上海解封之后,人们到底报复性消费了吗?还是开始报复性存钱呢?
6月17日,《早报网》发布新闻称:上海解封后不见「报复性消费」,拖累经济复苏步伐,引发人们热议。![]()
《经济学人》6月11日也发布了一篇关于中国消费者的文章,讨论了这一问题,我从文中选了2段语言点比较丰富的段落,带大家一起精读。同学们先独立阅读原文,读不懂的地方不要紧,后面会逐句讲解。
想要阅读完整原文的同学,请关注下方服务号,点击菜单栏「我的课程」👉「外刊原文」即可阅读。
There is no universally accepted definition of revenge consumption. It can refer to what people buy (expensive indulgences), why they buy it (to alleviate feelings of boredom, depression or helplessness), or how much of it they buy. In principle, spending must not only get back to normal but exceed it. Indeed, to exact full revenge, the excess spending after lockdown should offset the shortfall during it.In Shanghai’s case, that is a tall order. Retail sales fell by almost half in April, compared with a year earlier. From that low point, sales would have to grow by almost 100% merely to get back to normal. For sales to exceed normal by as much as they fell short of it during the lockdown, they would have to grow by roughly 200% from trough to peak.①There is no universally accepted definition of revenge consumption.
- ✍🏻语篇分析:①句先指出报复性消费没有一个公认的定义。
universe 是「宇宙」的意思,universal 为形容词,指「普遍的,全体的」。
看到universally想到《傲慢与偏见》里最著名的那句开篇语:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
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revenge [rɪˈvendʒ] 指「报复,复仇」,既可作名词,也可作动词。
举个美剧《无耻之徒》里的例子:
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plot 作名词,指「情节;阴谋」。作动词,则有「密谋,暗中策划」的意思。plot revenge 即「暗中策划复仇」。
「报复性存钱」我们也可以依葫芦画瓢,译作:revenge saving。
vengeance [ˈven.dʒəns] 也可表示「复仇,报复」。这篇文章末尾就用到了这个词:China has vanquished a serious Omicron wave. But the virus could still come back with a vengeance.中国已经战胜了一波严重的奥密克戎疫情。但是病毒仍有可能报复性回归。
②It can refer to what people buy (expensive indulgences), why they buy it (to alleviate feelings of boredom, depression or helplessness), or how much of it they buy. 它可以指人们购买了什么(比如一些昂贵的放纵)、为什么购买(为了排解无聊、抑郁或无助情绪),也可以指人们购买了多少。
✍🏻 语篇分析:②句承接①句,以自问自答的方式,提供3个报复性消费可能的定义:
1)what people buy (expensive indulgences)
2)why they buy it (to alleviate feelings of boredom, depression or helplessness)
3)how much of it they buy
第一、二个定义里,作者都用括号给出了例子,没有对第三个作出说明,后文便围绕第三个定义展开论述。
电影《爱玛》里也出现过这个词:
You are sick of prosperity and indulgence.- 这个词来源于动词indulge:
indulge in sth / indulge oneself (with sth) 指「沉迷于...,沉溺于」(If you indulge in something or if you indulge yourself, you allow yourself to have or do something that you know you will enjoy),一般用来表示主动放纵自己。比如:They went into town to indulge in some serious shopping. 他们进城去大肆购物。
I indulged myself with a long hot bath. 我尽情享受了一次⻓时间的热水浴。
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indulge sb 则指「纵容某人,娇惯某人」,后面一般都是跟孩子。比如:He did not agree with indulging children.他反对纵容娇惯孩子。
indulgent [ɪnˈdʌldʒənt]为形容词,指「放纵的,纵容的」。比如:indulgent parents 纵容子女的父母
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- alleviate [əˈliː.vieɪt] 指「缓和,缓解」(If you alleviate pain, suffering, or an unpleasant condition, you make it less intense or severe),后面直接跟不好的感觉或问题。
- 文中alleviate feelings of boredom, depression or helplessness 便指「缓解无聊、抑郁、无助的情绪」。
- alleviate starvation and extreme poverty 缓解饥荒和极端贫困alleviate traffic jams 缓解交通拥堵alleviate job discrimination 缓解就业歧视
- mitigate [ˈmɪtɪgeɪt] 也可表示「减轻,缓和」(To mitigate something means to make it less unpleasant, serious, or painful)。举两个常⻅的例子:mitigate the regional disparities 缩小地域差异mitigate global warming 减轻全球变暖
- allay 也可表示「减轻」,仅与负面情绪搭配,比如:to allay fears / concern / suspicion 减轻恐惧,减轻忧虑,减少怀疑。《纽约时报》一篇关于TikTok的文章也用到这个词:All these worries would be allayed if TikTok turns out to be a passing fad. 假如TikTok到头来只是⻛行一时,所有这些忧虑自然会消除。
- 同学们注意,在记单词时不能仅仅局限于单词本身,还需要记一些常见的搭配,写作时才能准确、灵活地运用。
- boredom [ˈbɔːdə] 为不可数名词,指「厌倦,厌烦;无聊」(the feeling you have when you are bored, or the quality of being boring)。
- bore 为动词,指「使...厌烦」。bore sb to death 便指「把某人烦死」。
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③In principle, spending must not only get back to normal but exceed it. 原则上,人们的消费不仅要恢复正常,还要超过平时的水平。相反,表示「实际上」的短语有:in practice, in reality 等。[写作推荐]
In practice women receive much lower wages than their male colleagues. 实际上女性所得的工资比她们的男同事低得多。
In reality, violent crimes are still extremely rare. 实际上,暴力犯罪还是极罕见的。
④Indeed, to exact full revenge, the excess spending after lockdown should offset the shortfall during it.事实上,要完全实现报复性消费,人们在解封后的超额支出应当要能弥补封城期间的亏空。- ✍🏻 语篇分析:④句承接③句,进一步指出:要完全实现报复性消费,解封后的超额支出(the excess spending after lockdown)要抵消封城期间的缺口(the shortfall during it),用一个公式来说,就是:the excess spending after lockdown > the shortfall during it
- excess 也可作名词,指「超过;过度;过分」(more than is necessary, reasonable or acceptable)。the excess of sth 指「过量的…」。比如:Are you suffering from an excess of stress in your life? 你生活中的压力太大吗?
