这篇文章有几个非常有意思的句子和表达，我贴出来，大家一起赏析一下：
佳句篇：
Sentence 1.
He helped popularise the idea that some diseases not previously thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which ruffled many scientific feathers when it was first suggested.
解析：
Ruffle弄皱的意思
Ruffle one’s feathers惹怒（想想逆毛流撸猫）
The idea that ...用的是同位语从句，不太多，常用搭配是the evidence that，the concept that 等。That后从句解释idea, concept或evidence等。
Which的指代问题。Which指代的不是上文任何一个出现的单词或词组，而是Dr. Cochran的这波操作。
Sentence 2.
Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm.
disproportionately不成比例地
主干and复合句+非谓语动词scoring+as引导的从句（插入后置定语）
每个部分都不难，集合到一起就对理解产生障碍了。
Sentence 3.
But in the Middle Ages, success in Christian society tended to be violently aristocratic (warfare and land), rather than peacefully meritocratic (banking and trade).
这个句子不难，为什么拿出来是因为这个violently的用法。简单来讲，这一个单词乍一看是作aristocratic的副词，实则在翻译（以及理解）当中，我们必须单独翻译成一个实意的成分，而且作副词处理。
Aristocratic贵族统治
Meritocratic德治
Sentence 4.
That small, reproductively isolated groups of people are susceptible to genetic disease is well known.
主语从句，注意that.
Sentence 5.
Most of the dozen or so disease genes that are common in them belong to one of two types: they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair.
典型长句，如何解析？
Most of the dozen or so disease genes that are common in them belong to one of two types:
Or so大约
斜体作的是disease genes
they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair.
either or后面是两个in...
第一个in后面的which form part of the insulating outer sheaths解释的是Sphingolipids
that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals解释的是sheaths。
也就是说，（非限制性）定语从句后面紧接另一个定语从句。
第二个in后面很简单，但！！！文章最后一段有解释，对于 文章结构 至关重要。
Sentence 6&7.
Thus, the theory goes, the pressure to keep the sickle-cell gene in the population because of its malaria-protective effects balances the pressure to drive it out because of its anaemia-causing effects.
It therefore persists without becoming ubiquitous.
两句话放一起。
主干已加黑。很有意思的句子，工整、对仗，而又解释非常清楚。
下一句，persist和ubiquitous用词极其精准，整句话像外科手术般，精准简练。作者还是怕读者一下子没读懂，用简单而又高效的句子总结下。写作手法很老练高超，字字玑珠，像极了宝马M3。
Sentence 8.
Genes that promote intelligence in an individual when present as a single copy create disease when present as a double copy.
乍一看没什么稀奇，再一看，把一个comparison分别放在了主语和谓语的修饰成分中，可谓老辣。
作何解？
That promote intelligence对genes做了一个限定，指的是genes的其中一种特征，然后用when说明了适用情况。
Create谓语的主语也是genes，但这时候是没有限定的genes。Create disease做的是限定，其实对应的是promote intelligence。后面同样用一个when来说明范围。
简单来讲，genes的含义做了一个缩小和限定，又在create的时候恢复了genes的双重功能含义。
Promote intelligence和create diseases一个对应，尽管成分差别很大。
两个when的对比。
可谓神句。
Sentence 9.
An Israeli clinic devoted to treating people with Gaucher's has vastly more engineers, scientists, accountants and lawyers on its books than would be expected by chance.
Than (what) would be expected by chance.
省略了what。。。你能理解吗？
还有这个books，这个同语境关联强烈。
好的表达：
1. ruffle one’s feather
2. Tremble at the thought
3. Affirm作不及物动词（Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. ）
4. aristocratic v.s. meritocratic
5. Exact a price类似用法 exert influence
附原文及翻译：
Natural genius? 天生我才？
The high intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews may be a result of their persecuted past
德系犹太人的高智商或许是因为曾经遭受迫害的后果
THE idea that some ethnic groups may, on average, be more intelligent than others is one of those hypotheses that dare not speak its name. But Gregory Cochran, a noted scientific iconoclast, is prepared to say it anyway. He is that rare bird, a scientist who works independently of any institution. He helped popularise the idea that some diseases not previously thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which ruffled many scientific feathers when it was first suggested. And more controversially still, he has suggested that homosexuality is caused by an infection.
