经济学人131:金钱和快乐 更明智方式消费

 　　Money and happiness

　　金钱和快乐

　　Buy buy love

　　买来的爱

　　Smarter ways to spend

　　更明智方式消费

　　Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.By Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.

　　《快乐理财》:更明智消费的科学 伊丽莎白·唐恩和迈克尔·诺顿合著

　　WHAT would you do with590m? This is now a question for Gloria MacKenzie, an 84-year-old widow who recently emerged from her small, tin-roofed house in Florida to collect the biggest undivided lottery¹ jackpot in history. The blogosphere is full of advice for this lucky Powerball pensioner². But if she hopes her new-found lucre³ will yield lasting⁴ feelings of fulfilment, she could do worse than read “Happy Money” by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton.

　　如果你有5.9亿美元，你会想做什么？葛罗瑞亚·马克肯泽尔正面对这个问题。她是一位84岁在弗罗里达拥有一座小房子的寡妇，最近获得了有史以来最大的彩票头奖。博客上到处是给这位幸运强力球奖金领取者的建议。但如果她希望她新得到的财富会让她产生持久的满足感，她可能需要读读伊丽莎白·唐恩和迈克尔·诺顿合著的《快乐理财》。

　　These two academics—she teaches psychology⁵ at the University of British Columbia; he lectures on marketing⁶ at Harvard Business School—use an array of behavioural research to show that the most rewarding ways to spend money can be counterintuitive. Fantasies of great wealth often involve visions of fancy cars and palatial⁷ homes on remote bluffs⁸. Yet satisfaction with these material purchases wears off fairly quickly. What was once exciting and new becomes old-hat; remorse⁹ creeps in. It is far better to spend money on experiences, say Ms Dunn and Mr Norton, like interesting trips, unique meals or even going to the cinema. These purchases often become more valuable with time—as stories or memories—particularly if they involve feeling more connected to others

　　这两位学者，一位在英属哥伦比亚大学教授心理学，一位在哈佛商学院教授市场营销。在书中他们引用了一些列的行为学研究向读者表明最受益的消费方式可能具有反直觉性质。财富给人的感觉经常会意味着豪车和峭壁旁的富宅。不过，这些物质采购带来的满足感会很快消失。曾经让人兴奋和带来新奇的东西到手之后不过就像是老旧的礼帽；懊恼悄然而至。远不如把钱花在生活体验上，唐恩和诺顿说道，比如说旅行，特别的膳食及去电影院看电影。随着时间的流逝，这些体验往往会变得珍贵--成为人们的故事或记忆-如果其中包含了情感故事则更是这样。

　　金钱和快乐.jpg

　　This slim volume is packed with tips to help wage slaves as well as lottery winners get the most “happiness bang for your buck”. It seems most people would be better off if they could shorten their commutes¹⁰ to work, spend more time with friends and family and less of it watching television (something the average American spends a whopping two months a year doing, and is hardly jollier for it). Buying gifts or giving to charity is often more pleasurable than purchasing things for oneself, and luxuries are most enjoyable when they are consumed sparingly. This is apparently¹¹ the reason McDonald's restricts the availability of its popular McRib—a marketing gimmick¹² that has turned the pork sandwich into an object of obsession¹³.

　　无论你是工资的奴仆，还是彩票的幸运儿在这本薄薄的书，都能让你获得“金钱带来的快乐大爆发”。如果人们能够缩短他们的工作时间和看电视的时间而花更多的时间跟朋友和家人在一起会让他们的生活的品质更高。买礼物或捐助慈善机构往往会比给自己买东西更让人觉得开心。购买限售版奢侈品会让消费者更开心。这显然是麦当劳为什么限制受欢迎的烤汁猪排堡的出售量的原因--这个营销手段使人们为猪肉三明治着迷。

　　Readers of “Happy Money” are clearly a privileged lot, anxious about fulfilment, not hunger. Money may not quite buy happiness, but people in wealthier countries are generally happier than those in poor ones. Yet the link between feeling good and spending money on others can be seen among rich and poor people around the world, and scarcity¹⁴ enhances the pleasure of most things for most people. Not everyone will agree with the authors' policy ideas, which range from mandating¹⁵ more holiday time to reducing tax incentives¹⁶ for American homebuyers. But most people will come away from this book believing it was money well spent.

　　《快乐财富》的读者显然是生活富足的人，他们考虑的是生活的满足感而不是饥饿。金钱可能不能买到快乐，但是在更富裕国家的人们一般比贫穷国家的人们快乐。不过，不管是在富裕的国家还是贫穷的国家，感觉良好和消费在其他人身上的联系随处可见。对大多数人来说，稀缺性提升了很多事情的快乐。并不是每个人都同意笔者在从安排更多的度假时间到减少税收刺激美国购房者的观点。但是读完这本书，大多数的人会觉得它值得购买。

　　1.emerge from 露出；浮现

　　Simmons hopes to emerge from bankruptcy¹⁷ in the hands of two new private equity¹⁸ firms.

　　席梦思公司希望依靠两家新兴的私募股权公司从破产中重新站起来。

　　They are a classic form of stimulus¹⁹ that could help the economy emerge from the housing hangover.

　　这是一个刺激经济，帮助其从住房危机中复苏的经典方式。

　　2.connect to 连接,相连

　　Its critical patents for 3g enable billions of handsets around the world to connect to the network. "

　　至关重要的3G专利使全球数十亿部手机可以与网络相连。

　　Modern visual basic applications often use advanced activex components²⁰ to connect to data sources.

　　现代visual basic应用程序经常使用先进的activex组件连接到数据源。

　　3.pack with 充满

　　You brought your whole pack with you?

　　你把你这帮爪牙都带上了？

　　The film had led the pack with 13 nominations²¹.

　　《返老还童》以13项提名领先各候选影片。

　　4.agree with 与某人意见一致;赞成

　　It's an interesting argument, but I don't fully²² agree with it.

　　这种说法颇有意思，不过笔者并不完全赞同。

　　We agree with their dour²³ outlook and would be short this economy.

　　对于他们的悲观展望，我们持赞同态度，而且将做空法国市场。

1 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

2 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

3 lucre   

n.金钱，财富

参考例句：

• She married a foreigner for mere lucre.她仅仅为钱财而嫁给了一个外国人。
• He would sell his soul for filthy lucre.他会为了不义之财而出卖灵魂。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 palatial   

adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的

参考例句：

• Palatial office buildings are being constructed in the city.那个城市正在兴建一些宫殿式办公大楼。
• He bought a palatial house.他买了套富丽堂皇的大房子。

8 bluffs   

恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁

参考例句：

• Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
• He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式，假装最初是一个洗碗机，然后厨师。

9 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

10 commutes   

上下班路程( commute的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She commutes from Oxford to London every day. 她每天上下班往返于牛津与伦敦之间。
• Barbara lives in Oxford and commutes. 芭芭拉住在牛津，通勤往来。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

13 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

14 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

15 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

16 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

18 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

19 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

20 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

21 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 dour   

adj.冷酷的，严厉的；（岩石）嶙峋的；顽强不屈

参考例句：

• They were exposed to dour resistance.他们遭受到顽强的抵抗。
• She always pretends to be dour,in fact,she's not.她总表现的不爱讲话，事实却相反。