当前位置

首页 > 英语阅读 > 英语阅读理解 > 十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下)

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下)

推荐人: 来源: 阅读: 2.64W 次

any--Most Prostitutes In Europe

5.德国——最多妓女

While not as highly prized as the Champions League or the Eurovision Song Contest, Germany can claim to be champions of Europe when it comes to the number of prostitutes. By some estimates, Germany has as many as 300,000 sex workers, around half of them foreign-born. Since it legalized prostitution in 2002, the country has been referred to as a giant "sex supermarket," with one Floridian flying there at least three times a year to take advantage of the discount prices. There are an estimated 500 brothels in Berlin alone, with over 3,000 in the country as a whole, and the industry reputedly generates around $20 billion a year.

虽然不能获得欧冠联赛或欧洲歌唱大赛冠军奖杯,德国也可以因其众多的妓女数量成为冠军。据统计,德国有300000人之多的性工作者,约一半的人都出生国外。从2002年性交易合法后,德国就成为一个巨大的"性交易超市",一个佛罗里达人一年至少三次飞往德国享受打折价格服务。仅仅在柏林就有大约500家妓院,而全国约有3000家妓院,据说该行业每年收益200亿美元。

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下)

As you would expect, Germany's prostitution boom has a tragic dark side. Many foreign-born sex workers were trafficked into the country with promises of work, before being forced into the industry. Brothel owners take the lion's share of the profits, with many workers paid a pittance. By some estimates, as many as 90 percent of the country's prostitutes may have been forced into an industry they would have preferred to avoid. As one Member of Parliament observed: "At the time it was thought that legalizing prostitution would improve their situation. But that totally failed. We now see that meaning well does not mean doing well."

正如你所想的那样,德国的卖淫发展呈现出一个悲剧性的黑暗面。许多国外出生的性工作者在被强迫进入该行业前,都被承诺会有工作。妓院老板获得超高利润,而妓女们却收入颇微。据估计,多达90%的该国妓女都是被迫入行的,她们本人并不愿意。就像一名国会议员所看到的那样:"当时,我们认为使卖淫合法化会改善她们的境况。而这是完全失败的。现在我们知道,这个想法很好,但做得并不好。"

a New Guinea--Cannibalism

4.巴布亚新几内亚——食人行为

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下) 第2张

Cannibalism has been rare since prehistory and extinct as a cultural practice since the 19th century. With one notable exception, that is. The island of New Guinea is home to wild forests, undiscovered animals, and isolated tribes cut off from the rest of the world. Some of these groups are believed to still practice ritual cannibalism. The Korowai people, for example, are said to eat the flesh of suspected male witches known as khakhua. The Korowai have little understanding of modern medicine, and often attribute diseases to a khakhua using magic to consume their victim from the inside out. Since the khakhua practice cannibalism, Korowai justice dictates that the same should happen to them as punishment. Suspected khakhua are usually shot with arrows before being butchered and eaten. The practice is believed to have died out among many Korowai groups, but likely persists in some isolated communities.

从19世纪史前文化实践灭绝以来,同类相食就极其罕见。这就是那件例外的事。新几内亚岛原始森林茂盛,拥有未被发现的动物,孤立的部落与世界其他地方隔绝。一些部落被认为仍在进行一贯的食人行为。例如,据说科罗威人吃被称作"khakhua"的男性巫师的肉。科罗威人对现代医学毫无所知,他们通常把疾病归因于"khakhua",认为是"khakhua"施法让他们从内到外都受到迫害。从"khakhua"食人以来,科罗威司法就规定他们将受到同样的惩罚。"Khakhua"人被屠宰和吃掉之前都疑似被箭射伤。这种行为在科罗威的许多部落都不复存在,但在一些孤立地区还可能存在。

A less violent version of cannibalism was responsible for a devastating outbreak of disease during the 1950s. The Fore people of Papua New Guinea had long practiced mortuary cannibalism—ritually consuming the bodies of recently deceased tribe members. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, a disease known as kuru killed around 1,000 members of the tribe. Kuru, meaning "the shaking death," was eventually revealed to be a neurodegenerative disease spread by eating infected human brains.

20世纪50年代,一次毁灭性的疾病爆发让食人行为有所减少。巴布亚新几内亚人一直吃死人——都是吃死亡不久的部落成员。在50年代到60年代间,1000名部落成员死于一种叫"kuru"的疾病。"Kuru"意为"令人颤抖的死亡",最后发现这是种通过食用感染者的大脑而传播神经病变疾病。

n--Animal Cruelty

3.日本——虐杀动物

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下) 第3张

There isn't a single easy way to estimate which country has the worst record when it comes to animal cruelty, but Japan's terrible track record compared to other developed countries certainly makes it a strong candidate. Infamously, Japan has continued to hunt whales and dolphins on an industrial scale, insisting its fleet is engaged in "scientific research" to get around international restrictions on whaling. Since demand for whale meat has plummeted over the last 50 years, the industry is unprofitable, yet the Japanese government continues to subsidize it to the tune of around $10 million a year. Excess whale meat is often fed to schoolchildren under the guise of educating them "about the kind of school lunches Japan had in the past." The annual Taiji dolphin hunt sees around 2,500 dolphins herded into a cove by noisemaking boats and trapped there overnight. In the morning, the dolphins are stabbed to death with harpoons, hooks, and knives, turning the water red with blood.