某些少数民族的平均智商高于其他民族这一说法，是很多不敢公开的假设之一。不过著名的科学狂人Gregory Cochran 决意要做第一个吃螃蟹的人。他很特别，总是独立工作而不属于任何机构。某些曾被诊断并非病菌引起的疾病，其实病源来自传染病。这一观点因他的推动受到了关注。此观点一经提出，就受到了许多科学家的反对。这还不算，更具争议的是，他认为同性恋也是由传染病引起的。
Even he, however, might tremble at the thought of what he is about to do. Together with Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending, of the University of Utah, he is publishing, in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Biosocial Science, a paper which not only suggests that one group of humanity is more intelligent than the others, but explains the process that has brought this about. The group in question are Ashkenazi Jews. The process is natural selection.
然而就算是Cochran，也为自己接下来要做的事捏了一把汗。他准备同Utah大学的Jason Hardy与Henry Harpending一同，在最新一期的《生物社会科学杂志》发表一篇论文，文中不仅提出了某一少数民族比其他民族更聪明这一观点，还解释了这一结果产生的过程。文中两大主角就是德系犹太人和自然选择。
History before science
不管是否科学，先来看看历史
Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. They also suffer more often than most people from a number of nasty genetic diseases, such as Tay-Sachs and breast cancer. These facts, however, have previously been thought unrelated. The former has been put down to social effects, such as a strong tradition of valuing education. The latter was seen as a consequence of genetic isolation. Even now, Ashkenazim tend to marry among themselves. In the past they did so almost exclusively.
德系犹太人不仅在IQ测试上表现不俗，正常人一般在100分左右，而他们大多都能得个112-115分，而且虽然人数不多，但他们在欧洲知识、文化生活中的地位却举足轻重。想想弗洛伊德、爱因斯坦、马勒，我们就会点头称是了。但同时，他们中患有如泰-萨克斯病、乳腺癌这类严重的遗传疾病的比率明显高于其他种族。这些事实，最初被人们认为是毫无联系的。前者被说成是社会原因引起的，如浓烈的价值观教育的传统；后者则被说成是基因隔离的结果，不过即使是现在，德系犹太人还是愿意同本族人结婚，在过去，就更是如此了。
Dr Cochran, however, suspects that the intelligence and the diseases are intimately linked. His argument is that the unusual history of the Ashkenazim has subjected them to unique evolutionary pressures that have resulted in this paradoxical state of affairs.
但Cochran博士对以上两点表示质疑，并认为德系犹太人的天赋异禀与痛病缠身联系密切。他认为正是异常的历史环境强加给了德系犹太人独有的进化压力，才导致了这些看似奇怪的现象。
Ashkenazi history begins with the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in the first century AD. When this was crushed, Jewish refugees fled in all directions. The descendants of those who fled to Europe became known as Ashkenazim.
德系犹太人的历史源于公元1世纪。犹太人在反对罗马人的统治失败后，犹太难民四散而逃，逃亡欧洲的犹太后裔就是如今的德系犹太人。
In the Middle Ages, European Jews were subjected to legal discrimination, one effect of which was to drive them into money-related professions such as banking and tax farming which were often disdained by, or forbidden to, Christians. This, along with the low level of intermarriage with their gentile neighbours (which modern genetic analysis confirms was the case), is Dr Cochran's starting point.
在中世纪，欧洲的犹太人在法律上地位很不平等，结果之一就是他们不得不从事与金钱相关的职业，如被人看不起或不准基督徒涉足的银行或征税工作，此外，他们只能与邻居中社会地位较低的非犹太人通婚（这种状况通过现代基因学分析得到了证实）。上述就是Cochran 博士论文的起点。
He argues that the professions occupied by European Jews were all ones that put a premium on intelligence. Of course, it is hard to prove that this intelligence premium existed in the Middle Ages, but it is certainly true that it exists in the modern versions of those occupations. Several studies have shown that intelligence, as measured by IQ tests, is highly correlated with income in jobs such as banking.
他认为欧洲犹太人从事的职业都是些需要一定智商的职业，虽不能证明这些职业在中世纪时就是这样了，但在当代它们确实如此。一些研究表明，智力水平（按智力测试的标准来算）与工资水平（如那些从事银行工作的人）联系密切。
What can, however, be shown from the historical records is that European Jews at the top of their professions in the Middle Ages raised more children to adulthood than those at the bottom. Of course, that was true of successful gentiles as well. But in the Middle Ages, success in Christian society tended to be violently aristocratic (warfare and land), rather than peacefully meritocratic (banking and trade).
这些历史记录证明了，那些在欧洲工作地位较高的犹太家庭子女存活率要高于那些地位较低的犹太家庭。情况对于那些其他种族的也是一样的。但在中世纪，基督教社会中所谓的成功多是贵族通过战争与土地强争豪取，而非通过量才而用（如从事银行或贸易工作）和平地获得。
Put these two things together—a correlation of intelligence and success, and a correlation of success and fecundity—and you have circumstances that favour the spread of genes that enhance intelligence. The questions are, do such genes exist, and what are they if they do? Dr Cochran thinks they do exist, and that they are exactly the genes that cause the inherited diseases which afflict Ashkenazi society.
