写在前面：韩素音青年翻译大赛，得名于英籍华裔韩素音女士，她出资支持《中国翻译》编辑部在推动中国翻译事业蓬勃发展方面所做的努力，其前身“青年有奖翻译大赛”因此正式更名为“韩素音青年翻译大赛”。借此机会，向韩奶奶致敬。

笔者第一次接触到它，是在大学的图书馆，无意中拿起了一本《中国翻译》。那年一等奖阙如，二等奖得主之一是我校外院的学姐。须知我校在全国外院中根本籍籍无名，而学姐贴切流利的翻译，着实令人眼前一亮，于是乎对它记忆尤深。正好本届大赛的英汉互译的主题特别有意思：汉译外题名《地名中的传统文化含量》；外译汉题名“On Inequality"。因笔者能力有限，仅粗翻外译汉，这篇短文不仅是值得深究阅读材料，虽是针对美国收入极端分化的社会现象做出的辩证分析，但于中国亦具有借鉴意义，更是对写作大有裨益，因其行文流畅，结构得当，论点突出，论证有力。今将原文展示如下，并附上少许解析。



距上次做节目，隔了将近有两年，两年里浑浑噩噩，一路上跌跌撞撞，走出了校门，投身社会的洪流中，曾一度慌了神，对自己的认知降到了历史最低水平，理想抱负染了霜，一病不起。幸好有志同道合的良师益友，伴于身侧，现身说法，指引我重新振作起来，让我对未来产生了一种期待。也感谢魔方秀的朋友们，即使长时间不更新，仍不抛弃。这不减反增的关注量，让鄙人异常惭愧啊。献给你们，希望你们喜欢。



若有错漏，请批评指正。




On Inquality


In the past four decades, studies of rising inequality in the United Stated have typically focused on the bottom 90 percent of the earners. Economists have produced rigorous evidence demonstrating how trends in technology, trade, unionization and minimum wages have shaped the fortunes of those Americans. Global labor-market forces have pushed up the demand for highly skilled workers, and have led to steadily increasing wages for those with a college education. The same forces have led to declining or stagnant wages for those with lower levels of education. And a decline in unionization rates and the fall in the real value of minimum wages have exacerbated the downward pressures on middle- and low-wage workers.


主要内容：造成贫富差距悬殊的社会因素。

词汇：exacerbate v. 使恶化

e.g. Longstanding poverty has been exacerbated by racial divisions.
由来已久的贫穷因种族分裂而更加恶化了。

短语：global labor market 全球劳动力市场
minimum wages 法定最低工资




Less well understood are the causes of the tremendous surge in income among extremely high earners, meaning the upper 1.0, 0.1 and 0.01 percent. From a policymaking point of view, the most important question is how much of the ultrarich's income reflects activity, such as technological innovation, that benefits the broader economy. If, in contrast, the income of the biggest earners is produced by pursuits that are less broadly beneficial, such as high-frequency stock market trading, then higher taxes at the top would pose fewer economic costs.

Compared with the richest people and families in the early 1900s, when large fortunes often came from inherited assets, today's superrich are acquiring a larger share of their income in the form of earnings. About 60 percent of the income of the top one percent in the United States today is labor income. Some economists talk about the rise of "supersalaries"and "supermanagers": top executives of large corporations, primarily in the financial industry, who enjoy very generous compensation packages. They disagree, however, about whether the income earned by such executives reflects the efficient working of a market for talent, in which case their pay reflects their value, or whether the massive compensation packages result from a bargaining process that is shaped by regulations, institutions, and social norms.

others highlight the role of technological developments in creating substantial economic rewards for those who possess specific skills and in reducing the imployment security of less skilled workers.

Still others maintain that the primary factors driving the rise in executive pay at the top are not technology or imperfect markets but eroded social norms, questionable corporate-governance practices, and declining union power.


主要内容：极端富裕人群的成因：科技发展红利，失职的市场调节机制，具体规范的缺失。

词汇：erode v. 腐蚀，侵蚀

e.g. American's belief in its own God-ordained uniqueness started to erode.
美国人心中上帝赋予他们独一无二的品质的信念开始逐渐丧失。

短语：social norm 社会准则
the broader economy 整体经济
employment security 就业保障
generous/ massive compensation packages 高薪

长句：

They disagree, however, about whether the income earned by such executives reflects the efficient working of a market for talent, in which case their pay reflects their value, or whether the massive compensation packages result from a bargaining process that is shaped by regulations, institutions, and social norms.

试译：

高层主管收入水平是有效的人才市场运行机制（价值决定**）的忠实反映，或高薪的产生正是由于法规，制度，社会规范的规定，于这种论断，经济学家是持反对意见的。

句式： Some talk about... ; Others highlight that... ; Still others maintain that...




Another essential set of questions about inequality centers on whether wealth concentration negatively affects economic growth, shared prosperity, and democratic institutions. Since lower-income households have a higher propensity to spend out of their earnings than do higher-income ones, the more wealth held by high-income households, the less overall spending the economy might see. Another potential problem is that wealthy Americans tend to vote for (and lobby for) lower taxes; increased wealth concentration, then, could lead to harmful reductions in government spending on public goods such as education and infrastructure.

Even if the income of top earners reflects genuinely worthwhile contributions to society and does not impede economic growth, today's extreme inequality does threaten social cohesion. Economists and policymakers need not worry about inequality and should instead focus on reducing poverty and expanding opportunity.

