经济问题翻译（p普通工人英语【考研英语】同源文详解77期：经济的问题并非工资上涨——而是工资上涨不足)
原文期刊：卫报
原文标题：Its not wage rises that are a problem for the economy – it’s the lack of them
本文选自2018年7月12日《卫报》的一篇文章。在美国经济复苏的良好形势下，部分地区却出现了劳动力短缺的问题。不同于雇主们将问题归咎于药物滥用、出生率下降等表面因素，作者认为导致劳动力短缺的根本原因是工资增长缓慢，并从政府、雇主两个层面对工资问题进行了分析。
行文脉络：引出问题：美国经济迅猛发展的背景下，劳动力却出现短缺（第一段）——阐述问题：造成劳动力短缺的根本原因是工资增长不足（第二至四段）——分析问题：分别从政府和雇主两个层面分析工资增长缓慢的原因（第五、六段）——总结问题，展望未来：工资问题由来已久，但美国经济若能保持增长，工资水平最终将实现增长（第七段）。
PART 1
原文
I ①In recent weeks media outlets in the US have been fretting over what would ordinarily be considered good news - the roaring American economy, which has brought low unemployment and, in some places, a labour shortage. ②Owners and managers have complained about their problems in finding people to fill low-wage positions. ③“Nobody wants to do manual labour any more,” as one trade association grandee said, and so the manual labour simply goes undone.
II ①Company bosses talk about the things they have done to fix the situation: the ads they’ve published; the guest-worker visas for which they’ve applied; how they are going into schools to encourage kids to learn construction skills or to drive trucks. ②But nothing seems to work. ③Blame for the labour shortage is sprayed all over the US map: opioids are said to be the problem. ④And welfare, and inadequate parking spaces, and a falling birthrate, and mass incarceration, and–above all - the Trump administration’s immigration policies. ⑤But no one really knows for sure.
III ①The textbook solution to the labour shortage problem - paying workers more - rarely merits more than a line or two, if it’s mentioned at all. ②So unwilling are business leaders to talk about or consider this obvious answer that Neel Kashkari, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, scolded them last year: “If you’re not raising wages, then it just sounds like whining.”
IV ①If you study the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ numbers on wages for nonsupervisory workers over the past few decades, you will notice that wage growth has been strangely slow to pick up. ②Hot economies usually drive wages up pretty promptly; this recovery has been running since 2009 and it has barely moved the needle.
V ①How could such a thing happen in this modern and enlightened age? ②Well, for starters, think of all that whining we’re hearing from the US’s management, who will apparently blame anyone and do anything to avoid paying workers more. ③Every labour-management innovation seems to have been designed with this amazing goal in mind. ④Every great bipartisan political initiative, from free trade to welfare reform, points the same way.
VI ①According to Josh Bivens, of Washington’s Economic Policy Institute, you can trace the slow decline of US workers’ bargaining power in the historical statistics. ②As the years go by, it requires ever lower levels of unemployment to ignite the wage growth that was once the hallmark of good times. ③“The decades-long campaign by employers to kick away any sources of economic leverage enjoyed by typical workers seems to have worked,” he says. ④“These workers now get real wage increases only during white-hot labour markets.”
VII ①This is the central story of the last four decades, the vast social engineering project to which all our recent presidents and both parties have contributed. ②But there’s a bright side: if the US economy continues to roar as it has been doing, there is no question that wages will eventually go up.
PART 2
词汇短语
1. media outlet媒体机构
2. fret over为…烦恼
3. roaring /rɔːrɪŋ/ adj. 兴胜的
4. manual labour体力劳动
5. grandee /grændiː/ n. 要人，显贵
6. undone /ʌndʌn/ adj. 未完成的
7. guest worker 外籍劳工
8. spray /spreɪ/ v. 散发，散布
9. *opioid /əʊpɪɒɪd/ n. 类鸦片
10. mass incarceration大规模监禁
11. merit /merɪt/ v. 值得，应受
12. scold /skəʊld/ v. 责骂，叱责
13. whine /waɪn/ v. 发牢骚，哭诉
14. nonsupervisory /nɒnsju:pəvaɪzərɪ/ adj. 非监管的
15. pick up 增加
16. promptly /prɒm(p)tlɪ/ adv. 迅速地
17. enlightened /ɪnlaɪt(ə)nd/ adj. 文明的，进步的
18. bipartisan /,baɪpɑːtɪzæn/ adj. 两党的
19. bargaining power议价能力
20. ignite /ɪgnaɪt/ v. 点燃，激起
21. hallmark /hɔːlmɑːk/ n. 特点，品质证明
22. economic leverage经济杠杆
23. white-hot /hwaithɔt/ adj. 白热的，狂热的
24. contribute /kəntrɪbjuːt/ v. 贡献，出力
（注:标*号为超纲词）
PART 3
翻译点评
I ①In recent weeks media outlets in the US have been fretting over what would ordinarily be considered good news - the roaring American economy, which has brought low unemployment and, in some places, a labour shortage. ②Owners and managers have complained about their problems in finding people to fill low-wage positions. ③“Nobody wants to do manual labour any more,” as one trade association grandee said, and so the manual labour simply goes undone.
