英语阅读：051《经济学家》读译参考之五十一：七年之痒－澳门发展几家欢喜几家愁.docVIP

TEXT 51 The seven-year itch 七年之痒（陈继龙 编译） Jul 27th 2006 | MACAU From The Economist print edition THE army of workers operating along what used to be Macaus waterfront is conducting “land reclamation[1]”: dumping sand into the water to create more land on which to build ever more casinos, resorts and hotels in the formerly Portuguese playground. Cranes and bulldozers beaver away[2] throughout the territory, building new high-rises. Like most of Chinas booming conurbations[3], Macau is paying an environmental price; the air is thick with smog and dust, and the Pearl River has transferred some of its p_______① to Macaus seas. （1）But the damage pales when set against[4] the promise of growth, and billboards proudly herald the coming of “the Las Vegas of Asia”. 在过去曾是澳门码头的沿线地区，成群结队的工人们正在“填海造田”：把沙子倒进水中以形成更多的陆地，从而在这片曾经是葡萄牙人的一亩三分地上建造更多的赌场、度假村和饭店。起重机和推土机无处不在，全力以赴地建造着新的高楼大厦。同中国大多数飞速发展的大都市一样，澳门正在为此付出环境上的代价。空气中弥漫着烟雾和灰尘，一些来自珠江的污染物也流入了澳门附近海域。但是，展望未来发展，这种损失算不了什么。一张张广告牌自豪地昭示着“亚洲的拉斯维加斯”即将来临。（译注：pale指“逊色、失色”，此处的when set against可以用“before”或“beside”来代替，意为“相比……”） Amid all the buzz, the music from a boat docked at the inner harbour sounds a strange note. The red-robed musicians and their audience are Taoists engaged in a religious ceremony. As the musicians play their instruments, the believers on board burn incense and e_______② scraps of food into the water as an offering to the gods. （2）The contrast of ancient ritual with feverish modernisation is the story of modern Macau: the story of development transforming a once-sheltered nook[5]. 内港码头边停靠的一艘小船上传来的音乐夹杂在一切喧嚣之中，调子听上去怪怪的。身着红袍的乐师及其听众们都是一些道教信徒，他们正在举行一个宗教仪式。乐师们演奏着乐器，船上的信徒们一边烧香，一边将供品倒进水中。古老的仪式与狂热的现代化之间的这种反差诉说着这样一个关于现代澳门的故事——让一个曾经偏僻的小地方面貌一新的发展故事。 Macaus stunning economic boom—2004 saw its GDP grow by 28%—has been powered by gambling, tourism and the construction necessary to support such endeavours. Since Stanley Ho, Macaus most famous casino mogul[6], found his monopoly on the gambling industry broken in 2001, American firms such as Wynn