研究生英语综合教程上readingmore中英对照翻译

Unit1 Why we work ?

Lawyers practice a difficult and demanding profession. They expect to be well compensated.

律师们从事的是一项要求很高又费神的职业。他们期待优厚的报酬。

In thinking about what that means, it can help to consider the basic question, “why do we work ?

在思考这句话的含义时，考虑一下这个基本问题会对我们有所帮助：“我们为什么工作？”

Samuel Johnson supplied an obvious answer when he famously observed , ” No man but a blockhead ever

wrote, expect for money.”

塞缪尔·约翰逊在他的著名论断“除了笨蛋没有人会写作，除非为了钱。”中显然给出了答案。

But I am not being paid to write this artcle , and instead of labeling myself a blockhead, let me refer to the

insight of eminent psychologist Theodor Reik:”Work and love-these are the basics. Without them there is

neurosis.”

但我写这篇文章时并没有人付我钱，而且我非但不会把自己当作傻瓜，还想引用一下著名的心理学家西奥多·赖克的深刻见解：“工作和爱——这是基本需求。没有这两样，人就会得神经官能症。

Why do we work ? For money, but also for sanity.

我们为什么工作？为钱，也为有明智的头脑。

We expect and need to be compensated in nonmonetary ways. Noneconomic compensation matters to

top-flight lawyers-otherwise, they would have long ago fled to investment banks.

我们期盼并且需要以非货币的方式获得回报，非经济报酬对一流的律师们来说很重要——要不然，他们早就跑到投资银行去了。

Law firms that want to recruit and retain the best (and the sanest ) must compensate not only in dollars but

also in psychic gratification.

律师事务所如果招募并挽留住最好（也是最有头脑的）律师的话，就必须不仅仅以美元的方式，而且还要以精神的方式支付报酬。

Accordingly, managers of elite firms need to think consciously about what lawyers are looking for beyond

money. Here are some key noneconomic elements of compensation.

相应地，一流律师事务所的经理们需要认真地考虑，除了钱律师们还在寻什么。以下是非经济报酬的一些关键因素。

Professional identity (职业认同感)

Many lawyers define themselves with reference to the privileges and attributes of their profession.

许多律师从行业的特权和性质来诠释他们自己

When firms recognize professional prerogatives, they provide an important form of compensation.

当律师事务所认可了他们的职业特权时，便提供了一种重要的补偿方式。

For example, lawyers pride themselves on belonging to a learned profession.

例如，律师们以属于一个学识渊博的行业而引以为豪。

By providing opportunities for continued intellectual growth, law firms can simultaneously provide a form of

compensation and reinforce a core value of the profession.

通过提供进一步增长知识的机会，律师事务所能够在提供一种回报方式的同时加强行业的核心价值。

This isn’t hard to do. Organize and host seminars with leading scholars, support scholarship in-house with

resources such as research assistance and create venues for lawyers to engage in serious discourse.

做到这一点并不难，组织并主办由最好的学者主讲的研讨班，利用诸如研究援助等资源提供内部奖学金，1

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并为律师们提供进行严肃讨论的场所。

Another core professional value is autonomy.

另一个核心行业价值是自主性。

A law firm pays psychic compensation when it understands and accepts that in matters of professional

judgment，lawyers are their own masters.

当一个律师事务所理解并接受了在职业性判断这样的事情上律师们是自己的主人，它就是在支付精神报酬。

In this regard，firms should encourage a diversity of approaches，letting each lawyer develop his or her own

style of practice.

从这个意义上说，律师事务所应该鼓励以多样化的方式让每位律师形成自己的行事风格。

Empowering lawyers in this way inculcates a heightened sense of personal responsibility， which in turn

reinforces the drive for individual excellence.

以此种方式授权律师既强调了一种高度的个人责任感，又反过来加强了个人追求卓越的驱动力。

Equally important to professional autonomy is that firms need to take care not to impinge on a lawyer’s

exercise of considered professional judgment，even when that means refusing a client.

与职业自由性同样重要的是，律师事务所需要注意不要干涉律师运用他们经过深思熟虑的职业判断，即便那意味着拒绝客户。

Lawyers are not the servants of their clients. In appropriate circumstance，telling the client “No” is an act of

the highest professionalism.

律师不是客户的仆从，在适当的条件下，对客户说“不”是一种体现最高职业素养的行为。

A lawyer is well-paid with the confidence that the firm will stand behind him or her in such circumstances.

在这种情况下，当一名律师深信律师事务所会在背后支持他，他便获得了丰富的报酬。

Lastly professional status encompasses adherence to ethical standards.

最后，职业地位包含对职业标准的遵守。

Most lawyers find self-worth in setting an example—both within the profession and within the larger society—as ethical actors.

很多律师事务所通过在行业内把自己塑造成一个具有良好职业道德的典范来到自我价值。

When，management affirms the special respect due to lawyers who act with the utmost integrity and civility in

all of their professional dealings，it provides yet another form of compensation.

对那些在所有职业行为中都表现出极度正直和谦逊有礼的律师们来说，当管理阶层对他们理应受到的特别尊重表示肯定时，便又获得了另一种形式的精神报酬。

Personal pride（个人自豪感）

Few of us make it through the rigors of a legal education without having a deeply internalized sense of

excellence for its own sake.

很少有人会这样：在经历严格的法律教育之后，没有体验到纯粹的，深深融合进自己性格的追求卓越的精神。

Lawyers compensate themselves with the powerful self-affirmation of a job well done.

工作出的律师们用强有力的自我肯定来犒赏自己。

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As a matter of both compensation and reputation，an elite firm cannot afford to impede the drive to

excellence，even when it’s not cost effective in the short term.

从报酬和声望的角度来说，一家顶级律师事务所承担不起阻挠追求卓越的动力所带来的后果，即使从短期来看这并不合理。

This means，for example，that firm management should applaud the writing and rewriting of a brief to the

highest standard even when a cynical perspective would suggest that the extra effort will have no practical

effect.

