商业报道:中国跑车一族的急速生活

They call it the super car club. Porches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis driven by China's super wealthy.

"Well, let's just say, my father is very rich. That's all I can tell you." The son of an iron steeling magnate and a self-made media tycoon¹ are among the princes and princesses of Chinese industrial kings.

"Most girls drive automatic" this woman says, "but I think manual is more interesting"

So cars are their toys and this is where Chinese millionaires come out to play on this race track. They can go up to 160 kilometers per hour.

The part of a growing class of young elites² writing the miracle of Chinese economic growth. China now has more known billionaires than any country besides the United States. The average age is dropping and their tastes becoming more refined. China is now the second largest market for luxury goods in the world. This one of a kind of Ferrari sold for 1.8-million dollars at auction³ in Beijing. It was painted in Song dynasty style--porcelain to woo a Chinese buyer.

"This is a young market. Average age of Ferrari customer world wide is 45,50 years old. In China, it's 34 years old."

Other luxury car brands are arriving up in China too, thanks in part to government stimulus⁴. Sales of BMW, Audis and Mercedes are all way up. Including China's hefty luxury and import taxes, these cars cost up to 3 times what they would in other countries.

What they're doing is that they're displaying their wealth, they are displaying their social level within society, but also they want to just have fun and they believe they've earned it.

All right, now, it's our turn. Needless to say this is my first time in a Lamborghini, let alone an orange Lamborghini. Here we go.

“When people see us in these cars. They think we are cool." says this man, "When I am driving, I feel cool."

Showing off? Maybe. Shifting in the high gear? Definitely. For better or for worse, this is life in Chinese fast lane.

1 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

2 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 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。