- excessive [ɪkˈsesɪv] 为形容词,也指「过度的;过多的」(much more than is reasonable or necessary)。比如:They complained about the excessive noise coming from the upstairs flat. 他们抱怨楼上发出的噪音太大。
- offset [ˈɒfset] 作动词,指「抵消;弥补;补偿」(to use one cost, payment or situation in order to cancel or reduce the effect of another)。
- shortfall 为可数名词,表示「缺口,差额,亏空」(the difference between the amount you have and the amount you need or expect)。the shortfall during it 指「封城期间的亏空」。再举个例子:The drought caused serious shortfalls in the food supply. 干旱造成了严重的食品供应短缺。
There is no universally accepted definition of revenge consumption. It can refer to what people buy (expensive indulgences), why they buy it (to alleviate feelings of boredom, depression or helplessness), or how much of it they buy. In principle, spending must not only get back to normal but exceed it. Indeed, to exact full revenge, the excess spending after lockdown should offset the shortfall during it.报复性消费并没有一个公认的定义。它可以指人们购买了什么(比如一些昂贵的放纵)、为什么购买(为了排解无聊、抑郁或无助的情绪),也可以指人们购买了多少。原则上,人们支出不仅要恢复正常,还要远超平时的消费水平。事实上,要完全实现报复性消费,人们在解封后的超额支出应当要能弥补封城期间的亏空。①In Shanghai’s case, that is a tall order.- ✍🏻 语篇分析:①句将目光聚焦于上海,指出对上海来说,这很难。that指代上文④句说到的:the excess spending after lockdown should offset the shortfall during it,实现句间衔接。
in sb's case 指「就某人的情况来看」或「对某人来说」。这里in Shanghai’s case 指「对上海来说」,「就上海的情况来看」。
a tall order 是个固定搭配,指「很难做到的要求」。
sth is a tall order. 便指「做某事非常困难」。
我在《经济学人》里曾多次遇到这个词:
比如《经济学人》一篇展望无人汽车前景的文章中有这样一句话:Building a vehicle that can handle a busy street, with cyclists, pedestrians, roadworks and emergency vehicles, is a tall order. 繁忙的街道上行人来来往往,自行车、急救车匆匆穿行,随处可见道路施工,而要制造出一种可以在如此复杂路况上来去自如的无人驾驶汽车无异于痴人说梦。
再比如《经济学人》一篇关于苹果的文章有这样一句话:
Even so, finding another product with the scope of the smartphone is a tall order.即便如此,要找到另一个影响力能媲美智能手机的产品也是极为困难的。
我们来造个句子:按时完成论文是件很难的事。
Getting the essay done on time will be a tall order.
no mean feat 也是一个固定搭配,feat指「成就,壮举」,mean作形容词,有「平庸,一般」的意思。
而no mean feat 便指「不是一般的成就」(something that is difficult to do)。我们可以用句型It is no mean feat to do sth.或 sth is no mean feat来形容做某事的难度很高。
这个句式提炼自《经济学人》一篇关于《都挺好》的文章,原文第一句话是这样写的:
It is no mean feat to be one of the top-ten trending hashtags on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, for 20 consecutive days and counting. “All is Well”, a show on provincial television which premiered on March 1st, has done just that. 连续20天登上微博十大热搜还能势头不减绝非易事。而3月1日在地方卫视首播的电视剧《都挺好》就做到了。
我们来造个句:能考上北大真不容易。
Getting into Peking University is no mean feat.
It is no mean feat to get into Peking University.
