本期精读文章来自The Economist对于英国渔业的报道Britain’s fisherfolk fret about being sold down the river—yet again

英国在1973年签署了共同渔业政策，对其他欧洲国家开放了捕鱼权，这损害了本国很多渔民的利益，引发了他们的强烈抗议。英国脱欧后很多权利条款需要重新修订，其中就包括捕鱼权。现在很多渔民担心他们将会被政府再一次出卖。文章标题很好地写出了他们面临的问题Britain’s fisherfolk fret about being sold down the river—yet again 其中sell somebody down the river这一短语用得很巧妙，它的意思是“出卖某人”，短语的字面含义放在文章语境中也非常贴切。Yet again则强调了他们再一次被出卖。

这篇文章篇幅很短，用词也不难，非常适合作为外刊入门文章。下面是全文分析：

开头段介绍了英国渔民对脱欧的反应以及背后的原因。

Brexit’s new freedoms resound especially with fishermen who felt betrayed when Britain joined the common fisheries policy (CFP) in 1973, giving up fishing rights to other European countries.

英国脱欧带来的新自由权利在渔民中间引发了特别大的反响。英国在1973年签署共同渔业政策，对其他欧洲国家开放了捕鱼权。这让渔民们感到被出卖了。

give up something to somebody意思是“放弃某事物以让某人能够获得它”，例如：He gave up his seat to an elderly woman. 他让座给一位年迈的老太太。

Michael Gove, in charge of EU negotiations, believes the CFP destroyed his father’s Aberdeen fishing business.

负责欧盟谈判的迈克尔·戈夫认为，共同渔业政策摧毁了他父亲在阿伯丁的渔业生意。

The appeal of taking back control of Britain’s fish post-Brexit, as Iceland did in the 1970s, is strong.

人们对英国脱欧后收回对渔业资源的控制权（正如冰岛在20世纪70年代做的那样）有很强的呼声。

第二段介绍了英国渔业的情况以及脱欧后会产生的影响。

Britain’s seawaters give it a strong card. Yet it is not an easy one to play.

英国的海域给了它一个很好的优势，但要用好这一优势并不容易。

card字面意思是“纸牌”，这里引申为“优势，王牌”，以此衍生出来的词组也不少，比如hold all the cards（占极大优势），someone’s strongest/winning card（某人的王牌/某人制胜的绝招）。

又比如珠峰纪实作品Into Thin Air当中有这样一句话：

We had forgotten that the mountain still holds the master card, that it will grant success only in its own good time. Why else does mountaineering retain its deep fascination?

the mountain still holds the master card可以理解为“珠峰仍然是真正的主宰者”。

One reason is that fish have a pesky habit of swimming across boundaries. Another is catching and eating habits.

一个原因是鱼类有游过不同国家海域线的讨厌习惯。另一个是人们的捕鱼以及饮食习惯。

Two-thirds of the fish landed in Britain is exported, mostly to the EU. But most of the fish eaten in Britain is imported, mostly caught (often by Brits) in EU waters. Trade barriers would disrupt both sides.

英国捕捞上岸的鱼中有三分之二用于出口，其中大部分出口到欧盟国家。但英国食用的大部分鱼是进口的，这些鱼大部分在欧盟水域捕获（通常由英国人捕捞）。贸易壁垒将会影响双方鱼类的进出口。

land在这里用得非常精彩，它的动词含义是“着陆”，这里引申为“鱼捕捞上岸”。waters在这里不是指“水”，而是指“水域”（an area of water that belongs to a particular place, state, country etc.）Brit是一个非正式表达，相当于a British person

第三段进一步介绍了脱欧对渔业产生的影响以及原因。

Next are historic rights for EU countries, many of which long predate the CFP. Some arise because EU businesses bought British vessels and their quotas. Removing these rights might entail litigation and compensation.

第三个原因是欧盟国家的历史权利，其中很多权利早于共同渔业政策的签署。一些权利的产生是因为欧盟企业购买了英国船只及其捕鱼配额。取消这些权利可能会牵涉到诉讼和赔偿。

第三段开头的next对应上一段的One reason is that…Another is that… 这样能使文章结构更清晰。

predate意思是“早于……存在（发生）”（to have existed or happened before another thing），例如：Few of the town's fine buildings predate the earthquake of 1755. 该城的精美建筑很少是 1755 年大地震前建成的。

Also fish-processing, which could face tariffs after Britain leaves the CFP, has become a big business in ports like Grimsby—and it depends on the unfettered import and export of fish caught all over Europe.

另外，鱼类加工已经成为格里姆斯比等港口的大生意，但在英国脱欧后它会被征收关税。同时，鱼类加工还依赖于整个欧洲捕捞的鱼类能够不受限制地进出口。

unfettered意思是“不受约束的，自由的”（not limited by rules or any other controlling influence），例如：Unfettered by the bounds of reality, my imagination flourished. 跳出现实的束缚，我的想象力天马行空。

结尾段介绍了英国渔业在脱欧后遇到的最大困难——政治因素。

Barrie Deas of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations says Britain should follow Norway’s example by adjusting allowable catches in its favour and settling quotas annually with the EU. But he fears political polarisation.

全国渔民组织联合会的巴里·迪亚斯表示，英国应效法挪威的做法，调整允许捕捞量使之对其有利，并每年与欧盟达成捕捞配额协定。但他担心出现政治两极分化的情况。

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar has suggested Britain might have to give up control so as to get better terms elsewhere.

爱尔兰的里奥·瓦拉德卡建议英国可能不得不放弃对捕捞的控制权以便在其他地方获得更好的条款。

France’s Emmanuel Macron has said that, if it rejects open access to its waters, Britain will not get a trade deal.

法国总统伊曼纽尔·马克龙表示，如果英国拒绝开放水域，那么它将不会获得贸易协议。

Since fisheries account for less than 0.1% of Britain’s GDP, compared with 4% for cars or 7% for financial services, fishermen may be right to worry about being traded away once more.

渔业在英国国内生产总值中所占比例不到0.1％，与之相比，汽车产业为4％，而金融服务业所占比例为7％。因为这一点，渔民可能有理由担心他们再次被出卖。

trade away字面意思是“交易，买卖”，这里引申为“出卖，作为利益交换”。文章最后一句也与标题互相呼应：Britain’s fisherfolk fret about being sold down the river—yet again