The World Trade Organisation: Trading places

----A memo?to Roberto Azevêdo’s prospective successor

Memo:~ (to sb) an official note from one person to another in the same organization 備忘錄

prospective/pr??spekt?v/

1.expected to do sth or to become sth 有望的；可能的；預(yù)期的；潛在的?a prospective buyer 可能的買主

2.expected to happen soon 即將發(fā)生的；行將來臨的

successor~ (to sb/sth) a person or thing that comes after sb/sth else and takes their/its place 接替者；繼任者；接替的事物；后繼的事物

?SO YOU WANT to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). If successful, you will lead one of the world’s big multilateral institutions?and rub shoulders with heads of state.

multilateral/?m?lti?l?t?r?l/ n 1.which three or more groups, nations, etc. take part 多邊的；多國(guó)的multilateral negotiations 多邊談判2.having many sides or parts 有多條邊的；有多個(gè)部分的multilateral institutions?多邊機(jī)構(gòu)

rub shoulders with heads of state?與各國(guó)首領(lǐng)并肩同行 rub表達(dá)摩 擦，搓等動(dòng)作的詞，rub shoulders with 與··擦肩

The tax-free salary and bene?ts are?cushy. But that is where the perks end. Here is what you can expect from the job.

cushy/?k??i/?very easy and pleasant; needing little or no effort 輕松愉快的；安逸的；不費(fèi)勁的

? a cushy job 不費(fèi)心勞神的工作

?A CUSHY ?NUMBER?（俗語）( BrE ) an easy job; a pleasant situation that other people would like 輕松的工作；美差；令人羨慕的輕松狀態(tài)

Perks?/p??ks/ ?N-COUNT Perks are special benefits that are given to people who have a particular job or belong to a particular group. 特殊待遇

? ?...a company car, health insurance and other perks.

?…一輛公司配車、健康保險(xiǎn)以及其他特殊待遇。

2.ADJ pert; brisk; lively 活躍的; 活潑的; 輕快的? ??3.V (of coffee) to percolate (咖啡)過濾

Trade in goods could fall by as much as a third this year. Even before covid-19, the trade rule book was in tatters. The pandemic seems set to make protectionist barriers?rise even faster. Australia and China are squaring off.?This, you might think, is your moment to shine. You might hope to broker grand deals, or, at the very least, to ?x the WTO’s system of settling disputes.

tatter/'t?t?/V to make or become ragged or worn to shreds 撕碎2.N torn or ragged pieces, esp of material 碎片

in tatters：破破爛爛，衣衫襤褸1.Her reputation was in tatters. 她已名譽(yù)掃地。2. The economy is in tatters. 經(jīng)濟(jì)已千瘡百孔。3.The government's education policy lies in tatters. 政府的教育政策徹底破產(chǎn)了。

protectionist /pr??tek??n?st/貿(mào)易保護(hù)主義者，貿(mào)易保護(hù)主義的?protectionist barriers?貿(mào)易壁壘

Square off to assume a posture of offence or defence, as in boxing (如拳擊中)擺好姿勢(shì)；

?broker是中間經(jīng)濟(jì)人，掮客，動(dòng)詞是以中間人等身份安排···grand宏偉的，偉大的 broker grand deals：從中促成重要合作

We suggest you manage those expectations—all the way down. Roberto Azevêdo, the departing director-general, was respected by members. But he found his diary emptying faster than a shipping broker’s order book. “There’s nothing happening in terms of regular work” at the WTO, he told Bloomberg recently. He is leaving a year before his term’s up. Forget building a new?architecture of the global trading system, or haranguing?members into lowering tariffs. If the WTO’s members do not want something, it will not happen. Your job instead is to focus on the smaller fry. Talks to limit subsidies for ?sheries were the only ones going anywhere in recent months. Full steam ahead? Afraid not. They stalled on May 7th.

?Bloomberg：澎博財(cái)經(jīng)

Harangue：/h??r??/??to speak loudly and angrily in a way that criticizes sb/sth or tries to persuade people to do sth 呵斥；大聲譴責(zé)；慷慨激昂地勸說

Tariff?/?t?r?f/ ?A tariff is a tax that a government collects on goods coming into a country. (政府對(duì)進(jìn)口貨物征收的) 關(guān)稅

Small fry:people or things that are considered unimportant compared to sb/sth else （相比較之下）不重要的人（或事物）? That's small fry to her. 對(duì)她來說，那不值一提

Full steam ahead: 全速前進(jìn)

Stalled： /st?:ld/ V-T/V-I If a process stalls, or if someone or something stalls it, the process stops but may continue at a later time. 使暫停; 暫停

原文來自 經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人六月刊

經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人的文章比BBC新聞?dòng)龅降脑~難一些，不常用詞很多。