纽约时报 为什么金融大师们会降低诱饵?(1)

"Mark your calendar, there's a big day coming!"

“在日历上做个记号，大日子就要到了！”

On Jan. 9, with the dream of $2,000 stimulus¹ checks not yet deflated², the Southern California real estate broker³ Kevin Paffrath uploaded a video to his "Meet Kevin" YouTube channel, updating viewers on the status of the stimulus.

1月9日，由于2000美元刺激计划支票的梦想还没有落空，南加州房地产经纪人凯文·帕夫拉斯在他的YouTube频道Meet Kevin上上传了一段视频，向观众更新介绍刺激计划的现状。

Sitting before an array of glowing LED screens and pop-culture paraphernalia⁴ (a star from the Super Mario games, Thor's hammer from the Marvel⁵ movies),

帕夫拉斯坐在一排发光的LED屏幕和流行文化用品（超级马里奥游戏中的明星，漫威电影中的雷神之锤）前，

Paffrath, a wiry white man in his late 20s with a close-cropped beard, leaned into the lights and greeted his viewers.

这个瘦削的白人男子，将近30岁，留着小胡子。他在灯光下俯身向观众致意。

Using the earnest eye contact of a veteran YouTuber, he ran through a summary of the situation: the interests at play in Congress, the details of proposed bills, the tangled⁶ qualifications for relief.

以一名经验丰富的Youtube用户那种真诚的眼神，他概述了当时的情况：在国会发挥作用的利益、提议法案的细节、错综复杂的救济资格。

Out of focus, over his shoulder, the monitors reminded us to visit his "Meet Kevin School" and sign up for courses to "Master Stocks";

视线模糊后，显示屏上会提醒我们去他的Meet Kevin School报名Master Stocks课程；

at the end of the video, we are invited to "#BecomeMore" through investing, to subscribe⁷ to his channel and, of course, to smash that "like" button.

在视频的最后，我们被邀请通过投资"#BecomeMore"，订阅他的频道，当然了还有点赞。

This video would be just one of dozens about potential stimulus packages posted that day, even that evening — many of them from finance influencers like Paffrath, whose pitches normally involve real estate, stocks or airline points.

这段视频只是当天甚至当晚发布的几十个关于潜在刺激计划的视频之一，其中很多都是像帕夫拉斯这样的金融名人发布的，他们的宣传内容通常涉及房地产、股票或航司积分等。

A year ago, they were promising⁸ to share their proprietary⁹ secrets for achieving wealth, staging monologues¹⁰ in the drivers' seats of luxury cars and poolside on cruise ships.

一年前，在豪车的座位上和游轮的泳池边上独白，他们承诺分享自己的财富秘诀。

Brian Kim, a Chicago accountant, had previously¹¹ been explaining tax preparation, including how high-earners could reduce their obligations;

芝加哥会计师布莱恩·金此前一直就如何准备税收释疑，包括高收入者如何减少他们的债务；

Ramy Wahby once raised a complimentary¹² glass of Champagne¹³ from a first-class airplane seat and offered to explain how he used airline rewards to get there.

雷米·瓦尔比曾从头等舱座位上拿起一杯免费的香槟，解释了他是如何利用航空公司的奖励做到的。

Now all that had changed. The thumbnails on their channels may have kept their usual style — buffoonish¹⁴ facial expressions, glaring yellow text — but it was videos about stimulus checks that came to dominate their feeds.

现在一切都变了。他们频道上的缩略图可能保持了他们一贯的风格——滑稽的面部表情，炫目的黄色文本——但在他们的订阅中占据主导地位的仍是有关刺激计划的视频。

They vied for the role of soothsayer before a rapt audience with a seemingly insatiable demand for information about when the government would offer financial relief.

他们在一群全神贯注的观众面前争夺占卜师的角色，这些观众似乎贪得无厌地想知道政府何时会提供财政援助。

1 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。

2 deflated   

adj. 灰心丧气的

参考例句：

• I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions.他对我的建议兴趣不大，令我感到十分气馁。
• He was deflated by the news.这消息令他泄气。

3 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

4 paraphernalia   

n.装备；随身用品

参考例句：

• Can you move all your paraphernalia out of the way?你可以把所有的随身物品移开吗？
• All my fishing paraphernalia is in the car.我的鱼具都在汽车里。

5 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

6 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

7 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

10 monologues   

n.（戏剧）长篇独白( monologue的名词复数 )；滔滔不绝的讲话；独角戏

参考例句：

• That film combines real testimonials with monologues read by actors. 电影中既有真人讲的真事，也有演员的独白。 来自互联网
• Her monologues may help her make sense of her day. 她的独白可以帮助她让她一天的感觉。 来自互联网

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

13 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。

14 buffoonish   

参考例句：