Bihar s pro-business reforms

　　比哈爾的利商改革

　　Paper tiger

　　雷聲大，雨點(diǎn)小

　　There is more talk about reform than action inIndia s poorest state

　　印度的貧困之邦，改革都是浮云

　　It s difficult to stir up business

　　刺激商業(yè)談何容易

　　IT IS surely no coincidence that Bihar, besides being India s poorest state, has also been itsleast inviting for entrepreneurs.

　　比哈爾既掛著印度貧困邦的名頭，那它的招商引資做得最差，自然是情理之中的事。

　　That is supposed to be changing. Nitish Kumar, Bihar s chief minister, has spent his fiveyears in office fixing the roads and other infrastructure.

　　這種現(xiàn)象本應(yīng)得到改善，比哈爾邦首席部長(zhǎng)Nitish Kumar于其任上的5年中，都在大興土木，改善基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。

　　Crime has fallen, so the bright and wealthy are no longer frightened off by the threat ofkidnapping, extortion and murder.

　　犯罪率降低了，顯貴們不會(huì)再被綁架、勒索和謀殺的威脅嚇跑。

　　Stability has allowed local trade to flourish.

　　穩(wěn)定帶來(lái)地區(qū)經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮。

　　A state official reels off animpressive-sounding list of 398 approved investment proposalsfrom sugar mills to powerplantsworth $4.8 billion.

　　當(dāng)?shù)毓賳T甩出398份華麗麗的投資意向書(shū)，總值48億美元，內(nèi)容從糖廠(chǎng)覆蓋到能源。

　　That all sounds rosy, until you look for success on the ground.

　　看上去很美，實(shí)際都是浮云。

　　India s tycoons have visited, and left.

　　連一個(gè)大型工業(yè)投資的案例都拿不出來(lái)，

　　There is not one example of a big industrial investment to show for it.

　　無(wú)怪乎印度的商業(yè)大亨們?cè)诖说貋?lái)去匆匆不留銀了。

　　Perhaps local officials are failing to spot the brightest entrepreneursthose deft enough toavoid the bureaucrats.

　　也許當(dāng)局沒(méi)有淘金的眼光，他們需要的是對(duì)避免官僚主義駕輕就熟的企業(yè)。

　　Take the case of Husk Power Systems, formed in 2007 by three young Biharis and anAmerican friend.

　　拿米糠發(fā)電系統(tǒng)為例，2007年，3個(gè)年輕的哈比爾人和一位美國(guó)朋友將該計(jì)劃成形。

　　It runs 50 micro power plants in rural areas fired by burning otherwise useless rice husks.

　　僅僅靠燃燒無(wú)用的米糠，他們?cè)谵r(nóng)村地區(qū)經(jīng)營(yíng)起50家小型發(fā)電廠(chǎng)。

　　Now employing more than 250 people, the firm sells cheap electricity to 200,000 rural folk,who previously relied on kerosene lamps or candles.

　　現(xiàn)在，這家擁有250多名員工的公司，為20多萬(wàn)農(nóng)村人口提供低價(jià)電，此前人們離不開(kāi)的煤油燈和蠟燭，都退出了歷史舞臺(tái)。

　　Each power plant turns a profit in a few months, and Husk plans to build hundreds more in thenext two years.

　　幾個(gè)月后，每個(gè)發(fā)電廠(chǎng)都開(kāi)始盈利，稻殼公司計(jì)劃在未來(lái)兩年增建100多個(gè)發(fā)電廠(chǎng)。

　　But that is no thanks to Bihar s pen-pushers.

　　然而，比哈爾的官員們對(duì)這些成績(jī)毫無(wú)幫助。

　　Scientific advisers in Delhi were very helpful with permits and business contacts.

　　德里的科學(xué)顧問(wèn)們?cè)谵k許可證和業(yè)務(wù)往來(lái)上稱(chēng)得上是磚家，

　　But the entrepreneurs try to avoid contact with the Bihar government as much as possible.

　　但要和比哈爾政府打交道，企業(yè)家們都是唯恐避之不及。

　　An early brush-off from one of Mr Kumar s deputies set the standard for their treatment.

