《经济学人》双语：海湾地区身价百万的猎鹰？

原文标题： FalconryBeak demandThe market for falcons is soaring as wild populations decline鹰猎鹰喙需求随着野生物种数量的减少，猎鹰市场正在飙升 Gulf royals risk killing a sport they love海湾王室可能会扼杀一项他们酷爱的运动 [Paragraph 1] THOUGH ITS eyes are covered, the falcon looks frightened in the video. It sits frozen on its perch as a dozen excited men bid for the creature. 尽管它的眼睛被遮住了，但视频中的猎鹰看起来很害怕。它僵硬地立在栖木上，旁边有十几个人在兴奋地竞购这只猎鹰。 The scene plays out in the Libyan city of Tobruk. But the bidders, phones in hand, are relaying prices to traders in the Gulf. 这一幕发生在利比亚的托布鲁克，而拿着手机的投标人，正在向海湾地区的交易商们播报价格。 When the offers top 1m dinars ($220,000) those in the room yell Allahu akbar (God is great). 当出价达100万第纳尔（22万美元）时，房间里的人会大喊阿拉胡·阿克巴（真主伟大）。 Finally the bird is sold to a man in a camouflage jacket for 2.25m dinars, making it one of the most expensive falcons in the world.最后，这只鹰隼以225万第纳尔的价格卖给了一名身穿迷彩夹克的男子，成为世界上最昂贵的猎鹰之一。

[Paragraph 2] Falcons have long inspired passion among Arabs. The Bedouin used them to hunt and still recite poems extolling them. 长期以来，猎鹰一直激发着阿拉伯人的热情。贝都因人用它们狩猎，至今仍在吟诵赞美它们的诗。 Medieval caliphs led parties into the bush to watch their falcons swoop down on game. Today Gulf royals spare no expense on such outings. 中世纪的哈里发（伊斯兰教主）带领人们进入灌木丛，观看他们的猎鹰猛扑到猎物上。如今，海湾皇室成员也不遗余力地参加这样的户外活动。 With prey at home dwindling, they have began hunting abroad, in such countries as Mongolia, Morocco and Pakistan. Some call it “falcon diplomacy”.随着国内猎物的减少，它们开始在国外狩猎，比如蒙古、摩洛哥和巴基斯坦。有人称之为“猎鹰外交”。 [Paragraph 3] Lately a craze for falcon-racing and beauty contests has increased demand for the birds. 最近，猎鹰比赛和选美比赛的热潮增加了人们对猎鹰的需求。 Falcon clubs have opened across the Arabian peninsula, some offering courses to children as young as five. 阿拉伯半岛各地都开设了猎鹰俱乐部，一些俱乐部为5岁的儿童提供课程。 Airlines in the Middle East sell seats for the birds. (A Saudi prince once filled most of a commercial jet with his flock.) 中东的航空公司为这些鹰隼出售座位。（一位沙特王子曾在一架商用飞机上装满了他的猎鹰。） Falcon ownership has tripled in the Gulf over the past decade, says Karim Rousselon of the International Association for Falconry. The finest birds cost more per gram than gold.国际猎鹰协会的卡里姆·罗塞隆表示，在过去十年里，海湾地区拥有猎鹰所有权人数的数量增加了两倍。最好的猎鹰按克计算的话比黄金还贵。 [Paragraph 4] But even at such heady prices, there are not enough wild falcons to satisfy the demand. 但即使在如此高昂的价格下，也没有足够的野生猎鹰来满足需求。 The saker falcon, as a favoured local species in the Gulf is known, is already endangered. In the Arabian peninsula wild ones are all but extinct. 众所周知，萨克猎鹰是海湾地区最受欢迎的当地物种，它已经濒临灭绝。在阿拉伯半岛，野生猎鹰几乎灭绝了。 Many countries have banned trade in them. But buyers and sellers have found ways around the rules.许多国家已经禁止在这些地区进行猎鹰贸易。但买家和卖家已经找到了绕过规则的方法。 [Paragraph 5] In lawless Libya traders sometimes stitch closed the eyelids of captured specimens to keep them from flying away. Poachers in Pakistan pin prey to sticks in order to capture migrating falcons.在无法无天的利比亚，商人有时会把鹰的眼皮缝合起来，防止它们飞走。巴基斯坦的偷猎者将猎物钉在棍子上，以捕捉迁徙的猎鹰。 Places like Britain also contribute to the problem, says Guy Shorrock of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 英国皇家鸟类保护学会的盖伊·肖洛克说，英国等地也加剧了这个问题。 Recent changes to the law have made it harder to trace falcons and their eggs leaving the country. 最近对法律的修改使得追踪离开该国的猎鹰及鹰蛋变得更加困难。 “We’re part of the global business to supply the Arab demand for hunting and falcon racing,” says Mr Shorrock.肖洛克说：“我们是全球业务的一部分，以满足阿拉伯国家对狩猎和猎鹰比赛的需求。” [Paragraph 6] It is not just falcons that this situation harms. 这种情况伤害的不仅仅是猎鹰。 The houbara bustard is big and fast, but also rather dumb. Falcons love to hunt it, leading to a mostly illegal trade in the bustard that has put it on the road to extinction. 波斑大鸨又大又快，也笨笨哒。猎鹰喜欢猎杀它，这导致了大鸨的非法交易，使它走上了灭绝之路。 To help it recover without curbing hunting, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has opened bustard-breeding farms at home and abroad. 为了在不限制捕猎的情况下帮助其恢复，阿拉伯联合酋长国在国内外开设了大鸨养殖场。 One in Morocco, where the UAE’s crown prince, Muhammad bin Zayed, likes to hunt, has bred almost 300,000 bustards since opening in 1995.在摩洛哥，阿联酋王储穆罕默德·本·扎耶德喜欢打猎。自1995年开业以来，摩洛哥已经饲养了近30万只大鸨。 [Paragraph 7] The UAE has also promoted the use of farmed falcons, not least by banning imports of all wild-caught birds. 阿联酋还提倡使用人工饲养的猎鹰，尤其是禁止进口所有野生捕获的鸟类。 “A decade ago 90% of the UAE’s falcons were wild,” claims Mr Rousselon. “Now 90% are captive-bred.” 罗塞隆声称：“十年前，阿联酋90%的猎鹰是野生的，现在90%是圈养繁殖。” But other Gulf countries lag behind the UAE in terms of regulation. And many falconers prefer wild birds to those bred on a farm. 但其他海湾国家在监管方面落后于阿联酋。许多训鹰者更喜欢野生鹰隼，而不是在农场饲养的猎鹰。 In the UAE the ban has caused prices to spike—but failed to stop the trade in falcons. 在阿联酋，禁令导致价格飙升，但未能阻止猎鹰贸易。 Senior officials set a bad example by obtaining waivers. Their appetite for wild falcons risks killing the sport they love.高级长官有豁免权，也树立了一个坏榜样。他们对野生猎鹰的偏好可能会扼杀他们热爱的运动。 （恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量611左右）原文出自：2022年2月26日《经济学人》Middle East & Africa板块。精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路本文翻译整理：Irene本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】 （来源于网络）

