美丽英文38

　　The golden pond
The lure¹ of the lifestyle
We stopped at one particularly imposing² custom-home still under construction, wondering about the future occupants. Where did this wealth come from?
Although we love our home in a fairly nice neighborhood in San Diego, my wife and I sometimes like to "looky-loo" at new homes—it's a kind of weekend pastime and, who knows, we might find something really special which will tempt³ us into moving.
A couple of years ago, in one particularly expensive neighborhood, we saw homes that were bigger than we could believe: 15,000 square feet and more. This was right next to a golf club where memberships ran $75,000 a year. We were informed that everyone joined, because everyone joined. What if you didn't play golf? Well, you joined anyway, to socialize with the neighbors. That was simply part of the lifestyle.
We stopped at one particularly imposing custom-home still under construction, wondering about the future occupants. Where did this wealth come from? How many children did these people have, 20? Or, perhaps their extended family—sisters and cousins and aunts—would be living there too? Our brief tour disclosed wings and lobbies and sitting rooms for the usual number of bedrooms (why do the children need lobbies?) plus game rooms and media centers and anterooms galore. The more sensible 3,000 square feet-sized house at the end of the garden turned out to be the "butler's quarters."
Then we bumped into the owners. Gosh, they looked about 25! I just had to ask; it turned out they were 30-ish. They happily disclosed that their current home, not far away, was only 5,000 square feet. Too small, they insisted. How many kids did they have? Two. So, just what did they do for a living? One word explained it all: dot-com. We left, shaking our heads.
Some months later we thought we'd drive by to see whether that dot-com family had moved in yet. There was a big sign out-front. Construction had stopped mid-way and the big, unfinished house was for sale.
I was curious, so I dug deeper. It turns out that the dot-com IPO was valued at about $50 million, and this guy who was building the palace had sold about $3 million worth of stock during the offering, which valued his 20% stockholding at $10 million. When the stock crashed (to a fraction of the IPO price) and the company folded, his debts and commitments already exceeded the amount he had cashed in plus his stock value, and he was broke. They had made a 10% down payment on the $10 million home, and the bank was now the owner of the unfinished monstrosity. The dot-com "millionaire" was now looking for funding on his next venture.
This type of escalation⁴ up the ladder of life is not limited just to the filthy-rich. I remember many years ago, a colleague at work with a salary comparable to mine had a home that seemed much larger. Perhaps he was independently wealthy. Then we both got a similar pay raise, and I heard to my amazement⁵ that he was moving to an even larger home. I asked him how he did it and he replied, "The magic of monthly payments!" A few years later, during the aerospace⁶ layoffs⁷, I bumped into him again. He had lost his job, his wife had left him, they had sold the house during the divorce, and he was selling office supplies to make a living—a casualty of lifestyle syndrome⁸.
Our society boosts people into thinking that wealth accumulates and extrapolates endlessly. And borrowing is based on that misconception. Don't pay cash, when you can borrow and the interest is tax-deductible. When buying a car, many consider only the lease payments, not the price. If you can make the monthly payments, why not buy a boat?
In reality, most assets depreciate⁹, while expenses and liabilities (including interest) mount mercilessly. Many millionaires go bust¹⁰ quite quickly because they don't seem to understand these simple truths. They simply succumb¹¹ to the lure of the lifestyle.
I know one guy who lives in a relatively¹² humble¹³, rented home but has a luxury car and spends $25,000 a year to play at a tennis club. When I suggested that he could play tennis inexpensively in any one of several local venues¹⁴, he insisted, "You have to live the lifestyle to meet the right people. Besides, they all see my car, but no one knows where I live!"
I know another lifestyle junkie, a leading light at the ballet and the opera, with another expensive habit: valet parking. When the valet service is free, he still tips the valet five dollars. On one occasion when we met for lunch, the parking lot was largely empty, so I parked right next to the front door, while my friend drove up and grandly handed his keys to the valet. After lunch, we came out together and I drove off right away while my friend waited impatiently for the valet, who was nowhere to be seen.
Now, I don't feel particularly humble or miserly, but I really don't understand the rationale of the luxury lifestyle. In fact, I remember the remark of a guy who ignored the champagne¹⁵ at a fancy reception and asked for a beer. "Hey!" he said, "I'm rich enough to drink what I want, not what looks good."
These days, when I see somebody posturing¹⁶ beyond their means, I remember a Texas cattleman's wisecrack: "Big hat, no cattle!"

1 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

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 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

4 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

5 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

6 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

7 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 depreciate   

v.降价，贬值，折旧

参考例句：

• The computer value will depreciate by $ 500 in the first year.在头一年里这台电脑会贬值500美元。
• If you neglect this property,it will depreciate.如果你忽视这份资产，它无形中就贬值了。

10 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

11 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

14 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

15 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

16 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。