　　一個(gè)前車(chē)之鑒就是，他們?cè)籏umar先生的眾多副手之一不友好地拒絕過(guò)。

　　Ratnesh Yadav, one of Husk s founders, describes constant struggles with local corruption.

　　與地方腐敗的斗爭(zhēng)已是家常便飯，稻殼公司的創(chuàng)始人之一Ratnesh Yadav，有著如下講述。

　　A village policeman grabbed a bundle of cables for one of the first plants, demanding abribe: the company refused, opting to bore him into submission instead.

　　一名村警從最早期的發(fā)電廠(chǎng)強(qiáng)占了一大捆電纜，以此向公司索賄，公司不但沒(méi)有接受，反而迫使他屈服。

　　When Husk started building a centre to train its workers near the state capital, Patna, aneighbourhood tough-guy demanded 100,000 rupees in protection money.

　　當(dāng)公司在邦首府巴特那附近建設(shè)員工訓(xùn)練中心時(shí)，附近的無(wú)賴(lài)尋上門(mén)來(lái)，索要10萬(wàn)盧比的保護(hù)費(fèi)。

　　This was refused, so the builders were threatened, then beaten, and a mob flattened theconstruction site.

　　這一要求遭到拒絕，于是施工人員先是被威脅，接著被毆打，一群暴民還掃蕩了施工場(chǎng)地。

　　A Bihari property developer, while accepting that official corruption is a fact of life, lamentshow crooked officials in his state prefer taxing inputsthe first investments madetodemanding a share in the output of an enterprise, a practice he says is more common inBengal.

　　比哈爾的一個(gè)房地產(chǎn)開(kāi)發(fā)商，一邊接受官員腐敗的現(xiàn)實(shí)，一邊感慨著當(dāng)?shù)卣绱私圃p，官員們傾向于投入課稅，從而要求在其企業(yè)的產(chǎn)出中盤(pán)剝。

　　Bengal-style graft at least means officials have a long-term interest in seeing the businessthrive.

　　開(kāi)發(fā)商說(shuō)，在孟加拉，這種現(xiàn)象更為普遍。孟式貪污至少表明政府長(zhǎng)期樂(lè)見(jiàn)于商業(yè)的繁榮。

　　The state government talks some fine talk about having made things easier for businesses,such as creating a one-stop window for them to submit all their paperwork.

　　邦政府曾有精彩言論，說(shuō)要降低商業(yè)事務(wù)辦理難度，例如開(kāi)設(shè)一站式窗口，以便商人們投放文件資料。

　　But half a dozen businessmen, asked about the window, hoot with laughter.

　　然而，有6位商人在窗口咨詢(xún)時(shí)，遭遇了呵斥和嘲笑。

　　It is nothing more than a postbox, says one; the papers are simply shuffled on to the sameold unresponsive departments.

　　一名商人說(shuō)，這窗口充其量也就是個(gè)郵筒，那些文件被簡(jiǎn)單的混在得過(guò)且過(guò)的部門(mén)里。

　　An investor with political clout can get things done in perhaps four visits.

　　政商也許4次登門(mén)拜訪(fǎng)就能把事情搞定，

　　Otherwise, it s a long wait.

　　其他投資者，就只有等到花兒也謝了。

　　詞語(yǔ)解釋

　　1.reform n.改革;改良

　　Our reform made an inexorable march ofprogress.

　　我們的改革取得了勢(shì)不可擋的進(jìn)展。

　　2.coincidence n.巧合;一致

　　What a coincidence!

　　真是太巧了!

　　3.minister n.外交使節(jié);部長(zhǎng);大臣

　　The president gave his minister carte blanche in foreign affairs.

　　總統(tǒng)把處理外交事務(wù)的全權(quán)授予他的公使。

　　4.frighten v.使驚嚇;害怕

　　It is illegal to frighten a pigeon.

　　驚嚇鴿子是違法的。

　　5.impressive a.給人深刻印象的

　　His collection of paintings is the most impressive.