猎隼（FALCON）：猎鹰的一种，阿联酋的国鸟 。任何面值的阿联酋纸币迪拉姆上都会有一只威风凛凛、眼神犀利的猎隼傲然矗立。猎隼在阿拉伯人眼里被视为权力、地位和财富的象征。 早期的阿拉伯贝都因部落一直生存在一望无际的阿拉伯沙漠之中，因此很早,贝都因人就豢养猎隼狩猎。阿联酋第一任总统谢赫·扎耶德陛下，在上世纪40年代曾经是阿莱茵的地方行政长官，为了鼓励当地人开展猎隼狩猎，经常与贝都因人吃住在一起，专门学习熬鹰，建国后亲自撰写了《猎隼体育运动史》，向世界介绍阿拉伯人如何进行狩猎以及训练猎隼。 猎鹰比赛：包括放飞、捕兔子和活捉狐狸等环节。猎鹰一般从小受训，驯服后的猎鹰会对主人绝对忠诚，听从主人发出的号令。2019年2月3日，《吉尼斯世界纪录年鉴》代表茜达·贾米西在沙特阿拉伯宣布，从1月25日至2月3日举行的沙特阿卜杜勒-阿齐兹国王猎鹰节成为世界最大猎鹰比赛，列入吉尼斯世界纪录。 海湾地区（Gulf）：也称波斯湾，阿拉伯人叫它阿拉伯湾，是世界上最重要的内海之一。 海湾四周，从东向南，围绕着伊朗、伊拉克、科威特、沙特阿拉伯、巴林、卡塔尔、阿拉伯联合酋长国，阿曼和也门9个国家，被称为海湾国家，或海湾地区。海湾地区总面积约为481万平方公里，人口约1．18亿，主要是阿拉伯人和波斯人，还有相当数量的少数民族和外籍移民，绝大多数人信奉伊斯兰教。

【重点句子】 （3个）

Lately a craze for falcon-racing and beauty contests has increased demand for the birds. 最近，猎鹰比赛和选美比赛的热潮增加了人们对猎鹰的需求。 The finest birds cost more per gram than gold.最好的猎鹰按克计算的话比黄金还贵。 In the UAE the ban has caused prices to spike—but failed to stop the trade in falcons. 在阿联酋，禁令导致价格飙升，但未能阻止猎鹰贸易。

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