fat people to reduce such consumer goods. However, while these measures help to maintain fairness and guarantee profits, they infringe on personal freedom. Therefore, the article suggests that we should rely on good eating habits to overcome the obesity problem. The article is divided into three parts: The first part introduces questions that point out the obesity population, the causes of obesity, the harm of obesity, the prevalence of obesity, and the doctor’s recommendations for obesity. The second part explains why the obesity problem cannot be solved by government intervention. The third part suggests how the government should intervene and take measures to protect the interests of all parties, and points out the advantages and disadvantages of these measures. At the same time, it proposes ways to overcome obesity. The article is progressive in structure and deep in meaning. The language of the article is between formal and informal: Most of the words are everyday words, but there are some informal words, such as porky (fat), there are also very formal terms, such as scourge (disaster), fiat (official order), grossness (Obsity): Sentences are basically short. But some sentences are very neat. As the first paragraph is more formal. In addition, the article uses rhetoric to explain the great harm of obesity, comparing obesity to the Bible. A horse that led to the Doomsday’s “four horses” (war, famine, plague, death) went all the way and left a deep impression on people. This article talks about fat people (or poor people) from the perspective of a thin person (or a rich person). It is a condescension in tone, and it is a reproachful tone for fat people. They feel that they are not only asking for trouble, they are unhealthy, and they also suffer from thin people. People pay for medical expenses. The article does not seem to have any sympathy for fat people. The title uses “things” to refer to fat people. It is obviously pungent. The last sentence can be said to be indifferent: If people want to eat bloated and plump, try to get early. Tombs, let them go.