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死亡，原本是最平等的象征，无论出生如何，人人都要面对，然而巴基斯坦的人们逐渐发现，随着豪华墓地的建成，穷人可能真的要死无葬身之地了……
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Graveyards in Pakistan -- Hold your hearses
巴基斯坦的墓地——拉好你的灵车
【1】DOWN a dusty side road in the province of Punjab stands Shehr-e-Khamoshan, anew graveyard with freezers imported from Germany and a network of 22 video cameras that will allow relatives of the deceased to live-stream footage of funerals at the $1.5m facility. Attend a ceremony in person and there is little risk of heat stroke: dozens of fans hang from the ceiling of an arched prayer zone that is almost entirely open to the air.
hearse：[hɜ:rs] n.柩车，灵车
dusty：[ˈdʌsti] adj.(通常指因为少雨而)布满灰尘的
graveyard：[ˈgreɪvjɑ:rd] n.墓地
freezers：['fri:zəz] n.（冰箱的）冷藏室，冷藏车，冷藏库( freezer的名词复数 )
deceased：[dɪ'sist] n.死者；已故者 adj.死去了的；已死的；亡故的
footage：[ˈfʊtɪdʒ] n.（电影或电视的）片段的数量或长度；连续镜头
facility：[fəˈsɪləti] n.设备；容易；能力；灵巧
heat stroke：中暑
ceiling：[ˈsilɪŋ] n.天花板；上限
arched：[ɑrtʃt] adj.拱形的；弧形的
prayer：[preə(r)] n.祈祷；祷告；祷文；祈祷者
在旁遮普省一条尘土飞扬的路边，坐落着一个新的墓地。这个墓地有着从德国进口的冷冻室，以及一个由22台摄影机组成的电视网——允许死者亲属在150万美元的设施上直播葬礼片段。亲自参加葬礼的人们没有一点中暑的风险，因为有几十个风扇悬挂在拱形祈祷区的天花板上，几乎完全向空中开放。
［2］The state-owned “model graveyard”, with its wide footpaths and neatly trimmed lawns, will serve the 11m-strong population of Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s richest and most populous province. Three more are under construction in the region. Across Pakistan burial grounds have struggled to cope with an urban population that has risen from 28% of the total in 1981 to 41% now (unsurprisingly land is scarce in cities). Burials have been banned in the overflowing public graveyards of the largest city, Karachi. There have been reports of policemen hiding in coffins to catch gravediggers who are overcharging for burial plots.
footpath：[ˈfʊtpæθ] n.人行道，人行小径；小路，小径
trimmed：[trɪmd] adj.修饰的；削减的
动词trim的过去式和过去分词。
lawn：[lɔːn] n.草坪；草地
populous：['pɑpjələs] adj.人口众多的；人口密集的
China is the most populous developing country in the world.
中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。
burial：[ˈbɛriəl] n.葬礼；葬，掩埋
cope：[koʊp] vi. 应付；对抗；妥善处理 vt. 笼罩；盖上斗篷 n. 长袍；斗篷状物
overflowing：[oʊvə'floʊɪŋ] n.溢出物；溢流 adj. 充沛的；充满的
coffin：['kɔːfɪn] n.棺材
gravedigger：['ɡreɪv.dɪɡər] n.掘墓者
overcharge：[ˌoʊvərˈtʃɑ:rdʒ]
v.讨价过高；装药过多；夸张；过度充电
n.过高的要价；超载；装药过多；过度充电
burial plots：风水宝地
这是一块属于国家的模型墓地，它有着宽阔的人行道和修剪整齐的草坪，将为拉哈尔1100万人口服务，拉哈尔是巴基斯坦最富有且人口最多的省的省会。在该地区，还有三个墓地正在建造。对整个巴基斯坦而言，城市人口比例从1981年的28%上升到现在的41%（无疑城市里的土地很稀缺），对此墓地一直在艰难支应。巴基斯坦最大的城市卡拉奇公共墓地过剩，该城市已经禁止墓葬。有报道称，警察躲在棺材里抓那些通过墓地发横财的掘墓人。
［3］Lahore’s new "silent city", as it is known, aims to lighten the burden on grieving families. The project’s director has urged other provinces to replicate his good work. But even with its swanky golf-carts for the elderly and mechanical diggers it may be less effective than it claims. When the government of Punjab bought the land, it planned to build a cemetery about 20 times the size. The facility that opened last month has space for only 8,000 graves.
grieve：[gri:v] vt.使伤心；使悲伤 vi.悲伤；伤心
replicate：['replɪ.keɪt] v.复制
It might be impractical to replicate Eastern culture in the west.
