2015经济学人双语阅读
经济学人两篇+翻译
Disney Star Wars, Disney and myth-makingHow one company came to master the business of storytellingFROM a galaxy far, far away to a cinema just down the road: “The Force Awakens”, the newest instalment of the Star Wars saga, is inescapable this Christmas. The first Star Wars title since Lucasfilm, the owner of the franchise, was acquired by Disney in 2012 for $4.1 billion, it represents more than just the revival of a beloved science-fiction series. It is the latest example of the way Disney has prospered over the past decade from a series of shrewd acquisitions (see article). Having bought Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, Disney has skilfullycapitalised on their intellectual property—and in so doing, cemented its position as the market leader in the industrialisation of mythology. Its success rests on its mastery of the three elements of modern myth-making: tropes, technology and toys.From Homer to Han SoloStart with the tropes. Disney properties, which include everything from “Thor” to “Toy Story”, draw on well-worn devices of mythic structure to give their stories cultural resonance. Walt Disney himself had an intuitive grasp of the power of fables. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, is an avid student of the work of Joseph Campbell, an American comparative mythologist who outlined the “monomyth” structure in which a hero answers a call, is assisted by a mentor figure, voyages to another world, survives various trials and emerges triumphant. Bothfilm-makers merrily plundered ancient mythology and folklore. The Marvel universe goes even further, directly appropriating chunks of Greco-Roman and Norse mythology. (This makes Disney's enthusiasm for fierce enforcement of intellectual-property laws, and the seemingly perpetual extension of copyright, somewhat ironic.)The internal mechanics of myths may not have changed much over the ages, but the technology used to impart them certainly has. That highlights Disney's second area of expertise. In Homer's day, legends were passed on in the form of dactylic hexameters; modern myth-makers prefer computer graphics, special effects, 3D projection, surround sound and internet video distribution,among other things. When Disney bought Lucasfilm it did not just acquire the Star Wars franchise; it also gained Industrial Light & Magic, one of the best special-effects houses in the business, whose high-tech wizardry is as vital to Marvel's Avengers films as it is to the Star Wars epics. And when Disney was left behind by the shift to digital animation, it cannily revitalised its own film-making brand by buying Pixar, a firm as pioneering in its field as Walt Disney had been in hand-drawn animation. Moreover, modern myths come in multiple media formats. The Marvel and Star Wars fantasy universes are chronicled in interlocking films, television series, books, graphic novels and video games. Marvel's plans are mapped out until the mid-2020s.But these days myths are also expected to take physical form as toys, merchandise and theme-park rides. This is the third myth-making ingredient. Again, Walt Disney led the way, licensing Mickey Mouse and other characters starting in the 1930s, and opening the original Disneyland park in 1955. Mr Lucas took cinema-related merchandise into a new dimension, accepting a pay cut as director in return for all the merchandising rights to Star Wars—a deal that was to earn him billions. Those rights now belong to Disney, and it is making the most of them: sales of “The Force Awakens” merchandise, from toys to clothing, are expected to be worth up to $5 billion alone in the coming year. In all, more than $32 billion-worth of Star Wars merchandise has been sold since 1977, according to NPD Group, a market-research firm. Even Harry Potter and James Bond are scruffy-looking nerf-herders by comparison.Those other franchises are reminders that Disney's approach is not unique. Other studios are doing their best to imitate its approach. But Disney has some of the most valuable properties and exploits them to their fullest potential. It is particularly good at refreshing and repackaging its franchises to encourage adults to revisit their childhood favourites and, in the process, to introduce them to their own children. This was one reason why Pixar, whose films are known for their cross-generational appeal, was such a natural fit. Now the next generation is being introduced to Star Wars by their nostalgic parents. At the same