L8 Trading standards 贸易标准

 

• 经济方面的说明文
  • It is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between America and the EU.
  • The details are complex enough that negotiators are hard-pressed to get a deal at all.
  • One difficulty is to construct the agreements.
• 平实而生动的语言
  • Chickens slaughtered in the United States are not fit to grace European tables.
  • It is differences in national regulations that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries.

Paragraph

1. 作者用事实说明各国管理条例上的差异，阻碍了发达国家之间的贸易； 
   1. Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.
   2. An electric razor that meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States.
   3. An American-made dialysis machine needs the EU's okay before it hits the market in Europe.
2. Indicate the unreasonable and hard-pressed to eliminate the reality of double-test.
   1. Eliminate two lots of tests.
   2. The details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.
3. Explain the deep reasons why America and the EU can not reach the agreements.
   1. The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices.
   2. The EU--following fine continental traditions--wants agreement on general principles, which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.

Language Points

Chickens slaughtered in the US... are not fit to grace European tables.

• grace
  • v.  decorate and make something more attractive and pleasing
  • 正式用语
    • Her photograph graced many a magazine cover.
      • 她的照片用来装饰过很多杂志封面
    • How kind of you to grace us with your presence.
      • 您的光临是我们蓬荜生辉

...why have two lots of tests where one would do? 

• lots
  • a set of people or things
    • （人或物）一类，一批
      • This lot of apples is better than the last.

The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and then hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing.

• hammer
  • v. 用榔头捶打
  • 用词简洁，内涵丰富，形象生动
    • The local government hammered out a new policy.

America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products.

• deal
  • an arrangement, esp. in business, to the advantage of both sides.

The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and then hammer out different pacts.

• accord
  • (formal) agreement
  • 正式用语
• pact
  • a solemn agreement（严肃隆重的协议）

The EU... wants agreement on general principles.

• agreement
  • an agreement as made between people, groups, businesses, or coutries
  • （普通用词，用法最广）协议

agreement	（普通用词）协议
deal	（侧重商业）协议
accord	（正式用语）协议
pact	（严肃隆重）的协议-条约，公约，盟约

 

Key Structures

Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.

• slaughtered
  • 过去分词作定语
  • 省略-which have been slaughtered
    • 省略后显得语言更加简洁
  • legends handed down - 流传下来的传说
  • tools made of stones
  • insects destroyed by spiders
  • impoverished settlements cut off by high mountains - 被高山隔绝的穷乡僻壤
  • A sound made by tapping on the hull of a ship - 敲打船体发出的声音