赏析版2011年7-12月经济学人文章(英汉双语对照)汇(8)

government is bound by law to promote that liberty. In line with its own ideals, America is rightly as concerned by the persecution of Muslims of any stripe as by the travails of Christians in China or Jews and Bahais in Iran. And it objects when Christian lands, like Belarus, practise persecution. Other more secular Western countries should do more to defend that right.

在自由主义的价值观念中，信教或不信教的自由有着极为重要的地位。美国政府有促进宗教自由的法律义务。基于它自己的理念，美国理应对所有形式的宗教压制感到关切：不管是穆斯林受到的迫害，还是中国的基督教徒、伊朗的犹太教徒和巴黑伊教派经受的磨难，都是一样。当基督教占统治地位的国家（如白俄罗斯）发生压制其他宗教现象时，美国同样表示了反对。其它宗教色彩较淡的西方国家也应当在保护宗教自由上承担更多责任。

What about those who see persecuting other religions as part of their calling? No faith is blameless: from Delhi to Jerusalem many of those stirring up hatred are men of God. But there is a specific problem with Islam. Islamic law (though not the Koran) has often mandated death for people leaving the faith. There are signs of change. The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Co-operation has, with American encouragement, toned down its bid to outlaw ―blasphemy‖ in various UN resolutions. It also condemned the attacks in Nigeria. But more Muslim leaders need to accept that changing creed is a legal right. On that one point, the West should not back down. Otherwise believers, whether Christian or not, remain in peril.

有些人把迫害其他宗教看做是自己的使命，这在各个宗教里都不少见：从德里到耶路撒冷，很多煽动宗教仇恨的人自称为神意的执行者。但伊斯兰的问题更大一些。依照伊斯兰法（不是可兰经），对于改变信仰的人通常必须执行死刑。不过，现在已经有改变的迹象。有57个成员国的伊斯兰合作组织，已不再要求把一些联合国决议中的词句视为―亵渎伊斯兰‖和非法，这个态度得到了美国的鼓励。这个组织还谴责了尼日利亚发生的袭击基督教徒的事件。但是，更多的穆斯林领导人需要承认人们改变信仰的权利。在这一点上，西方不应退缩。不然的话，宗教信徒们（不管是不是基督教徒）仍然难以摆脱困境。

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[注1]在基督教早期受到的迫害中，曾有古罗马把基督徒喂给狮子的酷刑。

[注2]这里是说反对迫害基督徒并不是像十字军东征那样站在基督教立场上反对异教，而是要反对一切形式的宗教压制。

译者：西米

[2011.12.31] Foreign languages: The gift of tongues 学习外语的天赋 What makes some people learn language after language?

何者吸引一些人接二连三地学习多门语言?

Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners. 消逝的巴别塔：寻找世间最卓越的语言学习者

By Michael Erard. Free Press; 306 pages; $25.99. Buy from

CARDINAL MEZZOFANTI of Bologna was a secular saint. Though he never performed the kind of miracle needed to be officially canonised, his power was close to unearthly. Mezzofanti was said to speak 72 languages. Or 50. Or to have fully mastered 30. No one was certain of the true figure, but it was a lot. Visitors flocked from all corners of Europe to test him and came away stunned. He could switch between languages with ease. Two condemned prisoners were due to be executed, but no one knew their language to