原创翻译：《经济学人》批评美国空间政策-超级军网

<h1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Back to the future</h1>Apr 12th 2006From the economist print edition<span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Don’t race China to the moon, especially if you have been there already.<span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">

Just before China’s president Hu Jintao, visits the United States, a new front has opened up in the growing rivalry between today’s super power and tomorrow’s aspiring one. Not content with bashing China over trade, jobs and its military build-up, several Republican congressmen are worried that the Chinese may try get to the moon before America does. In apparent seriousness, they fear that America is caught up in a new space race-and that it is losing. 回到未来既然你已经上过月球了，就别再和中国搞登月竞赛 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 宋体; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">就在中国国家主席胡锦涛访问美国之前，超级大国和未来的超级大国之星之间的竞争又拉开了新的一幕。一些不满足于在贸易、失业和武装力量方面诟病中国的共和党议员们，开始担心中国可能试图在美国之前到达月球。他们严重的担心美国正被拖入一场新的太空竞赛而且正在走向失败。<h1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">Back to the future</h1>Apr 12th 2006From the economist print edition<span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Don’t race China to the moon, especially if you have been there already.<span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"> <span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 宋体; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">

Just before China’s president Hu Jintao, visits the United States, a new front has opened up in the growing rivalry between today’s super power and tomorrow’s aspiring one. Not content with bashing China over trade, jobs and its military build-up, several Republican congressmen are worried that the Chinese may try get to the moon before America does. In apparent seriousness, they fear that America is caught up in a new space race-and that it is losing. 回到未来既然你已经上过月球了，就别再和中国搞登月竞赛 <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: 宋体; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">就在中国国家主席胡锦涛访问美国之前，超级大国和未来的超级大国之星之间的竞争又拉开了新的一幕。一些不满足于在贸易、失业和武装力量方面诟病中国的共和党议员们，开始担心中国可能试图在美国之前到达月球。他们严重的担心美国正被拖入一场新的太空竞赛而且正在走向失败。

In facts, as laid out last week to a congressional hearing for NASA (itself a lunar veteran), are that China has put two manned vehicles into orbit, is planning a third by 2008, and would like a space laboratory. The politicians were alarmed by China’s scheme to visit the moon in 2017-and they want America to spend up to $5 billion to get to there first.  事实上，据上周美国国家航空航天局NASA（它自己就是登月老手）在国会的听证会透露，中国在向空间轨道发射了两艘载人飞船之后，正准备在2008年部署第三颗，而且这一颗将类似于一个空间实验室。他们警告议员们中国计划在2017年访问月球-而他们希望美国拨款5亿美元以争取抢先到达那里。 The Americans are certainly right to keep a close eye on what China is up to in space-especially when it comes to military programs. But the idea that there is a new space race to get to the moon is ludicrous-and not just because Neil Armstrong won that competition in 1969. Look at the details: the Chinese, it turns out, are sending the moon a robot, not a taikonaut. And why on earth (or in heaven) would America want to send people back to the moon anyway? 美国人完全有理由密切关注中国在空间的活动，特别是牵涉到军事问题的时候。不过，认为现在存在什么新的太空登月竞赛的想法是很滑稽的-这还不只是因为尼尔-阿姆斯特朗已经在1969年取得了这场比赛的胜利。我们来看一下事情的详细情况吧：中国准备送上月球的，据他们自己所称，是一台机器人，而不是一个“太空人”（译注1）。而到底为什么（译注2），美国要再一次把自己的人送上月球？ The reason-and this will come as no surprise to aficionados of China bashing-is a powerful domestic lobby. Racing a Chinese robot to the Sea of Tranquility might be batty, but it is a neat way to milk additional funds for NASA from the American public. You might wonder how Tom DeLay, the ousted majority leader, could warm his colleagues with a straight face that “the advanced state of the Chinese space program represents a 21st century Sputnik moment.” But his logic becomes much clearer when you realize that NASA is a big employer in his Texas district.  问题的答案在于力量强大的国内游说者-而这对于那些反华爱好者们则不足为奇。和一台中国机器人比赛登陆“静海”（译注：月球上的一个巨大的环形山）似乎很疯狂，但那却是让NASA从美国公众那里攫取更多资金的捷径。你也许会奇怪，被解职了的NASA高级负责人Tom DeLay，去板着张脸对他的同事们说：“中国太空计划的进展，使得21世纪的‘卫星时刻’（译注3）即将到来。”，怎么会鼓起他们的干劲？不过，当你意识到NASA在它位于德州的地盘上拥有大批雇员的时候，你就能更清楚的理解他的话背后的逻辑了。 Over the years, America’s politicians have injected the country’s space program with so much spin, politics and greed that it is now bloated beyond belief. The price of launching a single American shuttle would run the entire Chinese space program for a year, paying for the work of all its 200,000 scientists and engineers. 多年以来美国的政客们给这个国家的太空计划注入了太多的谎言、政治与贪婪而这些现在已经膨胀到了无法想象的地步了。部署一艘美国航天飞机的费用，足够整个中国的航天计划花一年，包括支付其所有20万名科学家和工程人员的工资。

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-5-4 22:58:32编辑过]

不错啊.呵呵

翻译的很好。顶一下

顶一下             

多谢楼上几位的支持！在下惭愧啊。发现我发的帖子，好像是加精的里面最不招人待见的了。看过的人都只有103个。自以为值得关注和讨论的东西结果都是连骂两句的回馈都没有。自嘲一下。