这意味着，举个例子来说，律师事务所管理层应该称赞按照最高标准一再重写诉讼要点这样的行为，即使有处事悲观的人认为花额外的力气并不会带来实际的效益。

Always celebrate superlative work product even when it seems unlikely to make a difference in the outcome.

要始终祝贺出的工作成果，即便这些成果对事情的结局似乎不太可能产生影响。

Instead of kowtowing to client demands for super work at a cut-rate price，deliver excellence and expect to be

paid for it.

不要对客户们低价位高质量的工作要求百依百顺，要奉献优质的工作并期待相应的回报。

Idealism (理想主义)

Think back to law school. Who remembers talking into the night about how to obtain the highest profits per

equity partner?

回想一下在法学院的情景吧。谁记得就如何使每位参股合伙人获得最高利益的话题谈论至深夜？

More memorable discussions covered things such as the advancement of civil rights，the provision of legal

services to the poor，the development of a more equitable system of taxation，the promulgation of

international norms guaranteeing basic human dignity.

要值得回忆的讨论包括诸如公民权的提高，为穷人提供法律服务，创造一种更公平的税收制度，保证基本人格尊严的国际法规的颁布等话题。

Lawyers thirst for justice，and slaking that thirst is an important element of compensation.

律师们渴望正义，满足这种渴望是一种重要的补偿元素。

Almost by definition，an elite law firm supports pro bono and public service efforts，thereby accomplishing the

intertwined goal of compensating its professionals and discharging its institutional obligations to society.

一家顶级的律师事务所支持公益服务几乎是理所当然，它由此完成既回报专业人士又履行为公共机构对于社会的责任这两个密不可分的目标。

Recognition（表彰）

Psychic compensation includes recognition，both formal and informal.

精神报酬包括表彰，正式和非正式的。

Rendering such compensation depends on management’s making just a little extra effort to acknowledge

achievement。

给予这样的报酬要依靠管理层多做点努力来认可员工的业绩。

Celebrate important accomplishments and mark important milestones.

庆祝重要的成就和标识最重要的具有里程碑意义的事件。

On occasion，elaborate dinners or parties are called for，but often casual events will serve the purpose.

偶尔需要举办一些精致的晚宴或晚会，但是一些休闲的活动往往就能达到目的。

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Institute formal award programs. Stage ceremonies of public recognition. Never neglect to mark even

relatively minor accomplishments with a congratulatory e-mail or phone call.

设立正确的奖励方案。筹办一些公开的表彰仪式。绝不要忽视以祝贺性邮件或电话的方式祝贺即便是相对渺小的成绩。

Institutional pride（团体自豪感）

Finally，a law firm can compensate its lawyers by giving them cause to be proud to be a part of the firm. Law

firms，as institutions，can outlive，outperform and out contribute any individual。

最后，律师事务所可以给予律师们身为其中一员而自豪的理由，藉此方式给律师报酬。律师事务所，作为公共机构，会比任何个人生存得长久，表现的出，贡献的更多。

We join firms in order to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

我们加入律师事务所是为了超越个体的自我，成为团体的一部分。

When firm management commits itself to building the firm as an integrated institution，with strong

institutional values，and when the firm thrives as an institution，belonging to the firm becomes its own

reward.

当事务所管理层致力于把事务所打造成一个有着强烈的团体价值观的完善机构的时候，当事务所作为一个机构蓬勃发展的时候，归属于这个事务所便成为了对自身的回报。

Of course，this requires management to foster a corporate identity that subsumes individual egos-the greater

good of the group must take precedence.

当然，这要求管理层培养一种包含个人自我的企业身份——集体的大利益必须高于一切。

And the firm as an institution must meet the highest standards in every area：excellent corporate citizenship，superb client service，selfless public service，outstanding reputation.

作为机构的律师事务所必须在每个领域符合最高标准：一流的企业形象，优质的客户服务，无私的公共服务，突出的声望。

In sum，lawyers-or，at least，the best lawyers-don’t work for bread alone.

总之，律师们——或者，至少，最优秀的律师们——不是只为面包工作。

And law firms-or，at least，elite law firms-cannot hope to effectively recruit or retain top legal talent without

an attractive package of psychic compensation，which means that law firm managers must attend to the same.

律师事务所——或者，至少，最精英的律师事务所——如果不能提供富有吸引力的精神回报，不可能指望有效地招募到或挽留住顶级的法律人才，这意味着律师事务所的经理们必须两者兼顾。

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Unit2 A cuisine crisis

What could be more French than an outdoor market on a sunny Sunday morning?

还有什么能比周日造成明媚阳光下的露天市场更具法国味呢?

The air is filled with vital scents from the herbs and fruits and vegetables piled high in the greengrocers’

creative geometrics.

各种药草、水果和蔬菜在杂货店里高高地垒成形状各异的小山，浓郁的芳香弥漫在空气之中。

A whiff of the Atlantic blows off the oysters on the fishmongers’ bed of ice.

鱼贩冰排上的牡蛎散发着大西洋的味道。

Wild game-hare，venison，boar-hangs from the butchers’ racks，sausages and cheeses are laid out to savor and

smell.

肉铺的架子上挂着各种野味：兔肉、鹿肉、野猪肉，应有尽有。香肠和奶酪也摆出来供人品尝。

This，you think，is the very essence of France，

你一定认为这就是法国的精髓。

until you read those little signs that tell you the tomatoes（which are really pretty tasteless）come from

Moroccan hothouses，the grapes from South Africa，kiwis from Chile and the haricot from Kenya. You can’t

even be sure where that boar bit the dust.

但随之你会发现一些小小的标识，告诉你西红柿（实际上是淡而无味的）来自摩洛哥的暖房，葡萄产自南非，猕猴桃来自智利，青豆角培育于肯尼亚，你甚至说不准那野猪是在哪儿被宰的。

The congenital quaintness of the street market，in fact，draws directly on globalization.

街头市场的这种顺理成章的古怪现象实际上是全球化的直接产物。

What Emile Zola once called “the belly of Paris”，the rich，ripe，smelly center of the wholesale food business，long since moved out of downtown to a cargo hub near Orly airport.

