✸✸BY 2063,according tothe African Un-ion’s (AU) rather long-range prediction, Africa will be “a continent of seamless borders”. People, capital, goods and services will flow freely from South Africa to Tunisia and from Senegal to Somalia. Europe’s frontier-free Schengen area may be creakingunder the strain ofmigration and terror, but another will arise, this one encompassing a continent of more than 1.2bn people. Last year, with that goal in mind, the AUboldlyintroduced a single African passport. The first recipients were two of the continent’s most powerful strongmen: Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, and Chad’s president, Idriss Déby.
1）according to英[əˈkɔ:dɪŋ tə]美[əˈkɔ:rdɪŋ tə] na.根据，按照;据…所说;如;比照
Philip stayed at the hotel, according to Mr Hemming
据亨明先生所说，菲利普住在旅馆里。
2）under the strain英[ˈʌndəeəstrein]美[ˈʌndɚei stren]处于拉紧[紧张]状态
His health cracked under the strain.
他的身体因过度劳累而垮下来了。
3）boldly英['bəʊldlɪ]美['boʊldlɪ] adv.大胆地，显眼地;冒
We should boldly give them work and promote them and not be overcautious.
我们要放手地任用和提拔他们，不要畏首畏尾。
✸✸For now, however, crossing borders remains a painful experience for most Africans. The World Bank estimates that intra-African trade is more expensive, all things considered, than trade in any other region. According to Anabel Gonzalez, senior director of a World Bank group on trade and competitiveness, one African supermarket chain reports that it spends $20,000 every week to get import permits for meat, milk and other goods in one country alone; every day one of its lorries isheld upat a border costs it $500. On average, Africans need a visa to travel to 54% of the continent’s countries; it’s easier for Americans to travel around Africa than it is for Africans themselves. So far, the AU has issued its single African passport only to heads of state and senior AU officials.
1）held up英[heldʌp]美[hɛldʌp] v.停车( hold-up的过去式和过去分词)；停顿；停止；支持
Her eyes flashed, but heheld upa hand. "Let me finish."
她眼光一闪，但他举起一只手说：“让我把话讲完。”
✸✸But in the past year things have improved a little, according to a new report from the African Development Bank. Africans now need visas to travel to slightly fewer countries than they did in 2015, and 13 African countries now offer electronic visas, up from 9 the previous year. Ghana made the most progress: in 2016 the government announced that it would provide visas on arrival for citizens of every AU member state, while offering entirely visa-free travel to 17 African countries, including the 14 other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Seychelles is still the only country on the continent to offer visa-freeaccess toall Africans. (An archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it is a haven forwell-heeledtourists but hard to get to if you are poor.)
1）access to英[ˈækses tu:]美[ˈæksɛs tu]接近；有权使用；通向…的入口
U.N. aid convoys have unimpeded access to the city.
联合国救援车队可以畅通无阻地进入该市。
2）well-heeled英['wel'hi:ld]美adj.富有的；穿着考究的
Would you like to have a famous author, prominent entrepreneur, or well-heeled venturecapitalist in your network?
你想在自己的社交网络中结识几个知名作家，杰出企业家，或是某个富有的风投资本家吗？
✸✸Elsewhere, progress has beenpatchy. Less than a quarter of African countries provide “liberal access”—meaning visa free travel or at least visas on arrival—to all African citizens, and most of the continent’s richest countries tend to be more restrictive. War-torn central Africa remains the most closed region; east and west Africa haveopened upthe most.
1）patchy英[ˈpætʃi]美[ˈpætʃi] adj.不调和的;拼凑成的;有补丁的;脾气别扭的
Thick patchy fog and irresponsible driving were to blame
局部浓雾和驾驶员不负责任是罪魁祸首。
2）open up英[ˈəupənʌp]美[ˈopənʌp]打开;开发;<非正>开门;切开
As the market opens up, I think people are going to be able to spend more money onconsumer goods
随着市场的放开，我认为人们将能够增加用于消费品的支出。
短语：open up before one's eyes展示