time, Disney has extended its franchises by adding sub-brands that appeal to particular age groups: children's television series spun off from Star Wars, for example, or darker, more adult tales from the Marvel universe, such as the “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” series on.Do, or do not—there is no tryWhat explains the power of all this modern-day mythology? There is more to it than archetypal storytelling, clever technology and powerful marketing. In part, it may fill a void left by the decline of religion in a more secular world. But it also provides an expression for today's fears.T he original “Star Wars” film, in which a band of plucky rebels defeat a technological superpower, was a none-too-subtle inversion of the Vietnam war. The Marvel universe, originally a product of the cold-war era, has adapted well on screen to a post-9/11 world of surveillance and the conspiratorial mistrust of governments, large corporations and the power of technology. Inuncertain times, when governments and military might seem unable to keep people safe or stay honest, audiences take comfort in the idea of superheroes who ride to the rescue. Modern myths also have the power to unify people across generations, social groups and cultures, creating frameworks of shared references even as other forms of media consumption become ever more fragmented.Ultimately, however, these modern myths are so compelling because they tap primordial human urges—for refuge, redemption and harmony. In this respect they are like social-media platforms, which use technology to industrialise social interaction. Similarly, modern myth-making, reliant though it is on new tools and techniques, is really just pushing the same old buttons in stone-age brains. That is something that Walt Disney understood instinctively—and that the company he founded is now exploiting so proficiently.迪士尼星球大战,迪士尼和神话创造一个公司如何成为兜售故事的商业传奇从遥远的星际抵达你周边的电影院—《星球大战7：原力觉醒》这部星战系列的最新影片就在圣诞期间上映，不容错过。
经济学人双语阅读：德国武器公司 不和武器说再见
【经济学人】双语阅读：德国武器公司不和武器说再见Business商业报道German weapons firms德国武器公司No farewell to arms不和武器说再见Political pressure and bribery allegations are unlikely to hurt Germany's exporters of military equipment.看起来政治压力和受贿指控都不会影响德国的军事装备出口公司。
SINCE the second world war, Germany has rarely sent soldiers to combat zones.自二战以来，德国几乎不曾向战争地区派兵。
But it exports a lot of weapons: more than Britain, France or any other country besides America and Russia.然而它却出口了大量武器：超过英国、法国以及除美国、俄罗斯之外的所有其他国家。
Some German makers of military gear are part of civilian industrial giants, such as Airbus Group, and ThyssenKrupp, a steelmaker.德国的武器制造商中有些隶属于私有的工业巨头，比如空客集团，还有钢铁制造商蒂森克虏伯集团。
But the biggest German company known mainly for weapons, Rheinmetall, is just 26th in the world league of arms-exporting firms.然而，即使是德国著名的以武器业务为主的公司中最大的莱茵金属公司，在世界武器出口公司中也仅仅排在26位。
经济学人 2015-6-12
Social change社会的改变The weaker sex弱男子Blue-collar men in rich countries are in trouble. They must learn to adapt在发达国家的蓝领男性群体正处于困境中，他们必须学会适应。
AT FIRST glance the patriarchy appears to be thriving. More than 90% of presidents and prime ministers are male, as are nearly all big corporate bosses. Men dominate finance, technology, films, sports, music and even stand-up comedy. In much of the world they still enjoysocial and legal privileges simply because they have a Y chromosome. So it might seem odd to worry about the plight of men.父系社会现在咋一看似乎正兴盛。
超过90%的国家总统总理，和几乎所有大型公司的大boss 都是男性。
男性统治着经济，科技，企业，体育，音乐，甚至连说相声的都基本是男的。
在大多数国家里男人仅仅因为拥有一条Y染色体便享有在社会和法律上的特权，这样看来，担心男性的“悲催命运”般的困境似乎是在杞人忧天。
Yet there is plenty of cause for concern. Men cluster at the bottom as well as the top. They are far more likely than women to be jailed, estranged from their children, or to kill themselves. They earn fewer university degrees than women. Boys in the developed world are 50% more likely to flunk basic maths, reading and science entirely.但有却又大量的原由让人不得不担心。
英语学习《经济学人》中英对照
从太空采集太阳能Solar power from space,Beam it down 从太空采集太阳能,传送电力到地球吧Harvesting solar power in space, for use on Earth, comes a step closer to reality将太空收获的太阳电能在地球上利用，这种理想又向现实迈出了一大步。
THE idea of collecting solar energy in space and beaming it to Earth has been around for at least 70 years. In "Reason", a short story by Isaac Asimov that was published in 1941, a space station transmits energy collected from the sun to various planets using microwave beams.从太空中收集太阳能并将其传送到地球的想法已经存在了至少70年。
艾萨克·阿西莫夫(Isaac Asimov )在1941年出版的短篇小说Reason中曾设想利用微波束将空间站收集到的太阳能传送到各类行星上。
