逐句翻譯

1、Countries such as France, Germany or Spain with shiny and extensive high-speed rail networks may look with bafflement?across?the Channel(海峽對(duì)岸)?to the?agonies?in Britain over building anything similar./?The originally solid?case for the HS2 line, meant to?whisk?passengers from London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham, has become ever more precarious?as the price tag has soared./?After being repeatedly delayed and?hacked back, the project is in danger of death by a thousand cuts.?

諸如法國(guó)、德國(guó)或西班牙這些有著華麗且昂貴鐵路線路的國(guó)家或許會(huì)對(duì)海峽對(duì)岸的英國(guó)關(guān)于建筑一類問(wèn)題的痛苦困惑不解。

最初關(guān)于HS2線路運(yùn)載乘客從倫敦通過(guò)伯明翰到利茲和曼徹斯特的可靠論據(jù)，在價(jià)格激增的同時(shí)也變得前所未有的動(dòng)蕩

在反復(fù)延期、多次被砍以后，修建項(xiàng)目現(xiàn)在面臨著慢性死亡的危機(jī)

elusive a 難實(shí)現(xiàn)的 Success will become even more ~ elude vt 逃避，躲避

high-speed rail 高鐵= bullet train

spiralling a 急劇上漲的 spiral vi急劇上漲，agonise over sth對(duì)某事非常焦慮

case n 理由，論據(jù)，be meant to do sth旨在做某事，whisk vt迅速帶走，precarious a 不穩(wěn)的

death by a thousand cuts =gradual decline or failure as the result of many minor mishaps

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2、Cost estimates spiralling from ￡30bn a decade ago to as much as ￡100bn have forced the government to look for savings./ Much of the Y-shaped line’s eastern arm to Leeds was scrapped?in late 2021. /A new, two-year delay to another section?may mean the line does not reach Manchester until the 2040s./?Plans to bring HS2 to Euston in central London may now be completed only in?2041, with?trains terminating?till then?several miles away in the west of the capital./?Some MPs?suggest what remains of the project — at least beyond Birmingham, to where construction is well under way — should be axed./?Despite the costs and delays, that would be a mistake. /

成本估算從10年前的300億英鎊飆升到將近1000億英鎊，迫使政府尋求節(jié)約。

在2021末，Y字型的通往利茲方向的東支線路大部分被取消了。（而）通往另一邊區(qū)域的新線路要延期兩年，這意味著可能要到20世紀(jì)40年代才能通往曼徹斯特。

將HS2帶到倫敦中心的休斯頓站的計(jì)劃或許只能在2041年完成，在此之前火車的終點(diǎn)都只能建在倫敦中心西邊幾英里遠(yuǎn)的地方

一些議員建議，這個(gè)項(xiàng)目余下部分，至少除伯明翰和正在修建的部分外，都應(yīng)當(dāng)被砍掉。

scrap vt取消 scrape vt刮除

MP =Member of Parliament議員

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3、The focus on speed in marketing HS2 has led it to be seen, wrongly, as a vanity project. /In capacity terms, it is essential infrastructure./?【Its origins】 lay in?early-2000s forecasts of rail needs (跟forecastthat projected southern sections of the west coast London-Glasgow line would hit maximum capacity by the mid-2020s, and the east coast line to Edinburgh a few years later. ）/Though the pandemic has altered travel patterns, those forecasts are broadly?set to be met. Widening existing lines is itself expensive and disruptive./?It was decided to build new high-speed routes to spread the load. /

對(duì)HS2速度的關(guān)注導(dǎo)致這條線路被誤認(rèn)為是面子工程。

從火車容量的角度來(lái)講，（HS2）是至關(guān)重要的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施.

HS2的起源來(lái)自20世紀(jì)第一個(gè)十年關(guān)于對(duì)鐵路的預(yù)測(cè)，這項(xiàng)預(yù)測(cè)認(rèn)為從倫敦到格拉斯哥在西海岸的這條線將會(huì)在20世紀(jì)20年代中期達(dá)到容量頂峰，而（從倫敦）到愛(ài)丁堡在東海岸的這條線將會(huì)在幾年后（也達(dá)峰）