把智力与成功的关联以及成功与生殖力的关系合二为一，你就具备了有利于智商提高的基因传播的条件。问题是这种智商基因确实存在吗？假如它果真存在的话，那究竟是什么呢？科克伦博士认为它们的确存在，而且正是那种引起折磨德系犹太人遗传疾病的基因。
That small, reproductively isolated groups of people are susceptible to genetic disease is well known. Constant mating with even distant relatives reduces genetic diversity, and some disease genes will thus, randomly, become more common. But the very randomness of this process means there should be no discernible pattern about which disease genes increase in frequency. In the case of Ashkenazim, Dr Cochran argues, this is not the case. Most of the dozen or so disease genes that are common in them belong to one of two types: they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair. The former genes cause neurological diseases, such as Tay- Sachs, Gaucher's and Niemann-Pick. The latter cause cancer.
众所周知，越是人口稀少并且生育范围狭小的种族就越易患遗传疾病。总是于同族人通婚，就算不是近亲，也会较少遗传的多样性，同时也会使某些致病基因没有规律地在该种族内部泛滥起来。而这种无规律性意味着人们不知道何类致病基因会被大量传播。但对德系犹太人来说，Cochran 医生指出，情况却并非如此。他们当中最常见的十几种疾病基因基本上可以归结于两类：一类参与神经细胞中鞘脂类特殊脂肪）的储存。鞘脂组成一部分绝缘外层鞘，允许神经细胞发射电子信号。另一类参与DNA 的修复。前者基因会引发神经性疾病，如泰萨二氏病、脑苷脂沉积病和神经鞘磷脂沉积病；而后者会导致癌症。
That does not look random. And what is even less random is that in several cases the genes for particular diseases come in different varieties, each the result of an independent original mutation. This really does suggest the mutated genes are being preserved by natural selection. But it does not answer the question of how evolution can favour genetic diseases. However, in certain circumstances, evolution can.
上述看起来并非毫无规律。而且更趋于规律的表现就是，在一些病例中，特殊疾病的致病基因来自于不同的变体，而每个变体都是独立的原基因变异的结果。这就印证了变异基因是自然选择保留下来的结果，可它却不能回答自然选择为什么会成了遗传疾病的帮凶，但在一些特殊的条件下，进化能够产生这样的结果。
West Africans, and people of West African descent, are susceptible to a disease called sickle-cell anaemia that is virtually unknown elsewhere. The anaemia develops in those whose red blood cells contain a particular type of haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen. But the disease occurs only in those who have two copies of the gene for the disease-causing haemoglobin (one copy from each parent). Those who have only one copy have no symptoms. They are, however, protected against malaria, one of the biggest killers in that part of the world. Thus, the theory goes, the pressure to keep the sickle-cell gene in the population because of its malaria-protective effects balances the pressure to drive it out because of its anaemia-causing effects. It therefore persists without becoming ubiquitous.
如西非人以及他们的后代易患一种叫做镰状细胞性贫血的疾病，这种病在西非之外几乎都没人听说过。贫血症发于那些红血球中含有一种特殊的血红蛋白，其蛋白质中含有氧气的人。但这种镰状细胞性贫血症只会发生在同时有两组这种致病的血红蛋白（父母都有这种血红蛋白）的人身上。而那些只有一组的人不但不会患这种贫血症，也不会患疟疾，该病被称为非洲的头号杀手。因此，我们可以这样说，抵御疟疾的特性使得镰状细胞在得以人体中存活下来，同时这种细胞导致贫血症的特性也会被人体排斥，只有在为保持这两种状态而产生的压力达到平衡时，才不会有任何一个特性占据上风。
Dr Cochran argues that something similar happened to the Ashkenazim. Genes that promote intelligence in an individual when present as a single copy create disease when present as a double copy. His thesis is not as strong as the sickle-cell/malaria theory, because he has not proved that any of his disease genes do actually affect intelligence. But the area of operation of some of them suggests that they might.
Cochran博士认为，德系犹太人也面临着同样的情况，他们的某些基因如果以单组出现就可以提高智力，一旦以双组出现就会引起疾病。显然，该理论并不如他的镰状细胞/疟疾理论那样具有说服力，因为他尚未证明任何一种致病基因确实能够影响智力，但是某些基因的活动区域显示它们或许真能影响智力。
The sphingolipid-storage diseases, Tay-Sachs, Gaucher's and Niemann-Pick, all involve extra growth and branching of the protuberances that connect nerve cells together. Too much of this (as caused in those with double copies) is clearly pathological. But it may be that those with single copies experience a more limited, but still enhanced, protuberance growth. That would yield better linkage between brain cells, and might thus lead to increased intelligence. Indeed, in the case of Gaucher's disease, the only one of the three in which people routinely live to adulthood, there is evidence that those with full symptoms are more intelligent than the average. An Israeli clinic devoted to treating people with Gaucher's has vastly more engineers, scientists, accountants and lawyers on its books than would be expected by chance.
