经济学人:商业街 陌生的城市

 　　High streets

　　商业街

　　Strange town

　　陌生的城市

　　Why some streets in London stay resolutely¹ the same

　　为何伦敦仍执拗地保持部分街道不变样

　　KENTISH TOWN ROAD is a humdrum² high street in north London. It contains pawnbrokers³, pound shops, hairdressers and some long-in-the-tooth hardware stores. Unlike Camden Town to the south, full of bars and tattoo⁴ parlours, or Hampstead to the west, with its bistros and boutique clothing shops, little seems to have changed on the street for the past three decades. “It's never quite got going,” admits Gary McLaren, a local bookseller. Yet the lack of change is odd—and hints at some of the strangeness of London.

　　肯特镇路（KENTISH TOWN ROAD）是伦敦北部的一条颇显乏味的街道。这这条街上有当铺、一磅店（像中国的一元店）、理发店和一些古老的五金店。不似南部尽是酒吧和纹身店的卡登姆镇和西部满是夜总会与精品服饰店的汉普斯蒂德，30年来肯特镇路似乎并无改变。当地的一位书店老板Gary McLaren 坦诚，“它从未真正改变。”但是欠缺改变是如此之怪异—而且这暗示了伦敦的些许陌生感。

　　陌生的城市.jpg

　　Kentish Town has excellent transport links to central London, and plenty of residents prepared to pay good money for that. Off the high street stretch rows of pretty Victorian terraced houses, which sell for as much as 2m ($3m) apiece. Between 2007 and 2014 property prices in the postcode area surrounding the main Tube and railway station more than doubled. An influx⁵ of French parents, drawn⁶ by a school that opened in 2011, is pushing prices even higher. Yet Kentish Town's shops and cafes are almost invariably untrendy and in some cases mouldering⁷. A hair salon⁸, a butcher and a sportswear shop have each been owned by the same men for more than a quarter of a century. Why?

　　肯特镇通向伦敦市中心交通便利，还拥有众多愿意支付交通费的居民。距主干街不远，目之所及尽是铺陈开来的一排排维多利亚式排屋，这些房子售价每栋房屋200万欧元（合300万美金）。在2007至2014年间，在主要的地铁站和火车站附近的房价都翻了一倍不止。一所于2011年开放的学校吸引了大批法国父母，这些法国父母的涌入也促使房价的再升高。然而肯特镇的商店和咖啡馆几乎一直都是那个价，有时候价格还会下跌。一间发廊、一间肉铺和一间运动服装店，同一店主可以拥有这其中一间店铺超过25年。这是为什么？

　　One explanation is that, in common with other parts of London, Kentish Town has lots of social housing as well as costly⁹ Victorian terraces. Camden Council, the local authority, is building even more in the borough¹⁰. This helps cheaper shops survive, suggests Tony Travers of the London School of Economics: council tenants¹¹ are less likely to drive and so rely more on local outlets¹². And the sheer volume of car and lorry traffic on the busy high street, which is a main road into the city, might deter¹³ shoppers from visiting and swanky businesses from setting up in the area.

　　一种解释是，与伦敦的其他地区一样，肯特镇有许多的社会住房（指由住房协会和地方市政会提供的廉租房或廉价房）和高价的维多利亚式排屋。伦敦卡姆登地方议会（地方当局）甚至在自治市（享有自治特权的市镇）建造更多这样的房屋。伦敦经济学院的Tony Travers表示，这样有助于更廉价的店铺存活下来：那些社会租房的租户的购买力收效甚微，所以更多的还是依赖于当地商铺。在繁忙的主干街（通向市中心的主街）上，汽车总量和货车流量很可能遏制了顾客对商店的光顾，也阻止了一流企业在此处的设立开办。

　　Demography¹⁴ plays a part, too. Fully¹⁵ 72% of the population of Kentish Town is white, including a good number of Irish residents—higher than the proportion in London as a whole, at 60%. Unlike the high streets around Peckham and Brixton in south London, which cater¹⁶ for African shoppers who may travel far to reach them, few specialist shops draw people to Kentish Town. “We're not a destination high street,” sighs one local trader.

　　人口结构也是很大一部分原因。肯特镇有近72％的人都是白人，其中大部分是爱尔兰居民（比伦敦的爱尔兰总人口还要多）—这比伦敦总人口的60％还多。不像伦敦南部的佩卡姆和布里斯顿附近的街道那样，为了迎合那些专门为来到这些这里的非洲顾客而设立的商店，这里几乎没有独特的店铺足以吸引人们来到肯特镇。肯特的一位商人感叹，“我们的街道并不是顾客的目的地。”

　　NIMBYs have not always helped. Lots of civic¹⁷ groups are active in the area, campaigning against late licences and the like, says Dan Carrier of the Camden New Journal, a newspaper. A local business association is also good at complaining. Partly because of this, a big supermarket has not yet opened on the high street—though Lidl, a discounter, will set up shop this year. “We quite like that it is rough around the edges,” says Michael Williams, a writer and local.