The advantage of intercepting sunlight in space, instead of letting it find its own way through the atmosphere, is that so much gets absorbed by the air. By converting it to the right frequency first (one of the so-called windows in the atmosphere, in which little energy is absorbed) a space-based collector could, enthusiasts claim, yield on average five times as much power as one located on the ground.从太空直接截获太阳光而不任由它们穿过大气层的优点是大部分光能量不会被大气吸收。
经济学人双语阅读：电动汽车 充电进入美国
【经济学人】双语阅读：电动汽车充电进入美国Business商业报道Electric cars电动汽车Charging into America充电进入美国Chinese firms are keen on America's battery-vehicle market中国公司致力于美国电动车公司市场TESLA, an American electric-car manufacturer, is the darling of investors and the most visible success in a business more notable for its failures.美国电动车制造商TESLA是投资者们的宠儿，相比较该行业的失败之处，它也是最显著的成功。
The praise it has attracted is encouraging Chinese firms to try to enter the American market. 它所赢得的赞赏激励中国公司试图进入美国市场。
A Hong Kong company and a mainland firm are battling for control of Fisker, a failed maker of hybrid-electric cars based in California; a court hearing due on January 10th will consider creditors' calls for an open auction.一家香港公司和大陆公司正在为Fisker的管理控制权而争夺不休。
Fisker是加利福尼亚一家倒闭的混合动力汽车制造商。
1月10日的庭审将考虑债权人所要求的公开拍卖。
And BYD, another Chinese mainland firm, said this week it would start selling its own electric cars in America next year.另一家中国公司BYD本周表示明年起将在美国出售自己的电动车。
经济学人中英对照
Immigration law移民法Our town我们的城镇A small city passes a controversial immigration ordinance內布拉斯加小镇通过了一项有争议的移民法令SOME of the earliest settlers of Nebraska were Germans. During the first world war the state forbade any teaching in their native language. But that was long ago. These days, just outside the tidy little city of Fremont, a new batch of residents is trying to settle in. The Regency II trailer park houses immigrants, mostly from Mexico. Many of the trailers are just flimsy boxes. Others are painted brightly, or sport day lilies on a small lawn. One house has an American flag beside it. And on June 21st the Regency displayed a white sign at its entrance with the message: “V ote No”.内布拉斯加州最早的定居者中有一些是德国人。
在第一次世界大战期间，该州曾禁止德裔居民用母语教学。
但这是很久以前的事了。
这些天来，就在整洁的弗里蒙特小镇外围，一批新的居民正试着安顿新家。
Regency II拖车场的居民都是移民，多数来自墨西哥。
3英语阅读-经济学人《Economics》双语版-Foodfirmsandfat-fighters
（2）：食品公司与减肥斗士【翻译交流】Feb 9th 2006From The Economist Global AgendaFood firms and fat-fighters食品公司与减肥斗士Five leading food companies have introduced a labelling scheme for their products in the British market, in an attempt to assuage critics who say they encourage obesity. But consumer groups are unhappy all the same. Is the food industry, like tobacco before it, about to be *engulfed[1]by a wave of lawsuits brought on health grounds?五家业内领先的食品公司采取了一项方案，就是在其投入英国市场的食品上作出标注，力图堵住那些说他们鼓励肥胖的批评人士的嘴。
不过，消费者团体仍然不开心。
食品业会像之前的烟草一样，被卷入一场关乎健康的诉讼之中吗？KEEPING fit requires a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise. On the second of these at least, the world’s food companies can claim to be setting a good example :they have been working up quite a sweat in their attempts to fend off assaults by governments, consumer groups and lawyers who accuse them of peddling products that encourage obesity. This week saw the unveiling of another industry initiative :five leading food producers—Danone, Kellogg, Nestlé, Kraft and PepsiCo—introduced a labelling scheme for the British market which will show “guideline daily amounts” for calories, fats, sugar and salt on packaging. The new labels will start to appear on the firms’ crisps, chocolate bars, cheese slices *and the like[2] over the next few months. A number of other food giants, such as Cadbury Schweppes and Masterfoods, have already started putting guideline labels on their products.将健康的饮食习惯和经常性的锻炼二者结合才可以让身体保持健康。
economist（经济学人）精品文章中英对照（合集五篇）
economist（经济学人）精品文章中英对照（合集五篇）第一篇：economist(经济学人)精品文章中英对照Whopper to go 至尊汉堡，打包带走Will Burger King be gobbled up by private equity? 汉堡王是否会被私人股本吞并？Sep 2nd 2010 | NEW YORKSHARES in Burger King(BK)soared on September 1st on reports that the fast-food company was talking to several private-equity firms interested in buying it.How much beef was behind these stories was unclear.But lately the company famous for the slogan “Have It Your Way” has certainly not been having it its own way.There may be arguments about whether BK or McDonald’s serves the best fries, but there is no doubt which is more popular with stockmarket investors: the maker of the Big Mac has supersized its lead in the past two years.有报道披露，快餐企业汉堡王（BK）正在与数个有收购意向的私人股本接洽，9月1日，汉堡王的股值随之飙升。
这些报道究竟有多少真材实料不得而知。
汉堡王的著名口号是“我选我味”，但如今显然它身不由己，心中五味杂陈。