鞘脂储存类疾病，如泰萨二氏病、脑苷脂沉积病和神经鞘磷脂沉积病，都涉及到连接神经细胞的凸起的多余生长和分叉。显然，这种生长和分叉太多的话就会引起疾病。但是，也有可能，仅有单份致病基因的人会出现比较有限的、但仍然加强了的凸起生长。这将有助于加强脑细胞之间的连接，或许因此导致智力提高。实际上，在脑苷脂沉积病的例子中，在三分之一能够活到成年的患者中，确实有证据表明完全发病的人拥有高于平均值的智商。根据一家专门治疗脑苷脂沉积病的以色列诊所的医疗记录，患者中的工程师、科学家、会计和律师的比例多于常人。
Why a failure of the DNA-repair system should boost intelligence is unclear—and is, perhaps, the weakest part of the thesis, although evidence is emerging that one of the genes in question is involved in regulating the early growth of the brain. But the thesis also has a strong point: it makes a clear and testable prediction. This is that people with a single copy of the gene for Tay-Sachs, or that for Gaucher's, or that for Niemann-Pick should be more intelligent than average. Dr Cochran and his colleagues predict they will be so by about five IQ points. If that turns out to be the case, it will strengthen the idea that, albeit unwillingly, Ashkenazi Jews have been part of an accidental experiment in eugenics. It has brought them some advantages. But, like the deliberate eugenics experiments of the 20th century, it has also exacted a terrible price.
为什么基因修复系统失灵会提高智力，现在还不清楚原因何在。虽然，陆续有证据表明产生问题的基因之一参与了调节大脑的早期发育，但是这仍是该论题最薄弱的环节。不过，该理论也有令人信服的地方：它对于拥有单份泰萨二氏病或脑苷脂沉积病或神经鞘磷脂沉积病基因的人会比普通人更聪明做出了明确而可检验的预测。Cochran 博士和他的同事认为，这些人的智商因此会比平均水平高出5 个点。尽管有人不愿接受，假如确实如此的话，它将有力地证明，德系犹太人在不经意间经历了优生实验，而这为他们带来了智商上的优势。但是，如同发生在20 世纪的人为的优生实验一样，它同样让他们付出了可怕的代价。
读英文版《经济学人》，目的不外乎：学地道的英语写作、拓展全球视野。《日本人口保卫战》二者兼具，适合读者一文两吃。
本文精读由 现象级社群·第三小组成员 共同完成。标题副标题+1-3段来自自观问渠，4-5段来自陈玉梅，6-7段来自暗夜，8-9段来自哇~，10-12段来自立里。小伙伴的解析都各有风格，文本赏析最大程度的保留了小伙伴的个人特色。有任何问题，欢迎指正~
网页版：三个形容词rising, daunting, bold的叠加使日本的困局呼之欲出。债务飞涨、人口问题严峻、改革畏手畏脚，潜台词：安倍苦啊。
电子版：重点是问句，先转折（but）再问够用否（enough?），潜台词：前景黯淡。
总结：引用莎翁的话，Brevity is the soul of wit. 标题需要简单明了，用词注重实用。
学表达：人口相关，demography(noun),demographic(adj.), population
Demography(uncountable noun) is the study of changes in numbers of births, deaths, marriages, and cases of disease in a community over a period of time.
顺带讲照片，满脸沧桑的安倍眼神无力、欲说还休，脖子被画幅的边缘紧紧卡住，与“人口保卫战斗士”的标题对应，令人唏嘘。
段落大意：
日本首相安倍晋三称，日本出生率下降、人口老龄化加速，政府必须落实政策马上解决问题。政府改革推动就业、减低养老补贴，国会商议五年招收34.5万外国劳工。
赏析：开篇明义，首段是背景介绍。四句话时态分别为：现在进行时、一般过去时、一般现在时、现在进行时。前三句是安倍的话花样出现，第四句是政府举措，本段要点：时态的变化与引用的花样。
段落分析：
第一句：下划线部分为句子主体结构，注意主语the decline and the ageing以整体看待，是单数。引用语在句首，主谓倒装值得注意（法语小伙伴们秒懂，法语里引用语也是倒装达人）。
词汇ageing也有另外的拼写aging，据维基百科 ，两者无区别，ageing更常用。
第二句：重点是间接引语和插入语的写法。
push for something: to request or demand something insistently.