曾经被埃米尔·左拉称作是“巴黎之腹”，利润丰厚，发展成熟并散发着浓郁气味的食品批发行业，早已搬出市中心，迁到了奥利机场附近的货运中心。

Quite literally，that is now where a lot of French cooking begins-and，increasingly，where the era of great

French cuisine as something truly unique and exclusive to France is slowly coming to an end.

事实上，现在许多法国菜发源于此，而正是这儿却日益见证着真正独具法国特的伟大的法式烹饪时代正走向消亡。

For generations，the French have prided themselves on their distinctiveness.

长久以来，法国人一直为他们的与众不同感到骄傲。

Nothing has stood for France’s sense of exceptionalism more famously than its cooking. Gallic talent ，taste

and techniques have been exported all over the world.

而能代表法国超凡特，最富盛名的就是要数他的烹饪艺术了。高卢人的才智、品味和技术已经传播到世界各地。

And therein lies part to the problem. From the Napa Valley to the Thames and Tokyo，non-French cooks have

cracked the codes of the best French cuisine.

然而，一些问题也随之产生。从纳帕谷到泰晤士河再到东京，非法裔的厨师们破解了最上乘的法式烹饪的秘笈。

Meanwhile，what was mediocre elsewhere-albeit cheap and popular-has been imported.

与此同时，其他地方一些尽管又便宜又流行但却不怎么上档次的烹制法也传入了法国。

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The result: Many tourists-as well as the French themselves-no longer see what’s so special about French

cooking.

结果就是，很多游客——甚至法国人自己——都已经看不出法国烹饪有任何的特别之处了。

The decline goes well beyond recent surveys that show growing complaints about mediocre quality and high

prices-no small concern in a country where tourisme gastronomique earned 18 billion euros in 2002，a quarter

of all tourist revenues.

最近的调查显示越来越多的人抱怨饭菜质量平平，价格昂贵，而法国烹饪的衰落还不止于此。

这在法国可不是一个小问题，要知道2002年美食旅游为法国创收180亿欧元，占到全部旅游收入的1/4.

More and more restaurateurs say that government tax and economic policies are limiting their profits，and

thereby hurting their capacity to invest and hire more staff.

越来越多的餐馆老板反映政府的税收和经济政策限制了他们的利润，也就影响了他们投资和雇佣更多人手的能力。

They have become ensnarled in the red tape for which France is infamous-not to mention edicts from Brussels

that affect everything from sales taxes to the bacteria in the Brie.

束缚他们手脚是令法国不那么光彩的繁琐拖拉的公事程序，更不要说那些来自欧盟的规定，从销售税到布里乳酪里含细菌的指标都在严格掌控之中。

Not coincidentally，it was the French who taught the world that water has many very different，very

marketable tastes.

绝非巧合的是，正是法国人教会全世界，水有多种迥异的口味，这些味道都可以卖个好价钱。

At the annual agricultural fair in Paris this spring，visitors not only enjoyed sipping wines，but olive oils-one a

little nutty，another quite fruity，some of them，one is tempted to say，just a little impudent.

今年春天在巴黎一年一度的农业展销会上，游客们不仅可以细饮美酒，还可以品尝橄榄油。

有的橄榄油稍带坚果的味道，有的水果味很重，还有一些，你会忍不住说，味道还真是有点冲。

Even table salt has its distinctions，with fleur de sel，the thin layer collected on the surface of salt basins in the

Bordeaux region，now much appreciated.

即使是餐桌上的食盐也有很多花样。一种名叫“盐之花”的盐现在很受欢迎，它是从波尔多地区盐场表层采来的薄层盐。

“France is one of those countries where people can leave the table full and still be talking about food,“ jokes

chef Yannick Alleno，35，who brought a new star to the restaurant of the hotel meurice this year. His favorite

specialty：sea bass sewn with golden threads.

35岁的厨师亚尼克·阿勒诺 开玩笑说：“在有些国家人们酒足饭饱离开餐桌后仍会接着谈论食物，法国就是其中之一。”亚尼克今年刚刚为莫里斯饭店的餐厅增加了一颗星。他的绝活是金线鲈鱼。

But the real paradox of French cooking-in French，at least-is that artistic success often spells business disaster.

Starred chefs often end up drowning in red ink as they try to maintain the high standards that made their

names.

然而法国烹饪真正令人啼笑皆非的是，至少在法国，烹饪艺术上的成功往往带来生意上的灾难。星级厨师们为了保持他们得以成名的高标准，一般都会入不敷出。

Consider the value-added taxes that were “harmonized” all over Europe during the 1990s.

让我们看看上个世纪90年代在整个欧洲被“统一”后的增值税。

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They benefit fast-food chains，since the tax on takeaway is only 5.5% percent，while they penalize sit-down

restaurants，whether humble bistros or haute cuisine，which pay 19.6% .

该税有利于快餐连锁店，因为对外卖的征税只有5.5%，而传统餐馆则遭殃了，不管是低谷的小酒馆还是高雅的餐厅都要交付19.6%的增值税。

When president Jacques Chirac ran for re-election in 2002，he promised to reduce the tax，but such is the

nature of the new Europe that all 25 countries will have to approve the measure for it to take effect-in 2006.

希拉克总统2002年竞选连任时曾保证要降低税率，但要使这一措施在2006年生效，必须得到欧盟所有25个成员国的同意。

The government is instituting other complicated tax breaks and stopgap measures in the meantime to try calm

the restive restaurateurs and in hope of creating employment.

政府现在正采取其他一些复杂的减税措施和权宜之计驶入安抚焦躁不安的餐馆老板，并希望借此创造更多的就业机会。

But (a starred chef) Daguin is deeply skeptical. “ If the French were under the same fiscal regime as the United

States，we’d be able to create twice as many jobs，”he says.

但是星级厨师达甘却对此深表怀疑，“要是法国人可以享受美国的财税制度，我们就能创造两倍的就业岗位了。”

Strict labor laws restricting hiring，firing and temp-work also figure in the equation.“Our business is a

succession of high-stress times and quiet times，”says Denis Meliet，a former rugby player and a passionate

restaurateur from Toulouse.

