2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：收入鸿沟

2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：收入鸿沟

　　考博英语阅读大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《经济学人》杂志文章作为题源，新东方在线考博频道为考博生们将其中的文章进行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英语阅读水平，读懂长难句。

　　The Great Divide of China

　　A new paper charts China’s widening income gaps

　　中国的不平等

　　中国的巨大鸿沟

　　一篇新论文绘制出中国扩大的收入差距

　　JUST as China’s GDP has converged towards America’s, levels of inequality have also been catching up. That is one of the conclusions of research* from five authors, including Thomas Piketty, a French economist famous for his work on wealth and inequality. Their new paper compares the evolution of inequality in China, America and France over four decades.

　　中国的GDP已趋近于美国的水平，其不平等程度也在迎头赶上——在一项由五位作者开展的研究*中，这是结论之一。他们当中的一位是以研究财富与不平等而著称的法国经济学家托马斯·皮凯蒂(Thomas Piketty)。在这篇新论文中，作者们比较了四十多年来不平等在中国、美国以及法国的演变。

　　converge：【1】If roads or lines converge, they meet or join at a particular place. 【2】If people or vehicles converge on a place, they move towards it from different directions. 【3】If different ideas or societies converge, they stop being different and become similar to each other. - 柯林斯高阶英英

　　Inequality has soared since China opened the door to private enterprise and growth took off. In 1978 the highest-earning tenth in China received just over a quarter of overall income before tax, significantly below the proportion in America and France at the time. By 2015, however, those top 10% of Chinese earners were paid two-fifths of total income—above the share in France, but still just below that in America (47%). Wealth, too, is concentrated in fewer hands: the richest 10% own nearly 70% of private wealth in China, up from 40% in 1995 (and not far below the American level of nearly 80%).

　　自从中国准许设立私营企业、经济得以迅速发展以来，不平等的状况也愈演愈烈。1978年，中国收入前10%人群的所得仅占总税前收入的25%多一点，远低于当时美国和法国的这一比例。但到了2015年，中国收入前10%的人包揽了总收入的40%。这比法国的比例高，但仍略低于美国47%的水平。财富也日益集中在少数人手中：如今中国最富有的10%的人坐拥近70%的私人财富，相较美国将近80%的水平低不了多少。而这一占比在1995年还只是40%。

　　Rises at the top mean that the share of pre-tax income going to the poorest half of the Chinese population has shrunk dramatically and is now, at 15%, not much higher than the American equivalent. In both countries, the shares have fallen by nearly half since 1978 (see chart). Compare that with France, where the share is higher and has changed little, buoyed perhaps by labour-market policies, such as a more generous minimum wage.

　　顶层的人飞黄腾达，令最穷的半数中国人在税前总收入中的占比急剧缩水，如今降至15%，并没比美国的数字高出许多。自1978年以来，这一占比在中美两国差不多都降低了一半(见图表)。而在法国，这个比例则要高些，而且几乎没有变化。这可能要归功于该国的劳动市场政策(例如更慷慨的最低工资标准)的提振作用。

　　buoy：【1】If someone in a difficult situation is buoyed by something, it makes them feel more cheerful and optimistic. 【2】A buoy is a floating object that is used to show ships and boats where they can go and to warn them of danger.- 柯林斯高阶英英

　　Greater disparity between rich and poor in the West may well have driven anti-establishment sentiment. It might seem no less palatable in China, where the government still calls itself communist. But there the pain has been soothed by rapid growth: it has lifted all boats. Income for the poorer half of the population fell by 1% in America between 1978 and 2015. In China it quintupled. Another comfort is that measures suggest that in recent years income inequality has no longer been rising. This form of catch-up growth, at least, is on hold.

　　西方国家贫富差异的扩大很有可能助长了反建制的情绪。在政府仍自称共产主义者的中国，这种情绪似乎同样有滋生的可能。不过，中国的快速增长缓解了不平等之痛：经济飞速发展令所有人都受益。1978年到2015年间，美国相对贫穷的那一半人口收入下降了1%，而在中国，对应人群的收入提高至原有水平的五倍。另一个可令人聊以慰藉的情况是，调查显示，近年来该国收入不均并没有进一步加剧。起码在这一领域的追赶上，中国已暂时止步。

　　soothe：【1】If you soothe someone who is angry or upset, you make them feel calmer. 【2】Something that soothes a part of your body where there is pain or discomfort makes the pain or discomfort less severe. - 柯林斯高阶英英建制派(MTI百科)：建制派简单理解，指拥护当权派的家伙们。比较典型的可以看香港特区，支持香港特区政府现有建制及中国共产党政府的政党和人士，也就是中国大陆方面称的香港爱国人士，就是建制派。当然，泛民主派人士、《苹果日报》、《信报》等传媒则贬称这部分人群为：保皇党、土共、左派。

　　* “Global inequality dynamics: new findings from WID.world”, by Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 23119.

　　注：“全球不平等动态：世界财富与收入数据库的新发现”。作者：法昆多·阿尔瓦雷多(Facundo Alvaredo)、卢卡斯·尚塞尔(Lucas Chancel)、托马斯·皮凯蒂(Thomas Piketty)、伊曼纽尔·赛斯(Emmanuel Saez)和加布里埃尔·祖克曼(Gabriel Zucman)。美国国家经济研究局工作论文，编号23119。

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