当我们想说，秘书吵着要加薪的时候，就可以说：My secretary is pushing for a raise.
第三句：重点是高频词汇boost及老人的说法。
1. boost: to increase, raise.
之前提到的秘书要加薪，也可以说：My secretary wants to boost her salary.
注意boost与reduce一升一降的搭配使用，可以一起记忆(boost, increase, raise, reduce)。
2. 老人的说法本文中有两个：the elderly和older people，约定俗成，不容商榷。
3. 这句话对电子版副标题进行了paraphrase：
reduce the cost of supporting the elderly = trim spending on the elderly，标题里的trim something，作动词，意为“削减”。
第四句：重点debate和admit两个动词的用法。
debate: to discuss (a motion), esp in a formal assembly. 常用discuss, deliberate, 加上debate, 凑个3D。
admit: to allow to enter, let in.
例句：Security personnel refused to admit him. 安检不让他进。
常见for instance放在句首，这里放在句尾，可以学以致用，提高写作的格调。
背景介绍：
日本国会（the Diet）：Diet of Japan is the national bicameral legislature of Japan. It is made up of a the House of Representatives ( lower house ) and the House of Councillors ( upper house ).
The members of both houses of the Diet are directly elected. The Diet selects the Prime Minister .
段落大意：
人口骤减触目惊心。每年的死亡人口超出生人口40万。预期寿命全球最高，65岁以上人口超过28%。百岁老人近七万，比20年前增了六倍。
赏析：罗列数字说人口，以海量数据彰显学术范。本段学习如何表达数字、积累人口相关词汇。
段落分析：
第一句：头韵d很地道。词汇demographic decline搭配population decrease记忆，显然前者更有范。
第二句：死亡人数和出生人数的表达，注意death和birth的复数用法。
第三句：对照中国的预期寿命（2018最新数据），为 live long and prosper而努力！
第四句：
compare with: to consider the sameness or difference of sets of things or people.
compare to : to liken people or things to other people or things. 记忆法：听歌“Nothing Compares to You”，学学如何打动爱人。
第五句：centenarian，百岁老人。
倍数的复合词表达seven-fold，也可写作sevenfold，即使与increase连用，译为中文还是长了六倍。关于倍数，《中国翻译》曾有论文专门阐述。
段落大意：
福利国家制度入不敷出（公债是GDP的2.5倍），难以为继。劳动力人口缺口大，工作比找工作的人多，劳动力人口预计未来呈缩减态势。
赏析：承接上段人口老龄化，本段讲政府缺钱缺人，从抽象统计数字回到现实的困局。以第三句开头的And为分水岭，①②缺钱，③④缺人。重点：从句数上看，写作每段四五句是常态，不要长篇累牍。学习长短句搭配（本段①②③是短句④是长句），一句话讲一件事，主语变化但连词俭省。
段落分析：
第一句：词汇affordable（否定unaffordable）：that you have the financial means for，与low-cost, low-priced, cheap, inexpensive接近。这个词是联合国的心头好（soft spot）， 正式文件里的熟脸，常常译作“可负担”“经济适用”，例如affordable and clean energy, affordable housing。
背景介绍：
welfare state: a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens
第二句：短句的力量，可以背下来。替换Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio is 250%.
背景介绍：
public debt(also known as government debt, national debt): the total amount of money that the government of a country owes to companies, countries, etc.
acute:of great importance or consequence; critical
例句：There is an acute shortage of funds. 严重缺钱
背景介绍：
In its narrowest definition, a labour shortage is an economic condition in which there are insufficient qualified candidates (employees) to fill the market-place demands for employment at any price. Such a condition is sometimes referred to by Economists as "an insufficiency in the labour force ."注意：labour shortage有复数形式，建议记成labour shortages, 同义替换worker shortages。
第四句：动词shrink常与数字搭配使用，shrink: to become reduced in amount or value; dwindle 例句：His earnings shrank. 收入减少。同义替换：shrink, decline, reduce。复合词job-seeker也可以写作jobseeker，可以与homeseeker搭配记忆。
段落大意：
从第4段，文章开始阐述老龄化的解决问题。①一个显而易见的方案是移民。②句表达在日本外籍劳工显然很少，只有2%的劳动力是移民，这个数据远低于美国的17%。③But转折，日本政府给大多数外籍劳工冠上学生和实习生的名头，这句隐含的意思是事实上日本的外籍劳工的人数比统计的2%多，这也跟第5段第②句相呼应，他们之所以这么做是认为外来者不会是永久的移民，只是一些客籍工人。④国会的计划旨在吸引更多蓝领工作者从事建筑业、造船业、和护理老人等14个行业。⑤⑥句日本对移民设置了很苛刻的条件：首次签证不超过5年，不允许带着家人，还要精通日语。
从这一段可以看出日本对以移民去填补国内劳动力空缺这个方法很不感冒,那么他们想以什么样的方式去填补劳动力缺口呢?
