今日导读
最近，关于“大城市女性买房猛增”的话题引发了网友的热切讨论。女性购房这一现象不仅体现了女性独立意识不断增强，还反映了越来越多的女性获得高薪岗位。这会对经济领域产生什么样的影响呢？让我们跟着雪梨老师，一起来看今天的新闻。
新闻原文
The surprising connection between single women and gentrification
Gentrification is reshaping urban areas all around the world, displacing large segments of the population and making cities increasingly unaffordable.
We recently examined two decades of cultural transitions in Hong Kong with a focus on how the changing status of women and attitudes toward marriage have altered the real estate market.
What we found is that single women in Hong Kong have played a surprising and little-studied role in gentrification.
Marrying later
From 1950 to 1990, the number of young single women across Asia increased almost fourfold, from 22 million to 82 million.
This trend has produced a ripple effect throughout the economy, including the property market and local redevelopment, as the increased number of single women–who are also attaining higher-paid job–boosts demand for housing.
Gentrifying neighborhoods
A telltale sign of gentrification is the shift from rentals to owner-occupied housing. The share of units with owners living in them climbed from 45.5% in 1986 to 64.2% two decades later.
The share of households led by single women, whether never-married or divorced, jumped to 47.1% in 2006 from just 25.8% two decades earlier.
Global trends
Overall, not only are single women emerging as a growing and critical aspect of Hong Kong’s economy, they are also driving the city’s increasingly unaffordable real estate market.
This is not to say that we should blame women for gentrification. We believe their growing representation and success in the workforce in Hong Kong and elsewhere is something to be celebrated. And women at the other end of the income spectrum, particularly single mothers, bear the brunt of gentrification.
带着问题看讲解
如何理解"ripple effect"这个短语？
请用一句话解释“中产阶级化”这个概念。
为什么作者认为，我们不能把中产阶级化怪到女性头上？
新闻正文
The surprising connection between single women and gentrification
单身女性和中产阶级化之间惊人的联系
Gentrification is reshaping urban areas all around the world, displacing large segments of the population and making cities increasingly unaffordable.
中产阶级化正在重塑世界各地的城市地区，导致大量人口被迫迁居，城市生活成本也越来越难以负担。
We recently examined two decades of cultural transitions in Hong Kong with a focus on how the changing status of women and attitudes toward marriage have altered the real estate market.
最近，我们研究了香港 20 年来的文化变迁。重点关注的是，女性地位及她们婚姻观念的转变，是如何改变房地产市场的。
What we found is that single women in Hong Kong have played a surprising and little-studied role in gentrification.
我们发现，虽然对此的研究很少，但是香港的单身女性在中产阶级化中扮演了出人意料的角色。
Marrying later
结婚更晚
From 1950 to 1990, the number of young single women across Asia increased almost fourfold, from 22 million to 82 million.
从 1950 年到 1990 年，亚洲年轻单身女性的数量增加了近三倍，从 2200 万增加到 8200 万。
This trend has produced a ripple effect throughout the economy, including the property market and local redevelopment, as the increased number of single women–who are also attaininghigher-paid job–boosts demand for housing.
这一趋势在整个经济领域产生了连锁反应，受影响的领域包括房地产市场和地方重建，因为单身女性越来越多，她们找到的工作报酬也越来越高，从而增加了对住房的需求。
Gentrifying neighborhoods
居住环境日趋中产阶级化
A telltale sign of gentrification is the shift from rentals to owner-occupied housing. The share of units with owners living in them climbed from 45.5% in 1986 to 64.2% two decades later.
中产阶级化的一个明显迹象，体现在住房从租赁到自住的转变上。1986年，房主自住类住宅的占比是 45.5%，20年后（2006 年）上升到了 64.2%。
The share of households led by single women, whether never-married or divorced, jumped to 47.1% in 2006 from just 25.8% two decades earlier.
