本文主要是介绍经济学人早操练(1),希望对大家解决编程问题提供一定的参考价值,需要的开发者们随着小编来一起学习吧!
hello大家好,周末给大家奉献一波“大”的。2024年4月13日经济学人Leader板块的文章,题目是《The next housing disaster》,当时看到这个题目的时候也是吓得一蹦啊,啥?我们的房子还有灾难,球球啊,不要折磨水深火热的人民了ok?仔细分析了这篇文章,说的是由于温室效应引起各种自然灾难会影响到房子的价值。
由于这篇文章是在另一个角度分析气候变化对房子的影响,所以立意很新颖,来来来,小板凳坐好,咱们发车~
视频讲解放在这里了,欢迎你来看:
篇章讲解(1)_哔哩哔哩_bilibili
第一段
THINK ABOUT the places vulnerable to climate change,andyou might picture rice paddies in Bangladesh or low-lying islands in the Pacific.But another,more surprising answer ought to be your own house.About a tenth of the world's residential property by value is under threat from global warming—including many houses that are nowhere near the coast.From tornadoes battering midwestern American suburbs to tennis-ball-size hailstones smashing the roofs of Italian villas,the severe weather brought about by greenhouse-gas emissions is shaking the foundations of the world's most important asset class.
让你考虑一些对气候变化非常敏感的地区,你的头脑当中的画面也许是孟加拉国的大片稻田或者太平洋里的低矮岛屿。但是另一个让你感到更加吃惊的答案可能是你自己的房屋。全球居民房产价值,有大约10%正在收到全球气候变暖的影响,包括许多根本不临近海岸线的房屋。从受到龙卷风灾害的美国中西部郊区,到被网球大小冰雹砸屋顶的意大利豪宅,由温室气体释放引起的极端天气正在撼动着全球最重要的资产类别。
单词学习:
paddies
音标:英 ['pædɪz] 美 ['pædɪz]
解释:n. 稻(paddy的名词复数);谷;<俚>爱尔兰人;警察
例句:
Mines have been scattered in rice paddies and jungles, maiming and killing civilians.
地雷遍布稻田与林间,导致很多平民被炸死或炸成重伤。
Bangladesh
孟加拉国
音标:英 [ˌbæŋɡləˈdeʃ] 美 [ˌbæŋɡləˈdeʃ]
解释:n. 孟加拉国
例句:
Bangladesh is a country located in South Asia, bordered by India and the Bay of Bengal.
孟加拉国是位于南亚的一个国家,与印度和孟加拉湾接壤
paddies
音标:英 ['pædɪz] 美 ['pædɪz]
解释:n. 稻(paddy的名词复数);谷;<俚>爱尔兰人;警察
例句:
Mines have been scattered in rice paddies and jungles, maiming and killing civilians.
地雷遍布稻田与林间,导致很多平民被炸死或炸成重伤。
Bangladesh
孟加拉国
音标:英 [ˌbæŋɡləˈdeʃ] 美 [ˌbæŋɡləˈdeʃ]
解释:n. 孟加拉国
例句:
Bangladesh is a country located in South Asia, bordered by India and the Bay of Bengal.
孟加拉国是位于南亚的一个国家,与印度和孟加拉湾接壤。
搭配学习:
sth. be under threat from sth.
The local wildlife is under threat from climate change.
当地的野生动物正受到气候变化的威胁。
nowhere near the coast
The farms that are nowhere near the coast rely on rainwater for irrigation.
那些远离海岸的农场依赖雨水灌溉。
shake the foundations of
The recent political scandal has shaken the foundations of the government.
最近的政治丑闻已经动摇了政府的基础。
第二段:
The potential costs stem from policies designed to reduce the emissions of houses as well as from climate-related damage.They are enormous.By one estimate,climate change and the fight against it could wipe out 9%of the value of the world's housing by 2050—which amounts to $25trn,not much less than America's annual GDp.It is a huge bill hanging over people's lives and the global financial system.And it looks destined to trigger an almighty fight over who should pay up.