段落分析：
①.proficiency in ... 精通某种语言
我的目标是精通英语可以表达为: My aim is to acquire proficiency in English.
②.But the government has been surreptitiously admitting more foreign workers, mostly in the guise of students and trainees.
这句话描述的很形象，指出了日本政府不愿意光明正大承认外籍工人，而是以学生和实习生来掩盖他们的身份。
surreptitious：A surreptitious action is done secretly. 可以代替secretly
in the guise of 假借，以...为幌子，以...的名义
联想国企：企业不能给员工光明正大的发放福利，而是以饭补和车补的名义发放，这个时候我们就可以说：
State-owned enterprises have been surreptitiously admitting more staff-welfare, mostly in the guise of food and commute allowances.
段落大意：
①-③表达安倍对采用移民方式解决日本老龄化问题的态度。他在淡化移民政策的影响，费尽心思强调外来者不是永久移民，而是外籍工人，并指出外籍工人是最后一个可行的填补劳动力缺口的解决办法。④-⑧阐述安倍在任期为了提高已育女性工作人数比率所做的努力。在他6年任期内，超过200万妇女进入职场，使女性工作者任职的比率超过了美国。增加托儿所的数量并要求大公司记录他们为提拔女性工作者所做的努力。明年起，所有的托儿所都将免费。相较于2010年的38%，已有超过50%的已育女性重返职场。日本将会营造一个让女性更活跃、更进步、享有更多权利的社会。
段落分析：
① play something down
definition: to try to make something seem less important or less likely than it really is 使....看起来不那么重要，贬低，对...轻描淡写
由于销售业绩不好，管理层一直在淡化降低员工薪水的可能性，这时候我们就可以说：
Because of the depressed sales, the management has been playing down the possibility of salary decrease.
② be at pains to do sth 苦心经营,费力的做某事
近义词:take pains to do sth
她费尽心思的强调她是无辜的。She is at pains to stress that she is innocent.
③ portray sb/sth as sth：
definition: to describe or show someone or something in a particular way, according to your opinion of them.把某人/某物描写成某种样子
近义词:depict
小说《再见，契普斯先生》是这样描绘契普斯先生的事业，体面的职业生涯，体面的结束。The fiction , Good bye, Mr. Chips, portrays Chips'work as "a decent career, decently closed".
④ last/final resort：
definition: what you will do if everything else fails （其他办法都失败后采用的）最后的办法
这部分钱只有在没有其他办法时，才会动用。This part of money will be used only in the last resort.
⑤ lift
看到这个单词倍感亲切,想到了在 "I Have a Dream" 中背到的那句: Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
段落大意：
①句表明安倍的态度，希望人们在退休后也持续工作；②句表达政府的措施；③句表达企业的措施；④句表达退休人员继续工作的现状；⑤句表达了安倍政府鼓励这个措施实行的方式；⑥句表达了从长远来看，在技术上的发展可以改善劳动力短缺的问题；⑦句表达了安倍在技术可以补充劳动力这件事上的信心。
段落分析：
throughout：during the whole period of time of sth
throughout one's life 毕生, 整个一生中；相对于使用 in one's life，使用 throughout 更有时间上的纵向延伸感。
as it is: in the actual state of affairs and often contrary to expectations，表达了非公众所希望的，公司已经开始实行延迟退休和返聘了。
take to doing：开始比较规律的做某事
draw: 提取，支取，领取（存款）；领取（薪水等）。原句中 draw later 对应 currently entitled
当我们要表达，他就要领取养老金了，就可以这么说：
He is moving ever closer to drawing his pension.
