最新TE导读 | 这期《经济学人》有哪些看点?有哪些好玩的标题?

【《经济学人》微导读 No.21】

从 2019 年 7 月 6 日这期的《经济学人》中挑了几篇文章,兼顾内容和语言,希望你读得开心,学得充实。

Eric 的第 21 期《经济学人》导读

1. The World If

这期《经济学人》关于预测未来的这篇短文写得很好,观点、语言俱佳,一共 5 段,适合做精读、临摹和背诵,尤其是第 3 段对科幻小说的评价和结尾段。比如:

Its contemplation of the future is often a commentary on the present: many sci-fi authors take current concerns, from robots to climate chaos to gender politics, to the logical extremes and consider their implications.

这篇也是今年《经济学人》特别栏目 The World If 的引子,这个栏目脑洞大开,可能是《经济学人》对记者和编辑综合知识、调研能力、想象力和写作能力要求最高的一个版块。

Reading about possible futures can shift your perception of the present and help you understand what might be around the corner. It can also be fun.

大家可以选几篇 The World If 板块的内容看,体会一下预测未来的乐趣:

2. 低头族

Smombie apocalypse 的 Smombie 是个 portmanteau(复合词):Smartphone 和 Zombie 的合体,可以理解为“低头族”。这篇很有意思,为了让低头族安全过马路,韩国除了安装提醒牌外,还设置了激光指示灯(floor-level traffic lights)。第一段就很好玩:

In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they are literally married to their phones. In many of Seoul’s most Instagrammable coffee shops, couples on dates spend vastly more time looking at their screens than at each other. The ramifications go beyond the potentially dire consequences for romance.

注意这里的 Instagrammable,一般字典上是不会有这个词,但是读者可以秒懂:值得发 Ins 的,相当于我们说的“网红店”“值得发朋友圈的”,我们也可以学《经济学人》造词:Wechatable。

另外注意这里的一个用词细节:表示刷朋友圈/微博看视频,作者这里用的是 peruse,这个词相比 read 更文雅,表示“仔细阅读”,在这里有幽默的意味。

3. 垃圾分类

垃圾分类这样的热点新闻,《经济学人》自然不能错过。文章比较简单,顺便学点能力可用到的表达就好,比如:

垃圾分类:trash-sorting;divide their waste into four categories and toss it into specific public bins.

值得注意的表达:city-management officers, a quasi-police force; spare little effort(不遗余力);the use of the credit system is overkill(过分)

4. 实体书店

Book value 是个双关梗。book 除了是“书”,还可以表示“账薄”,英文有常见表达 cook the books 表示“做假账”。这里的 Book value 本来是“账面价值”,不过文章主题是“书的价值”,正文第一句话也是这个意思:A book is so much more than mere ink and paper.

文章讨论了法国书店面临的冲击。既然买书在网上更便宜,我们为什么还需要书店呢?我很喜欢最后这段引用:

“On the internet you find what you look for,” Mr Riester told his literary allies. “But only in a bookshop do you find what you were not looking for.”

5. 讣告

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