對于政治、經(jīng)濟、科技、文史哲等方面的背景知識，很多同學是比較欠缺的。而這些背景知識在考試中卻至關(guān)重要。同學們平時可以通過外刊精讀，有意識得選擇不同題材的文章，補齊背景知識的短板哦。

外刊精讀的好處：

上外高翻MTI考研真題中，翻譯基礎(chǔ)和翻碩英語兩門科目的很多試題都是選自外刊，尤其是一些西方傳統(tǒng)大刊，如經(jīng)濟學人、紐約時報、金融時報等。

同學們平時的備考中，通過對外刊的閱讀和解析，可以幫助提高閱讀速度、積累詞匯和表達(包括縮略語)、增強語句理解力，了解中英思維差異，培養(yǎng)英語思維，掌握分析文章邏輯的能力，提高總結(jié)能力。

學習英文表達和句型，為漢譯英和作文積累地道表達、寫作素材、擴展思路，提高寫作能力。

下面是高譯老師從本周的外刊中選取的一些題材，同學們在備考中也要多多涉獵哦：

【外刊選材一】

Digital platforms：The rickshaw wars

A battle of travel apps highlights the promise and perils of the India stack

【1】

In India’s startup capital of Bangalore, auto-rickshaw drivers are no less prized than software engineers. Given the city’s chaotic traffic, rickshaws are sometimes the fastest way to get around. But finding one isn’t easy. Threats, pleas and moral appeals are necessary before a driver accepts a ride. The experience is no better with Ola and Uber, two ride-hailing firms which offer rickshaw services for a commission.

【2】

Help is at hand. An app called Namma Yatri, launched in November by the rickshaw drivers’ union, directly connects riders to drivers, with no commission for digital middlemen. It averages around 68,000 trips a day, from only 2,000 at the start of the year, and boasts more than 78,000 drivers and 1.4m customers on its platform.

【3】

Namma Yatri is built on a new open network that represents the next phase of the “India stack”—a set of digital services created by the state. With a national biometric system and a hugely successful payments network in place, the government has now set its sights on reshaping India’s e-commerce market. The Open Network for Digital commerce (ondc) allows smaller retailers to reach buyers, bypassing private marketplaces like Amazon. In theory, it unbundles every part of the shopping process, allowing shoppers to choose from thousands of sellers and select delivery options by different providers rather than rely on overweening incumbents.

【4】

ondc is still new. Besides the ride-sharing app, early pilots have focused on food and local grocery deliveries. Questions abound about who bears responsibility when things go wrong, from fake products to payment disputes. No app has so far reached the scale to match the incumbents, which are also toying with the platform. In February Amazon announced that it would integrate its logistics services with ondc. In April PhonePe, a Walmart-backed payments system, launched a local delivery app on the open network. Still, the Indian government’s aim seems clear: it desires a noisy digital bazaar instead of one with a few big monopolies.

【5】

Or does it? Piyush Goyal, the commerce minister, wants big e-commerce firms to use ondc for all their operations. Fence-sitters risk being banned from the platform. He has also vowed to use the “full force of the government” to promote it, putting Amazon and Flipkart on notice. So much for openness and competition.

rickshaw drivers are no less prized than software engineers: 三輪車司機與軟件工程師一樣被珍視

rickshaws are sometimes the fastest way to get around: 有時候，三輪車是快捷的交通方式

threats, pleas and moral appeals are necessary before a driver accepts a ride: 在司機接受搭載之前，需要使用威脅、懇求和道義上的勸誘

rickshaw services for a commission: 收取傭金的三輪車服務

directly connects riders to drivers, with no commission for digital middlemen: 直接將乘客與司機連接起來，不需要為數(shù)字中間人支付傭金

averages around 68,000 trips a day: 每天平均約有6.8萬次行程

the next phase of the "India stack": “印度堆棧”的下一個階段

reshaping India's e-commerce market: 重塑印度電子商務市場

unbundles every part of the shopping process: 對購物過程的每個環(huán)節(jié)進行解構(gòu)

a noisy digital bazaar instead of one with a few big monopolies: 喧囂的數(shù)字市集，而不是只有幾家大型壟斷企業(yè)的市場

【外刊選材二】

Spiritualists：Clairvoyant cartel

mediums engage in anti-competitive behaviour, too

【1】

The gathering is like an auction crossed with a game of Mad Libs. Up steps a medium, mic in hand. Visions appear to her: the first, she says, is an old woman with a spinal deformity who liked caring for kids. The medium asks whether anyone recognises the spirit; a hand shoots up. “Know that she’s proud of you and wants you to treat yourself more!” Applause, then a second apparition, whom someone else recognises.

【2】

Such demonstrations of public mediumship are a staple of summers at Lily Dale, a hamlet in western New York founded in 1879. About 250residents live in gingerbread-trimmed houses in the gated community. All are adherents of spiritualism, a 19th-century movement that got its start 200km away, in Hydesville, New York. Spiritualists believe that the living can contact and glean insights from the dead; mediums are the conduit. At its peak spiritualism had somewhere between 4m and 11m followers in America, including Abraham Lincoln’s wife, who hosted séances at the White House.

【3】

Each year more than 20,000 people visit Lily D