VOA标准英语2012--Tough Times Test Quality-of-Life Quest in US

Tough Times Test Quality-of-Life Quest in US

经济学人智库公布生活质量调查
Six years ago, the Economist¹ Intelligence Unit based in London, published a survey about the quality of life in countries around the world. Sort of a life-satisfaction index, it takes into account factors such as people’s relative health, material well being, and sense of security.
经济学人智库以伦敦为基础时隔6年公布了一项有关在世界各国生活质量的调查。这是一种关于生活满意度指数,它考虑到的因素是人们的相对健康,物质所得及安全感。
Four nations that have since been rocked by economic upheavals² - Ireland, which ranked first; Iceland; Italy; and Spain - finished in the top 10. Americans were surprised to find their country rated 13th in quality of life.
经受严重的经济剧变的四个国家——爱尔兰位列第一,冰岛,意大利,西班牙，这些国家排名前10位。美国人很惊讶的发现自己的国家竟然排名第13位。
Finding that hard-to-define measure of satisfaction has been a big issue in this country. We search for such things as good schools for our kids, personal space and access to nature.
发现很难定义衡量满意度一直是这个国家的主要问题。我们寻找诸如对我的孩子来说的好学校,个人空间及人与自然的接触。
We move incessantly³, sometimes for reasons no more profound than to be close to a favorite trout⁴ stream or sophisticated nightlife; or to have a waterfront view, a yard big enough for the dog to run, or a welcoming church or synagogue or mosque⁵.
我们不停追逐,有时只不过奢望一处最喜欢的鳟鱼溪流或精致的夜生活,或一处观海景点,一个足够大的可以让狗在里面奔跑的院子,或者一个受欢迎的教堂或清真寺或犹太教会堂。
Of course, quality-of-life considerations must sometimes give way to job demands or the needs of a spouse⁶ or parent or child. But whenever we can, we try to adjust our recipes for a better life, perhaps building a den⁷ for reading or moving to a leisure village with a golf course.
当然,生活质量有时必须考虑到工作需要或要配偶，父母及孩子的需求。但只要我们能够,我们甚至会调整自己的食谱以达到更好的生活,也许还为专门阅读建立一间小屋或为了享受高尔夫球去度假村。
The American West has been settled; the wild places tamed. The search for quality of life is Americans’ new, personal, ever-changing frontier.
美国西部已经稳定;野外环境已经被人熟知。寻找生活品质是美国人的新潮,个人的永恒不变主题。
And, just as in beautiful Ireland or Italy or Spain, tough times have made our search for the good life more challenging of late. It would be interesting, in fact, to see where the United States would rank if a worldwide quality-of-life survey were conducted in 2012.
同样地,就像在美丽的爱尔兰、意大利或者西班牙,艰难时期使我们去寻找美好的生活更具挑战性。这会是一件非常有趣的事情,事实上,2012年在世界范围内展开生活质量调查的话，看看美国会排名如何。
A possible indicator⁸, though - and not a very promising⁹ one - is the Mercer Human Resources Group’s worldwide quality-of-living ranking of cities, completed last year. Only six U.S. cities made the list of the world’s 50 most agreeable places to live. And you have to go all the way to Number 29 before the first one - Honolulu - shows up.
一个可能的迹象,尽管——希望稍显渺茫——在去年美世人力资源集团完成的全球城市生活质量排名中，只有六个美国城市进入榜单成为世界上50个最想生活的城市。而你必须要完全接受直到第29名才第一次出现美国城市火奴鲁鲁的名字。

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

3 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

4 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

7 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

8 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。