本期精读选自The Economist关于荷兰水貂养殖业的文章：Covid-19 ends Dutch mink farming

荷兰是目前世界上少数几个能合法养殖水貂以获取貂皮的国家之一，但疫情正在终结该国的水貂养殖业，因为证据表明水貂能成为新冠病毒的宿主，加速病毒的传播。荷兰政府近期已经做出决定要提前关停整个行业。文章对这一事件进行了报道。

小标题Not fur sale由常见说法not for sale（不供销售）改编而来，以此来说明荷兰不再销售貂皮。下面是关于原文的详细分析：

首段介绍了事件背景：荷兰政府为了阻止疫情传播而将水貂养殖的禁令提前。

ANIMAL-RIGHTS activists often complain that cute beasts get more sympathy than equally deserving ugly ones. If so, one would think a cuddly critter like the mink would be easy to protect. Yet in the Netherlands, mink are the only animal that can still legally be farmed for their fur.

动物权利保护者经常抱怨说长相可爱的动物相比那些外表丑陋的能得到更多同情，尽管后者本应得到相同的待遇。如果事实真如这些人所说，人们可能会认为像水貂这样可爱的动物应该比较容易得到保护。然而在荷兰，水貂是唯一一种仍可被合法养殖以获取皮毛的动物。

开头第一句引用了动物保护人士的话，指出人们会倾向于保护外表可爱的动物，这与下文水貂得到的待遇形成了对比。

That is about to change. On August 28th the government brought forward to March a ban on mink-farming that had been scheduled to take effect in 2024.

这一局面将会发生改变。荷兰政府在8月28号将水貂养殖的禁令提前到三月份，这一禁令原本计划于2024年生效。

Bring forward是一个固定搭配，意思相当于“（将某事）提前”（to change the date or time of an event so that it happens earlier），比如“这场比赛已经被提前到下午1点钟”，可以说：The match has been brought forward to 1.00 pm.

…the government brought forward to March a ban on mink-farming… 这里将to March前置是为了避免头重脚轻问题，句子还原后相当于 …the government brought forward a ban on mink-farming to March…

The timetable was sped up not because mink had become more adorable, but because they can contract covid-19 and spread it to humans.

这一时间表被提前并不是因为水貂变得更可爱了，而是因为它们会感染新冠病毒，并且会将病毒传播给人类。

The timetable was sped up not because mink had become more adorable…这一句使用了幽默手法，同时也与开头句呼应。

Contract在这里含义是“感染（疾病）”，比如：He contracted malaria while he was travelling. 他在旅行时染上了疟疾。

第二段介绍了荷兰水貂业受疫情影响的情况。

Dutch farmers normally raise about 2.5m mink a year, making the Netherlands the world’s fourth-largest producer after Denmark, China and Poland.

荷兰农民一般一年大概养250万头水貂，这也让荷兰成为全球第四大水貂养殖国，仅次于丹麦、中国和波兰。

In April a clutch of mink and the farm hands who tended them were diagnosed with covid-19. Genetic tracing showed that at least two workers had probably been infected by mink, rather than the other way around.

一些水貂以及照顾它们的农场工人在4月份被诊断出新冠肺炎。基因追踪显示至少有两名工人可能被水貂感染，而不是反过来他们感染了水貂。

Hand在这里是熟词生义，它指的是“（农场、工厂或船上等）体力劳动者”，farm hands即“农场工人”。

the other way around/round是一个固定搭配，意思是“相反地，倒过来”，比如：Art reflects life, or is it the other way around? 是艺术反映生活，还是相反？

The contaminated animals were destroyed and stricter hygiene rules imposed, but by summer the virus had spread to a third of the country’s farms. In June parliament voted to shut down the industry as soon as possible, and the cabinet agreed.

这些感染的水貂被灭杀，人们也执行了更严格的卫生规定，但到了夏季病毒还是传播到了荷兰三分之一的农场。议会在六月份投票决定要尽快关停整个水貂养殖产业，内阁对此也表示同意。

The contaminated animals were destroyed and stricter hygiene rules imposed… 这里第二个分句省略了谓语，即：The contaminated animals were destroyed and stricter hygiene rules (were) imposed… 这种省略现象在英文中比较常见。

第三段介绍了荷兰的动物保护相关政党的反应。

That was a win for the Netherlands’ Party for the Animals, which has four seats in the 150-member parliament. In 2013 it helped pass the law that gave mink farmers until 2024 to get out of the business.

这对于荷兰的动物保护党来说是一个胜利，该党在150席位的议会中占有四席。动物保护党在2013年推动议会通过了一项法律，该法律规定水貂养殖户要在2024年之前退出该行业。

Now the party and its allies object to the lavish compensation the government has offered for bringing forward the deadline: €150m ($178m), or €1m-€1.5m per farmer.

现在该政党及其同盟反对政府为提前禁令而发放的优厚赔偿：赔偿总额为1.5亿欧元（1.78亿美元），或者说每名养殖户可获得100-150万欧元赔偿。

Some MPs allege that the compensation paid for destroying the infected minks was higher than the market price for their fur.

一些议员宣称，灭杀被感染的水貂所支付的赔偿金高于其皮毛的市场价格。

MP是Member of Parliament的缩写，即“议员”。

结尾段介绍了水貂养殖户与动物保护政党的意见。

Fur farmers say modern standards allow mink to be raised humanely, and that they are not a big reason for the spread of the virus. But mink are solitary predators; animal-rights advocates say they cannot be raised humanely in stacked cages.

水貂养殖者说现代标准能够让水貂的饲养变得人道，并且它们也不是病毒传播的主要原因。但水貂作为捕食性动物喜欢独来独往；动物权利保护者说养在堆叠笼子里的水貂并没有得到人道对待。

第一句相当于：Fur farmers say (that) modern standards…and (say) that they are not a big reason for the spread of the virus.

类似 XX says that…and that… 这样的结构在议论文写作中很常见，可以用来阐述两个平行的观点。

As for covid-19, the worry is that mink could serve as a reservoir for it to evade human immunisation programmes. The industry’s turnover is modest (farmers put it at €150m-200m, activists at under €100m), and polls show the public overwhelmingly opposes it.

至于新冠病毒，人们担心的一点是水貂可能会成为病毒的宿主，从而帮助病毒入侵人类的免疫系统。水貂养殖业的交易额并不高（养殖户估计这一数字为1.5亿到2亿欧元之间，动物保护人士则认为该数字少于1亿欧元），并且调查结果显示公众绝大多数反对这一行业。

Put something at something是一个固定搭配，意思是“推测，估计（某物的价值、大小和数量等）”，比如：The value of the painting has been put at £1 million. 这幅画估价为100万英镑。

“In a democratic country, that widespread conviction has to translate into a political decision to ban fur farming,” says Esther Ouwehand, leader of the Party for the Animals. The farmers accept they are shutting down. The remaining argument is over money.

动物保护党领袖埃丝特·乌韦汉德说：“在一个民主国家，民众这一广泛意见必须转化为禁止水貂养殖的政治决定”。养殖户们接受了行业正在关停的事实。剩下的议题就是金钱了。

that widespread conviction指代了上一句内容：…and polls show the public overwhelmingly opposes it… 这样能够在两个句子间形成衔接。

要表达“……导致了……的结果”，除了可以说：something leads to / results in something之外，还可以说 something translates into something，比如我们可以说：

The reason why so many students are seeking a postgraduate education is that holding an advanced degree can translate into a higher salary or a senior position.