段落大意:
①句表达了延迟退休和返聘对政府财政的积极作用；②句表达了安倍政府对此作出的努力；③句表达了虽然政府在努力，但是不足以解决劳动力缺乏和老龄化的问题；④句是对③句的数据支持。
段落分析：
since conj. 因为，由于，既然。可以替换because; as; as long as 等表示原因的连词
tweak： v./n. 稍稍改进，对。。。做微调
比如写文章的时候，最后需要修饰一下，就可以用tweak表示。
When you finish writing a paper, it's a good idea to go back through one last time, to tweak it and make sure it's absolutely perfect.
catch up: the act of trying to reach the same level or standard as somebody who is ahead of you
用play catch-up，表达出政府一直在补救劳动力不足及人口老龄化的问题，连接了下文对安倍政策面对的一些困难的描述。
段落大意：
安倍将对社会保障制度进行彻底改革。 ①承接上一段，表明安倍准备对福利制度进行彻底的改革。②承接上一句，表明改革涉及的内容，③句继续补充，陈述安倍想达成的目的：让国民过上健康有意义的生活。
段落分析：
1.sweeping: sweep做动词原意是扫地的意思，如果一个想法“扫过”了一个地方就是迅速流行起来，席卷，比如这两天因为D&G事件，爱国主义席卷了全国就可以表达为The wave of patriotism swept the country.
sweeping做形容词，是范围广的，彻底的，影响深远的改革。和后文出现的overall social-security reform是同样的意思
同义词：broad, comprehensive, extensive, wide
2. footing的本意是站稳，比如他竭力在打滑的地面上站稳就可以表达为：He struggled to keep his footing on the slippery floor。引申义则为根基，基础，在…基础上；比如男性和女性应该在平等的基础上竞争工作岗位。Men and women should be able to compete on an equal footing.
文中出现的 put sth on a …footing 也是固定搭配，
例：He wanted to put their relationship on a permanent footing.
同义 basis，condition基于牢固的基础
段落大意：
安倍的改革行动需要再大胆一些。①句转折上一段，安倍的实际行动非常谨慎。②③举例，比如退休年龄虽然提高了，但和其他发达国家比还是小很多；如果超过65岁还正式上班或打零工工资超过一定金额，发放的养老金就会减少。④句承上启下，不知道这种情形今后是否会改变。⑤⑥继续举例，政府修改了，但并没有废除对已婚女性那点工资征收税；老人年龄越大他需要自己付的医药费越少，给政府的压力更大。⑦政府减少医疗保障支出的方法。
段落分析：
1. discourage,反义是encourage，这里是阻挠，不允许的意思。注意不能说 discourage sb to do sth，固定的配搭是discourage sb from doing sth
比如我爸是律师，他不让我进入该行业 ,就可以表达为：My father is a lawyer, and he discouraged me from entering the field.
2. lowly 注意这是个形容词，意思是卑微的，低级的，无足轻重的。比如他在饭店的第一份工作是一个小门童His first job in the hotel was as a lowly porter.
3. by the same token 可替换in a similar way
4. 这一段用了很多例子来说明安倍在实际行动上是cautious的。我们在举多个例子的时候可以使用Moreover，by the same token进行连接。
段落大意：
①句表明安倍的态度：上一段提到的一些措施并不是非常紧迫。②③句是对安倍观点的引用：他们并没有打算立马实施医疗健康服务的共同支付方案，但是供款和福利之间的平衡是需要再认真审视的。④句表示，坚持锻炼者需要得到鼓励。⑤句又是引用：他们正在想新的刺激机制，那些坚持运动抵抗疾病的人的供款可以如何安排。
段落分析：
1.If you hint at something,you suggest it in an indirect way.
hint除了做名词表示”暗示”，”好主意”以外，还可以做动词表达”暗示，示意”，通常和介词at搭配：
Criticism is hinted at, but never made explicit. 批评总是含沙射影，但从未明说。
2.review最熟悉的用法是做名词，表示复习。在这里指的是审查，审核。
The White House quickly announced that the policy is under review.白宫很快宣布该项政策正在审核中。
3.contribution和benefit。contribution这里指的不是贡献，付出，而是指的养老金制度里面的供款，比如养老金固定缴款计划就是”defined contribution plan”；benefit指的不是益处，好处，也是指的养老金制度里的福利和津贴。contribution意思弄懂，这段话的最后一句话才不会出现理解偏差：有的人坚持运动，同时也按时缴纳养老金，他们退休之后身体很好，不需要动用医疗补贴，所以对于他们支付的缴款，安倍提出，可以有一定的鼓励和奖赏机制。
段落大意：
①句里的this caution 指的是第九段提到过的“Abe is being cautious”，安倍的担心是有些多余的。②句解释在其他国家，提高退休年龄会引发争议，但是在日本就不一样了。③④句详细解释原因：17年的民意调查表明60岁及以上还在职场的民众里，42%都愿意继续工作；并且大多数日本国民都肯定安倍接收更多外籍工作人员的计划，尽管一些政客担心外来人员会带来犯罪和扰乱社会安定。
段落分析：
1.excessive 过分的，过多的。This caution is excessive. 段首句简单清晰，并且和前文的cautious有所呼应。
2. 第二句里可以提炼句型doing sth is not as controversial in xxx as elsewhere，一件事情在其他地方有争议，但是在xxx地方是行得通的，可以体现地方特色。
比如当我们想说在中国子女照顾赡养父母的义务可能要被写入法律这一举措，在其他国家可能会引起争议，但是在中国不会，就可以说：
Enforcing the law that children are obliged to look after their parents economically and emotionally is not as controversial in China as elsewhere.
