058《经济学家》读译参考之五十八：天堂的总统－非洲岛国塞舌尔经济现状一瞥.doc

TEXT 58 A president in paradise （恍如置身）天堂的总统（陈继龙 编译） Aug 10th 2006 | VICTORIA From The Economist print edition （1）BEST known as a destination for honeymooners in search of perfect white beaches and swaying palms, the Seychelle islands rarely make any sort of headlines. Few tourists would even have noticed the presidential election on July 30th, in which James Michel, leader of the Seychelles Peoples Progressive Front, was returned with 54% of the ballot. For Mr Michel, it was the first time he had faced the islands 62,000-odd[1] voters, having been promoted from vice-president two years ago by his predecessor, Albert René, who had ruled the islands for 27 years since taking power in a c________① in 1977. 说起塞舌尔群岛，许多人只知道它是度蜜月者找寻美丽的白色沙滩和摇曳的棕榈树的目的地之一，除此之外，几乎很少有媒体对其进行报道，就连游客们也很少有人注意到7月30日该国举行的总统选举。这次选举中，塞舌尔人民进步阵线领导人詹姆斯·米歇尔获得了54％的选票。对于米歇尔而言，这是在他两年前被前任总统阿尔伯特·雷纳从副总统提拔为总统后，首次面对该岛6.2万余名选民。雷纳自1977年在一场政变中上台以后已经统治该岛国27年。 To the casual eye, Seychelles seems both fortunate and well-governed. （2）The 115 islands, most of them uninhabited, cover a mere 445 square kilometres (175 square miles) of the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar, and enjoy several advantages over most of the rest of Africa. The weather is never e_______②. There is no malaria. The islanders have free education and health care. Their multiracial society is pretty harmonious. With GDP at around $8,000 a head, there is almost no discernible poverty. 乍一看，塞舌尔似乎很幸运，治理得也比较好。它位于印度洋上、马达加斯加以北，全国共有岛屿115个（其中大多数无人定居），总面积仅为445平方公里（175平方英里）。相比非洲其它国家，它拥有不少优势。不冷不热的天气，没有疟疾，岛民们享受免费教育和医疗，他们的多种族社会十分和谐。由于人均GDP大约有8000美元，因此几乎没有明显的贫困现象。 But this standard of living has come at a cost: the IMF says its public debt is too high and may be unsustainable. Mr Michels main opposition, the Seychelles National Party, which scored 46% in the elections, claims that Seychelles, per person, is the worlds most i_______③ country. （3）A black market in foreign currency already exists as speculation persists that the government, unable to meet its obligatio