Some of the most contagious narratives are newer, more resistant variants of old ones.
Behind every property boom is a mutation of the eternal narrative about the scarcity value of land.
“Who could think of tilling or being contented with a hundred acres of land, when thousands of acres in the broad west were waiting for occupants,” says a tractdocumenting the follies of America’s land boom of the1830s.
The global housing boom that led up to the Great Recession of 2007-09 was driven by narratives that persuaded people to think of their homes as speculativeinvestments in scarce land.
这是《经济学人》10月刊的一篇文章'Tale risk'第6段,共有4句。
1、
{'resistant':'adj.抵抗的'}
{'variants':'n.变种,变体'}
一些最具感染力的叙述都是较新的,他们是更具抵抗力的旧故事变体。
2、
{'property':'n.不动产'}
{'mutation':'v.转变'}
{'eternal':'adj.永恒的,不朽的'}
{'scarcity':'n.缺少'}
这句话有两个‘of’,分别是'mutation of the eternal narrative'和'scarcity value of land'。意思为:永恒叙事的转变,土地资源的匮乏
整句话试着翻译:在每一次房地产繁荣的背后都是关于对土地资源稀缺永恒叙述的转变。
3、
{'acres':'n.英亩'}
{'tilling':'.耕地,犁地'}
{'occupants':'n.使用者'}
{'tract':'小册子'}
这段话结构就是'谁说了什么话',这里是'a tract documenting'说的内容,直接翻译:“谁能想到,当西部宽阔地区数千英亩的土地正等待被使用时,(人们还)耕耘或满足于仅百余英亩的土地。”一份关于美国19世纪30年代的土地繁荣的愚蠢的小册子说道。
4、
Great Recession:大萧条
{'speculative':'adj.投机的,风险的'}
注意句子中有两个'that',可以概括为:'The global housing boom was driven by narratives as ....',整体翻译:导致2007-2009年大萧条的全球房地产热,就是由一些故事推动的,这些故事旨在劝说人们认识到他们的房屋在土地资源稀缺之下是一项投机性的投资。
--总结--
这段话主要介绍了故事是如何推动房地产繁荣的,居中涉及到倒装,连续介词短语等结构,且有些地方直接翻译会比较生硬。
[词汇部分]
{'resistant':'adj.抵抗的'}
{'variants':'n.变种,变体'}
{'property':'n.不动产'}
{'mutation':'v.转变'}
{'eternal':'adj.永恒的,不朽的'}
{'scarcity':'n.缺少'}
{'acres':'n.英亩'}
{'tilling':'.耕地,犁地'}
{'occupants':'n.使用者'}
{'tract':'小册子'}
{'speculative':'adj.投机的,风险的'}
Great Recession:大萧条