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本期精读选自The Economist关于南非的一篇文章：Why Johannesburg restaurants are full of teapots
文章开篇介绍了南非约翰内斯堡一个奇特景象：该地很多餐馆的桌上都摆着茶壶。作者接下来解释了原因：由于疫情原因，南非政府发布了禁酒令，而很多餐厅为了规避这一禁令只好用茶壶来装酒。同时，作者也从南非禁酒令执行不严这一表象出发，进一步分析了当前南非政府存在的问题。
小标题中rooibos是指产自南非的一种茶“洛依柏丝”。下面是关于文章的详细分析：
首段介绍了约翰内斯堡一家高级餐厅内部的奇特景象：每张桌子上面都有一壶茶。
Upon arrival at an expensive restaurant near Sandton, Johannesburg’s financial district, nothing feels unusual, at least in this age of covid-19.
约翰内斯堡金融区桑顿附近有一家高级餐厅，对于刚到那里的人来说，餐厅并没有让人感到有不同寻常之处（至少在这一新冠时代是如此）。
从传统语法上来说，开头这一句其实是悬垂句式，因为句子的主语为"nothing"，但句子状语Upon arrival at an expensive restaurant…这一部分的逻辑主语应该是人，也就是说逻辑主语与句子主语不一致。这种垂悬句式在外刊里面也越来越常见，我之前也分析过一个类似的句子，可以参考：这个英语句子是否正确？
The matre-d’ zaps a temperature gun at patrons’ masked faces and spritzes their hands with sanitiser.
饭店经理将测温枪对准顾客脸部测量体温，同时往他们手上喷洒消毒液。这些顾客都戴着口罩。
Only when ushered into the dining room does something seem odd: every table has a pot of tea.
只有当顾客被领进餐厅时他们才发现一些不同寻常之处：每张桌上都有一壶茶。
这一句同样出现了垂悬结构：句子主语是"something"，而ushered into the dining room逻辑主语应该是顾客。
第二段揭示了关于茶杯的真相。
South Africans like their rooibos, but the liquid in many tea-cups is a darker red—claret, even. On other tables there are cans of tonic next to teapots. Reality dawnswhen two young women are given shot glasses of Jgermeister inside their tea-cups.
南非人喜欢他们的洛依柏丝茶，但很多茶杯里面装的液体是深红甚至是暗紫红色的。在其它桌子上，茶壶边上还摆着奎宁水的罐子。当你看到小杯的野格酒被放入两名年轻女士的茶杯时，一切都真相大白了。
Tonic（奎宁水）是一种略有苦味的无色汽水，可以与其他酒类调配饮用。
Dawn在这里用得很简洁，它的意思是“（事物）变得明朗，变得清楚”（to become obvious or easy to understand），“让某人意识到某事”可以说：It dawns on somebody that…
比如新概念英语中就有这样的句子：It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty. 我突然感到这趟快车并没以时速90英里的速度呼啸前进，而是卟哧卟哧地向前爬行，时速仅30英里。
第三段介绍了南非的禁酒令以及其对餐饮行业的影响。
South Africa banned alcohol sales for the second time this year on July 12th, so as to prevent drunks from taking up precious space in hospitals. But restaurants, which are struggling to stay afloat, are open and customers are thirsty.
南非于7月12号禁止了酒精的销售，这是该国今年第二次针对酒精销售发布禁令，该举措的目的是防止醉酒者占据医院中宝贵的床位。但该国餐馆正在勉强维持经营，它们都开门迎客，顾客们也都渴望酒精。
afloat原本是指物品在水中漂浮，stay afloat取其引申义“使维持下去；保持不负债”，例如：They will have to borrow 10 million next year, just to stay afloat. 明年他们得举债1000万英镑才能维持下去。
“Are you serving special teas?” your correspondent hesitantly asks a waiter. “Yes”, he replies, the ripple of a smile just visible from the edges of his mask.
本报记者试探性地问一名服务员：“你们这里有特殊茶饮卖吗？”他笑着回答说：“有的”，脸上浮现出的笑容在口罩边缘也依稀可见。
the ripple of a smile just visible from the edges of his mask这句话写得十分精彩，作者将侍者脸上的笑容比作荡漾的水波，即使在口罩边缘也可以感受到笑意，这一比喻非常准确传神。
第四段介绍了南非禁酒令的执行情况。
An unscientific sample of local establishments suggests the patchiness of prohibition. A steak house in an affluent suburb also uses teapots for red wine, and puts cans of fizzy apple juice next to glasses of beer.