另外，严格限制雇工、裁员和招临时工的劳动法也拖了后腿。“我们的生意忙一阵闲一阵的。”来自图卢兹的德尼·梅列说道。梅尼曾经是橄榄球运动员，现在则一门心思扑在他的饭馆上。

When it comes to employment，”the problem in France is that we have no flexibility whatsoever. When we ‘re

busy it would be good if，like in England，we could hire a couple of extra employees to help out.” But the law

makes that difficult.

当谈到就业问题时，他说：“法国的问题在于根本没有灵活性。如果在活多的时候能雇一些帮手来救急，就像在英国那样，那就好了。”但是法国的法律很难允许这样做。

Even when government regulations appear specially formulated to support the culture of cuisine，they often ”

go astray ”. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy，for instance，is supposed to benefit small farmers，keep

them on the land-and thus，you’d think，nurture the terroir that gives French cooking its soul，and France

much of its national identity.

即便是一些看似专为扶持烹饪文化的政府规定，实施起来也往往事与愿违。例如，欧盟的共同农业政策本该着眼于小农场主的利益，鼓励他们坚守阵地，从而悉心培育赋予法国烹饪灵魂和激发法国人国家认同感的土地。

But activist Brigitte Allain of the Confederation Paysanne，a farmer herself，says the CAP，in fact，does just the

reverse-favors quantity over quality. ”In this system,” she says, “farmers are merely providers of staples whose

sole requirement（in order to receive generous EU subsidies）is to deliver the goods according to the rules.”

但是，法国农民联合会的活动家布丽吉特·阿兰认为，实际上，共同农业政策适得其反，因为它看重的是数量而非质量。布丽吉特本人就是就是农民。她认为，“在这样的体制下，农民只不过是粮食的供应者，因为，（为了能得到欧盟慷慨的补贴）他们唯一要做的只是按照规定提交产品。”而那些规定对于质量和口味没有要求。

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”If our cuisine has prestige，”says Allain,” it’s because we have chefs who are interested in good products. And

we have good products because we still have a type of agriculture that we call peasant agriculture alongside

the factory farms. Notice I say ‘still’，because this agriculture may not last long. “

“如果我们的烹饪能享誉全球，那是因为我们的厨师青睐优等货。我们有优等货，因为除了‘工厂农庄’，我们仍然有一种我们称之为‘小农农业’的农业形式。但注意我说的‘仍然’，因为这种农业可能维持不了多久了。”

As France’s great chefs worry about staying in the avant-garde，with their gold threads and miraculous

meringues，many small farmers and restaurateurs seem to be fighting a rearguard action just to survive.

当法国的大厨们在担心能否凭借金钱和蛋白夹心的烹饪手艺来保住法国菜在世界烹饪中的领先地位时，许多小农场主和餐馆老板正在为生计而殊死拼搏。

The problems afflicting French cuisine are emblematic of those that plague the economy as a whole.

造成法式烹饪衰落的原因同样也是造成法国经济整体不振的原因。

Like French cuisine，the French economy still holds the occasional surprise：last week the government

announced that economic growth for 2004 should be higher than expected.

如同法式烹饪，法国经济仍不时有惊人表现：上周法国政府宣布2004年经济增长将超出预期。

But the basic problem of bureaucracy，taxes and social reluctance to change remain a burden for everyone.

然而官僚主义、税收以及不思变革的社会心理等问题是所有人都甩不掉的包袱。

“ At all levels-political，social，cultural or biological-cooking is at the forefront of the great choices that we have

to make as a society，”says Raymond Blanc，born in the Jura region of France and chef of the two-star hotel

restaurant Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

雷蒙·勃朗出生于法国汝拉地区，现为四季庄园两星级餐厅厨师。他认为：“无论在什么层次——政治，社会，文化或者生物——烹饪都是我们作为法国人这个社会整体必然做出的首选。”

Blanc believe France is still ahead of the rest of the world in the richness of its cuisine，but for how long？”It’s

as if France stopped caring about its regions and what gives them diversity，”he says.

勃朗相信，就烹饪技术的丰富性而言，法国仍处于世界领先地位，但还能维持多久呢？他感慨道：“法国好像已经不再注重不同地区的差别和他们各自的特了。”

France’s problem isn’t the lack of creativity，but rather a political environment that stymies initiative. If you’re

choked by bureaucracy and taxes，as so much of France is，” there’s not much you can do.” He adds，“I can

open a business in England in five days. In France it would take three months.”

法国的问题并不缺乏创造性，而是它那种会扼杀主观能动性的政治环境。如果你被官僚层和税收制度压得透不过气来，而这样的情况法国到处都是，“你是没有什么办法的。”勃朗补充道，“在英国五天之内我的公司就可开张，但在法国这得需要三个月。”

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Unit3 Europeans just want to have fun

Walking across Boulevard in paris last week，on the night before Bastille Day，I bumped into an old

friend-an American who has lived in the city for 25 years-who told me he was taking up the tango. When I

asked him why，he suggested I take a stroll along the Left Bank of the Seine，opposite Ile ，and so of

course I did.

法国国庆前夕，我在穿过巴黎的圣米歇尔大街时很偶然地碰到了一位老友——一位已经在巴黎呆了25个年头的美国人。他告诉我说自己迷上了跳探戈舞。困惑之余，我就按照他建议的那样沿圣路易斯岛对面的塞纳河左岸溜达了一下，一探究竟。

It was one big party. A drop-dead gorgeous crowd was tangoing away in a makeshift，open-air amphitheatre.

那是一个场面盛大的舞会。在一块临时搭建的露天圆形剧场上，一大衣着华丽的人正跳着探戈舞。

Nearby，a multiethnic group was doing merengue. Hundred of others were tucking into picnics by the river as

a full moon rose in a cloudless sky.