盡管疫情改變了出行模式，那些預(yù)測(cè)也基本上會(huì)實(shí)現(xiàn)。

而拓寬現(xiàn)有線路本身就很昂貴且具破壞性，因此決定建立新路線以平攤負(fù)擔(dān)。

vanity project 面子工程

be set to do sth準(zhǔn)備好做某事

The talks are set to continue through the week. 談判可能會(huì)持續(xù)一周。

disruptive a有破壞性的 disrupt vt.使...中斷

spread v.平攤

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4、Since commuter and?freight?trains share the existing main lines, shifting inter-city services to dedicated?tracks allows many more to run, at much higher speeds, while more local and goods trains can use the old lines./ As HS2 will join the west coast line beyond the worst bottlenecks, faster and more frequent services can run through to northern England and Scotland./ That makes less carbon-intensive rail travel a more alluring alternative to flying./ And shifting freight from roads to rail is crucial to meet net zero targets, but impossible without space on the railways./

commuter train通勤火車，

freight n.貨運(yùn)，freight train貨運(yùn)火車

?inter-city a.城際的，城市之間的

dedicated a.專用的

alternative 替代品

net zero 凈零排放

由于通勤列車和貨運(yùn)列車共用現(xiàn)存的線路，轉(zhuǎn)移城際服務(wù)到既定線路就可以使更多列車、以更快的速度運(yùn)行，與此同時(shí)更多本地列車（=通勤列車）和貨運(yùn)列車可以用老線路

隨著HS2將會(huì)在瓶頸路段之后加入西海岸線，更快的、更頻繁的服務(wù)將會(huì)直達(dá)北英格蘭到蘇格蘭

這就會(huì)使碳密集型更低的鐵路成為比飛機(jī)更具有吸引力的替代品

而且把貨運(yùn)列車從公路轉(zhuǎn)到鐵路上運(yùn)行對(duì)于實(shí)現(xiàn)凈零排放是至關(guān)重要的，但是若鐵路上沒(méi)有空間，這就是不可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的

5、HS2 should therefore be completed at least to Manchester./ While the government wants to tweak the Euston terminus design to save money, any delay in opening it should be kept to a minimum. /The north-east arm to Leeds had a less compelling logic but alternatives, such as a leg through Nottingham to York, could make sense. /Ministers should remember cost-benefit studies can underestimate the additional activity a well-designed project will generate. /Within eight months of opening last year — though delayed and over-budget — the cross-London Elizabeth Line was carrying 3mn passengers a week, 50 per cent more than expected, with little sign it was “cannibalising” Tube journeys. /

HS2應(yīng)該至少修到曼徹斯特。

政府想要微調(diào)休斯頓終點(diǎn)站的設(shè)計(jì)以此省錢，（為了完成這個(gè)計(jì)劃，所以）應(yīng)該把任何延期舉措減少到最少。

大臣們應(yīng)當(dāng)記住成本效益的研究可能會(huì)低估一個(gè)設(shè)計(jì)精良的項(xiàng)目能產(chǎn)生的額外活動(dòng)

在去年橫跨倫敦的伊麗莎白線剪彩后的八個(gè)月內(nèi)，盡管也被延誤和超出預(yù)算，伊麗莎白線每周可以承載3百萬(wàn)的乘客，超出了預(yù)算的50%，一點(diǎn)都沒(méi)有搶地鐵生意的跡象。

?tewak vt.調(diào)整，稍微改進(jìn)；

terminus n.終點(diǎn)站 terminal n.航站樓 terminate vt.終止，停止

compelling a.令人信服的

cost-benefit a.成本效益的&n.成本效益

cannibalise vt.（同類型產(chǎn)品）搶走，奪走其他產(chǎn)品的銷量

6、Project managers and the government must continue to look for savings. But these should come through redesign or re-engineering, not lopping off further bits of HS2 and undermining its rationale, or from postponements that reduce immediate outlays but push up the total end cost.

?項(xiàng)目經(jīng)理和政府必須保持節(jié)省開支。但是這些節(jié)約的開支必須來(lái)自重新設(shè)計(jì)，或（），而不是通過(guò)砍掉HS2的其他部分和破壞它的底層邏輯，或從能減少當(dāng)前支出但會(huì)提高最終成本的延期。

lop off 砍掉

rationale n.底層邏輯

immedidiate a.及時(shí)的；當(dāng)前的 outlay n.經(jīng)費(fèi)

push up v.抬高

7、Lessons must be learnt, too, from the ballooning expenses and interminable planning and political approval processes. /Though Britain is much more densely populated, engineers note big rail projects are managed very differently in France, seemingly without compromising quality or safety. /The UK still needs HS2, and has no quick Plan B./ But the project’s handling to date is really no way to run a railway./

ballon vi.激增，interminable a.無(wú)休止的

compromise vt.（由于妥協(xié)）損害

to date 目前為止（up to now）

也必須要從激增的開銷、無(wú)休止的計(jì)劃和政治審批過(guò)程當(dāng)中吸取教訓(xùn)。

盡管英國(guó)人口更稠密，工程師們?nèi)灾赋?，管理大型鐵路項(xiàng)目的方式和在法國(guó)很不一樣，（法國(guó)）似乎沒(méi)有因?yàn)橥讌f(xié)而損害質(zhì)量和安全保障

（目前來(lái)看）英國(guó)還是需要HS2并且沒(méi)有備選方案可用，但到目前為止對(duì)項(xiàng)目的應(yīng)付實(shí)在是沒(méi)有能運(yùn)行起一條鐵路的樣子