潜在的代价来自两点:一是减少房屋排放的政策,一是气候变化带来的破坏。这种代价是巨大的。一项评估表明,到了2050年,气候变化和应对气候变化会消耗掉全球房屋价值的9%,总价值高达25万亿美元,差不多是美国GDP总额。这是一张悬在人民生活和全球经济体纸上的巨额账单,谁来支付账单看起来注定会引起巨大的争端。
单词学习:
wipe out
彻底消灭;完全摧毁;消除”
英 /ˌwaɪp ˈaʊt/
美 /ˌwaɪp ˈaʊt/
the fire wiped out the entire village, leaving nothing but ruins.
那场大火将整个村庄彻底摧毁,只留下一片废墟。
hanging over
用来描述某物或某种情感、状态等悬挂在另一个物体或情境的上方,给人一种沉重或压抑的感觉。例如,可以说
There was a shadow hanging over me
有一个阴影笼罩着我。
destined
英 [ˈdestɪnd]
美 [ˈdestɪnd]
adj. 注定的,一定的;去往(某地)的
v. 注定(destine的过去式和过去分词)
每个人的命运都是注定的,我们无法改变过去,但可以选择未来。
Each person's fate is destined. We cannot change the past, but we can choose the future.
这座城市似乎注定的要成为国际文化交流的中心,吸引了越来越多的外国游客和学者。
This city seems destined to become the center of international cultural exchange, attracting more and more foreign tourists and scholars.
almighty
音标:
英 [ɔːlˈmaɪti]
美 [ɔlˈmaɪti]
解释:
adj. 全能的;有无限权力的;非常的
adv. 非常
n. 全能的神
我们应该相信全能的上帝,他会指引我们走向光明。
We should believe in the almighty God, who will guide us towards the light.
搭配学习:
not much less than
The population of this city is not much less than that of New York.
这个城市的人口几乎和纽约一样多。
It looks destined...
It looks destined to be a historic event, attracting worldwide attention.
这件事似乎注定会成为一件历史性的事件,吸引全世界的关注。
当我们写作的时候说...事情必然要发生可以借鉴这个搭配。
第三段:
Homeowners are one candidate.But if you look at property markets today,they do not seem to be bearing the costs. House prices show little sign of adjusting to climate risk.In Miami,the subject of much worrying about rising sea levels, they have increased by four-fifths this decade, much more than the American average.Moreover,because the impact of climate change is still uncertain,many owners may not have known how much of a risk they were taking when they bought their homes.
业主可能是收费的候选项。但是如果你去看下今天房产市场,他们看起来不能承受这项开销。房价对于气候风险的调整迹象并不明显。在迈阿密,人们大多焦虑的主题就是海平面上升,近十年来海平面已经上升了4/5,高于美国的平均水平。另外,气候变化的影响仍尚未可知,许多业主在买房的时候,也不并不知道自己在承担着多大的风险。
sth. show little sign of
The economy shows little sign of improving in the near future.
经济在近期几乎没有显示出改善的迹象。
第四段:
Yet if taxpayers cough up instead,they will bail out well-heeled owners and blunt helpful incentives to adapt to the looming threat.Apportioning the costs will be hard for governments,not least because they know voters care so much about the value of their homes.The bill has three parts:paying for repairs,investing in protection and modifying houses to limit climate change.
如果纳税人被迫买单,他们就是在援助富裕的业主,并且还挫伤了对业主的激励措施,这些记录措施有助于适应即将来临的威胁。分配这些费用对政府来说非常的困难,尤其是他们深知选民是多么在乎自己房子的机制。这张账单由三个部分组成:房屋维修费用,保护性投资和应对气候变化的房屋修缮款。
单词学习:
cough up
音标:英 [kɔːf ʌp] 美 [kɔːf ʌp]
咳出:指咳嗽时从喉咙或肺部排出痰或其他物质。
付出,交出:指不情愿地或被迫地付出钱或物品。
After a long night of drinking, he had to cough up a lot of phlegm.
经过一夜的狂饮后,他不得不咳出很多痰。
The court ordered the defendant to cough up $100,000 in damages to the victim.
法庭命令被告向受害者支付10万美元的损害赔偿金。
bail out
英 [ˈbeɪl aʊt] 美 [ˈbel aʊt]
救援;援助:指为面临经济困难或危机的公司、机构或国家提供资金或其他形式的帮助,以使其摆脱困境。
跳伞;弃船:指飞机或船只遇到危险时,乘客或船员通过跳伞或弃船来逃生。
The government had to bail out the failing bank to prevent a financial crisis.