不远处，不同族裔的人跳着梅伦格舞。一轮满月爬上了朗朗的夜空，另外有数百人在河边尽情享受着野餐。

Much later that night，after a perfect fish soup in the Place des Vosges，I walked into the narrow passages of

the Marais district and stumbled upon an impromptu block party.

在孚日广场喝了鲜美的鱼汤后，夜已深。我来到了玛黑区狭窄的巷子，不经意间看到了一个即兴街区派对。

Someone had set up a sound system on the sidewalk，and the street was packed with people-straight and gay，young and old，black and white-dancing salsa.

有人在人行道上架起了音响设备，街道上挤满了人——异性恋者、同性恋者、老老少少、各族。大家跳着萨尔萨舞。

Europe is enjoying itself. OK，in late July，it always does. The weekend I was in paris，an estimated 500000 kids

descended on Berlin for the annual Love Parade.

欧洲人过的真自在。是的，七月下旬，一贯如此。我在巴黎的这个周末，估计有50万年轻人一下子涌到了柏林，参加一年一度的“爱情大游行”。

Meanwhile，tens of thousands of families started their trek from the damp north of the Continent to their

vacation homes in the warm south.

与此同时，成千上万的家庭从潮湿的欧洲北部，经长途旅行前往位于温暖南部的度假屋。

But even when the sun isn’t shining，Europeans seem to be throwing themselves into fun and festivity with

unprecedented zeal.

但即便不是阳光明媚的天气，欧洲人仍然能够以极大的热情投入到娱乐和欢庆当中。

Each weekend，central London is one great bacchanal. Cities that for reasons of politics or religion were once

gloomily repressive-Madrid，say，or Dublin-now rock to the small hours.

周末的伦敦市中心简直就是一个饮酒派对。昔日受宗教政治桎梏，一度沉闷，压抑的城市，如马德里和都柏林，而今也要狂欢至凌晨两三点钟。

In Prague the foreign visitors who get talked about are not the earnest young Americans who flocked there in

the early 1990s，but British partygoers who have flown in for the cheap beer and pretty girls.

在布拉格，人们谈论的外来游客不再是90年代初接踵而至的那些一本正经的美国年轻人，而是那些冲着廉价啤酒和漂亮妞儿慕名而至的英国派对客。

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This place that British historian Mark Mazower once called the true drak continent-and from whose curdled

soul the horrors of fascism sprang-has become Europa Ludens，a community at play.

这个曾经被英国史学家马克·马佐沃称作“不折不扣的黑暗大陆”——从它那腐蚀的灵魂中曾进出过法西斯的恐怖——如今却俨然变成了一个狂欢的欧洲，一个尽情享乐的社会。

Funny. This is how the US was supposed to be. In a famous series of essays collected in his 1976 book，The

Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism，Daniel Bell noted how the decline of the Protestant small-town ethic had

unhinged American capitalism from its moral foundation in the intrinsic value of work.

想来可笑。这本应该是美国的模样嘛！1976年出版的丹尼尔·贝尔的《资本主义的文化矛盾》一书收录了他一系列著名的随笔散文。在书中，他指出了新教狭隘价值观的衰败如何使美国资本主义脱离了它在劳动内在价值中的道德基础。

By the 1960s，Bell argued，“the cultural justification of capitalism【had】become hedonism，the idea of

pleasure as a way of life.” This magazine agreed.

早在20世纪70年代，贝尔就指出：“文化层面上的对资本主义的拨乱反正就是享乐主义，让娱乐成为一种生活方式。”《时代》杂志同意这一观点。

In a 1969 cover story entitled“California：A State of Excitement，“ Time reported that，as most American saw

it，“the good，godless，gregarious pursuit of pleasure is what California is all about…‘I have seen the future，’says the newly returned visitor to California，‘and it plays.’”

1969年，《时代》周刊一篇题为《加利福尼亚：激情之州》的封面专题报道说，正如大多数美国人所认为的那样，“美好的，非宗教性的，集体的快乐追求成为加州一切活动的缩影…‘我已经看到了未来，’一位刚从加州回来的游客说，‘玩是行得通的。’”

But the American future didn’t turn out as we expected. While European cut the hours they spend at the

office or factory-in France it is illegal to work more than 35 hours a week-and lengthened their vacations，Americans were concluding that you could be happy only if you work hard and play hard.

然而，美国的未来并未变成我们期望的样子。欧洲人现在缩短了他们在办公室或工厂里的工作时间并延长了假期（在法国，一周的工作时间超过35小时则被视为违法），但是，美国人却得出结论：只有拼命工作、拼命玩儿，才能感到快乐。

So they began to stay at their jobs longer than ever and then，in jam-packed weekends at places like the

Hamptons on Long Island，invented the uniquely American concept of scheduled joy，filling a day off with one

appointment after another，as if were no different from one at the office.

于是，他们的工作时间变得越来越长了。之后，他们到像长岛的汉普顿区那样的地方度过一个人满为患的周末，并创造了独一无二的美国式的休闲理念——排在时间表上的快乐假期，即用一个接一个的约会把休息日塞得满满的，好像与办公室的预约没有什么区别似的。

American conservatives，meanwhile，came to believe that Europeans’ desire to devote themselves to the

pleasures of life and-the shame of it !-six weeks annual vacation was evidence of a lack of seriousness and

would，in any event，end in economic tears.

与此同时，美国的保守派认为，欧洲人对享乐生活的渴求（真可耻！）和每年六周的假期证明了欧洲人缺乏严肃认真的态度。他们还认为，欧洲人迟早会为经济（衰退）而悔恨流泪的。

Why do Europeans and Americans differ so much in their attitude toward work and leisure？

为什么欧洲人和美国人对待工作和休闲的态度截然不同呢？

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I can think of tworeasons. First，the crowded confines of western Europe and the expansive space of North

American have led to varied consumer preference.

我认为原因有两点。首先，西欧拥挤的环境与北美宽广的空间造就了不同的消费取向。

Broadly speaking，Americans value stuff-SUVs，7000-sq.--more than they value time，while for

Europeans it’s the opposite.

