第五课China_Finds_Western_Ways_bring_new_Woes.doc

China?Finds?Western?Ways?Brings?New?Woes? Battles with the bulge and the bottleare one downside of? spreading prosperity By David J. Lynch ? China is the fastest-growing market for American goods, at the same time, an emerging rival to U.S. pre-eminence in Asia. China in the 21st century appears poised to reclaim the greatness it enjoyed for thousands of years before it slid into the eclipse in the late 1840s. An authoritarian political system demands reform. Economic vitality and growing regional clout coexist with woes that bedevil all developing countries: environmental degradation, poverty and preventable illnesses. Understanding the world’s most populous nation has never been more vital. So throughout this year, USA TODAY will offer occasional story on contemporary China to illustrate how much has changed and how much remains to be done if this is truly to be “The Chinese Century”. 中国对于美国而言，是增长最快的市场，是反恐战争中的盟友，同时也是在亚洲地区最大的竞争者。在即将到来的这一年里，这个国家的主要城市将会承办奥运会和世博会，同时，它的电影明星，时尚人士以及体育明星在海外拥有着越来越多的支持者。似乎中国在21世纪将会开始重现其在1840年以前持续了数千年的辉煌。但是，中国的领导人们依然面临很多棘手的问题。粗暴对待不同政见者的专断行政系统需要改革。在所有发展中国家都存在的经济发展不平衡问题。环境退化问题，贫穷问题以及疾病预防问题等等。考虑到这个世界上人口最多的国家是如此重要，USA?TODAY将会对于‘中国的世纪’这个说法进行持续一年的抽样调查，看看有多少是已经做到的，有多少还没有完成。 (1) In cities across China, signs of the better life spawned by 25 years of economic development. Private sedans throng roads once navigated only by bicyclists. Well-dressed men and women stride briskly past ads for foreign brands such as McDonald’s and Microsoft. 北京——整个中国在25年改革开放政策带来的好日子的标志。高楼大厦呈现出现代都市的景象。道路上密集的私家轿车取代了自行车。流行品牌广告栏下生气勃勃衣着入时的男女。? (2) China today little resembles the impoverished, hermetic land that existed before its leaders began freeing the economy in 1978. But these visible improvements mask the dangers of moving too swiftly from its scarcity to abundance. Today’s spreading prosperity is redrawing traditional Chinese? living patterns to mimic Western habits – for good and for ill. 与消耗食品数量同时增长的是酒类，较之1978，平均每个中国人的饮酒数量已经翻了4倍。尽管酒精中毒的比例仍然低于西方标准，但是在城市地区，这已经是个很严重的问题