2018上半年翻譯考試catti三級筆譯試題：食品規(guī)定
英譯漢
In the European Union, carrots must be firm but not woody, cucumbers must not be too curved and celery has to be free of any type of cavity. This was the law, one that banned overly curved, extra-knobbly or oddly shaped produce from supermarket shelves.
But in a victory for opponents of European regulation, 100 pages of legislation determining the size, shape and texture of fruit and vegetables have been torn up. On Wednesday, EU officials agreed to axe rules laying down standards for 26 products, from peas to plums.
In doing so, the authorities hope they have killed off regulations routinely used by critics - most notably in the British media - to ridicule the meddling tendencies of the EU.
After years of news stories about the permitted angle or curvature of fruit and vegetables,the decision Wednesday also coincided with the rising price of commodities. With the cost of the weekly supermarket visit on the rise, it has become increasingly hard to defend the act of throwing away food just because it looks strange.
Beginning in July next year, when the changes go into force, standards on the 26 products will disappear altogether. Shoppers will the be able to chose their produce whatever its appearance.
Under a compromise reached with national governments, many of which opposed the changes, standards will remain for 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, citrus fruit,peaches, pears, strawberries and tomatoes.
But those in this category that do not meet European norms will still be allowed onto the market, providing they are marked as being substandard or intended for cooking or processing.
"This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said Mariann Fischer Boel, European commissioner for agriculture, who argued that regulations were better left to market operators."
In these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties," Fischer Boel added,"consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape."
That sentiment was not shared by 16 of the EU's 27 nations - including Greece, France, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Poland - which tried to block the changes at a meeting of the Agricultural Management Committee.Several worried that the abolition of standards would lead to the creation of national ones, said one official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Copa-Cogeca, which represents European agricultural trade unions and cooperatives, also criticized the changes. "We fear that the absence of EU standards will lead member states to establish national standards and that private standards will proliferate," said its secretary general, Pekka Pesonen.But the decision to scale back on standards will be welcomed by euro-skeptics who have long pilloried the EU executive's interest in intrusive regulation.
One such controversy revolved around the correct degree of bend in bananas - a type of fruit not covered by the Wednesday ruling.
In fact, there is no practical regulation on the issue. Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 says that bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature," though Class 1 bananas can have "slight defects of shape" and Class 2 bananas can have full "defects of shape."
By contrast, the curvature of cucumbers has been a preoccupation of European officials. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88 states that Class I and "Extra class" cucumbers are allowed a bend of 10 millimeters per 10 centimeters of length. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much.
It also says cucumbers must be fresh in appearance, firm, clean and practically free of any visible foreign matter or pests, free of bitter taste and of any foreign smell.
Such restrictions will disappear next year, and about 100 pages of rules and regulations will go as well, a move welcomed by Neil Parish, chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee.
"Food is food, no matter what it looks like," Parish said. "To stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable. Credit should be given to the EU agriculture commissioner for pushing through these proposals. Consumers care about the taste and quality of food, not how it looks."