总体来说，与珍惜时间的程度相比，美国人更看重物质，比如：运动型多功能车、7000平方英尺的房子，而欧洲人正好相反。

Second，as Bell predicted，America’s sense of itself as a religious nation has revived. At least in the puritanical

version of Christianity that has always appealed to Americans，religion comes packaged with the stern

message that hard work is good for the soul. Modern Europe has avoided so melancholy a lesson.

其次，正如贝尔所预言的那样，美国作为一个宗教国家的自我意识开始复苏了。最起码，基督教的清教徒教旨教义对美国人一直都有感召力，宗教中宣传这样一条眼里的训条：勤奋工作有益于灵魂。然而，现代欧洲却一直规避这条令人抑郁的训条。

Whatever the explanation，the idea of a work-life balance is a staple of European discourse，studied in think

tanks，mulled over by policymakers.

不管如何解释，工作与生活的平衡总是欧洲人的主要谈资，同时也是智囊团和政策制定者研究和考虑的主题，

In the US，the term，when it’s used at all，is said with the sort of sneer reserved for those who eat quiche.

在美国，人们使用这个说法时总是带着几分针对那些只蛋奶火腿馅饼的有闲人士才会表现出来的冷嘲热讽的态度。

But it might still catch on. When Bill Keller was named executive editor of the new York times last week，he

encouraged the staff to do “a little more savoring” of life，spending time with their families or viewing art.

但是，它可能还是会流行起来。时任《纽约时报》执行主编的比尔·凯勒曾鼓励员工们要给生活增加一些彩，多陪陪家人或去欣赏艺术。

Even better，they could take up the tango.

他们要是能学跳探戈就更好了。

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2015.12.

Unit4 The Last Chapter

“I love you，Bob.”

“我爱你，鲍勃。”

“I love you，too，Nancy.”

“我也爱你，南希。”

It was And I was hearing my parents’ voices through the thin wall separating my bedroom from theirs.

Their loving reassurance were sweet，touching-and surprising.

凌晨两点，我听到与我一墙之隔的卧室中传出了父母的对话，他们对爱的表达令人愉悦，令人感动，却也着实令人吃惊。

My parents married on September 14，1940，after a brief courtship. She was nearing 30 and knew it was time

to start a family.我的父母在一个简短的恋爱期后，于1940年9月14日结婚。那时我母亲已经0岁了，她觉得是到了该建立家庭的时候了。

The handsome，well-educated man who came by the office where she worked looked like a good bet. He was

captivated by her figure，her blue eyes. The romance didn’t last long.

当那个英俊、受过良好教育的男子经过她的办公室时，她觉得他应该是一个不错的人选，而那个男子也被她的美妙身材和那双蓝的眼睛所吸引。但这段罗曼史并没有持续太长时间。

Seeds of differene sprouted almost immediately. She liked to travel；he hated the thought. He loved golf；she

did not. He was a Republican；she an ardent Democrat.

很快，他们的分歧就显现出来。她酷爱旅行，他不喜欢外出；他喜欢打高尔夫，她却不感兴趣；他是共和党派，而她支持民主党。

They fought at the bridge table，at the dinner table，over the perceived failings of their respective in-laws. To

make matters worse，they owned a business together，and the everyday frustrations of life at the office came

to roost at home.

他们总是不停地吵架，从桥牌桌上吵到饭桌上，为钱吵，互相埋怨对方的亲戚。更糟糕的是，他们共同经营了一份生意，每天工作上的不如意同样会被带回家吵。

There was a hope that they would change once they retired，and the furious winds did calm somewhat，but

what remained steeled itself into bright，hard bitterness.原来以为退休后的情况会有所改变，不错，怒火是稍稍平息了一些，但余怒却结成了强烈的怨恨。

“I always thought we’d…”my mother would begin，before launching into a precise listing of my father’s faults.

The litany was recited so often，I can reel it off by heart today. As he listened，my father would mutter angry

threats and curses. It was a miserable duet.

“我总是觉得我要是…”我母亲总爱以这句话开头，然后细数父亲的种种不是。她反复絮叨，以至于我至今还能背诵出来。而父亲则气咻咻地一边威胁，一边嘟囔着难听的骂人话。那可真是最糟糕的二重奏。

It wasn’t the happiest marriage，but as their 60th anniversary approached，my sister and I decided to throw a

party. Sixty years was a long time，after all；why not try to make the best of things? We’d provide the cake，the ballrooms，the toasts，and they’d abide by one rule：no fighting.

虽然父母的婚姻并不是最幸福的，但我们妹俩还是决定在他们结婚60年时举办一个派对。毕竟，60年够长了，为什么不好好改善一下关系呢？我们为二老准备了蛋糕、气球、祝酒辞只求他们信守一个承诺：不再吵架。

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The truce was honored. We had a wonderful day. In hindsight it was an important celebration，

停战协定兑现了，60周年纪念日那天，大家都过的非常愉快。现在看来，那次派对真的很重要，因为从那之后，事情开始慢慢地起了变化。

because soon after，things began to change for my parents. As debilitating dementia settled in，their marriage

was about the only thing they wouldn’t lose.

老年痴呆症的各种症状在二老身上逐渐显现出来，到后来，除了对方，他们什么都不记得了。

It began when their memories started to fade. Added to the frequent house-wide hunts for glasses and car

Keys were the groceries left behind on the counter，notices of bills left unpaid. Soon my parents couldn’t

remember names of friends，then of their grandchildren. Finally they didn’t remember that they had

grandchildren.

最开始是他们的记忆力开始衰退，不仅经常满屋子眼镜和汽车钥匙，把买好的东西落在收银台，而且总是忘记支付账单。很快他们连朋友和自己的孙子的名字也忘了，最后甚至不记得自己有孙子。

There crises would have at one time set them at each other’s throats，but now they acted as a team，helping

each other with searches，consoling each other with “Everyone does that” or ”It’s nothing ；you’re just tired.”

They found new roles-bolstering each other against the fear of loss.

