本期精读来自The Economist欧洲板块的文章A proposal to water down Sweden’s state monopoly on booze

这篇文章介绍了瑞典的酒精销售制度：目前酒精销售由国家垄断，普通人要买酒只能去餐馆、酒吧或者特许经营店。但近期有党派提出要对这一政策进行更改，这也引发了不少争议。文章对这一事件进行了介绍。

文章几处标题都值得玩味：sour grapes意思是“酸葡萄（指由于得不到而贬低某物）”，这里可以指文中无法得到销售许可的葡萄酒生产商，同时，酸葡萄也是酿制葡萄酒的原料。

主标题也写得很好：A proposal to water down Sweden’s state monopoly on booze（关于减少瑞典对酒类垄断的一个提议），这里water down字面含义是“加水稀释”，可以引申为“使……减弱”，water down这一用法也贴合文章讨论的主题：酒精。

向公众号回复：瑞典，可以获取英文原文、翻译版以及音频。

首段介绍了瑞典的阿赫斯葡萄园生产葡萄酒的情况。

MOST NORTHERN-HEMISPHERE wine is produced at a latitude of between 30° and 50°. Any farther north and it gets too cold.

北半球大部分葡萄酒是在北纬30°到50°之间的地区生产的，如果再往北就太冷了。

Ahus vineyard, in Skane county on Sweden’s Baltic coast, is at a chilly 55.9°. But since 2005 it has been cultivating vines on a hectare of farmland.

阿赫斯葡萄园位于瑞典波罗的海沿岸的斯科纳省，该地纬度为55.9°，气温十分寒冷。但从2005年开始，那里的人们就在一公顷的农田上种植葡萄。

Last year it produced around 3,000 bottles, mostly from solaris grapes, a variety suited to cooler climes. It also welcomes tourists.

去年葡萄园生产了大约3000瓶酒，这些酒大部分用索莱莉葡萄酿造。这一葡萄品种适合在寒冷气候下生长。葡萄园也欢迎游客的到来。

a variety suited to cooler climes这一部分是同位语，用于修饰solaris grapes，同时suited在这里是形容词，可以说something/somebody is suited to something，比如要表达“他不太适合当老师”，可以说：He is not really suited for a teaching career.

This summer saw a rush of interest from Swedish oenophiles holidaying at homebecause of the pandemic.

瑞典的葡萄酒行家在今年夏天对庄园产生了浓厚兴趣。由于疫情原因，他们只能在国内度假。

holidaying at home这里holiday作为动词使用，即“在……度假”，at home指的是“在本国”，而不是“在家”。

See/witness的主语除了人之外，还可以是某段时间或某个地方，用来表示在这一时间或地点发生了什么事，我们在写作中也可以借鉴，比如在教育话题中可以说：

The past few years have seen rapid progress in online education, with tens of millions of students worldwide now able to attend lectures in the comfort of their own home.

Visitors would ask, “Can we buy a bottle as a souvenir?” says Karin Birch, who helps run the vineyard. “And I would have to say no.”

帮忙经营葡萄园的卡琳·伯奇说，游客会问：“我们可以买一瓶酒作为纪念品吗？”她说：“而我不得不拒绝。”

这里留下了一个悬念：为何葡萄园主会拒绝游客的购买要求？下文进行了说明：因为瑞典的酒精销售政策不允许。

第二段介绍了瑞典的酒精销售制度。

In 1955 Sweden replaced a rationing system so ineffective that even the temperance movement opposed it with a state monopoly on alcohol sales.

瑞典在1995年用国家垄断酒精销售的方式替代了配给制，原先的配给制是如此无效，以至于连禁酒运动都反对它。

这句话的主干是：Sweden replaced a rationing system with a state monopoly on alcohol sales，句中so ineffective that even the temperance movement opposed it这一部分作为后置定语修饰a rationing system，相当于：a rationing system (that was) so ineffective that even the temperance movement opposed it

the temperance movement是指欧美国家发起的禁酒运动，旨在鼓励人们减少饮酒行为。

Today 446 shops called Systembolagets are the only places where Swedes can buy alcohol stronger than 3.5%, besides bars and restaurants. Similar monopolies exist in other Nordic countries, and the arrangement remains broadly popular.

