2023年经济学人 世界经济进入隐居消费时代(2)

 

    Firms are noticing the $600bn shift.

    各家公司注意到这6000亿美元正在逐渐溜走。

    In a recent earnings¹ call an executive at Darden Restaurants, which runs one of America’s finest restaurant chains, Olive Garden, noted² that, relative to pre-covid times, “we’re probably in that 80% range in terms of traffic”.

    在最近的一次财报电话会议上，经营着美国最好的连锁餐厅之一“橄榄花园”的达顿餐饮公司的一名高管指出，相对于疫情前，“我们的客流量可能在80%左右”。

    At Home Depot³, which sells tools to improve homes, revenue is up by about 15% on 2019 in real terms.

    而家居建材工具销售商家得宝的收入比2019年实际增长了约15%。

    Goldman Sachs, a bank, tracks the share prices of companies that benefit when people stay at home (such as e-commerce firms) and those that thrive when people are out (such as airlines).

    高盛银行追踪了那些因人们居家而受益的公司（如电商公司）和那些因人们外出而繁荣的公司（如航空公司）的股价。

    Even today, the market looks favourably⁴ upon firms that serve stay-at-homers.

    直到现在，市场也看好那些为居家者提供服务的公司。

    Why has hermit⁵ behaviour endured?

    为什么隐居行为持续存在？

    The first possible reason is that some tremulous folk remain afraid of infection, whether by covid or something else.

    第一个可能的原因是，一些胆小的人仍然害怕感染病毒，不管是新冠肺炎还是其他疾病。

    In Britain, car use is in line with the pre-covid norm, whereas public-transport use is well down.

    在英国，汽车使用率与疫情前的正常水平一致，而公共交通使用率则大幅下降。

    People also seem less keen on up-close-and-personal services.

    人们似乎也不太热衷于近距离的私人服务。

    In America spending on hairdressing and personal grooming⁶ is 20% below its pre-covid trend, while spending on cosmetics⁷, perfumes and nail preparations is up by a quarter.

    在美国，美发和个人美容的支出比疫情前的趋势降低了20%，而化妆品、香水和指甲护理的支出则增加了四分之一。

    The second reason relates to work patterns.

    第二个原因与工作模式有关。

    Across the rich world people now work about one day a week at home, according to Cevat Giray Aksoy of King’s College London and colleagues.

    根据伦敦国王学院的杰瓦特·吉拉伊·阿克索伊及其同事们的研究，在富裕国家，人们现在每周大约有一天在家工作。

    This cuts demand for services bought at the office, including lunches, and raises demand for do-it-yourself goods.

    对于上班时会购买的服务（包括午餐），这方面的需求就减少了，而对DIY产品的需求就增加了。

    Last year Italians spent 34% more on glassware, tableware and household utensils⁸ than in 2019.

    去年，意大利人在玻璃器皿、餐具和家庭用具上的支出比2019年增加了34%。

    The third relates to values.

    第三是价值观。

    Covid may have made people genuinely more hermit-like.

    新冠病毒可能真的让人们变得更像隐士。

    According to official data from America, last year people slept 11 minutes more a day than in 2019.

    根据美国的官方数据，去年人们每天的睡眠时间比2019年多11分钟。

    They also spent less on clubs that require membership and other social activities, and more on solitary⁹ pursuits, such as gardening and pets.

    他们在需要会员资格的俱乐部和其他社交活动上的花费也更少，而在单人活动上花费更多，比如园艺和宠物。

    Meanwhile, global online searches for “Patience”, a card game otherwise known as Solitaire, are running at about twice their pre-pandemic level.

    与此同时，对Patience纸牌游戏（也叫Solitaire）的全球搜索量约为疫情前的两倍。

    Covid’s biggest legacy¹⁰, it seems, has been to pull people apart.

    新冠留下的最大遗产似乎就是将人们彼此分开。

1 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

4 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

5 hermit   

n.隐士，修道者；隐居

参考例句：

• He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
• Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。

6 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

7 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

8 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

9 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。