在过去，这种危机造就让他们斗得你死我活了。可现在，他们却像团队一样紧密合作，帮对方东西，互相安慰：“人人都健忘。”“没关系，你可能就是有点累了。”他们开始扮演新的角，帮助对方战胜失忆的恐惧。

Financial control was the next thing to go. For all of their marriage，my parents stubbornly kept separate

ccounts.财务管理又是另一件麻烦事，因为他们一直顽固地分管各自的财产。

Sharing being unthinkable，they’d devised financial arrangements so elaborate they could trigger war at any

time. He，for example，was to pay for everything outside the house；she for whatever went on inside. The

who-pays dilemma was so complex for one trip that they finally gave up traveling entirely.

不可思议的是，他们共同想出了很详细的财务安排。这些安排精细到随时可能触发他俩之间的战争。比如，父亲支付家里以外事务的账目，而母亲支付家里一切开支。谁来付费这一难题太复杂了，以致于他们一次旅行都难以实现，最终不得不放弃。

I took over the books. Now no one knew how things got paid；no one saw how the columns that spelled their

fortunes compared. Next I hired a housekeeper. Cooking and cleaning，chores my mother had long complained

about，were suddenly gone.

我接过了这项重任。从现在起他们谁也不知道账单怎么支付的，谁也看不到他们的名下分别还有多少财产。然后我雇了个管家给他们煮饭，帮他们打扫屋子。原来母亲一直抱怨家务杂事太繁琐累人，现在也不抱怨了。

Finally-on doctors’ orders-we cleared the house of alcohol，the fuel that turned more than one quarrel into a

raging fire.

最后，在医生的嘱咐下，我们将屋里所有的酒都清理掉了，因为那曾经多次将争吵升级到火冒三丈地地步。

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You could say my parents’ lives had been whittled away，that they could no longer engage in the business of

living. But at the same time，something that had been buried deep was coming up and taking shape. I saw it

when my father came home after a brief hospital stay.

可以说，我父母的生命慢慢衰弱了，他们甚至连生活都不能自理。但同时，一些在他们心底埋藏很深的东西都逐渐显露了出来，那还要从父亲短暂住院后出院说起。

We’d tried to explain my father’s absence to my mother，but because of her memory， she could not keep it in

her head why he had disappeared. She asked again and again where he was，and again and again we told her.

And each day her anxiety grew.

我们试图向母亲解释父亲为什么没在她身边，但她记性不好，总是忘记为什么他不见了，于是一遍遍地问我们父亲在哪儿，我们就一遍遍地回答她。她的牵挂和担忧与日俱增。

When I finally brought him home，we opened the front door to see my mother sitting on the sofa. As he

stepped in to the room，she rose with a cry. I stayed back as he slowly walked toward her and she toward him.

As they approached each other on legs rickety with age，her hands fluttered over his face. “Oh，there you

are，”she said. ”There you are.”

当我终于把父亲从医院接回家时，打开前门，看见母亲正坐在沙发上，当父亲走进屋里时，母亲哭着站了起来。我站在原地，看着他们慢慢走向对方，当他俩摇摇晃晃走到一起时，母亲颤巍巍的手滑过父亲的脸庞，喃喃地说：“你在这儿啊，你在这儿啊……”

I don’t doubt that if my mother and father magically regained their oldvigor，they’d be back fighting. But I now

see that something came of all those years of shared days-days of sitting at the same table，waking to the

same sun，working and raising children together. Even the very fury they lavished on each other was a brick in

this unseen creation，a structure that reveals itself increasingly as the world around them falls apart.

我想，如果父母恢复了往日的活力，他们肯定会继续打架的。但现在，正是因为这么多年风风雨雨一起走过；同坐在一张餐桌旁，共同迎接朝霞，一起工作，养育子女……他们之间，除了矛盾，还有别的东西。即使是两人之间互相发泄的怒火，到头来反倒成了促成他们关系稳固的砖墙。在周围世界土崩瓦解的时候，他们稳固的关系却日益显露出来。

In the early morning I once again the voices through the wall. ”Where are we ? ”my father asked. ”I don’t

know，“my mother replied softly.

第二天清晨，隔着墙壁，我又听到他们的声音父亲问道：“我们在哪儿？”母亲轻声回答说：“我不知道。”

How lucky they are，I thought，to have each other.

我在想，他们都么幸运，因为他们拥有彼此。

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Unit 9 Is Affordable Housing Becoming An Oxymoron?

It seems that houses are now so expensive that no one can afford to own one.

现在，房子似乎贵得没人买得起。

Of course，economists know better. In the short run，the supply of housing in most areas is more or less fixed.

当然，经济学家更了解情况。从短期来看，大部分地区的住房供应或多或少是固定的。

Hence the price of housing is determined primarily by the demand side of the market-by how much people

are willing to pay for housing.

因此，房价主要取决于市场的需求力——即人们在住房方面愿意花多少钱。

In the last few years，we have seen historically low mortgage rates，which feed directly into housing demand.

In several locations，particularly on the East and West Coasts，where land-use restrictions make it difficult to

increase the supply of housing，prices have been pushed up to unprecedented levels.

在过去的几年里，抵押贷款利率降至历史最低点，而这直接刺激了住房需求。在一些地区，特别是在东南海岸，这些地区受到用地限制影响，住房供应量很难再增加，房价已被推高到前所未有的水平。

Whether these low mortgage rates have created a housing price bubble has been a matter of debate.

抵押贷款利率是否造成了房价泡沫，这一直是个有争议的问题。

There is no universally accepted definition of a “bubble” in economics，but the idea is that a significant part of

the demand for housing is based on an expectation of future appreciation. The more prices go up，the more

people want to buy so as to reap the gains from expected future price appreciation，pushing prices up even

more.

经济学对“泡沫”一词，并没有一个公认的定义，但有种观点称，住房需求的一个重要部分基于人们对未来房价增值的预期，房价越是走高，越有人愿意购买，以便从他们预期会增值的未来房价中获取收益，这进一步推动了房价上涨。

It is quite possible that there is some “froth“ in the market，to use Alan Greenspan’s term，particularly on the

coasts.