　　他的繪畫(huà)收藏令人嘆為觀止。

　　Bihar s pro-business reforms

　　比哈爾的利商改革

　　Paper tiger

　　雷聲大，雨點(diǎn)小

　　There is more talk about reform than action inIndia s poorest state

　　印度的貧困之邦，改革都是浮云

　　It s difficult to stir up business

　　刺激商業(yè)談何容易

　　IT IS surely no coincidence that Bihar, besides being India s poorest state, has also been itsleast inviting for entrepreneurs.

　　比哈爾既掛著印度貧困邦的名頭，那它的招商引資做得最差，自然是情理之中的事。

　　That is supposed to be changing. Nitish Kumar, Bihar s chief minister, has spent his fiveyears in office fixing the roads and other infrastructure.

　　這種現(xiàn)象本應(yīng)得到改善，比哈爾邦首席部長(zhǎng)Nitish Kumar于其任上的5年中，都在大興土木，改善基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。

　　Crime has fallen, so the bright and wealthy are no longer frightened off by the threat ofkidnapping, extortion and murder.

　　犯罪率降低了，顯貴們不會(huì)再被綁架、勒索和謀殺的威脅嚇跑。

　　Stability has allowed local trade to flourish.

　　穩(wěn)定帶來(lái)地區(qū)經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮。

　　A state official reels off animpressive-sounding list of 398 approved investment proposalsfrom sugar mills to powerplantsworth $4.8 billion.

　　當(dāng)?shù)毓賳T甩出398份華麗麗的投資意向書(shū)，總值48億美元，內(nèi)容從糖廠(chǎng)覆蓋到能源。

　　That all sounds rosy, until you look for success on the ground.

　　看上去很美，實(shí)際都是浮云。

　　India s tycoons have visited, and left.

　　連一個(gè)大型工業(yè)投資的案例都拿不出來(lái)，

　　There is not one example of a big industrial investment to show for it.

　　無(wú)怪乎印度的商業(yè)大亨們?cè)诖说貋?lái)去匆匆不留銀了。

　　Perhaps local officials are failing to spot the brightest entrepreneursthose deft enough toavoid the bureaucrats.

　　也許當(dāng)局沒(méi)有淘金的眼光，他們需要的是對(duì)避免官僚主義駕輕就熟的企業(yè)。

　　Take the case of Husk Power Systems, formed in 2007 by three young Biharis and anAmerican friend.

　　拿米糠發(fā)電系統(tǒng)為例，2007年，3個(gè)年輕的哈比爾人和一位美國(guó)朋友將該計(jì)劃成形。

　　It runs 50 micro power plants in rural areas fired by burning otherwise useless rice husks.

　　僅僅靠燃燒無(wú)用的米糠，他們?cè)谵r(nóng)村地區(qū)經(jīng)營(yíng)起50家小型發(fā)電廠(chǎng)。

　　Now employing more than 250 people, the firm sells cheap electricity to 200,000 rural folk,who previously relied on kerosene lamps or candles.

　　現(xiàn)在，這家擁有250多名員工的公司，為20多萬(wàn)農(nóng)村人口提供低價(jià)電，此前人們離不開(kāi)的煤油燈和蠟燭，都退出了歷史舞臺(tái)。

　　Each power plant turns a profit in a few months, and Husk plans to build hundreds more in thenext two years.

　　幾個(gè)月后，每個(gè)發(fā)電廠(chǎng)都開(kāi)始盈利，稻殼公司計(jì)劃在未來(lái)兩年增建100多個(gè)發(fā)電廠(chǎng)。

　　But that is no thanks to Bihar s pen-pushers.

　　然而，比哈爾的官員們對(duì)這些成績(jī)毫無(wú)幫助。

　　Scientific advisers in Delhi were very helpful with permits and business contacts.

　　德里的科學(xué)顧問(wèn)們?cè)谵k許可證和業(yè)務(wù)往來(lái)上稱(chēng)得上是磚家，

　　But the entrepreneurs try to avoid contact with the Bihar government as much as possible.

　　但要和比哈爾政府打交道，企業(yè)家們都是唯恐避之不及。

　　An early brush-off from one of Mr Kumar s deputies set the standard for their treatment.