汉堡王和麦当劳哪家薯条最好吃，食客们一直争论不休，但股票投资人更喜欢哪家股票，却一目了然：过去两年里，巨无霸麦当劳一直在扩大自己的优势。
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2015经济学人双语阅读London Fashion WeekWITH its whirl of frocks, models and million-dollar deals London Fashion Week has always been rather a closeted affair, accessible to few. Amateur fashionistas have had to wait for glossy magazines and blogs to tell them what to wear next. But at the second of London's biannual fairs, which ran from September 13th to 17th, that was starting to change. Around half the shows were live-streamed to the internet and TV channels with bulletins broadcast to commuters waiting at underground Tube stops. A free pop-up cinema screened fashion-themed films.This push to bring Fashion Week to a wider audience is likely to pay off. Though unaffordable to most shoppers, high fashion is the beating heart of high-street retail. More wearable versions of the transparent outfits that entertained audiences in London this month will soon appear in shops up and down the country. In the week following last September's shows, online fashion sales were up 45%, according to Ve Interactive, an e-commerce firm. Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC), which organises Fashion Week, expects that the digital buzz surrounding the event will push buyers' orders well beyond ￡100m ($160m).The changes seen at the shows are part of a wider effort to bring a businesslike approach to British fashion. London has long been feted as a breeding ground for brilliant designers. Many of them, including John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, trained at Central St Martins, a college known for turning out skilful originals. But a tendency to focus on art over business has meant that too many designers have failed to make the most of their critical acclaim. London FashionWeek has long been seen as the tiddler of the “big four” global shows, overshadowed by the spectacles in Milan, New York and Paris.The BFC wants to change that. Since 2009, when it appointed Ms Rush (its first full-time chief executive) the council has pushed to make young designers more market savvy and encourage greater investment in fashion. In January it appointed a new chairman, Natalie Massenet, the American creator of Net-a-Porter, an online fashion shop that last year saw sales of 368m, as its chairman. Ms Massenet has said she wants to stop "business" being seen as a dirty word in fashion.That may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. Britain's fashion business adds about ￡21 billion to GDP. Oxford Economics, a consultancy, reckons that a good chunk of this is retail. But from designing clothes to selling them, fashion employs more people than any other creative industry in Britain. The designer end of clothes making has done especially well, growing 20% a year over the past decade. An increasing number of British designers have set their sights on overseas markets, especially in Asia. Paul Smith, for example, plans to open 20 new stores in China in the next five years. Attracting foreign talent, meanwhile, may soon be made easier with the introduction of a “London visa” for talented designers.The renaissance of British fashion has been given a boost by some new ambassadors. The “Middleton effect”—a bump in sales attributed to the Duchess of Cambridge's fashion choices—has had a beneficial effect on British brands in America. A new crop of British models, among them Cara Delevingne, bestrides the international catwalk. Now Boris Johnson, the floppy-haired mayor of London, has joined the campaign. At a fashion shoot to promote British menswear this summer he could not remember who designed the suit he was wearing but his words were on message. “London is to the suit”, he said, “as Parma is to the Parmesan cheese”.翻译：伦敦时装周按照以往的惯例，伦敦时装周是裙裾飞扬的大牌成衣、魅惑性感的T台模特和投资上百万美元共同打造出的一场仅为极少数土豪奉上的时尚盛宴，而至于那些不入流的时尚人士则只能从铜版纸装订的时尚杂志和时尚达人的博客中得知下一季的流行趋势。
但是从9月13日至17日的这场时装周作为伦敦今年举行的两场中的第二场，则开始有了些许的变化。
约有半数的秀场通过网络和电台进行直播，那些想和土豪做朋友的小伙伴们甚至可以在地铁站候车点的公告牌前、影院观影前荧幕弹出的时尚主题短片中观看走秀。
该做法的确为时装周吸引了大批消费受众群体，尽管对多数消费者来说要买的起这些时装至少要卖个肾，但这些高端时尚却是那些他们可以消费得起的高街品牌（如ZARA、BERSHKA 或MANGO）的设计源动力。
至于在本月秀场上的一系列令台下观众喜大普奔的透视时装将陆续出现在英国小伙伴们生活当中。
据电子商务公司龙头企业——Ve Interactive的数据显示，九月时装周后一周的时间内，在线时装交易额同比上涨了45%。
负责时装周运行的英国时装理事会（British Fashion Council）首席执行官卡洛琳·拉什（Caroline Rush）推测数字化的环境将推动超过一亿英镑（折合一亿六千万美元）的订单交易生成。
时装秀观看模式的改变是英国时尚产业商业化的一场巨大变革。
伦敦向来被誉为是盛产高富帅设计师之地，知名设计师包括John Galliano和Alexander McQueen等，他们均毕业于培养高技术水平设计师的英国圣马丁艺术学院（Central St Martins），但这种艺术形式商业化使得多数设计师都无法正确处理好外界的褒奖，无法从中真正获益。