马克图姆对迪拜的设想──一个向世界敞开胸怀、宽容而现代的都市，它的很多信念和繁荣──长期以来一直令保守的阿拉伯邻国恼怒不已，包括阿联酋保守的首都阿布扎比的一些官员。不过对其他人来说，迪拜则是一种象征──如果一个现代的阿拉伯国家接纳了西方及其金融体系的话，可能实现怎样辉煌的成就。美国总统奥巴马6月份在开罗对穆斯林世界发表演讲时，特别提到迪拜是经济发展发挥成效的地方。
　　His vision for the city -- a tolerant, modern metropolis open to the world, its many faiths and some of its excesses -- has long rankled conservative Arab neighbors, including some officials in Abu Dhabi, the buttoned-down capital of the U.A.E. But for others, Dubai became a symbol of what a modern Arab state might achieve if it embraced the West and its financial system. President Barack Obama, in a June speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, singled out Dubai as a place where economic development worked.

　　迪拜高耸的摩天大楼是该国自豪感的象征。在本周的国庆游行中，身着传统阿拉伯长袍的男人们推着载有迪拜标志性建筑模型的彩车。其中有将于下个月开始运营的世界最高的大楼迪拜塔(Burj Dubai)、帆船形状的迪拜帆船酒店(Burj Al Arab)和设有室内滑雪道的阿联酋购物中心(Mall of the Emirates)。
　　Dubai's soaring skyline is a symbol of pride here. At a National Day parade this week, men dressed in traditional Arab garb pushed floats consisting of scale models of the city's iconic buildings. There were models of the Burj Dubai -- the world's tallest skyscraper, due to open next month -- as well as the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel and the Mall of the Emirates, which houses an indoor ski slope.

　　哈马迪(Ahmed Al Hammadi)观看着国庆游行说，我们的领导人能够实现这一切。至于眼下的债务危机，他说，我们会以更强大的姿态走出危机。
　　'Our leaders have been able to achieve all of this,' said Ahmed Al Hammadi, watching the parade. As for the current debt crisis, 'we will come out of it stronger,' he said.

　　官员和开发商们为这种飞速的建设速度寻找理由，说这是因为迪拜紧邻亚洲和欧洲、不用交税、民风宽容，还是这一地区的商业枢纽。鉴于迪拜对追逐大型项目似乎毫无限制，外国企业高管、建筑师和房地产经纪商纷纷涌入这里。国际债务和房地产投资者也听信了这个美梦，直到全球金融市场冻结、世界大部分地区跌入了衰退。之后，买家开始寻求救助，雇主裁员，企业暂停扩张计划。
　　Officials and developers justified the breakneck pace at which these were built by touting Dubai's proximity to both Asia and Europe, its tax-free and tolerant way of life and its position as the region's business hub. Foreign executives, architects and real-estate brokers flocked here for the seemingly limitless scope to pursue big projects. International debt and property investors bought into the dream, too, until global financial markets seized up and much of the world plunged into recession. Then, buyers began to bail out, employers shed staff and companies put expansion on hold.

　　结果是造成了惊人的房屋积压。在贯穿迪拜摩天大楼间的超级高速公路Sheikh Zayed的沿线，数十座新近完工的建筑的外立面上都挂着“出租”的广告牌。据国际房地产经纪公司高力国际(Colliers International)的数据，新建筑的空置率在41%。
　　The result is a jaw-dropping real-estate overhang. 'To Let' signboards adorn the facades of dozens of recently finished buildings along Sheikh Zayed Road, the superhighway that cuts through the city's canyon of skyscrapers. Office vacancies in new buildings run at 41%, according to international property agency Colliers International.

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] 下一页