2006 年，户主是单身女性（包括未婚和离异）的房产所占的比例跃升至了 47.1%。20 年之前（1986 年），这个数字只有 25.8%。
Global trends
全球趋势
Overall, not only are single women emerging as a growing and critical aspect of Hong Kong’s economy, they are also driving the city’s increasingly unaffordable real estate market.
总体而言，单身女性不仅仅正在成为香港经济当中日益壮大和举足轻重的一部分，同时，她们也刺激着这座城市越发高不可攀的房地产市场。
This is not to say that we should blame women for gentrification. We believe their growing representation and success in the workforce in Hong Kong and elsewhere is something to be celebrated. And women at the other end of the income spectrum, particularly single mothers, bear the brunt of gentrification.
这并不是说我们该把中产阶级化怪到女性头上。我们相信，不论在香港或是其他各处，女性在劳动力大军当中日益提升的代表性和接连不断的成功，是值得庆祝的。与此同时，在中产阶级化的浪潮中，处于收入阶层另一端的低收入女性（尤其单亲妈妈们）却首当其冲，受到压力。
重点词汇
gentrification
/ˌdʒentrɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/
n. 中产阶级化
e.g.
相关词汇：gentry（n. 上流社会人士，绅士阶层）
词性拓展：gentrify（v. 使贵族化）
英文释义：a process by which middle-class people take up residence in a traditionally working-class area of a city, changing the character of the area
例句：This area is undergoing gentrification.
displace
/dɪsˈpleɪs/
v. 迫使…离开常居地；取代
e.g.
词根词缀：dis-（分开，分离）
segment
/ˈseɡmənt/
n. 部分；段，片
e.g.
近义词：part
搭配短语：a segment of an orange
搭配短语：market segment
real estate
房地产，不动产
e.g.
英文释义：property in the form of land or buildings
搭配短语：real estate bubble
相关短语：property bubble
fourfold
/ˈfɔːrfoʊld/
adv. 四倍地
e.g.
英文释义：four times as big or as much
搭配短语：a fourfold increase (adj.)
相关词汇：fivefold, sixfold
ripple effect
连锁反应；涟漪作用
e.g.
相关词汇：ripple（n. 涟漪）
英文释义：a situation in which one event produces effects which spread and produce further effects
相关短语：butterfly effect
相关短语：domino effect
attain
/əˈteɪn/
v. 得到，获得；达到
e.g.
搭配短语：attain high grades
搭配短语：attain independence
telltale
/ˈtelteɪl/
adj. 能说明问题的；暴露实情的
e.g.
搭配短语：telltale clues
搭配短语：a telltale sign of sth.
owner-occupied
/ˌoʊnər ˈɑːkjupaɪd/
adj.（房子等）业主居住的；自己使用的
e.g.
相关词汇：owner（n. 主人）
相关词汇：occupied（adj. 被使用的；已占用的）
share
/ʃer/
n. 份，份额
e.g.
搭配短语：the share of sth.
households led by single women
户主为单身女性的住户
e.g.
近义词：households headed by single women
相关短语：a household led/headed by men
相关短语：a male-led household/a male-headed household
workforce
/ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs/
n. 劳动力，（国家、地区、行业）全体从业人员
e.g.
例句：The company is cutting its workforce.
spectrum
/ˈspektrəm/
n. 频谱；范围
e.g.
搭配短语：social spectrum
搭配短语：a broad spectrum of interests
brunt
/brʌnt/
n. 主要压力；影响最大的部分
e.g.
英文释义：the chief impact of a specified action
搭配短语：bear/take the (full) brunt of sth.
