2018考研英语双语阅读：英国七大社会阶层

　　2018考研复习进行时，考研英语阅读真题中的文章，多摘自英美主流外刊，有时候你认识所有单词、搞清全部语法还不够，还需要了解英美文化，掌握他们的表达方式，这就是阅读的潜台词。下面新东方在线考研整理《2018考研英语双语阅读精选》，速来学习吧！

　　英国七大社会阶层：你是“入不敷出族”还是“高薪族”?

　　Revealed: The seven modern-day wealth tribes - including The Tech Set and The Charlies - so which one do YOU fall into?

　　最新调查显示，英国的经济阶层可以划分为七类。没有固定工作合同的“零时工”、在创意产业工作却买不起房的“创作族”、职位在十年前几乎都不存在的“技术族”……虽然有些人过得不错，但也有些人近些年来薪水没怎么增长。一起来看看你最接近哪一类吧。

　　The 1980s had the 'yuppies' and the 'nouveau riche', the 1990s had the 'Mondeo man' and the 2000s had the 'chav'.

　　上世纪80年代有“雅皮士”和“暴发户”，90年代有“蒙迪欧先生”，本世纪又出现了“沙韦”。

　　译者注： “蒙迪欧先生”(Mondeo man)泛指上世纪90年代英国中产阶级，有自己的房产、有自己经营的事业，还有一辆福特蒙迪欧。

　　“沙韦”(chav)是本世纪前十年间，英国媒体用来指代反社会的青年群体文化的名称，带有贬义。《牛津英语词典》对该词的解释是：举止粗俗无礼，身着正品或仿冒名牌衣服的社会底层年轻人。

　　Each decade has its cultural stereotypes and according to new research, there are now seven modern day wealth tribes in Britain.

　　每个年代都有其文化定势，而根据最新调查显示，针对现今英国的经济阶层，有七种文化定势。

　　Channel 5 has commissioned The Economist to conduct research into Britain’s wealth divide and they created categories of people that describe 21st-century Britain - so which one do you fall into?

　　第五频道请《经济学人》对英国财富划分进行调查，他们认为，21世纪的英国人可以分为不同种类，那么你属于哪类?

　　The seven categories show that while some people are doing very well for themselves, others have not seen much pay growth in recent years.

　　这七种类型的划分表明，虽然有些人过得不错，但也有些人近些年来薪水没怎么增长。

　　Silver Spenders:

　　银发消费族：

　　People over the age of 65 who are thriving. Researchers estimate that there are 1.5m silver spenders, with an average household disposable income of £45,000, well above the overall British average of £34,000.

　　指65岁以上依然活跃的人群。研究人员估计，英国大约有150万银发消费族，他们的平均家庭可支配收入达4.5万英镑(约合39.6万元人民币)，远高于英国总体平均3.4万英镑的水平。

　　This category encapsulates how old people in Britain have in recent years done much better than young ones. One of the biggest trends in recent years is that pensioners’ incomes have grown much faster than people of working age.

　　这一群体的出现说明，近年来英国老年人的经济状况比年轻人要好得多。近年来最明显的趋势之一，就是老年人退休收入增长速度远超在职人群。

　　The result is that pensioners have generally seen their living standards rise much faster than working-age households.

　　这就导致退休老年人生活水平的提升速度普遍高于在职人群家庭。

　　The Zero Heroes:

　　零时工族：

　　Those stuck on zero-hours contracts, making them feel insecure at work. Researchers estimate that there are nearly 1m zero heroes, with an average hourly salary of £8.50, well below the British average of £12.

　　这类人群没有固定工作合同，因而工作时没有安全感。调查人员估计，英国大约有一百万人打零工，平均时薪为8.5英镑，远低于英国平均12英镑的水平。

　　In the minds of many Britons, the plight of zero-hour contractors is encapsulated by the idea that someone who has worked hard at school still cannot find a secure job.

　　对许多英国人来说，零时工族的不幸是因为这些人都抱着一个想法：即使有些人刻苦学习，也未必能找到安稳的工作。

　　Zero heroes might work in industries like the creative arts; it is common for advertising firms, for instance, to offer zero-hours contracts. They are also common in the hospitality sector in particular, which needs to respond rapidly to fluctuations in demand.

　　打零工的人可能在创意艺术这类的行业工作。比如，广告公司普遍都会开出临时合同。接待部门的临时工尤其普遍，因为这种部门客户需求波动大。

　　The zero heroes do not earn very much. Based on estimates from the Office for National Statistics, it is estimated that the average zero-hours worker earns roughly 30 percent less than the average employee.

