经济学人:最低工资 留下了坏印象(2)

 　　Their analysis relies on data from Yelp¹, a restaurant-review app favoured by millennials. 他们分析数据源于受千禧一代喜爱的餐厅点评APP Yelp。

　　The Lucas found that a restaurant has, on average, a one-in-250 chance of closing in any given month. Lucas发现，平均而言，一家餐馆有250分之一可能性会在任何一个月倒闭。

　　Whether or not the odds² change when the minimum wage rises seems to depend on the quality of the eatery—or at least, on its Yelp rating. 当最低工资上涨时是否可能发生变化似乎取决于餐馆的质量—至少取决于在Yelp的评级。

　　Restaurants with a coveted³ five-star score are barely affected⁴; but less impressive joints⁵ are suddenly more likely to close. 拥有令人垂涎的五星成绩的餐馆几乎没有受到影响；但不那么令人印象深刻的联合餐馆突更可能然关闭。

　　Restaurants with a middling rating are about 14% more likely to shut down when the minimum wage goes up by a dollar.  当最低工资上涨一美元时，中等等级的餐馆大约有14%的可能倒闭。

　　(The authors also show that rating is distinct from price—in other words, a glorious but cheap takeaway has less to worry about than sellers of pricey but tasteless fare). （作者还表示，评级与价格不同，换言之，一种极好而廉价的外卖比昂贵而无味的卖家更不用担心）。

　　The result can be spun⁶ multiple ways. 结果由多种方式导致。

　　If those scholars who say that overall restaurant employment is unaffected by higher minimum wages are right,  如果那些认为餐馆总体就业不受愈高最低工资影响的学者正确无误，

　　the implication of the new paper is that pay floors somehow force up the quality of restaurants. 新研究就意味着保底工资水平会在某种程度上迫使餐馆提高质量。

　　So long as one minimum-wage worker is much like another, a laid-off waiter will be able to find a new job somewhere serving better grub. 只要一个最低工资的工人和另一个工人差不多，一个下岗的服务员就能在别处找到一份更好的工作。

　　If those scholars are wrong, however, then the new paper supports what sceptics have said all along:  然而，如果这些学者是错误的，那么新的文件就支持了持怀疑态度的人一直在说的：

　　that higher minimum wages, by threatening the viability⁷ of some firms, dent⁸ employment opportunities for the low-skilled. 调高的最低工资，通过威胁一些公司的生存能力，削弱了低技能就业机会的人。

　　That should be food for thought. 那这应该是发人深省的。

1 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

2 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

3 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

6 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

7 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

8 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。