　　邻避效应（not in my back yard，指居民或当地单位因担心建设项目带来诸多负面影响，从而激发人们的嫌恶情结，滋生“不要建在我家后院”的心理，及采取的强烈和坚决的、有时高度情绪化的集体反对甚至抗争行为。）并不一直都起作用。该地区的许多公民组织是很活跃的，他们常反对老旧的许可证这类事物，来自卡姆登新日报（Camden New Journal）的Dan Carrier说道。当地的一个工商协会也很擅长这种控诉。在一定程度上出于这种原因，一家大型超市都未能在这条街上开张—即使是将在今年开业Lidl（一间德国的连锁超级市场，在全球拥有超过8000间分店。）当地作家Michael Williams说，“我们的确喜欢在边缘徘徊，不入大流。”

　　Paradoxically, soaring house prices in the area might be another brake on change. Wealthy family buyers mean that some houses once split into flats have been turned back into homes, says Mr Carrier. The result is fewer shoppers on the high street. Wealthy residents are more likely to get their groceries online or drive to bigger stores. And most will go out to the West End rather than a local restaurant.

　　相反的是，该地区飞涨的房价可能是改变的另一个阻碍。Carrier表示，那些富裕家庭的买主意味着曾被隔成公寓的房屋已被变回原来的大房子。结果便是街道上越来越少的顾客。富裕的居民更可能在线购物或是开车去大商店。而且其中的大多数人会去伦敦西区（the West End）而不是当地的餐厅。

　　Such “counter-currents” will prevent Kentish Town from gentrifying fully, suggests Gillian Tindall, a local historian. And they affect many other streets in London, too. Lupus Street in Pimlico serves a large council block on one side and white stucco houses on the other. Caledonian Road in Islington, close to rapidly-changing King's Cross, is still full of kebab shops. London is a global city, but it is also a collection of villages, cranky and resistant¹⁸ to change.

　　当地的一位历史学家Gillian Tindall表示，这般“逆流现象”将完全阻止肯特镇的区域贵族化。而且他们还影响了伦敦的很多其他街道。例如皮姆利科的Lupus街，一边提供社会住房，另一边就有高档的白色粉刷住宅。伊斯灵顿的古苏格兰路（Caledonian Road，临近不断改变的国王十字火车站）仍旧满是烤肉店。伦敦是一个全球化城市，但是它也是一个村落的集合而且它古怪又固执的拒绝改变。

　　1.seem to 好像；似乎；好像是

　　例句:Their concern seems to be unwarranted.

　　他们的担心似乎是没有必要的。

　　2.more than 超过

　　例句:Their replies were no more than grunts¹⁹ of acknowledgement.

　　他们所谓的回答不过是表示承认的咕哝罢了。

　　3.as well as 既…又…； 除…之外

　　例句:Billiards²⁰ is played by women as well as by men.

　　弹子戏男女都玩。

　　4.likely to 很可能

　　例句:The fires are likely to permanently²¹ deforest the land.

　　这些火灾很可能会彻底毁掉这片土地上的森林。

1 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

2 humdrum   

adj.单调的，乏味的

参考例句：

• Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。
• The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

3 pawnbrokers   

n.当铺老板( pawnbroker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• To exploit this demand, pawnbrokers are shedding their dingy, Dickensian image. 为了开拓市场，典当商人正在试图摆脱他们过去阴暗的狄更斯时代的形象。 来自互联网
• Each state and territory has legislation that requires pawnbrokers to be licensed. 各个州和地区的法律都规定当铺老板必须取得特许执照。 来自互联网

4 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 mouldering   

v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌

参考例句：

• The room smelt of disuse and mouldering books. 房间里有一股长期不用和霉烂书籍的味道。
• Every mouldering stone was a chronicle. 每块崩碎剥落的石头都是一部编年史。 来自辞典例句

8 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

11 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

12 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

14 demography   

n.人口统计，人口学

参考例句：

• Demography is the analysis of population variables.人口学是对人口变量的分析。
• It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer.按人口统计学的一贯规律，一个国家里的人民越富有，他们所拥有的孩子就越少。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

17 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

18 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

19 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。

20 billiards   

n.台球

参考例句：

• John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。
• Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

21 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。