引用艾伦·格林斯潘的话来说，市场中很可能存在一些“泡沫”，特别是在沿海地区。

But even when the froth subsides，housing will remain quite expensive in those areas. Can anything be done.

但即使泡沫退去，那些地区的住房仍然相当昂贵。有什么解决办法吗？

Some municipalities have started subsidized housing programs that provide various types of assistance to new

homeowners.

一些城市已经启动住房补贴计划，为新的业主提供各种类型的资助。

Unfortunately，such programs just increase demand even more，pushing prices up.

不幸的是，这些计划恰恰进一步扩大需求，推动房价上涨。

In fact，in an ideal market with a constant supply of housing，a 10% subsidy offered to a broad segment of the

market would simply push housing prices up by 10%. The out-of-pocket，after-subsidy price would end up right

where it started.

事实上，在一个持续供应住房的理想市场，对大部分买卖提供10%的补贴，只会使房价上涨10%。这种先自付、后补贴的房价政策，其结果又回到了起点。

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2015.12.

If you really wanted to push housing prices down，you would increase taxes on housing. Analogous to the

imposition of a subsidy，a 10% increase in property taxes would push housing prices down by 10%.

如果你真想让房价下降，你会增收房产税，与强行补贴类似，房产税增加10%会使房价下跌10%。

Of course，the total cost of the housing（purchase price plus the present value of the taxes）would be

unchanged，so this really does not solve the housing cost problem either.

当然，住房的总费用（购买价加上税的当前价值）将保持不变，所以这也没有真正解决住房费用问题。

In California，tax policy has played a significant role in housing price dynamics.

在加利福尼亚州，税收政策在房价动态变化方面已发挥出重大作用。

Proposition 13，passed in 1978，limited property tax increases to 2% a year for owner-occupied homes. But

when the house is sold，the property tax assessment is based on the sale price. This means the new owner

typically faces a significantly higher property tax bill than the old owner.

1978年通过的13号议案将业主自住房的房产税增幅限制在每年2%。但是当住房出售时，房产税是根据售价评估的，这意味着新业主通常面临着显著高于旧业主的房产税。

Proposition 13 has been called a “tax on moving”. Indeed it is，since a homeowner in California is much better

off remodeling than moving.

13号议案被称为“搬家税”。事实上确实如此，因为对于加州房主来说，改造原有住房要比搬离原住房实惠得多。

It is a lot cheaper to add a bedroom to a three-bedroom house than to buy a similar four-bedroom house

because of the tax treatment of renovations as compared with new sales.

对比装修和买卖的税收费用，在原有三间卧室的房子里再添一间卧室要比买一套类似的四间卧室的房子便宜得多。

For the same reason，empty-nesters have strong tax incentives to keep their house，regardless of whether they

need all that space.

出于同样的原因，“空巢一族”的最佳做法是卖掉住房搬往俄勒冈州。这似乎已经成为相当普遍的做法，至少在某些特定体中已经相当普遍。

The result is that fewer houses come on the market than would otherwise be the case，pushing prices up even

more for the limited stock of housing that is available.

其结果是，进入市场的住房比其他情况下更少，房价上涨更快，因为可购买的住房存量有限。

Of course，if you intend to move out of state，these considerations are not so relevant. In California，the best

thing for empty-nesters to do is to sell their nests and migrate to Oregon.

当然，如果你打算搬离这个州，就不必考虑这些因素了。在加州，“空巢一族”的最佳做法是卖掉住房搬往俄勒冈州。

This seems to have become a pretty common practice，at least in some demographic groups.

这似乎已经成为相当普遍的做法，至少在某些特定体中已经相当普遍。

So what is the answer to high home prices？ Basic economics tells us that for housing prices to fall we have to

see a reduction in or an increase in the supply of housing. There is some hope on the demand side.

那么，高房价的问题怎么解决？基础经济学告诉我们，要想房价下降，我们必须减少住房需求或增加住房供给。在需求方面还有希望做到。

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2015.12.

As interest rates rise，we should see some moderation in demand；indeed，it appears that housing prices are

flattening out in some areas.

随着利率的上升，我们会看到需求减缓；的确，一些地区的房价走势开始趋于平缓。

Ultimately，the only reliable way to make housing more affordable is to increase the supply. But a new house

requires land zoned for housing.

最后，要使人们买得起房，唯一可靠的方法是增加住房供应量。但是，建一座新房子需要一块被划为住房用地的土地。

We cannot make more land，so we either have to use the land we have more intensively or we have to build

houses farther from jobs.

我们不能制造更多的土地，因此，我们必须加强现有土地的使用，或者在离工作更远的地方建房子。

Both of these options are unattractive. In urban California，traffic has become increasingly congested，putting

a limit on how far away from their jobs people can live.

这两个选项都不吸引人，在加州的城市里，交通日益拥挤，这就限制了人们的住所与工作场所间的距离。

Land use restrictions are tight in many desirable residential areas，and political forces are aligned against

relaxing these restrictions.

在许多理想的住宅区，土地的使用受到严格的限制，而且各种政治力量一致反对放宽这些限制。

Imagine someone who scrimps and saves to buy his dream house in an area zoned for one-acre lots.

想象一下，有人精打细算省下钱，在一块一英亩的地皮上买下了理想的住房。

The last thing he wants to see is his neighbor’s lot being subdivided to build two or three new houses. Not

only would it affect his quality of life，but，even more important，it would also affect the value of his house.

他最不想看到他邻居的地被二次分割，建成两三座新房子。这样做不仅会影响到他的生活质量，更重要的是，也将影响他住房的价值。

Zoning laws and land use restrictions are unpopular among those seeking less-costly housing since they push

up the price.

因为土地划分法和土地使用限制推高了房价，所以寻求便宜住房的人不喜欢。

But by the same token，once a searcher becomes an owner，he often becomes a fervent supporter of such

restrictions. As Pogo put it，“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

但出于同样的原因，一旦这位寻房者成为了房主，他往往变成这些限制政策的狂热支持者。正如谱戈所说的那样：“我们所遇到的敌人就是我们自己”。

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2015.12.