一份对当地餐馆的非科学性抽样调查表明了禁令存在的漏洞。一间位于富裕郊区的牛排馆也使用茶壶来装红酒，并且将苹果汁汽水罐头放在啤酒旁边。
Establishment在这里指的是“机构、企业或单位”（an organization or institution, especially a business, shop etc）。
Other joints are more brazen. At a café popular with families, parents keep one eye on their children ricocheting inside a bouncy castle and the other on their ice bucket.
其他餐馆做得更加明目张胆。在一家颇受家庭欢迎的咖啡馆中，父母们一边看着孩子们在有弹性的充气城堡内跳跃玩耍，一边看着放酒饮的冰桶。
Joint在这里是一词多义，它指的是“（卖廉价饮食的）酒吧或餐馆”，parents keep one eye on their children ricocheting inside a bouncy castle其中ricocheting inside a bouncy castle作为后置定语修饰children，相当于parents keep one eye on their children (who are) ricocheting inside a bouncy castle
第五段点明了禁酒令反映的问题。
The willingness of South Africans to flout the booze rules is a sign that bans rarely work. It shows that the police are unwilling or unable to enforce them—at least in rich areas.
南非人愿意违反禁酒令这一事情说明了禁令几乎不起作用。它表明警方不愿意或没有能力执行禁令——至少在富裕地区是如此。
The willingness of…is a sign that…（XX愿意做……这一事情说明了……）是一个可以借鉴的句式，比如我们可以说：The willingness of Chinese parents to spend a large amount of money on their children’s education is a sign that they attach great importance to it.
But it also reflects how many South Africans are reluctant to obey laws set by a ruling party that itself shows little respect for propriety.
但它也反映了有多少南非人不愿去遵守执政党制定的法律，因为执政党本身对社会礼节也缺少尊重。
第六段介绍了南非政坛内存在的裙带关系问题。
In recent weeks local journalists have revealed how members of the African National Congress and their families have won juicy contracts for supplying personal protective equipment, despite having little experience in medical kit.
最近数周，当地记者揭露了非国大成员及他们的家人如何赢得多份供应个人防护设备的合同（尽管供应商并没有多少关于医疗设备的经验），这些合同利润丰厚。
Cronyism has been rife for years, but the sight of “tenderpreneurs” coining it is especially galling when thousands are dying. On August 3rd President Cyril Ramaphosa compared such people to hyenas circling wounded prey.
裙带关系是一个多年存在的问题，但是当成千上万的人正在面临死亡时，那些“投标家”却赚得盆满钵满，这一景象尤其让人感到愤怒。南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨在8月3号将这类人比作一群环伺受伤猎物的鬣狗。
the sight of “tenderpreneurs” coining it is especially galling 读起来可能不太好理解，这里coin it是一个固定搭配，意思是“大发其财”，因此句子断句应该是：the sight of “tenderpreneurs” coining it/ is especially galling
Tenderpreneur是一个南非特色词语，它由tendering（投标）以及entrepreneur（企业家）两个词合成，指那些依靠关系来获取政府项目的人。
最后一段进一步介绍了当前南非的情况。
Yet hehas done too little to stop the scavengers. More than two years after he took office, South Africans are waiting for prosecutions to be brought against those accused of wrongdoing during the reign of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.
但他为阻止这群肉食者所做的工作还是太少。在他上任两年多之后，南非人还在等待不法分子被起诉。那些人是在前任总统雅各布·祖玛就任期间被指控有不法行为的。
"he"在这里指代上一段提到的总统Cyril Ramaphosa，"the scavengers"则与上一段提到的hyenas circling wounded prey相呼应。作者通过这种方式实现了两个段落间的衔接。
Meanwhile the former president continues to stall his own trial over an arms deal cut more than 20 years ago. It is enough to make one order a cup of tea.
与此同时，这名前总统仍在拖延对于自己的审判，这起案件涉及到二十多年前一起军火贸易的回扣。这些被拖延的时间足够一个人点一杯茶了。
最后一句呼应了上文关于“茶”的主题，同时也讽刺了前总统故意拖延审判时间这一事情。
本文如果对你有帮助，请点赞收藏《英语阅读分享：精读外刊《约翰内斯堡餐馆的茶壶》》，同时在此感谢原作者。