如今除了酒吧和餐馆外，瑞典人唯一能买到酒精度超过3.5%的地方就只有名为Systembolagets的酒类专营店了（这些店一共有446家）。类似的经营垄断在其他北欧国家也存在，而且这样的销售方式仍然广泛流行。

第三段介绍了瑞典酒精销售政策发生的一些变化。

The state’s grip on booze sales may be about to weaken, however. Last year, in exchange for propping up the minority government, the moderate Centre Party negotiated a consultation on the introduction of “farm sales”.

不过，瑞典对酒类销售的掌控能力接下来可能会减弱。去年，为了换取对少数派政府的支持，温和的中心党就引入 "农场销售"政策进行了协商。

prop up在这里的意思是“支持，支撑（经济、行业、政府等）”，例如：The government introduced measures to prop up the stock market. 政府采取措施来扶持股市。

The policy would allow producers such as Ahus to sell directly to customers. But the idea is controversial.

该政策将允许阿赫斯这样的生产商直接向客户销售酒饮，但这一想法仍有争议。

第四段介绍了围绕该新政策的争议。

The IOGT-NTO, a Swedish temperance movement, claims that farm sales are a Trojan horse that will end up letting big producers flog their wares on the open market, noting that the Swedish farmers’ association has argued against putting a size limit on sales.

瑞典禁酒运动组织IOGT-NTO声称，农场销售政策只是个幌子，它最终会导致大的生产商在公开市场上兜售自己的商品。该组织还指出瑞典农民协会一直反对对销售规模进行限制。

Trojan horse来自于古希腊历史典故，相传古希腊人为了潜入敌城特洛伊而藏在空心的木马中，现在这一表达用来指“（用于掩盖真实目的或意图的）幌子”。

要表达“某人支持/反对某事”，可以用上句子中的表达somebody argues for/against (doing) something，比如可以说：Some people argue against the consumption of GM crops, citing health concerns.

Opponents also argue that farm sales could be illegal under European Union law, though this has yet to be tested.

反对者还认为，根据欧盟法律，农场销售可能是非法的，不过这还有待检验。

Somebody/something has yet to do something是一个固定搭配，意思是“……还未做某事”。

In 1997, two years after Sweden joined the bloc, the European Court of Justice ruled that the monopoly complied with the EU’s rules on the free movement of goods, since it did not discriminate against any producers. But farm sales would by their nature exclude alcohol from abroad.

欧盟法院在1997年（瑞典加入欧盟两年后）裁定，瑞典对于酒精销售权的垄断符合欧盟关于货物自由流通的规则，因为它没有歧视任何生产商。但农场销售从本质上讲会将国外的酒类排除在外。

结尾段引用了一名议员的话，表明其对农场销售政策的信心。

According to Sofia Nilsson, a Centre Party MP for Skane, farm sales are not a way to abolish the state’s monopoly by the back door, but could boost tourism and jobs in the countryside.

斯科纳的中心党议员索菲亚·尼尔森认为，农场销售并不是通过走后门来取消国家垄断，而是可以促进乡村旅游业和就业。

do something by/through the back door意思是“通过走后门的方式做某事”，比如：He used his friends to help him get into the civil service by the back door. 他利用朋友帮他开后门当上了公务员。

这里by the back door也与上一段的a Trojan horse形成了呼应。

The government consultation will take time, but Ms Nilsson is optimistic: “I really hope that in a couple of years we can cycle around Skane, stop at a vineyard and buy a bottle of wine for dinner.”

政府的协商需要时间，但尼尔森女士很乐观："我真心希望几年后我们能骑车环绕斯科纳，在葡萄园停下来并且买一瓶葡萄酒佐餐。"