双语财经新闻 第43期:再见,豪宅
日期:2015-12-23 13:38

(单词翻译:单击)

How big is your ideal home?
心目当中理想的家有多大?
Does somewhere between 1,400 and 2,600 square feet sound right? That was the answer given by more than half of those who responded to a recent survey from real—estate site Trulia.com.
面积在1400到2600平方英尺(约130平方米到242平方米)之间的房子够理想吗?超过半数的人在房地产网站Trulia.com近的一项调査中给出了肯定的答案。
Trulia points to this information plus data from the National Association of Home Builders and the U.S. Census, among others, and wonders is the McMansion Era Over?
根据这一信息,以及来自全美住房建筑商协会、美国人口普査局等其他机构的数据,Trulia发出了这样的疑问:豪宅时代结束了吗?
It increasingly seems like that’s the case. As we’ve written before, the American love affair with massive and mass-produced luxury homesis fast coming to a close. The average home size peaked at 2,521 square feet in 2007. Home size came in flat in 2008 and fell in 2009 as builders built smaller, less ornate1 homes priced lower to compete with foreclosures2.
现实情况看上去越发像是那么回事。正如我们之前讨论过的,美国人与规模庞 大、批量生产的豪宅之间的爱情故事正在迅速消散。美国平均住房面积在2007年达到了2521平方英尺(约234平方米)的峰值。2008年住房面积没有变化。2009年,随着 开发商建造出售价更低的面积更小、装修也更简洁的住房来和那些丧失抵押品赎 回权的拍卖屋竞争,住房面积开始缩小。
In a WSJ story in November, Michael Phillips looked at the luxury home business and found that many builders were scaling back, “struggling to distinguish among what home buyers need, what they what they want and what they can live without 一 Jacuzzi by Jacuzzi, butler’s pantry3.”
在《华尔街日报》去年11月份的一篇报道中,迈克尔?菲利普斯观察了当时的豪宅产业,发现许多开发商正在缩减豪宅的规模,“他们千方百计地去分辨什么东西 是购房人需要的,什么是他们想要的,以及什么是他们没有也可以将就的——是否 要配备Jacuzzi豪华浴缸,是否要设计配膳室,一样一样地认真考虑。”
One builder in the article spent months trying to figure out what features luxury home buyers are willing to give up. What’s out: Jacuzzi tubs, curved staircases and two-story foyers. Must-haves: a downstairs powder room, a garage that fits at least two cars, granite countertops in the kitchen and four bedrooms.
文章中提到的一位开发商花了好几个月的时间,试图想清楚什么东西是豪宅 买家愿意放弃的。结果是,Jacuzzi浴缸、螺旋式楼梯和两层高的宽敞门厅可以不要, 但一楼的盥洗室、容纳至少两辆车的车库、铺设有花岗岩台面的厨房和四间卧室却 是不可或缺的。
Yep, four bedrooms. Clearly, Americans still want their space. We don’t expect a great mass of people to join the Tiny House movement anytime soon and live in an 89-square-foot structure like this guy.
没错,四间卧室。很明显,美国人还是希望拥有自己的私人空间。我们预计大多数人都不会很快加人蜗居大潮,像这个人一样住在89平方英尺(约8平方米)的房子 里。
This Kyoto home featured in today’s WSJ is just 640 square feet. There are no closets, no television and guests sit on the floor and the family of four who lives there shares a sleeping room. Sound appealing?
《华尔街日报》一篇报道中提到的这间位于京都的房子只有640平方英尺(约59平方米),没有储藏室和电视,客人来了就坐在地上,而且四口之家共享一间卧室。 听起来有兴趣吗?

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重点单词
  • curvedadj. 弯曲的;弄弯的 n. 倒弧角 vt. 弯曲(c
  • luxuryn. 奢侈,豪华,奢侈品
  • censusn. 户口普查
  • estaten. 财产,房地产,状态,遗产
  • powdern. 粉,粉末,细雪,火药 vt. 洒粉于,使变成粉,重
  • willingadj. 愿意的,心甘情愿的
  • graniteadj. 花岗岩 n. 花岗石
  • massn. 块,大量,众多 adj. 群众的,大规模的 v.
  • surveyv. 调查,检查,测量,勘定,纵览,环视 n. 调查,纵
  • appealingadj. 引起兴趣的,动人的