參考譯文：
胡蘿卜必須硬挺水靈，黃瓜不能太彎，芹菜不能有任何孔洞，這是歐盟之前一度實行的硬性規(guī)定。按照該規(guī)定，如果蔬果彎度過大、疙疙瘩瘩或者奇形怪狀，將禁止在超市上架銷售。
不過，有關(guān)蔬果尺寸、形狀和口感的長達 100 頁的法律規(guī)定將予以廢除，對于一向反對該項法律的人士來說這是一大勝利。周三，歐盟官員通過決議，將取消對豌豆、李子等 26 種蔬果設(shè)定的強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
此前，批評人士特別是英國媒體經(jīng)常拿這些規(guī)定開涮，指責(zé)歐盟有過度干預(yù)之嫌。通過修改這部法律，歐盟希望不再授人口實。
多年來，有關(guān)蔬果彎度標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的報道經(jīng)常見諸媒體報端。在歐盟周三通過上述決議之際，商品價格也在節(jié)節(jié)攀升。民眾用于超市購物的生活成本不斷增加，此時再僅以外形不達標(biāo)為由禁止相關(guān)蔬果上架銷售就更加站不住腳了。修訂后的法律于明年七月開始正式生效，屆時有關(guān) 26 種產(chǎn)品的強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)將被徹底廢除，同類產(chǎn)品不論外觀如何將同時上架，供消費者隨意挑選。
歐盟許多成員國反對修改這部法律。按照歐盟委員會與各成員國政府達成的折衷方案，對包括蘋果、柑橘類水果、桃、梨、草莓和西紅柿在內(nèi)的 10 種蔬果的強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)將以保留。不過，這 10 類蔬果中即使相關(guān)產(chǎn)品不達標(biāo)也可上市銷售，但必須注明是不達標(biāo)產(chǎn)品或者烹調(diào)、加工專用產(chǎn)品。
歐盟委員會農(nóng)業(yè)問題專員瑪麗安·菲舍爾·伯爾認(rèn)為,最好由市場運營商自行做出相關(guān)規(guī)定。她說，“法律修訂對于彎黃瓜和有節(jié)胡蘿卜而言是新黎明的到來/法律修訂后意味著彎黃瓜和有節(jié)胡蘿卜今后也可以上市銷售了�！�
“當(dāng)前食品價格居高不下，經(jīng)濟大環(huán)境也不景氣，”菲舍爾 ·伯爾補充說，“應(yīng)該給消費者提供盡可能多的選擇。有些產(chǎn)品本身品質(zhì)沒什么問題，如果僅僅因為外形不達標(biāo)就白白扔掉的話，實在說不過去�！睔W盟 27 個成員國中有 16 個對這種說法持有異議。希臘、法國、捷克、西班牙、意大利和波蘭等國家曾在農(nóng)業(yè)管理委員會的一次會議上試圖阻止歐盟修改這項法律。一位因問題敏感而要求不具名的歐盟官員說，有幾個國家擔(dān)心，一旦取消了歐盟強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，各國可能會紛紛推出本國標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。代表歐洲農(nóng)業(yè)工會和合作社的游說團體柯巴—柯杰卡(Copa-Cogeca)也反對修改這項法律。該團體秘書長佩卡﹒貝松寧說，“我們擔(dān)心，如果取消了歐盟統(tǒng)一強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)， 各
成員國將紛紛設(shè)定國家標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，私立標(biāo)準(zhǔn)也將會激增。”不過，取消強制標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的決議受到了歐元懷疑論者的歡迎。他們對于歐盟委員會干預(yù)性的規(guī)定一向頗有微詞。其中一項爭議是香蕉彎度標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題。在周三通過的決議中并沒有涉及香蕉。
事實上，關(guān)于這一問題根本就沒有具體規(guī)定。《歐盟委員會規(guī)定》中第 2254/94 條規(guī)定，香蕉產(chǎn)品“不得畸形或彎度異�！�，不過，該規(guī)定還指出，一級香蕉可以有“輕度外形瑕疵”，二級香蕉則不限“外形瑕疵”。
相比之下，歐盟官員一直關(guān)注的是黃瓜彎度標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題。歐盟委員會規(guī)定》中第 1677/88條規(guī)定，一級和“特級”黃瓜的彎度標(biāo)準(zhǔn)為每 10 厘米長彎度不得超過 10 毫米，二級黃瓜不得超過 20 毫米。該條款還規(guī)定，黃瓜必須外表新鮮、硬挺、干凈，不得有任何明顯異物或蟲害痕跡，無苦味、異味。
明年所有這些硬性標(biāo)準(zhǔn)都將壽終正寢，屆時長達百頁的相關(guān)規(guī)定也將予以廢除。歐洲議會農(nóng)業(yè)委員會主席尼爾﹒帕里什對此表示贊同。
“不管外觀如何，食品終究是„食‟品”，帕里什說，“糧食危機期間禁止品質(zhì)沒有任何問題的產(chǎn)品上市銷售情理不容。歐盟農(nóng)業(yè)委員會最終通過了修改相關(guān)法律的決議，值得稱贊。消費者真正關(guān)心的是食品的味道和品質(zhì)，而不是外觀�！�
