经济学人:房车走俏 中国市场成主要推动力(上)

 　　Business 商业

　　Recreational Vehicles: On the road 房车：启程

　　An all-American product finds new takers. 全美流行的成品找到了新买家。

　　Early spring is the main selling season for recreational vehicles (RVs) and the phone on Tom Troiano's desk has been ringing incessantly¹. 早春时节，是房车交易的黄金时段，在这个时候，Tom Troiano桌面上的手机也响个不停。

　　The owner of Continental² RV, a dealership³ in Farmingdale, a village on Long Island, Mr Troiano is on track to sell more RVs this year than in any othersince the early 2000s. Tom Troiano是在美国长岛一个村庄——法明代尔(Farmingdale)的大陆房车(Continental RV)的经销商，Troiano先生预计今年出售的房车可能会比从21世纪以来任何一年卖得都要多。

　　Buoyed⁴ by cheap financing, rising wages and inexpensive gas, travellers are once again splurging on big-ticket camper vans. 财政压力减少，工资上涨再加上廉价的天然气，这使得旅客们又开始了花大价钱购买房车。

　　RVs are a quintessentially American invention: more than two-thirds are made in the United States. 美国是房车的起源地，而且世界上超过三分之二的房车是美国制造。

　　Nationally, sales surged to 430,000 units last year, a 40-year high. 去年，房车在全国销售额猛增至43万台，创四十年新高。

　　At the inexpensive end they sell for as little as $5,000 for a caravan⁵;  下至最便宜如大篷车，只卖五千美元，

　　deluxe⁶ versions cost up to $1m and are typically equipped with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom that are bigger than in many European flats. 上至豪华版，价格高达100万美元，这种豪华版房车通常配有一个卧室，厨房和浴室，比许多欧洲公寓都大。

　　The share prices of Thor Industries, the biggest RV-manufacturer in America, and Winnebago, the third-largest, have risen by 43% and 17%, respectively, in the past year. 美国最大的房车制造商Thor Industries和第三大的Winnebago的股价在过去一年中分别上涨了43%和17%。

　　That is a big change. 这是一个很大的转变。

　　During the 2008-09 recession, notes Mr Troiano, RV dealerships everywhere closed down, leaving his shop among the very few left serving the New York metropolitan⁷ area. Troiano先生指出，在2008-09年的经济衰退期间，各地的房车经销商都倒闭了，而他的店铺是少数留在纽约这个大都市店铺中的一个。

　　The current rebound⁸ is mostly owing to the economy's recovery, but it also springs from the fact that new types of customer are embracing the lifestyle. 这一次的反弹主要是由于经济复苏，同时也是由于涌现出了许多接受这一种生活方式的新型客户。

1 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。

2 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

3 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

4 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

6 deluxe   

adj.华美的，豪华的，高级的

参考例句：

• This system puts the top hotels in a special deluxe category.这种分类法把最高级的旅馆列为特殊豪华级。
• I liked the deluxe edition,but I could afford only a second best.我喜欢精装版，但我只买得起一本稍差一点的。

7 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

8 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。