　　打零工收入并不高。据英国国家统计局估算，临时工平均收入比在职雇员平均收入约低30%。

　　The Static Civvies:

　　公务族：

　　Public-sector workers who have experienced a six-year-long pay squeeze. Britain probably has 1m static civvies, and though they earn more than the national average they are feeling the pinch: they haven't had a big pay rise in quite a while.

　　过去六年收入一直缩水的公共部门职工。英国约有100万名收入止步不前的公务员。尽管他们收入高于英国平均水平，但仍感到手头紧张：他们已经很久没有大幅加薪了。

　　Particularly in more rural parts of the country, the richest people in the local area are often those who work for the public sector. In parts of the Scottish Highlands, for instance, almost the only people on six-figure salaries are public-sector workers. They are pillars of the community, spending plenty of money locally. But in recent months, these people have not fared particularly well.

　　特别是在英国的乡村地区，当地最富有的人通常都在公共部门工作。例如，在苏格兰高地的部分地区，几乎所有收入达6位数的人都是公共部门的员工。他们是社会的支柱，很大程度上促进了当地消费。但近几个月，这些人的收入并不乐观。

　　The Hawdies (Heads-Above-Water):

　　入不敷出族：

　　Families who have not seen a pay rise in a while and have little or no savings. There are probably around 2.5m heads-above-water families, comprising 4m people. Their average income is around £27,000 per year.

　　不仅收入不见起色，存款也很少甚至根本没有的家庭。英国大约有250万这样的家庭，共400万人口。他们每年平均收入约2.7万英镑。

　　This category describes families who are just-about-managing and struggling to get by. They are not Britain’s very poorest people; instead, they get most of their income from working in a job (not from means-tested benefits).

　　入不敷出族艰难维持生活。他们并非英国最贫穷的人，他们大多数收入来源于工作。(而非补助金)

　　However, they hardly feel secure. If some unexpected charge came up - say, if their boiler stopped working or the car broke down - they might struggle to pay for it.

　　然而，他们几乎没什么安全感，如果有什么突如其来的变故，比如，热水器或车坏了的话，他们可能很难有钱来维修。

　　The Stucks (Struggling Urban Creatives):

　　创作族：

　　Educated folk, working in the London-based creative industries, who are getting by but who will never afford a house. Researchers estimate that there are 350,000 of these people. They have a low average salary but they do interesting work.

　　接受过教育，并在伦敦创意产业工作，勉强度日但永远也买不起房子。调查估计，这类人大约有35万。他们工资平均水平低，但他们的工作很有趣。

　　They are well educated, and they are in jobs which are fairly prestigious - they work for publishers, or in the media, or in public relations. But they do not feel particularly prosperous. Most importantly for them, they struggle to get on the housing ladder.

　　他们都接受过良好的教育，工作领域都很有声望——出版业、媒体、公共关系。然而他们并不觉得自己收入很高。最重要的是，他们要拼命努力才能买得起房子。

　　The Tech Set:

　　技术族：

　　These are the people working in Britain's thriving tech sector. Their jobs barely existed a decade ago; these are the vloggers, the programmers and the technicians behind companies such as Snapchat and Facebook. Experts estimate that their average salary is £44,000 per year, well above the British average of £23,000.

　　这类人在英国蒸蒸日上的科技部门工作。他们的职位在十年前几乎都不存在。他们可能是视频博主、程序员、Snapchat和Facebook这类公司的技术人员。据专家估计，他们每年平均收入为4.4万英镑，远高于英国平均2.3万的水平。

　　The Charlies (Corporate, High earning Asset Rich and Luxury living):

　　高薪族：

　　Highly educated people, largely living in and around London, who work in finance or allied trades and are raking it in.

　　他们接受过高等教育，大多生活在伦敦或伦敦周边，在金融或贸易领域工作，收入不菲。

　　There are around 500,000 top dogs and their average salary is high. They also have high savings.

　　这类高端人士大约有50万人，他们不仅平均收入非常高，而且有大量存款。

　　They work in a high-pressured environment, whereas nonetheless they have considerable autonomy and are allowed to be creative.

　　他们虽然在高压环境下工作，但有很强的自主性，并且有发挥创造力的空间。

　　英文来源：每日邮报

　　翻译：中国日报网英语点津

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