中国游客撑起安倍经济学

 　　For those who spend a lot of their timebetween the jewellery boutiques and the haute couture stores of Tokyo’s Ginzadistrict, a new joke suggests an easy way to tell local Japanese from theChinese tourists.

　　一个新的笑话表明，有一个简便方法可以分辨出在那些流连于东京银座珠宝专卖店和高级时装店的人当中，哪些是日本本地人，哪些是中国游客。

　　Both types will rendezvous¹ with theirfriends and family under the imposing² portico³ of Mitsukoshi —Ginza’s mostfamous department store and meeting spot.

　　无论是日本本地人还是中国游客都会在三越(Mitsukoshi)——银座最著名的百货商店和碰头地点——雄伟的门廊下与家人和朋友会面。

　　The Chinese, by recent tradition, will rushinside and buy a Bottega Veneta handbag for ￥300,000 ($2,900).

　　按照近年的传统，中国人将会冲到里面，买下30万日元（合2900美元）的宝缇嘉(Bottega Veneta)手袋，而日本人将会冲到马路对面的Doutor平价咖啡店，买上一杯300日元的拿铁咖啡。

　　中国游客撑起安倍经济学

　　The Japanese will rush across the road toDoutor, a thrifty⁴ coffee shop, and buy a latte for ￥300.

　　It is gallows⁵ humour that reveals aJapanese luxury goods industry in outward health, but also in a state offundamental transformation⁶.

　　正是这种黑色幽默揭示出日本奢侈品行业表面仍然健康，但也在发生根本转变。

　　On paper, things could not be better.

　　表面看起来，情况好得不得了。

　　Between 2010 and 2015, according to datafrom Euromonitor International, the value (in 2015 dollar terms) of theJapanese luxury goods market jumped by almost 25 per cent from $20.9bn to$26.1bn.

　　欧睿咨询(Euromonitor International)的数据显示，从2010年到2015年，日本奢侈品市场价值（按2015年美元价值计算）飙升近25%，从209亿美元增至261亿美元。

　　The growth was not quite as steep as the 52per cent growth in China over the same period, but for a developed market, itwas striking.

　　这种增幅不像中国市场同期52%的增长那么陡峭，但对一个发达市场是惊人的。

　　Beneath those figures, however, Japanesetastes in luxury, from jewellery and watches to handbags and headscarves, havebeen shifting towards value for money and low ostentation⁷.

　　然而，在那些数据的背后，日本人不再青睐珠宝、名表、手袋和头巾等奢侈品，他们的兴趣正转向物有所值和低调。

　　Much of that is natural in an ageingpopulation whose tastes have matured, and much of it is the effect of ageneration of Japanese now in their 30s having grown up with 20 years of on-offdeflation.

　　随着人口日益老龄化，随着三十多岁的日本消费者经历了20年断断续续的通缩，消费观念转向成熟理性也是自然的。

　　Chinese tourists, meanwhile, are not justarriving in Japan in record numbers, but on a scale that has smashed thegovernment’s most bullish predictions: up 38 per cent to 3.8m in the year toJuly, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation⁸.

　　与此同时，去日本旅游的中国游客人数不仅创出历史最高纪录，而且增速也超出了政府最乐观的预测：日本国家旅游局(Japan National Tourist Organisation)的数据显示，在截止今年7月的一年时间里，中国游客增长38%，至380万人。

　　Jin Weijun, a tourist from Dalian innorth-east China, conforms to the stereotype⁹ of the Ginza Chinese tourist: heand his girlfriend have spent the past hour at Mitsukoshi comparing four piecesof Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery, all of them costing more than ￥1m each.

　　一名来自中国大连的游客金伟君（音译）和来银座旅游的其他中国人一样：他和女朋友在三越花了一个小时比对梵克雅宝(Van Cleef & Arpels)的四款珠宝，所有这些珠宝的单价都超过了100万日元。

　　When all your friends know you are going toTokyo, you have to come back with something that shows you spent money there,says Mr Jin, a website designer.

　　这名网站设计员表示：当你的朋友们都知道你要去东京的时候，你不得不带回一些东西表明你在那里花了钱。

　　That surge of arrivals and spending hasbeen a consistent support for the last three and a half years of Prime MinisterShinzo Abe’s economic revival¹⁰ programme.

　　中国游客人数和支出飙升在过去3年半为日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)的经济复苏计划提供了持续支持。

　　Policies which caused the yen¹¹ to weakenfrom ￥80 against the dollar in late 2012 to ￥125 in mid-2015 made Tokyo aparticular magnet for luxury shoppers: at one point, and in defiance¹² ofconventional thinking, analysts¹³ calculated that a top-of-the-range LouisVuitton bag was cheaper in Tokyo than in low-tax Hong Kong.

　　2012年末，日元兑美元汇率为1美元兑80日元，由于政策的变化，到2015年年中变为1美元兑125日元，这让东京尤其吸引奢侈品买家：分析师估计，最高档的路易威登(Louis Vuitton)手袋有一个阶段在东京的售价比税率较低的香港还要便宜，这在传统上是不可思议的。

　　Moves to relax the visa application processfor Chinese spurred things further, creating an uNPRecedented¹⁴ wave of customersfor jewellery boutiques that had grown used to handling a trickle¹⁵ of browserseach day.

　　放松中国人赴日签证申请程序的举措，进一步刺激了中国人赴日旅游的热情，掀起了一波史无前例的珠宝店抢购潮——此前这些珠宝店已经习惯了每天应对少数几个光看不买的客人。

　　The decision by Japan’s two mainairlines, JAL and ANA, to offer double baggage allowance on economy-classflights from Chinese cities to Tokyo provided yet more incentive¹⁶ to cram¹⁷ bagswith the highest-end goods that Japan could offer.