政府不得不援助那家濒临破产的银行,以防止发生金融危机。
The pilot had to bail out of the crashing plane to save his own life.
飞行员不得不从坠毁的飞机上跳伞逃生。
well-heeled
音标:英 [ˌwel ˈhiːld] 美 [ˌwel ˈhild]
解释:adj. 富裕的,有钱有势的
The well-heeled couple enjoyed a luxurious vacation in Europe.
这对富有的夫妇在欧洲度过了一个奢华的假期。
Apportioning
音标:[ə'pɔːʃ(ə)nɪŋ]
解释:v. 分配,分摊,分派
The government needs to apportion the budget fairly among the various departments.
政府需要公平地将预算分配给各个部门。
We must apportion the workload evenly among all the team members to ensure efficiency.
我们必须将工作负荷平均分配给所有团队成员,以确保效率。
搭配学习:
not least because
尤其是因为,至少是因为
He decided to quit his job, not least because he was offered a better position in another company.
他决定辞职,尤其是因为另一家公司给他提供了一个更好的职位。
The project failed, not least because of the lack of communication between the team members.
项目失败了,至少是因为团队成员之间缺乏沟通。
第五段
Insurers usually bear the costs of repairs after a storm destroys a roof or a fire guts a property.As the climate worsens and natural disasters become more frequent,home insurance is therefore getting more expensive.In places,it could become so dear as to cause house prices to fall;some experts warn of a “climate-insurance bubble”affecting a third of American homes.Governments must either tolerate the losses that imposes on homeowners or underwrite the risks themselves,as already happens in parts of wildfire-prone California and hurricane-prone Florida.The combined exposure of state-backed “insurers of last resort”in these two states has exploded from $160bn in 2017 to $633bn.Local politicians want to pass on the risk to the federal government,which in effect runs flood insurance today.
保险公司通常承担狂风吹坏屋顶或火灾种的房产损失。随着气候更加恶劣,自然灾害变得更加频繁,房屋保险因此变得更加昂贵。在一些地方,由于昂贵的房屋保险,房价因此下滑。一些专家警告称:“气候保险泡沫”影响着美国1/3的房屋。政府要么忍受业主蒙受经济损失,要么自行承担风险,就像野火频发的加利福尼亚州部分地区和飓风频发的佛罗里达州部分地区。从2017年到现在,这些“最后保险人”的风险敞口从1600亿美元增长到了6330亿美元。当地政府想将风险转移给联邦政府,实际上联邦政府在运营洪水保险业务。
单词学习:
underwrite
音标:英 [ˌʌndəˈraɪt] 美 [ˌʌndərˈraɪt]
解释:vt. 签名承认(担保);签名接受(保险);给…保险;认购;在…下面写 vi. 经营保险业
The insurance company underwrote the risk of the shipping company's cargo being damaged during transit.
保险公司承保了运输公司货物在运输过程中损坏的风险。
The bank agreed to underwrite the issue of new shares for the company.
银行同意为该公司的新股发行提供承销服务。
搭配学习:
combined exposure
在保险领域中,Combined exposure可能指的是由多个保险产品或多个被保险人共同构成的风险敞口总和。
xxx-prone
earthquake-prone 易于发生地震的
fraud-prone 易于发生诈骗的。
xxx-backed
government-backed 政府支持的。
The film is star-backed, featuring several well-known actors and actresses.
这部电影由多位知名演员主演,得到了明星们的支持。
第六段
Physical damage might be forestalled by investing in protection in properties themselves or in infrastructure.Keeping houses habitable may call for air conditioning.Few Indian homes have it,even though the country is suffering worsening heatwaves.In the Netherlands a system of dykes,ditches andpumps keeps the country dry;Tokyo has barriers to hold back floodwaters.Funding this investment is the second challenge. Should homeowners who had no idea they were at risk have to pay for,say,concrete underpinning for a subsiding house?Or is it right to protect them from such unexpected,and unevenly distributed,costs?Densely populated coastal cities,which are most in need of protection from floods,are often the crown jewels of their countries'economies and societies-just think of London,New York or Shanghai.
