今天要带大家阅读的是 CNN 报导的这篇文章：China approves controversial national security law for Hong Kong
首先当要先了解到香港国安法的英文怎么说再来继续阅读下去，「香港国安法」的英文称之为 the Hong Kong national security law，其中 national security 为「国家安全」的意思。
接着带你阅读文章，文章开头先提及中共全国人大常委会于早前投票通过极具争议性的香港《国安法》立法决定草案，有批评指此草案会严重危害香港的政治及公民自由。会中更以大比数的 2,878 票赞成及 6 票弃权通过立法决定草案。
The country’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), nearly unanimously approved the resolution Thursday to introduce the sweeping security legislation, which bans secession, subversion of state power, terrorism, foreign intervention and allows mainland China’s state security agencies to operate in the city.
(中国橡皮图章议会的全国人大常委会 (NPC) 几乎一致动议通过引入国安法，将针对「颠覆国家政权」、「分裂国家」、「恐怖活动」、「外部势力干预」立法，并允许于香港设立中国中央人民政府国家安全机关。)
rubber-stamp
rubber-stamp 为政治比喻，简单来说橡皮图章的议会是几乎不会否决提案。之所以称为「橡皮图章」是指虽深思熟虑后做出抉择，但实际上只是像个「橡皮图章」一样不假思索地「盖」上去，进而「照例批准」，只为了营造表面合法性与专政和谐统一的假象。
The vote by the shareholders was merely a rubber-stamp approval of the board’s decision.
股东会的这个投票只是一个董事会决议的照例批准。
这次于人大常委会通过之法案无疑是绕过香港立法会直接将法例加入香港的《基本法》，这种做法是削弱香港立法权，助长北京政府对香港的管治。
The law will drastically broaden Beijing’s power over Hong Kong, which last year was roiled by anti-government protests calling for greater democracy and more autonomy from mainland China.
(这项法案将大大扩大北京政府对香港管治的权力，可能是受去年香港的反政府示威活动影响，要求中央政府实现更多民主和自治权。)
roil
roil 是动词，意思是「搅动；翻滚；使…停止正常运作」。
This year, the world’s retail industry was roiled by the economic effects of the pandemic.
今年，全球的零售业受到大流行病而导致无法正常运作。
Undersea earthquakes roiled the ocean and caused a tsunami.
海底下的地震使海水翻动，引发了海啸。
法案通过的消息流出后，引起香港大部分人的不满，更有人声言将不惜任何代价亦要反对中共政府扩大对香港的管治，而国家总理吴克强则指出落实法案只为巩固「一国两制」。
The law was designed for the “steady implementation of ‘one country, two systems'” a formula that guarantees Hong Kong its autonomy and freedoms — and for “Hong Kong’s long term prosperity and stability.”
(推行法案的目的是「稳定执行『一国两制』」，这是保障香港自治和自由的方式，也是为了「香港的长期繁荣与安定」。)
guarantee
guarantee 是动名词同形，作为名词时，表示「保证；保固单；担保；抵押品」；而动词则表示「保固；保障；为…担保；必然发生」。
Your laptop comes with a two-year guarantee, which means you can take it to the store to get it repaired for free within that time period.
你的笔电的保固期是两年，也就是在这期间内你可以带回去店里免费送修。
What? Nobody can guarantee a return on an investment. It’s impossible to predict the future!
什么？没有能保证投资一订有收获。预测未来根本不可能！
You need someone to provide a financial guarantee for a loan.
要贷款需要找个人提供财务保证。
究竟为何香港甚至国际间有大多数人反对此法案？法案将如何侵蚀香港的核心价值？
The move has been denounced internationally, with opponents warning it could curtail many of the legal safeguards promised to the city when it was handed from British to Chinese rule in 1997. In mainland China, far reaching national security laws have been used to target pro-democracy campaigners, human rights activists, lawyers and journalists.
(法案通过已遭到国际间的谴责，反对法案人士称此举可能会削弱 1997 年英国把香港移交中国统治时承诺的法律保障措施。在中国大陆，影响力深远的国家安全法被用于打击民主运动发起人、人权维护人士、律师及记者。)
“They’ve practically taken away our soul. Our soul we’ve been treasuring all these years, the rule of law, human rights, they’re taking away all the core values we’ve come to know. From now on, Hong Kong is nothing but just another mainland Chinese city.”
(「法案的通过无疑是夺走我们的核心价值，是我们一直以来所珍惜的法治、人权等核心价值。而从今起，香港只会与中国大陆其他城市无异。)
curtail
curtail 为动词，意思是「制止；缩减；限制」。
Your daughter is an adult, stop treating her like a child. You do not have the right to curtail her freedom.
你女儿现在是成年人了，不要再把她当小孩看，你没有权利限制她的自由。
The promotion of Joe to the post of vice-chairman was intended to curtail the power of the chairman.
Joe 升任副主席一职是为了缩减主席的权力。
