20191231 | 为什么周围的人看起来都比你有钱？

外刊阅读20191231 | 为什么周围的人看起来都比你有钱？ 本文节选自：New York Times（纽约时报） 发布时间：2019.11 原文标题：Wait a Minute. How Can They Afford That When I Can’t?   ◆ 词汇积累     1.culprit英 [ˈkʌlprɪt] 美 [ˈkʌlprɪt] n. 罪犯、造成破坏（问题）的人、问题的起因，困难的起源     2.ideology英 [ˌaɪdiˈɑːlədʒi] 美 [ˌaɪdiˈɑːlədʒi] n. （政治或经济上的）思想体系、意识形态     3.correlation英 [ˌkɔːrəˈleɪʃn] 美 [ˌkɔːrəˈleɪʃn] n. 关联、相互关系、因果关系     4.deck英 [dek] 美 [dek] n.甲板、（公共汽车、飞机等的）一层、木制平台 vt.（用花、旗帜等）装饰、打扮     5.secrecy英 [ˈsiːkrəsi] 美 [ˈsiːkrəsi] n. 保密、秘密、隐蔽   ◆ 词组搭配     1.play down     降低、减少、贬低     2.inherited wealth    继承的财富     3.ideology of individualism  个人主义的意识形态     4.differ to some extent    在某种程度上不同   “I often have this struggle where it seems as if everybody around me is wealthy,” he wrote, adding that he often wondered how people he knew earned as much or less than he did could afford things he could not. 他写道:“我经常经历这样的困境——看起来好像我身边的每个人都比我有钱”，然后又补充说道，他经常好奇那些赚的钱和他一样多甚至比他更少的人怎么可以买得起那些他都买不起的东西。 No doubt, most people could improve how they handle their finances. But better money management isn’t usually the culprit: When people seem to be able to afford much more than their income would suggest, it’s often because there is hidden wealth or hidden debt.   毫无疑问，大多数人都可以改进他们的财务处理方式。但更好的财务管理通常并非罪魁祸首：当一些人似乎能够负担得起比他们的收入所表明的多得多的东西时，这往往是因为他们有外人看不见的财富或债务。   Not only do people want to play down their inherited wealth or money from family “but they actively try to hide it,” Mr. Conley said. “We have thisideology of individualism and worshiping of the self-made man or woman.”And theoretically, there’s a correlation between getting more because you work harder, said Evan Polman, a professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison School of Business. “Inheritance is a violation of that correlation” 人们不仅想淡化自己从家族继承的财富或金钱，“而且还积极地试图把他们藏起来，”康利说。“我们有种个人主义的意识形态，崇尚白手起家的男女。”从理论上讲，工作更努力和收入更高之间是有关联性的，威斯康星大学麦迪逊商学院市场营销学教授埃文·波尔曼说。“继承违反了这种相关性。”   So, why does this matter? What if we don’t know where our neighbors got the money for that new deck? Few would want everyone’s financial status to be transparent.But this secrecy helps reinforce the idea that it is only individual choices, not laws and policies, as well as our national history, that comes into building wealth. 那么，有什么大不了呢？如果我们不知道邻居们新装修的钱是从哪儿来的呢？几乎没有人希望所有人的财务状况都是透明的。但这种保密会强化这样一种观念：不是法律和政策，也不是我们的国家历史，只有个人的选择才能积累财富。   “The secrecy surrounding money may also differ to some extent in countries with higher rates of unionization,” Mr. Conley said, “where salaries are more transparent.”   “在工会化程度较高的国家，对钱财的保密可能在某种程度上有所不同，”康利说，“那里的工资更透明。”