在虐杀动物方面,没有一个简单的方法来评估哪个国家最严重,但是与其他发达国家相比,日本的可怕虐杀纪录让该国成为臭名昭著的候选者。日本一直大规模虐杀鲸鱼和海豚,并坚称他们的舰队在从事"科学研究",一次次逃避国际捕鲸限制。在过去50年里,因为对鲸鱼肉的需求大幅下降,生产工厂无利可获,而日本政府每年都补贴共计约1000万美元。多余的鲸鱼肉通常都给学生食用,他们打着教育的幌子称"这是日本过去的学校午餐。"在一年一度的太极海豚猎杀日,大约2500只海豚在一夜之间被船只驱赶,受困于一个海湾。黎明时分,这些海豚就死于鱼叉、钩子和刀具,海水都变成了血红色。

Things aren't ideal on land either. The 1973 Welfare and Management of Animals Act states that if an owner doesn't come to adopt a stray dog or cat, it must be "disposed of" properly. Unfortunately, this is usually carried out by gas, which can often take an excruciating 30 minutes to course through the animal's body. But things aren't hopeless—a pound in Japan is taking steps to save many pets' lives. The Kumamoto City Animal Welfare Center is beginning to ask why people bring in their dogs and cats to be disposed of, and in many cases will try to talk them out of it. Amazingly, most people will change their minds and decide to continue taking care of the animals. In 2002, the center was putting down almost 400 animals a year. In all of 2009, they put down a total of seven.

陆地的生物也难逃劫难。1973年的《动物福利和管理法案》指出,如果没有人领养一只流浪狗或流浪猫,这些猫狗就会被"处理"掉。不幸的是,通常都是用气体来处理这些动物,而它们将遭受30分钟的痛苦折磨。但事情还是有转机的——日本的一个收容所正采取措施挽救许多宠物的生命。熊本城动物福利中心就开始调查为什么人们把他们的猫狗处理掉,并会尝试说服他们不那么做。令人惊讶的是,大多数人都改变初衷并决定继续照顾自己的宠物。2002年,福利中心在这一年内挽救将近400只动物。2009年间,他们挽救了仅7只动物。

lia--Most Child Soldiers

2.索马里——最多童子军

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下) 第4张

The use of child soldiers is almost universally condemned, but persists in many conflicts around the world. The problem might be worst in Somalia, where militant Islamist groups have taken to recruiting children as young as 10 to use as cannon fodder in their fight against government forces. The notorious Al-Shabab group, widely considered to be among the worst offenders, has been accused of using truckloads of teenage recruits as a screen for the more experienced fighters. One survivor claimed that out of 100 of his classmates, 98 had been killed almost immediately when Al-Shabab sent them into battle. "The children were cleaned off. The children all died and the bigger soldiers ran away."

雇佣童子军是全世界都强烈谴责的,但是在许多冲突中仍然存在这种现象。而索马里情况更糟,激进的伊斯兰组织招募仅10岁大的孩子作为抵抗政府力量的炮灰。而臭名昭著的青年党被广泛认为是罪魁祸首之一。他们被指控使用少年新兵作为更有经验的士兵的屏障。一个幸存者声称,在他的100个同学中,有98个在被青年党发配战场后立刻被杀。"孩子们被全部清除,他们都死了,而大一点的士兵都逃跑了。"

The group will often use children to lure other kids into their trap. One boy was invited to play a game of football, but when he arrived at the field, he and his teammates were captured and sent to a training camp. In one case, a mother got a call from the group themselves and was told not to worry, as they would teach her son all the Islamic principles he would have learned in school. The problem is not limited to the rebel groups—Somalia's transitional government has also been accused of using child soldiers in its struggle against Al-Shabab.

该组织通常让孩子们诱惑其他小孩走入陷阱。一个小男孩受邀参加足球游戏,但是当他到达说好的地方后,他和他的队员都被抓到一个训练营里。其中一个例子,一个妈妈接到组织内部打来的电话,并告知她不要担心,因为他们会教她的儿子所有的在学校都能学到的伊斯兰原则。这个问题不仅仅局限于叛军党——索马里过渡政府也被指控用儿童军对抗青年党。

ladesh--Highest Human Trafficking Rate

1.孟加拉国——最高人口贩卖率

十个令国家羞耻的世界第一称号(下) 第5张

Human trafficking is a truly horrible crime, and yet it is more common than you might think. Each year at least 600,000–800,000 people are trafficked over international borders—and some reports estimate the real number to be much, much higher. The victims are forced into indentured servitude, with over half believed to have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Despite the best efforts of global law enforcement, the trade is almost certainly growing.

贩卖人口是一种非常可怕的犯罪,而它比你想象的更为常见。每年至少有60万至80万人在国际边界被贩卖——有些报道估计真实数字或许更高。受害者们被迫劳役,超过半数的人认为他们被卖去从事卖淫活动。尽管全球执法尽最大努力,贩卖人口却越来越多。

The situation might be worst in Bangladesh, where an estimated 50,000 women and children are taken abroad each year. Reliable statistics for men are not available, but tens of thousands are believed to have been trafficked abroad for labor in India or the Middle East. It is unknown how many people have been forced into servitude within Bangladesh itself. The traffickers target vulnerable young women with promises of a better life abroad. While the situation has improved, law enforcement was long unwilling or unable to deal with the problem. Between 1999 and 2004, only 53 traffickers were tried in Bangladeshi courts. Just 21 were convicted.

在孟加拉国,这种情况更为严重,那里每年都有约5万妇女和儿童被卖至边界。没有贩卖男性的真实可靠的数据,但在印度或中东,成千上万的人被认为是卖去国外当劳工。现在尚不清楚有多少人在孟加拉国本国被强迫奴役。贩子的目标是脆弱的年轻女性并承诺她们在国外会有更好的生活。现在虽然情况有所改善,但是执法机关不愿或者不能长期处理这种问题。1999年至2004年间,只有53个人口贩卖者在孟加拉国法庭受审。其间,只有21人认罪。

翻译:夏久梅 来源:前十网