房屋的物理破坏可以通过投资保护房产本身或投资几件来提前预防。房子的舒适性也许需要空调。印度房屋基本没有空调,即使该国正在遭受严重的极端高温天气。在新西兰,堤坝,沟渠和水泵共同构成防洪系统,而日本有护栏阻挡洪峰。投资在此的资金是第二大挑战。应该是那些根本不知道自己身处风险之中的业主来支付费用吗?比如,加固下沉房屋的混凝土费用?或者应该保护业主免受这种既无法预料又分布不均的花费? 人口密集型沿海城市是最需要防洪的地区,通常这些地区都是本国经济和社会的核心,例如伦敦,纽约和上海,可见一斑。
单词学习:
forestalled
音标:英 [fɔː(r)ˈstɔːl] 美 [fɔrˈstɔl]
解释:v. 抢先;阻止;垄断;先下手
She forestalled their attempt to take over the company by purchasing a controlling share in advance.
她通过提前购买控股股份,抢先阻止了他们接管公司的企图。
The government forestalled a potential crisis by taking proactive measures to address public concerns.
政府通过采取主动措施回应公众关切,从而预先阻止了可能发生的危机。
habitable
音标:英 [ˈhæbɪtəbl] 美 [ˈhæbɪtəbəl]
解释:可居住的;适于居住的
Scientists have discovered a potentially habitable exoplanet in a nearby star system.
科学家在附近的一个恒星系统中发现了一颗可能适合居住的系外行星。
Netherlands
音标:英 ['neðələndz] 美 ['neðərləndz]
解释:n. 荷兰(欧洲西北部国家)
The Netherlands is famous for its windmills and tulip fields.
荷兰以其风车和郁金香花田而闻名。
dykes
音标:[daɪks]
n. 堤坝(dyke的复数形式);沟渠
They built a series of dykes to protect the village from flooding.
他们建造了一系列堤坝来保护村庄免受洪水侵袭。
hold back
v. 阻止;隐瞒;退缩;使踌躇
The police had to hold back the crowd to let the ambulance through.
警察不得不阻止人群,让救护车通过。
Holding back tears, she watched her child leave for college.
她强忍住泪水,看着孩子离家去上大学。
subsiding
英 [səbˈsaɪdɪŋ] 美 [səbˈsaɪdɪŋ]
v. 下沉;减弱;平息;消退;回落;减退(subside的现在分词)
The ground is subsiding because of underground mining activities.
由于地下采矿活动,地面正在下沉。
The noise of the crowd gradually subsided as the concert came to an end.
随着音乐会结束,人群的嘈杂声逐渐平息下来。
第七段
The last question is how to pay for domestic modifications that prevent further climate change.Houses account for18%of global energy-related emissions.Many are likely to need heat pumps,which work best with underfloor heating or bigger radiators,and thick insulation.Unfortunately,retrofitting homes is expensive.Asking homeowners to pay up can lead to a backlash;last year Germany's ruling coalition tried to ban gas boilers,only to change course when voters objected to the costs.Italy followed an alternative approach,by offering extra- ordinarily generous,and badly designed,handouts to households who renovate.It has spent a staggering $238bn, or 10%of its GDP) on its “superbonus”scheme.
最后一个问题是如何支付本国为防止气候进一步恶化而修缮房屋的费用。房子占到了全球能源方面排放量的18%。许多地方可能需要使用热泵,而热泵与地板供暖或更大的散热器以及厚实的保温材料配合使用效果最佳。不幸的是,改造房屋非常贵。让业主买单会引起反对之声。去年德国执政联盟尝试进制天然气锅炉的使用,而选民反对付费,值得改变方案。意大利在改善房屋供暖系统方面所采取的替代方法。意大利政府通过向进行房屋翻新的家庭提供异常慷慨但设计不佳的补贴来推动这一进程。具体来说,意大利为其“超级补贴”计划投入了惊人的2380亿美元,这相当于其国内生产总值的10%。
单词学习:
retro-fitting
音标:英 /ˌretrəʊˈfɪtɪŋ/ 美 /ˌretroʊˈfɪtɪŋ/
n. (对旧建筑、机器等的)改装,改造
The old building is undergoing retro-fitting to make it more energy-efficient.
这栋旧建筑正在进行改造,以提高其能效。
handout
救济品;施舍物;印刷品;讲义
The government provides handouts to families who are struggling financially.
