双语时事：政治捐款不能决定选举结果

2014-07-08 16:32:48来源：可可英语

　　So this is what the future of the United Kingdom comes down to? Harry Potter versus EuroMillions. On September 18, Scotland will vote on independence. The news that JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter oeuvre, has decided to give £1m to the Better Together campaign is a welcome boost to the pro-union campaign. Until now, it has struggled to match the financial firepower of the pro-independence campaign, which has benefited from £3.5m donated by Chris and Colin Weir, a couple who won £161m playing the EuroMillions lottery in 2011. All told, the Weirs account for about 80 per cent of the funding received by the Yes campaign.

　　那么，联合王国的未来将归结于哈利•波特(Harry Potter)对战EuroMillions彩票游戏吗?9月18日，苏格兰将举行独立公投。《哈利波特》系列小说作者J•K•罗琳(J. K. Rowling)决定向Better Together运动捐款100万英镑，对于这个支持统一的团体而言，这是一个可喜的提振。在此之前，该团体一直很难与支持苏格兰独立的Yes运动的财力媲美，后者获得了在2011年赢得EuroMillions 1.61亿英镑大奖的克里斯•韦尔(Chris Weir)和考琳•韦尔(Colin Weir)夫妇350万英镑的捐款。韦尔夫妇的捐款占到了Yes运动已收到捐款的80%左右。

　　The idea that the UK’s survival might hinge on the political preferences of two lottery winners is unsettling. And the Scottish referendum is not an isolated example. Across the world, from the US to Asia, elections and political campaigns are shaped by massive donations by rich individuals.

　　联合王国的存亡可能取决于两位彩票中奖者的政治倾向，这一想法令人不安。苏格兰公投并非一个孤立的例子。举目当今世界，从美国到亚洲，选举和政治竞选活动都受到富人巨额捐款的影响。

　　The financial flows behind these political whims can be complicated. On a recent stay at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino in Singapore, which is owned by Sheldon Adelson, it struck me that I was watching Chinese gamblers enrich an octogenarian American billionaire, who would in turn use the money to fund Republican political candidates who support Israel. Most parts of the world seemed to be affected, one way or another, by the spinning fruit machines of Singapore.

　　这些政治愿望背后的资金流动可能很复杂。在最近入住谢尔登•埃德森(Sheldon Adelson)拥有的新加坡赌场酒店——滨海湾金沙大酒店(Marina Bay Sands)期间，我突然想到：我正在目睹中国赌客让一位80多岁的美国亿万富翁变得更富，这位富翁进而会用这笔钱资助那些支持以色列的共和党政治候选人。全球多数地区似乎都会以某种方式受到新加坡老虎机的影响。

　　Mr Adelson’s political donations have so far been lavish but not particularly effective. According to The Washington Post, he spent more than $90m backing losing candidates in the last US presidential election. This time round, he intends to place his bets more carefully and, according to an aide quoted in the Post, is looking for a Republican candidate “who has convictions but is not totally crazy” – a more difficult task than it sounds, given the state of the party.

　　迄今，埃德森的政治捐款一直很慷慨，但不是特别有效。据《华盛顿邮报》(Washington Post)称，在上次美国总统大选中，他曾捐款逾9000万美元，但他支持的候选人最终都落败。这一次，他准备更为谨慎地下注，《华盛顿邮报》援引他的一名助手的话称，他正物色一位“有信念但并不完全疯狂”的共和党候选人——鉴于共和党的现状，这项任务实际上比听上去更为困难。

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