考研英语

　　When Ban Ki-Moon steps down in 2017, it is eastern Europe’s turn.

　　当2017年潘基文卸任的时候，就轮到东欧人上场了。

　　BACK in the days of Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, a British comedian joked that the prime qualification for becoming UN secretary-general was to have a long and hard-to-pronounce name. Since custom dictates that the job rotates between regions and it is now the turn of Eastern Europe, a region with many splendidly difficult names, you might think that the rule would be fulfilled. Perhaps not.

　　Both of the leading candidates are women from Bulgaria. Both have names that are pronounced more or less as their English transliterations indicate. But the question of which one Bulgaria’s government will nominate is already causing political turbulence at home.

　　回想布特罗斯·布特罗斯-加利和哈维尔·培雷兹·德奎利亚尔在任的时候，一个英国喜剧演员戏说要想成为联合国秘书长，你得首先有一个又长又难拼的名字。由于有秘书长这一职位要在地区间轮流做的习俗，所以现在轮到东欧了。而东欧有着许多极其难拼的名字，所以你可以认为这个“规则”又要应验了。但也许并没有。这两个领导候选人均为保加利亚女性。她俩的名字均和她们的英译名差不多。但是保加利亚政府将任命她俩中的哪一位，这一问题已经在国内引起了政客圈内的骚动。

　　Secretaries-general of the United Nations cannot propose or veto binding legislation, order troops into battle or issue executive orders. But they can sometimes set the agenda or mediate between warring parties. So for small countries that crave a bit of global influence, placing one of their citizens in the UN’s top job is a coveted prize. Ban Ki-Moon’s second term as secretary-general ends in 2017, and the race to succeed him is already under way.

　　联合国秘书长不可以提出或禁止相关的法律法规，不可以命令军队进入战争，也不可以执行行政命令。但是他们有时可以设定日程或者对战争双方进行调解。所以对于渴求产生一点国际影响力的小国家来说，把他们人民中的一员捧到联合国的位置是他们求之不得的事情。潘基文的第二期任职将会在2017年结束，而继任者的竞争已经开始了。

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