政府为经济困难的家庭提供救济品。
第八段:
The full impact of climate change is still some way off.But the sooner policymakers can resolve these questions,the better.The evidence shows that house prices react to these risks only after disaster has struck, when it is too late for preventive investments. Inertia is therefore likely to lead to nasty surprises.Housing is too important an asset to be mispriced across the economy-not least because it is so vital to the financial system.
气候变化的全部影响尚未完全知晓。但政策制定者们越早解决问题越好。证据表明房屋价格只有在灾害产生之后才会跟风险挂钩,而那个时候预防性的投资为时已晚。惯性往往导致 恶果。房屋在整个经济体的重要性毋庸置疑,不容价格错位,尤其它是经济系统的重中之重。
搭配学习:
some way off
距离尚远;在远处;还未准备好;还差得远
The next bus stop is still some way off, so we'll have to walk for a bit longer.
下一个公交站还远着呢,我们还得走一会儿。
Inertia
英音 [ɪˈnɜːʃə],美音 [ɪˈnɜːrʃə]
n. 惯性;惰性;迟钝;不活动
We need to overcome the inertia of the old system and introduce new ideas.
我们需要克服旧体系的惰性,引入新思想。
第九段:
Governments will have to do their bit.Until the 18th century much of the Netherlands followed the principle that only nearby communities would maintain dykes-and the system was plagued by underinvestment and needless flooding as a result.Governments alone can solve such collective-action problems by building infrastructure,and must do so especially around high-productivity cities.Owners will need inducements to spend big sums retro- fitting their homes to pollute less,which benefits everyone.
政府需要承担自己的职责。在18世纪以前,荷兰的大部分地区遵循的原则是只有附近的社区才会维护堤坝——而这个系统因为投资不足而问题重重,导致了不必要的洪水灾害。政府独自能够解决这类集体行动问题,通过建设基础设施来应对,尤其是在高生产率的城市周边,政府必须这样做。业主们需要得到激励,才会投入大量资金进行房屋改造以减少污染,而这样的改造对每个人都有益。
单词学习:
plagued
v. “困扰”、“折磨”、“烦扰”或“造成麻烦”
The small town has been plagued by high crime rates for years.
这个小镇多年来一直饱受高犯罪率的困扰。
n.瘟疫、疾病或其他灾难带来的长期困扰或痛苦
The nation is still grappling with the plagued legacy of colonialism.
这个国家仍在努力应对殖民主义留下的长期困扰。
第十段:
At the same time,however,policymakers must be careful not to subsidise folly by
offering large implicit guarantees and explicit statebacked insurance schemes.These not only pose an unacceptable risk to taxpayers,but they also weaken the in- centive for people to invest in making their properties more re- silient. And by suppressing insurance premiums,they do noth- ing to discourage people from moving to areas that are already known to be highrisk today. The omens are not good,even though the stakes are so high.For decades governments have failed to disincentivise building on floodplains.
然而,与此同时,政策制定者必须小心谨慎,不要通过提供大额隐性担保和明确的国家支持保险计划来补贴愚蠢的行为。这些做法不仅给纳税人带来了不可接受的风险,而且削弱了人们投资于使财产更具韧性的动力。通过压低保险费用,这些政策并没有起到阻止人们迁移到已知的高风险地区的作用。尽管风险很高,但前景并不乐观。几十年来,政府一直未能有效遏制在洪水易发区的建筑活动。
omens
前兆;预兆;征兆
He was netted by an ill omen.
一种不详的预兆萦绕着他。
disincentivise
v.描述通过某种手段减少或消除积极性或动力
The removal of bonuses for meeting sales targets has disincentivised employees from working harder.
取消达到销售目标后的奖金制度,使员工失去了更加努力工作的动力。
第十一段
The $25trnbill will pose problems around the world.But doing nothing today will only make tomorrow more painful. For both governments and
homeowners,the worst response to the housing conundrum would be to ignore
这项2.5万亿美元账单将在全球范围内引发问题。但是,如果今天无所作为,只会让明天更加痛苦。对于政府和房主来说,对住房困境最糟糕的回应将是忽视它。
conundrum
英 [kəˈnʌndrəm] 美 [kəˈnʌndrəm]
n. 谜题;难题;令人困惑的问题
The professor posed a conundrum to his students that none of them could solve.
教授给学生们出了一个难题,他们中无一人能解。
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