翻译：最近几周，美国媒体一直在为一件通常被看作好消息的事情忧心忡忡——美国经济的迅猛发展，它带来了低失业率，（但）在一些地方，却造成了劳动力短缺。雇主和管理人员已经在抱怨找不到人填补低薪职位空缺。正如一位贸易协会要人所言“再也没有人愿意从事体力劳动了”，体力劳动就这样被搁置。
点评：I段引出问题：美国经济发展造成劳动力短缺。①句以美国媒体机构的反应引出问题。ordinarily be considered说明一般情况，暗示现状不同寻常。破折号引出具体问题，先说明经济发展的总体影响（brought low unemployment），再以in some places指出特殊情况（labour shortage）。②句说明问题现状，low-wage positions将劳动力短缺现象限定在低薪岗位。③句借贸易协会要人所言说明体力劳动者短缺问题，manual labour呼应②句low-wage positions。
II ①Company bosses talk about the things they have done to fix the situation: the ads they’ve published; the guest-worker visas for which they’ve applied; how they are going into schools to encourage kids to learn construction skills or to drive trucks. ②But nothing seems to work. ③Blame for the labour shortage is sprayed all over the US map: opioids are said to be the problem. ④And welfare, and inadequate parking spaces, and a falling birthrate, and mass incarceration, and–above all - the Trump administration’s immigration policies. ⑤But no one really knows for sure.
翻译：公司老板们谈起他们为解决问题所做的事情：发广告；申请外籍劳工签证；去学校里鼓励孩子们学习建筑和驾驶卡车的技能。但似乎都没有什么效果。对劳动力短缺的不满遍及美国各地：类鸦片药物被认为是问题所在。此外还有福利、停车位不足、出生率下降、大规模监禁等问题，以及最重要的——特朗普政府的移民政策。但没有人真正知道确切答案。
点评：II段介绍雇主所认为的劳动力短缺原因。①②句介绍雇主为增加劳动力所做的努力，But nothing…表明努力并未取得成效；③④⑤句说明雇主所认为的劳动力短缺原因，But no one…暗示原因并没有根据。其中，blame（责备、归咎）暗示雇主仅从外界寻找问题原因，未对自身进行反思，为下文的批驳埋下伏笔。
III ①The textbook solution to the labour shortage problem - paying workers more - rarely merits more than a line or two, if it’s mentioned at all. ②So unwilling are business leaders to talk about or consider this obvious answer that Neel Kashkari, the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, scolded them last year: “If you’re not raising wages, then it just sounds like whining.”
翻译：而解决劳动力短缺问题的教科书式方案——支付工人更多工资，即使被提到也只是一两句话带过。商界领袖们是如此不愿谈论或考虑这个显而易见的答案，去年明尼阿波利斯联邦储备银行行长尼尔·卡什卡里斥责他们：“如果你们不提高工资，那听起来就是在无病呻吟。”
点评：III段对雇主展开批驳，指出造成问题的实质原因。①句指出造成问题的实质原因：雇主不愿向工人支付更多工资。textbook solution（教科书式的方案）用于形容paying workers more这一对策，说明该对策是解决劳动力短缺问题的最佳方式。②句借行长所言对雇主展开批驳，it回指II段所列举的种种不满（blame），whine（发牢骚、无病呻吟）表明雇主的不满回避了真正的问题，从而解释了II段努力没有成效、不满没有根据的原因。
IV ①If you study the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ numbers on wages for nonsupervisory workers over the past few decades, you will notice that wage growth has been strangely slow to pick up. ②Hot economies usually drive wages up pretty promptly; this recovery has been running since 2009 and it has barely moved the needle.
