今天的文章节选自经济学人After the horse has been bolted 挂牛头卖马肉
1.Some big names are now deeply embarrassed.许多响当当的品牌如今陷入进退两难的困境。
It may havereachedmore than a dozen countries. 这里的reached 应翻译为“影响”,即“马肉风波”估计影响了十几个国家。
2.Food is vastly safer than it was a century ago. 现在的食品要比一个世纪前安全一百倍。
That horses havestrayed intothe food chain does not show that the fencing has collapsed.
strayed into 原意为“误入”,但从上文可以看出“马肉风波”是人为的,所以这里将其翻译为“溜入”,即马肉溜入市场并不代表食品检测线崩溃。
3.Big retailers and producers have brands to protect. 大型零售商和生产商要保护自己的品牌形象。
it is sometimes because a supermarket hasspottedsomething wrong.
有时发现这种情况是因为超市察觉道哪里出了问题。
Yes,we're morevigilantagainstthosewhothreatenus, and thereareinconveniencesthat come withourcommondefense.
是的,我们对那些潜在威胁更加警惕,而且在共同防御过程中我们也造成了一些不便。
4.penny-pinching consumers refuse to paymore for ready-meals.但是锱铢必较的顾客仍不愿去买半成品或成品。
put pressure on施加压力,相当于clamp down
Retailers, equally unwilling to forgo profits, areputting relentlesspressure onsuppliers to cut costs.零售商同样不愿放弃挣钱的机会,一直压榨供应商以降低成本价格。