在西方复制东方文化是不切实际的。
swanky：[ˈswæŋki] adj.摆阔的；时髦且豪华的
cart：[kɑ:rt] n.运货马车，手推车
digger：[ˈdɪgə(r)] n.挖掘者；采掘机
cemetery：[ˈseməteri] n.墓地，公墓
众所周知，拉合尔新的“沉默之城”旨在减轻悲痛家庭的负担。该项目的负责人力劝其他省份复制他的优秀成果。但即使有着提供给老人的高尔夫球车和机械挖掘机，这个项目也不像它声称的那么成功。当旁遮普政府买下这块土地时，它计划建造一个大约20倍大的墓地。上个月建成的设施中只有8000个坟墓。
［4］Some people fret that the new cemetery will further squeeze out space for corpses by giving relatives of the dead long-term rights to their loved ones' plots. Historically Muslim burial grounds have managed to keep on welcoming new souls by recycling grave sites. Gravediggers in Miani Sahib, an old cemetery in the centre of Lahore, which has room for around 300,000 graves, routinely bury people in plots that go unvisited. Today, as more Pakistanis invest in headstones and concrete shrines to protect remains, gravediggers in desperation sometimes seek out old-style earthen mounds, and a few place remains on top of bodies that were laid out just a few months earlier.
fret：[frɛt] v.使烦恼；腐蚀，侵蚀
She fretted about the cost.
她为花费发愁。
squeeze：[skwi:z]
v.挤压；塞进；压榨；设法腾出
n.挤压；少量；拥挤；严控；财政困难
corpse：[kɔ:rps] n.死尸，尸体
plot：[plɒt]
n.情节；阴谋；图；(小块)土地
v.密谋；绘图；计划；标示位置
Muslim：[ˈmʊzlɪm] n. 穆斯林；穆罕默德信徒 adj. 穆斯林的
headstone：[ˈhedstoʊn] n.墓石
concrete：[ˈkɑ:ŋkri:t] adj.具体的；实质性的；混凝土的 n.水泥；混凝土；具体物 v.凝结；结合
shrine：[ʃraɪn] n.圣地；神龛；庙 v.将 ... 置于神龛内；把 ... 奉为神圣
desperation：[ˌdespəˈreɪʃn] n.绝望；铤而走险
earthen：['ɜrθən] adj.泥土做的；土制的
This earthen pot can bear the fire.
这个陶罐能耐火。
mound：[maʊnd] n.土墩；小丘；一堆
一些人担心，新的墓地给死者亲属前往他们亲人墓地的长期权利，而挤走了死人的空间。历史上，穆斯林公墓一直通过回收墓地来欢迎新的灵魂。拉哈尔市中心的一个古老的墓地米亚尼•撒西比，有着大约300000个坟墓的空间。这里的掘墓人将人们埋在人迹罕至的位置。今天，随着越来越多的人投资于墓碑和混凝土圣地以保护遗迹，处于绝境的掘墓人有时会找出旧式的土墩，以及几个月前才入殓的尸体上方的一些地方。
［5］Besides failing to address the lack of space for the dead, the new facility could spark a trend for VIP burial that makes death as unequal as life, says Zaigham Khan, a columnist for The News, a newspaper. The government claims that anyone who cannot afford the $200 fee will be granted a free space. But standing in an ancient burial ground that abuts Shehr-eKhamoshan, a village elder offers a different view. He reckons the plush cemetery is part of an attempt to lure government workers to a new housing project nearby, which Lahori officials hope will help to deal with the overcrowding of live bodies in the fast-expanding city .
spark：[spɑːk] vi.闪烁；冒火花；热情回应 vt.激发；引起；向...求爱 n.火星；朝气；情人；俗丽的年轻人
columnist：[ˈkɒləmnɪst] n.专栏作家
abut：[əˈbʌt] v.连接；毗连；贴近；靠紧
reckon：['rekən] v.认为；想；估计；计算
We reckon to finish by ten.
我们预计十点钟前结束。
plush：[plʌʃ] adj.豪华的；优裕的；长毛绒的
lure：[lʊr] vt.诱惑；吸引 n.诱惑；吸引力
overcrowding：[ˌoʊvərˈkraʊdɪŋ] n.过度拥挤；挤满
《新闻》报纸的专栏作家扎伊格哈姆•汗说，除了无法处理死者空间不足的问题，新的设施可能会引发贵宾葬礼的潮流，使得死亡和活着一样不平等。政府声称，任何负担不起200美元费用的人都将获得一个免费的空间。但是在一个紧靠高价墓地的古老墓地上，一个村民提出了不同的看法。他认为，豪华墓地是在试图引诱政府员工去附近的一个新住房项目——拉哈尔的官员希望通过这个项目解决这个高速发展城市人口过多的问题。
葬礼是一件庄重而严肃的事情，本意在于表达对逝者的尊重和纪念，参与者应该对生命怀有敬畏。然而文中这个豪华的墓地，致力于建造避暑设备、运动休闲区和网络直播，将目光投入到如何使来者有着舒适的体验，完全脱离了墓葬本身的意义。这更像是生者以葬礼来炫富，或者是使葬礼成为一场给别人看的表演，实在不值得提倡。
无论怎样，墓地的追求不该是让来者“宾至如归”。
英文原文：
http://www.economist.com
讲解：霞姐 / Tiassa / Angel
翻译 / 编排 / 校对：Angel
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