翻译：如果你研究一下劳工统计局过去几十年来关于非监管人员工资的数据，你会发现工资的增长速度出奇地缓慢。良好的经济形势通常会很快推动工资上涨；而这次的经济复苏从2009年就开始了，但指针却几乎没有移动过。
点评：IV段说明工资增长的现状。①句指出工资增长的问题：增速缓慢（strangely slow）。strangely表明这一现象不符合常理。②句先介绍常规情况，usually与①句strangely形成对比；随后指出异常的现状，needle指工资统计图表上的箭头指针，此处用以指代劳动力的工资数额。
V ①How could such a thing happen in this modern and enlightened age? ②Well, for starters, think of all that whining we’re hearing from the US’s management, who will apparently blame anyone and do anything to avoid paying workers more. ③Every labour-management innovation seems to have been designed with this amazing goal in mind. ④Every great bipartisan political initiative, from free trade to welfare reform, points the same way.
翻译：为什么在这样一个现代、文明的时代会发生这样的事情呢？那么，首先来想想我们从美国管理层那里听到的所有抱怨吧，他们显然会把问题归咎于别人，并竭尽所能避免给工人更多的报酬。每一次的劳动管理革新似乎都是带着这样一个惊人的目标而设计的。从自由贸易到福利改革，每一次重大的两党政治提案（最终）都指向同一个方向。
点评：V段从政府层面分析产生问题的原因。①②以“设问-回答”的形式指出政府的问题所在：将劳动力短缺问题归咎于他人，并避免给工人增加报酬。此处anyone指除政府自身之外的任何人。③④句以劳动管理改革和政党提案体现政府的问题，amazing goal、the same way均指代②句avoid paying workers more。
VI ①According to Josh Bivens, of Washington’s Economic Policy Institute, you can trace the slow decline of US workers’ bargaining power in the historical statistics. ②As the years go by, it requires ever lower levels of unemployment to ignite the wage growth that was once the hallmark of good times. ③“The decades-long campaign by employers to kick away any sources of economic leverage enjoyed by typical workers seems to have worked,” he says. ④“These workers now get real wage increases only during white-hot labour markets.”
翻译：据华盛顿经济政策研究所的乔什·比文斯称，从历史数据中可以看出美国工人议价能力的缓慢下降。随着时间的流逝，曾经是经济繁荣时期标志的工资增长需要比以往更低的失业率来刺激。“雇主们为了消除普通工人享有的经济杠杆来源而发起了长达数十年的运动，现在它似乎已经奏效了，”乔什·比文斯说。“这些工人现在只有在白热化的劳动力市场中才能获得真正的工资增长。”
点评：VI段从雇主层面分析产生问题的原因。①句援引专家所言，指出工人议价能力下降。bargaining power指工人与雇主协商工资的能力。②句通过今昔对比，体现①句问题：过去，在经济繁荣时期，工资会自然上涨；如今需要比过去更高的就业率才能促进经济增长。③④句指出雇主行为对劳动力问题的影响：雇主们消除了普通工人调节工资的手段，使工人只有在极佳的劳动力市场（white-hot labour markets）条件下才能增加工资。economic leverage指国家或经济组织调节和控制社会生产、分配、消费等经济活动的经济手段，此处指工人可诉诸的工资调节方式。
VII ①This is the central story of the last four decades, the vast social engineering project to which all our recent presidents and both parties have contributed. ②But there’s a bright side: if the US economy continues to roar as it has been doing, there is no question that wages will eventually go up.
翻译：这是过去四十年所发生的核心情节，我们近期的每一位总统以及两个政党都为这个庞大的社会工程项目作出了贡献。但也有好的一面：如果美国经济继续以现有的速度发展，最终工资一定会上涨。
点评：VII段总结全文，展望未来。①句以central story总结本文所述工资问题，last four decades说明问题由来已久，social engineering project指代美国现有的工资体系。contribute原指“贡献，出力”，此处用于形容总统和政府限制工资上涨的行为，表达作者讽刺、批判的态度。②句转变话锋，指出希望所在：若美国经济能继续保持增长，即达到VI段所述的白热化劳动力市场状态，则劳动者工资将最终实现上涨。
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