　　日本航空(JAL)和全日空(ANA)两家主要航空公司决定允许从中国城市飞往东京的经济舱游客免费托运两件行李，这让游客更有动力将日本的最高端商品塞进行李箱。

　　Wei Lijia is one of a growing number ofChinese who staff the luxury goods sales floors of department stores likeMitsukoshi and Takashimaya to ensure that Chinese tourists receive, in Mandarinand with subtle nods to their national taste, the impeccable service for whichJapan is known.

　　三越和高岛屋(Takashimaya)等百货商店的奢侈品卖场聘请越来越多的中国员工，这让中国游客能够享受日本出了名的完美服务，这些职员说中文，而且向中国游客微微点头，认同他们的品味，魏丽佳（音译）就是其中之一。

　　Luxury goods mean something different toChinese and Japanese.

　　她表示：奢侈品对中国人和日本人的涵义不同。

　　They both understand quality and price, butfor Japanese there is always this feeling that the actual purchase can wait.

　　他们都明白品质和价格，但日本人总是觉得可以等等再买。

　　For the Chinese, there is this idea that ifthey don’t buy it now, it will be gone while they are thinking about it, saysMs Wei.

　　但中国人的想法是，如果现在不下手，在他们犹犹豫豫的时候好东西就被人家买去了。

　　In another symbol of Japan’s rapidadaptation to outsiders’ sense of glamour¹⁹, the transport ministry²⁰ has begun astudy on whether it should encourage taxi companies to operate stretch limousines— vehicles that represent the very opposite of Japan’s lower-key approach toluxury.

　　日本国土交通省开始研究是否应该鼓励出租车公司运营加长型豪车——这种车与日本对奢侈品的低调态度正好相反——这是日本快速迎合外来者奢华感的又一象征。

　　The rise in tourist numbers has been feltnationwide, but especially so in Ginza, where even on a drizzly²¹ Tuesday nightin September the pavements are thronged²² and Mandarin¹⁸ is the main language onthe shop floors.

　　整个日本都能感受到旅游人数的增长，但银座的感受尤其深刻——在今年9月的一个周二晚上，即便下着小雨，但银座的人行道上挤满了人，卖场里到处是中国人的说话声。

　　However, concern is rising over thesustainability of the boom.

　　然而，人们日益怀疑这种繁荣能否持续。

　　Discounting by US department stores,tumbling tourist flows in Europe, especially Paris, and high double-digit fallsin the once feverish²³ markets of Hong Kong and Macau have cut growth expectationsfor the full year in 2016 to between 0 per cent and 2 per cent; in some cases,there may be contraction²⁴.

　　美国百货商店打折、欧洲游客流量骤降（尤其是在巴黎），以及一度炙手可热的香港和澳门市场出现较高两位数的降幅，让2016年全年增长预期下降至0至2%之间，甚至在某些情况下还可能出现负增长。

　　In September, luxury conglomerate²⁵ Richemontreported sales down 13 per cent in constant currencies in the five months tothe end of August and stressed weakness in Hong Kong and Macau.

　　今年9月，奢侈品巨头历峰(Richemont)报告称，在截止8月底的5个月里，销售按不变汇率计算下降13%，香港和澳门的销售尤其疲弱。

　　Bain & Co analysts, meanwhile, confirm Japanas the world’s top market for luxury growth, predicting between 5 per cent and 7per cent growth.

　　与此同时，贝恩分析师证实日本是全球奢侈品增长最快的市场，预计增长在5%-7%之间。

　　The biggest source of risk, say analysts,remains the yen.

　　分析师们表示，最大的风险源头依然是日元。

　　July spending by tourists in Japan’s departmentstores was 20 per cent lower than the same month a year earlier.

　　今年7月日本百货公司的游客支出同比下降20%。

　　Over that 12 month period, notcoincidentally, the yen strengthened by almost 20 per cent.

　　并非巧合的是，在这12个月期间日元升值了近20%

1 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

2 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

3 portico   

n.柱廊，门廊

参考例句：

• A large portico provides a suitably impressive entrance to the chapel.小教堂入口处宽敞的柱廊相当壮观。
• The gateway and its portico had openings all around.门洞两旁与廊子的周围都有窗棂。

4 thrifty   

adj.节俭的；兴旺的；健壮的

参考例句：

• Except for smoking and drinking,he is a thrifty man.除了抽烟、喝酒，他是个生活节俭的人。
• She was a thrifty woman and managed to put aside some money every month.她是个很会持家的妇女，每月都设法存些钱。

5 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

6 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

7 ostentation   

n.夸耀，卖弄

参考例句：

• Choose a life of action,not one of ostentation.要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。
• I don't like the ostentation of their expensive life - style.他们生活奢侈，爱摆阔，我不敢恭维。

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

10 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

11 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

12 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

13 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

14 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

15 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

16 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

17 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

18 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

19 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

20 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

21 drizzly   

a.毛毛雨的(a drizzly day)

参考例句：

• This section of the country is drizzly in the winter. 该国的这一地区在冬天经常细雨蒙蒙。
• That region is drizzly in winter. 那个地区冬天常下小雨。

22 thronged   

v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mourners thronged to the funeral. 吊唁者蜂拥着前来参加葬礼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The department store was thronged with people. 百货商店挤满了人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

24 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

25 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。