经济学人单词注释

Every silver lining has a cloudThe sealing of a Pacific trade deal is welcome. But spare the cheersOct 10th 2015 |From the print editionUNTIL this week, the world had not seen a big multilateral multilateral: involving several different countries or groups trade pact pact: a formal agreement between two groups, countries, or people, especially to help each other or to stop fighting: for over 20 years. The deal that has broken the droughtthe Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which comprises comprise: to consist of particular parts, groups etc: 12 countries in Asia and the Americas, including the United States and Japanis welcome. But those who believe in free trade, and the benefits it brings, ought not to miss the bigger picture. The backdrop backdrop: the conditions or situation in which something happensagainst a backdrop of somethinga love story set against a backdrop of war and despair to this weeks deal is a bleak bleak: without anything to make you feel happy or hopefula bleak future/prospectThe company still hopes to find a buyer, but the future looks bleak. one.First, the pact itself. It has flaws flaw: a mistake, mark, or weakness that makes something imperfect=defectwhat compromise compromise: to reach an agreement in which everyone involved accepts less that what they wanted at first doesnt?but the advantages are greater. The negotiators who brokered broker: broker a deal/settlement/treaty etc: to arrange the details of a deal etc so that everyone can agree to it:a ceasefire agreement brokered by the UN the agreement in Atlanta did not just lower tariffs tariff: a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country in coddled coddle: to treat someone in a way that is too kind and gentle and that protects them from pain or difficulty: sectors sector: a part of an area of activity, especially of business, trade etc such as agriculture, but also drew up draw up:draw something up to prepare a written document, such as a list or contract: shared rules on everything from visas visa: an official mark put on your passport that gives you permission to temporarily enter or leave a foreign country: for business travellers to competition policy. The deal limits veiled veiled: a veiled threat, warning, attack, reference etc is expressed so that its exact meaning is hidden or unclearA fine rain was beginning to veil the hills. forms of protectionism, such as special treatment of state-owned firms and arbitrary arbitrary: decided or arranged without any reason or plan, often unfairly: import bans after safety scares. The benefits of such steps step: one of a series of things that you do in order to deal with a problem or to succeed are hard to quantify, especially as the fine print The Fine Print (写在文件底部的)保留条款(为该协议的附件，注明保留或限制性的条件) of the deal has not yet been released, but the most comprehensive comprehensive: including all the necessary facts, details, or problems that need to be dealt with=thorough: assessment thus far thus far:迄今; 迄今为止; 到目前为止; 到这点为止 reckons they could boost the GDP of its members by 1% by 2025. The impact on emerging-market signatories signatory: one of the people, organizations, or countries that signs an official agreement to the deal is likely to be by far the biggest.Away from the bright spotViewed from a different angle, however, the tale tale: a story about exciting imaginary events of TPP tells a different story. First, there is the fact that the agreement has been so hard to sell in America. It took months, and several legislative legislative：concerned with making laws: setbacks setback：a problem that delays or prevents progress, or makes things worse than they were, before Barack Obama won the authority authority：official permission to do something to fast-track fast-track：happening or making progress more quickly than is usual: a congressional vote on TPP. The deal may still be voted down vote something down：to defeat a plan, law etc by votingIn 1999 the town had voted down a petition to close the school., in America or elsewhere. Those who would succeed Mr Obama as president know that TPP holds few votes. This week Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner and once a promoter of TPP, came out against it. The beneficiaries beneficiary：someone who gets advantages from an action or change of TPPconsumers, as well as exportersare numerous, but their potential gains diffuse diffuse（adjective）：spread over a large area. By contrast, inefficient inefficient：not using time, money, energy etc in the best way firms and farms, about to be exposed to greater foreign competition, are obvious and vocal vocal：expressing strong opinions publicly, especially about things that you disagree with. Canada, for example, limited the threat to its dairy farmers dairy farm：a farm that has cows and produces and sells milk and doled out dole something outto give something such as money, food, advice etc to more than one person a big new subsidy subsidy：money that is paid by a government or organization to make prices lower, reduce the cost of producing goods. The saga saga：a long and complicated series of events, or a description of this is a reminder of how hard free trade is to champion champion：to publicly fight for and defend an aim or principle, such as the rights of a group of people:She championed the cause of religious freedom.Second, the TPP deal underscores underscore：to emphasize the fact that something is important or true the shift shift：a change in the way people think about something, in the way something is done away from global agreements. The World Trade Organisation, which is responsible for global deals, has been trying, and largely failing, to negotiate one since 2001. Reaching agreement among its 161 members, especially now that average tariffs around the world are relatively low and talks are focused on more contentious contentious：causing a lot of argument and disagreement between people obstacles to trade, has proved almost impossible. Regional deals are the next best thing, but, by definition, they exclude some countries, and so may steer steer：to guide someones behaviour or the way a situation develops custom away from the most efficient producer. In the case of TPP, the glaring glaring：very bad and very noticeable = obvious outcast outcast：someone who is not accepted by the people they live among, or who has been forced out of their home: is China, the linchpin linchpin：the linchpin of somethingthe person or thing in a group, system etc that is most important, because everything depends on them of most global supply chains.Why countries are so keen to agree new trade dealsThird, good news on TPP stands in contrast to in contrast to：a difference between people, ideas, situations, things etc that are being comparedThe stock lost 60 cents a share, in contrast to last year, when it gained 21 cents. bad news elsewhere. Cross-border Cross-border：跨境 trade today is as much about the exchange of data as it is the flow of goods and services: this week saw the annulment annulment：to officially state that a marriage or legal agreement no longer exists by a European court of a deal that had enabled American firms to transfer customer data across the Atlantic. Conventional trade faces even stronger headwinds headwind：a wind that blows directly towards you when you are moving. The volume volume：the total amount of something, especially when it is large or increasing of goods shipped in the first half of this year was just 1.9% higher than in the same period of 2014, far below its long-term average growth of 5%. This reflects not only Chinas soggy soggy：unpleasantly wet and soft demand for importsa threat to the developing economies that supply itbut also the accumulation of minor measures that silt up silt up：if something silts up or is silted up, it becomes filled with silt global trade.Deals like TPP are the most effective way to reverse this sorry trend, by reducing tariffs and other obstacles to trade. Optimists hope it can now be expanded, to include China and others. Sadly, experience suggests that will be hard.跨太平洋合作伙伴银边背后总有乌云缔结太平洋贸易协定值得欢迎，但莫急欢呼直至本周之前，全球已有20多年没有签订过大型多边贸易协定了。打破这一困局的跨太平洋合作伙伴协定（TPP）值得欢迎，它涵盖了包括美国和日本在内的12个亚洲和美洲国家。但是，信奉自由贸易及其益处的人们不应忽略大环境：本周缔结这一协定的背景颇为惨淡。首先是协定本身。它有缺陷（哪个折衷方案会没有缺陷呢？），但好处更多。在亚特兰大谈判协定的各国代表并不只是降低了农业等备受保护产业的关税，还拟定了从商务签证到竞争政策等方方面面的共享规则。这一协