补充词汇知识
reshape
v. 重新塑造
increasingly
adv. 越来越多地
搭配短语：be increasingly important
搭配短语：be increasingly common
unaffordable
adj. 负担不起的
词根词缀：un-（表示否定）
词根词缀：-affordable（负担得起的）
little-studied
adj. 很少被研究过的
反义词：much-studied
property
n. 资产、地产
redevelopment
n. 再开发、重建
词根词缀：re-（重新，再次）
词根词缀：-development（开发 ，发展）
搭配短语：urban redevelopment
boost
v. 增强，推动，提高
英文释义：to improve or increase something
搭配短语：boost confidence
搭配短语：boost the economy
shift from A to B
从 A 到 B 的转变
rentals
n. 租赁
unit
n. 一套住房
英文释义：a single flat or house in a building
climb from A to B
从 A 攀升到 B
household
n. 一户人家
never-married
未婚的
divorced
离婚的，离异的
jump to B from A
从 A 值暴涨到 B 值
emerge
v. 显现，兴起
搭配短语：emerge as
growing
adj. 增长的，增强的
critical
adj. 重要的
drive
v. 推动
英文释义：force to advance
blame sb. for sth.
因某事怪罪/责怪某人
spectrum
n. 光谱；范围，阶层
搭配短语：social spectrum
搭配短语：a broad spectrum of interests
长难句解析
This trend has produced a ripple effect throughout the economy, including the property market and local redevelopment, as the increased number of single women–who are also attaining higher-paid job–boosts demand for housing.
这一趋势在整个经济领域产生了连锁反应，受影响的领域包括房地产市场和地方重建，因为单身女性越来越多，她们找到的工作报酬也越来越高，从而增加了对住房的需求。
这个长句的主干是 this trend has produced a ripple effect throughout the economy, 两个逗号之间的插入语 including the property market and local redevelopment，具体解释了影响波及的范围；之后， as 引导的状语从句，解释了产生连锁反应的缘由: 这个从句的主干是 the number of single women boosts demand for housing; 从句的主语是 the increased number of single women ，而 who are also attaining higher-paid job 是插入语，用来进一步补充说明 single women，故这里的谓语为第三人称单数形式。
Overall, not only are single women emerging as a growing and critical aspect of Hong Kong’s economy, they are also driving the city’s increasingly unaffordable real estate market.
总体而言，单身女性不仅仅正在成为香港经济当中日益壮大和举足轻重的一部分。同时，她们也刺激着这座城市越发高不可攀的房地产市场。
这个句子的核心结构是 not only… but also…，这里省略了 but；以否定词 not only 开头的句子需部分倒装，所以谓语 are 提到了主语 single women 前面，宾语是 a growing and critical aspect of Hong Kong’s economy 位置不变；句子的后半部分，主语 they 指代 single women，句子的谓语是 are driving，宾语是 the city’s increasingly unaffordable real estate market. 此外，这个长句以现在进行时态，来表现出“某件事情正在呈现发展中的态势”
一句话总结新闻
本期《Fast Company》讲述了单身女性增多，且经济越来越独立，这推动了房地产市场的发展，和中产阶级化进程。
拓展阅读
香港高房价困境
香港经济发展迅猛：2017 年，人均 GDP 已高达 5.77 万美元，是全球最富裕的地区之一。然而，这座城市的经济高度繁荣，住房却面临困境。香港市民居住条件较差，人均住房仅 16 平米；房价多年持续上涨，市民买房背负巨大压力。1986-2017 年，港岛、九龙、新界的私人房屋均价分别上涨 20 倍、20 倍和 14 倍，年均增长 10%、10%和 9%。2018 年，房价收入比接近 48 倍，位居世界主要城市前列。由于房价过高，住房自有率从 2004 年的 54%下滑到 2017 年的 49%。
而香港高房价的根本原因，是有限的土地供应。目前香港仍有 75%的土地，因历史、地理环境等原因属于郊野地区；其中，23 个郊野公园，15 个特别地区，4 个海岸公园和一个海岸保护区，约占香港总面积 38%的土地。批地数量少，地产商竞争激烈，地价自然节节上涨。高涨的地价最终又反映到房价上，造成楼价居高不下的现象。
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