　　一個(gè)前車(chē)之鑒就是，他們?cè)籏umar先生的眾多副手之一不友好地拒絕過(guò)。

　　Ratnesh Yadav, one of Husk s founders, describes constant struggles with local corruption.

　　與地方腐敗的斗爭(zhēng)已是家常便飯，稻殼公司的創(chuàng)始人之一Ratnesh Yadav，有著如下講述。

　　A village policeman grabbed a bundle of cables for one of the first plants, demanding abribe: the company refused, opting to bore him into submission instead.

　　一名村警從最早期的發(fā)電廠(chǎng)強(qiáng)占了一大捆電纜，以此向公司索賄，公司不但沒(méi)有接受，反而迫使他屈服。

　　When Husk started building a centre to train its workers near the state capital, Patna, aneighbourhood tough-guy demanded 100,000 rupees in protection money.

　　當(dāng)公司在邦首府巴特那附近建設(shè)員工訓(xùn)練中心時(shí)，附近的無(wú)賴(lài)尋上門(mén)來(lái)，索要10萬(wàn)盧比的保護(hù)費(fèi)。

　　This was refused, so the builders were threatened, then beaten, and a mob flattened theconstruction site.

　　這一要求遭到拒絕，于是施工人員先是被威脅，接著被毆打，一群暴民還掃蕩了施工場(chǎng)地。

　　A Bihari property developer, while accepting that official corruption is a fact of life, lamentshow crooked officials in his state prefer taxing inputsthe first investments madetodemanding a share in the output of an enterprise, a practice he says is more common inBengal.

　　比哈爾的一個(gè)房地產(chǎn)開(kāi)發(fā)商，一邊接受官員腐敗的現(xiàn)實(shí)，一邊感慨著當(dāng)?shù)卣绱私圃p，官員們傾向于投入課稅，從而要求在其企業(yè)的產(chǎn)出中盤(pán)剝。

　　Bengal-style graft at least means officials have a long-term interest in seeing the businessthrive.

　　開(kāi)發(fā)商說(shuō)，在孟加拉，這種現(xiàn)象更為普遍。孟式貪污至少表明政府長(zhǎng)期樂(lè)見(jiàn)于商業(yè)的繁榮。

　　The state government talks some fine talk about having made things easier for businesses,such as creating a one-stop window for them to submit all their paperwork.

　　邦政府曾有精彩言論，說(shuō)要降低商業(yè)事務(wù)辦理難度，例如開(kāi)設(shè)一站式窗口，以便商人們投放文件資料。

　　But half a dozen businessmen, asked about the window, hoot with laughter.

　　然而，有6位商人在窗口咨詢(xún)時(shí)，遭遇了呵斥和嘲笑。

　　It is nothing more than a postbox, says one; the papers are simply shuffled on to the sameold unresponsive departments.

　　一名商人說(shuō)，這窗口充其量也就是個(gè)郵筒，那些文件被簡(jiǎn)單的混在得過(guò)且過(guò)的部門(mén)里。

　　An investor with political clout can get things done in perhaps four visits.

　　政商也許4次登門(mén)拜訪(fǎng)就能把事情搞定，

　　Otherwise, it s a long wait.

　　其他投資者，就只有等到花兒也謝了。

　　詞語(yǔ)解釋

　　1.reform n.改革;改良

　　Our reform made an inexorable march ofprogress.

　　我們的改革取得了勢(shì)不可擋的進(jìn)展。

　　2.coincidence n.巧合;一致

　　What a coincidence!

　　真是太巧了!

　　3.minister n.外交使節(jié);部長(zhǎng);大臣

　　The president gave his minister carte blanche in foreign affairs.

　　總統(tǒng)把處理外交事務(wù)的全權(quán)授予他的公使。

　　4.frighten v.使驚嚇;害怕

　　It is illegal to frighten a pigeon.

　　驚嚇鴿子是違法的。

　　5.impressive a.給人深刻印象的

　　His collection of paintings is the most impressive.

　　他的繪畫(huà)收藏令人嘆為觀止。