以后谈到做某事很难,就可以用sth is a tall order. sth is a no mean feat 来表达,替换掉小学生词汇difficult,hard。
②Retail sales fell by almost half in April, compared with a year earlier. - ✍🏻 语篇分析:②③④句用数据解释①句的原因。②句指出四月份上海销售额同比下降幅度有多大:将近一半。
fall by +数字 指「下降了...」。注意介词by表示变化的幅度,指「增减了多少」,而to则表示「增减到多少」。举个例子:
Last month's unemployment figure fell by 10 000. 上月失业人数下降了10 000。
Last month's unemployment figure fell to 10 000. 上月失业人数下降到了10 000。
- compared with sth 指「与...相比」。我们在采用对比手法时经常用到这个句型,大家记下来。⚠️要特别注意一点:compared with 的用法很灵活,后面不仅可以跟「物」、还可以跟「数字」和「时间」。我们来看几个例子:Compared with its rivals—Facebook, Instagram and TikTok—Twitter is a minnow. 同 Facebook、Instagram 和 TikTok 等一众竞争对手相比,Twitter 并不起眼。(经济学人)Compared with two decades ago, 45% of regular native species are ranging more widely while 32% are living in smaller areas; the rest have stayed put. 与20年前相比,45%的常规本地物种活动范围扩大,32%生活范围缩小;剩余的物种保持稳定。(经济学人)A noteworthy 73 percent favored Barack Obama for U.S. president compared with just 16 percent that preferred John McCain. 值得注意的是,73%的受访者支持奥巴马成为美国总统,而只有16%的受访者喜欢麦凯恩。
③From that low point, sales would have to grow by almost 100% merely to get back to normal. 销售额必须要从这一低点增长近100%,才能仅仅恢复到正常水平。- ✍🏻 语篇分析:③句指出从低点恢复正常水平的难度:要增长100%。
- high point 是其反义词,指「最好的时刻」(the most interesting, enjoyable or best part of sth)。
- merely [ˈmɪəli] 和only一样,指「仅仅;只不过」。
④For sales to exceed normal by as much as they fell short of it during the lockdown, they would have to grow by roughly 200% from trough to peak.销售额的增长若要超出正常水平以追平封城期间的损失,那么从低谷到高峰就必须增长大约200%。
- ✍🏻 语篇分析:④句指出弥补封城期间损失的难度:增长约200%。
- 💡语法点睛:句首的for sales to exceed normal by ... 是一个不定式短语的复合结构:for sb / sth to do sth,作句子的目的状语。其中sales是exceed normal by... 这个动作的逻辑主语。
- 这句话来自电影《和summer的500天》。句中for us to be friends 也是一个不定式的复合结构,作like的宾语。
再举一个电影《婚姻故事》里的例子:
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我们在豆瓣8.2,推荐一部超治愈的电影还讲过:
fall short of sth,表示「由于外部原因,没有做到那个地步」。stop short of sth ,则表示「自己主动停住不做到那个地步」。比如《经济学人》一篇关于法国如何应对德尔塔病毒的文章这样写道:French officials said people entering from Britain would have to quarantine, but stopped short of an outright ban.法国官员声称,从英国入境的人士必须接受隔离,但并未彻底禁止其入境。
trough [trɒf] 为可数名词,原本指动物的「食槽,饮水槽」,如下图:
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而食槽是U形的,有最低点,所以这个词现在也可引申指「低谷,萧条期」(a short period of low activity, low prices etc),与上文的the low point 相呼应。
peak [piːk] 作名词,本来是「山峰」的意思,喻指「高峰,顶点」。如下图:
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from trough to peak 即「从低谷回到高峰」。from peak to trough 则指「从高峰降到低谷」。
比如:The stock market fell by 48% from peak to trough. 股票市场下跌了48%,从高峰降到了低谷。
- peaks and troughs (of sth) 则指「起起落落」。举个例子:There have been peaks and troughs in the long-term trend of unemployment. 长期以来失业率一直时起时伏。
- ups and downs 也可表达「起起落落,兴衰沉浮」。
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- sweets and bitters 指「甘苦」。
In Shanghai’s case, that is a tall order. Retail sales fell by almost half in April, compared with a year earlier. From that low point, sales would have to grow by almost 100% merely to get back to normal. For sales to exceed normal by as much as they fell short of it during the lockdown, they would have to grow by roughly 200% from trough to peak.而对于上海,这是一个艰巨的任务。与去年同期相比,上海四月的销售额下降了将近一半。销售额必须要从这一低点增长近100%,才能仅仅恢复到正常水平。销售额的增长若要超出正常水平以追平封城期间的损失,那么从低谷到高峰就必须增长大约200%。
- 奢侈的放纵:expensive indulgences
- 从低谷到高峰:from trough to peak
- 缓解..情绪:alleviate feelings of sth
- 实际上:in practice, in reality
- 实施报复:exact revenge (on sb)
- 形容某事很难:sth is a tall order / no mean feat. It is no mean feat to do sth.
- 与...相比:compared with +物 / 数字 / 时间
- 不定式的复合结构:for sb to do sth
你会选择报复性消费,还是报复性存钱呢?这周的外刊精读专栏就到这里!同学们记得点击在看👀,点赞👍,不错过下一次更新![]()