In the winner-take-all economy of the contemporary United States, the gap between the top and the bottom has grown so large that it undermines any reasonable notion of equal opportunity. As inequality has increased, the country has witnessed a fraying of communities and institutions and deepening divisions along socioeconomic lines. Children from high-income homes are pulling further and further ahead of their less advantaged peers in terms of education, which means it is far less likely that children born into middle- or low-income homes will experience upward economic mobility.


主要内容: 收入严重分化带来的社会问题: 影响经济发展，妨害民主制度，动摇社会凝聚力与公平意识的根基。

词汇: fray n. 争吵，竞争

e.g.There will have to be a second round of voting when new candidates can enter the fray...
将不得不进行允许新的候选人加入角逐的第二轮投票。

impede v. 妨碍;阻碍;阻止

e.g.High fertility rates, along with inadequate health care, impede development and economic growth.
生育率高和保健服务不足会阻碍发展和经济增长。

短语: democratic institutions 民主制度

句子:
Economists and policymakers need not worry about inequality and should instead focus on reducing poverty and expanding opportunity.

试译:
经济学家和政策制定者当务之急在减少贫困和增加机遇上，（这两个难题解决了，）收入不平衡自然迎刃而解。




Inequality also harms American society by encouraging negative perceptions of the economy and one's prospects for upward mobility. If Americans view the system as rigged against them and see economic success as out of reach, they might give up on the celebrated American ideals of hard work and meritocracy. Research shows that young men are more likely to drop out of high school if they live in places with higher levels of income inequality, all else being equal. This is consistent with evidence produced by psychologists showing that beliefs about inequality negatively affect people's expectations of social mobility.

The alarmingly low rates of labor-force participation among young Americans and those of prime working age might also be driven, at least in part, by a sense of malaise shaped by today's high levels of income inequality. Labor-force participation among American men aged 25 to 54 has fallen steadily since the mid-1960s, a trend that has been sharper in the United States than in other advanced economies.

A growing body of evidence now indicates that inequality in the United States threatens to create intergenerational poverty traps, greatly reduce social mobility, and marginalize entire swaths of the population. Such effects are sure to have political ramifications.


主要内容： 收入严重分化阻碍个人发展导致 社会问题。

词汇：rig v. (以不正当的手段)操纵，控制(选举、工作任命或比赛等)
rig against 对付

meritocracy n. 精英领导体制

e.g. Wealth disparities are corroding Japan's meritocracy and poverty is rising.
贫富差异腐蚀着日本的实力主义，贫困人口呈上升趋势。

malaise n. (社会或群体的)痼疾

e.g. There is no easy short-term solution to Britain's chronic economic malaise.
短期内迅速治愈英国经济顽症的灵丹妙药并不存在。

ramification n. 后果
e.g. You have to be concerned with the public ramification of your actions.
你必须关心自己的行动对公众造成的后果。

短语： drop out of 退学
social mobility 社会流动性
prime working age 黄金工作年龄

句式：A growing body of evidence indicates that...
越来越多的证据表明......




Many economists assume that no matter what policy remedies for extreme inequality emerge, wealthy elites will marshal their considerable influence to maintain their position and privileges. But they do not explore those potential policies at great length, nor do they consider the precise mechanisms that would shape pushback from the elites. In 2016, the Brexit vote and the American presidential election revealed the strength of populist and nationalist sentiments among voters who gleefully rejected the elite classes in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

When it comes to the problem of income and wealth inequality in the United States, there are no silver bullets. But policymakers have many levers available to them. The best evidence suggests that the United States could have a more progressive federal income tax code without incurring substantial economic costs. Tax reform should focus on expanding the tax base by closing loopholes and eliminating regressive features such as the mortgage-interest tax deduction, which benefits only high-income homeowners, and the carried-interest loophole, which benefits only those involved in private-equiy finance.


主要内容：应对收入不平衡相应的补救政策缺失，但对于决策者而言，仍有可依据的手段改变现状。

词汇：marshal v. 【f】结集；收集；安排

e.g. Richard was marshalling the doctors and nurses, showing them where to go.
理查德正在召集医护人员，向他们说明去哪里。

gleeful adj. 高兴的，愉快的

e.g. All of a sudden, Alice had a gleeful look in her eye.
突然，爱丽丝眼中闪现出兴奋的眼神。

incur v. 招致，引起

e.g.She falls in love and incurs the wrath of her father.
她恋爱了，这引起了父亲的愤怒。

词组：sliver bullet 高招
tax reform 税制改革
mortgage-interest tax deduction 免除按揭利息税
carried interest 附带利益
private-equiy 私募股权

句型：When it comes to the problem of... there is no silver bullet.
要解决......的问题时，没有高招。




The federal government should take the additional revenue such steps would generate and invest it in programs that would increase the country's economic potential. That would include improvements to public infrastructure, expanded access to high-quality childcare and preschool programs, and more spending on programs that assist economically disadvantaged youth. Government commitments to public universities and community colleges must be strengthened. At the same time, institutions of higher education must focus on helping their students build the skills they will need to succeed in a competitive, rapidly changing labor market. These types of investments are crucial if the United States is to remain a land of opportunity.

主要内容：呼吁美国联邦政府为缩小贫富差距给予资金上的支持。




全文完

感谢耐心阅读