Qatar卡塔尔

张祖平

A narrow strip of land， Qatar sits in the Persian Gulf and borders1 Saudi Arabia. The land is dry and poor， yet Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It has plentiful oil and natural gas reserves. Because of this wealth， the government offers many services free to its citizens.

卡塔爾是一个狭长的小国，坐落在波斯湾，和沙特阿拉伯接壤。卡塔尔土地干旱、贫瘠，却是世界上最富裕的国家之一。它拥有丰富的石油和天然气资源。因为这些财富，卡塔尔政府向它的公民提供了很多免费服务。

Qatar was a British Protectorate until 1971 when it declared its independence. Now it has become one of the most progressive and prosperous countries in the region.

卡塔尔曾是英国的保护国，1971年宣布独立。如今，它已经成为了该地区最先进、繁荣的国家之一。

The lack of farmlands and water leads to severe limitations on agriculture， and a large proportion of the countrys food must be imported2. Use of treated sewage treatment and desalinated3 water for irrigation4， however， has helped to expand the production of fruits such as melons and vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplant， which Qatar now exports to other Persian Gulf countries. Production of meat， cereal grains5， and milk also began to increase by the end of the 20th century.

良田和淡水不足严重限制了卡塔尔的农业，全国很大一部分食物必须进口。不过，污水治理和海水淡化灌溉促进了如西瓜等水果，以及如西红柿和茄子等蔬菜的生产，这些如今还被卡塔尔出口到了其他波斯湾国家。到20世纪末，卡塔尔的肉类、谷类和牛奶的生产开始增加。

Once fishing and pearling， the main industries of Qatars economy， have greatly declined6 in importance. Pearling is almost non-existent， in large part because of Japans cultured pearl7 industry. Since the late 1990s， the government has placed greater emphasis on commercial8 fishing and shrimp harvesting.

渔业和采珠业曾是卡塔尔的支柱产业，现在它们的重要性已急剧下降。采珠业几乎不存，很大原因在于日本支配了珍珠养殖业。20世纪90年代末期以来，卡塔尔政府对商业捕鱼、捕虾更加重视了。

Qatar is the kind of place where you can learn about the ancient pursuit of falconry9 or watch camels ridden by remote-controlled robot jockeys10 race across the desert， admire traditional dhows11 sailing on the water alongside one of the worlds most spectacular modern skylines， or enjoy Dohas food in the restaurants and then watch the sun set over sand dunes that seem to spring from an Arabian fairy tale.

卡塔尔就是这样一个地方：你可以学习古老的驯鹰术，或者观看遥控机器骑手骑着骆驼在沙漠中赛跑；你可以赞叹古老的单桅三角帆船在水中航行，沿岸是世界上最壮观的高楼大厦；或者你也可以在餐馆品尝多哈的美食，然后欣赏如同来自阿拉伯神话中的沙丘上的日落。

Put simply， Qatar is racing headlong12 into the future without losing sight of its past.

一言概之，卡塔尔正奔向未来，却没有丢掉过去的风景。

Just over a decade ago， we labeled Qatar one of the most boring places on Earth. Now its fast becoming one of the most exciting places.

10多年前，我们认为卡塔尔是地球上最无聊的地区之一。现在，它很快成为了世界上最激动人心的地区之一。

The government has attempted to modernize the fishing and agriculture sectors by offering interest-free loans； yet food production continues to generate only a tiny part of gross domestic product （GDP）.

卡塔尔政府试图通过提供无息贷款让渔业和农业部门实现现代化，但是食物生产仍旧只占国民生产总值（GDP）的很小一部分。endprint