王关富商务英语阅读第二版第五章详解japangoesfromdanamictodishearted(2)分析.ppt

Japan Goes From Dynamic to Disheartened来源：《纽约时报》A8版作者：Martin Fackler发表时间：2010年10月16日 Like many members of Japan’s middle class, Masato Y. enjoyed a level of affluence two decades ago that was the envy of the world. Masato, a small-business owner, bought a $500,000 condominium, vacationed in Hawaii and drove a late-model Mercedes. affluence N.富裕 富足 their affluence is more apparent than real. 虚有其表 condominium n.独立产权的）公寓 像许多日本中产阶级一样，小企业主正人华20年前享有的富裕生活为世人所艳羡。他购买了一套价值50万美元的公寓，时常去夏威夷度假，其座驾是一辆老款的奔驰轿车。 But his living standards slowly crumbled along with Japan’s overall economy. First, he was forced to reduce trips abroad and then eliminate them. Then he traded the Mercedes for a cheaper domestic model. Last year, he sold his condo — for a third of what he paid for it, and far less than what he still owed on the mortgage he took out 17 years ago. crumble v 崩溃瓦解 The traditional order began to crumble soon after.传统秩序很快就开始崩溃 eliminate：V消除 去除 eliminate financial crises trade A for B mortgage n. 抵押 抵押贷款 但慢慢地，他的生活水平随同日本的整体经济状况一道，逐渐走向崩溃。刚开始时，他被迫减少了去国外旅行的次数，后来就彻底不去了。随后，他卖掉了奔驰，换了一款更便宜的国产轿车。去年，他卖掉了他的公寓——售价仅为17年前购房款的三分之一，还不及依然背负的按揭贷款。 “Japan used to be so flashy and upbeat, but now everyone must live in a dark and subdued way,” said Masato, 49, who asked that his full name not be used because he still cannot repay the $110,000 that he owes on the mortgage. flashy adj 光鲜的奢华的 flashy sports car outlook remains upbeat前景依然看好 subdued adj 闷闷不乐的；抑郁的 repay v. 偿还 “过去的日本，光鲜且乐观，而现如今的人们不得不静悄悄地压低生活质量，紧缩度日，”49岁的正人华说。在接受采访时，他要求记者不要披露其全名，因为他依然无力偿付拖欠的11万美元按揭贷款。 Few nations in recent history have seen such a striking reversal of economic fortune as Japan. The original Asian success story, Japan rode one of the great speculative stock and property bubbles of all time in the 1980s to become the first Asian country to challenge the long dominance of the West. striking reversal 惊人的扭转 speculative stock 投机性股票 A stock with a high degree of risk. A speculative stock may offer the possibility