3. fret，不及物动词，担忧，和worry about，concern有一点不同的是，字典里表明fret通常是过分担忧，或者担忧没必要的事情。
可以和about，over一起使用：
She is always fretting about/over her newly-born child. 她总是在担心自己刚出生的婴儿。
还可以说fret that：
Men in their fifties always fret that they are no longer young. 人到中年，总是担心自己已经不够年轻。
口语中还有两个用fret表示不用担心的表达：
Don’t fret.
Fret not.
4. approve做“批准，通过”一项法案，决定的时候，是及物动词：
MPs approved the Bill by a majority of 97. 议员们以97票的多数票通过了该议案。
做“赞同”的时候，是不及物动词，和of搭配：
I don’t approve of cosmetic surgery. 我不赞成整形。
段落大意：
文章最后一段三句话：①句表明安倍的决心：想要日本成为其他老龄化国家的楷模，②句肯定安倍在解决日本老龄化问题上的成就，③句表明对现状的担忧：日本也有可能做的太少，做的太晚，不是成为一个楷模，而是要成为一个可以吸取失败教训的例子了。
段落分析：
1. 从这段话里可以学习paraphrase，同义词替换的表达，老龄化社会可以说aging society, 也可以说a smaller, older population，人口一方面在减少，另一方面老龄化人口增多，表达简单但是很准确。
2. 最后一句话可以学到这个表达：…is an example that has done too little, too late.。。。是做的太少，做的太晚的例子。
比如高考前一个月才认真开始复习，那就是做的太少，做的太晚：
Start studying merely one month before the College Entrance Examination is an example of a student that has done too little, too late.
同样的话题“日本老龄化问题”出现在了Leader和Asia部分，Leader部分篇幅小，表达简洁。Asia部分篇幅长，描述详细，所以两篇可以一起看，学习如何来paraphrase，用不同的单词表达相同的意思。
比如Leader部分下面这句话，是对日本老龄化现状简洁的描述。用的是一连串的动词age，shrink，soar，go bust，empty，表达简洁生动：
Leader部分爱用动词，比如表述日本的三个举措来提高劳动力数量，是这么写的：
安倍想让日本成为一个老龄化社会的治理模范，Leader和Asia部分分别是这么写的：
日本劳动力短缺，1.6个职位对应一个求职者，Leader和Asia部分分别是这么写的：
日本国内有人担心外籍劳工给社会带来不稳定，Leader和Asia部分分别是这么写的：
一个是fret about，一个是fret that；
一个是bring crime and disturbing social harmony, 一个是make less safe and harmonious
完全是paraphrase的优秀典范~
常常，我们工科学生都被看作是学英语的“弱势群体”，但是越来越多的事实告诉我们，工科生也可以把英语学得很好。
在众多英语外刊中，《经济学人》内容和质量一直为人所称道和支持，每个学英语的人都向往最后可以实现无压力阅读。其内容的丰富和权威值得每个学英语的人作为英语学习的进阶材料。
虽称为经济学人，可是整本杂志的涵盖内容不仅仅包含经济金融方面的内容，而是极其广泛。
如图：
《经济学人》各个板块条例清晰，侧重不同，观点鲜明，建议大家找来体悟一下。
《经济学人》为国内考试所认可，常常被改编为考研和考博的题目内容。同时，也可以作为攻克出国考试，如雅思，托福等考试的辅助材料。
因为，它既可以满足雅思的9分标准：
Task Achievement
Coherence and Cohesion
Lexical Resource
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
又可以满足托福考试选材广泛，学术要求较高等诸多特点。
那么，在读了数百篇《经济学人》以及其他为数不少的外刊后，渐渐有些有益的实践经验的我，选取前一段时间高考在外媒引起的相关话题来推介自己的阅读方法，希望为读者提供丝毫的启发。选文清晰明了，词汇难度中等，希望起到抛砖引玉的作用。
China’s education system is deeply unfair（Excerpts）
Jun 4th 2016
NO CAR may honk nor lorry rumble near secondary schools on the two days next week when students are taking their university entrance exams, known as gaokao . 【Teenagers have been cramming for years for these tests, which they believe (with justification) will determine their entire future. Yet it is at an earlier stage of education that an individual’s life chances in China are usually mapped out, often in ways that are deeply unfair.】
Notice ：
Honk：
1 . n. a loud noise made by a car horn or goose ，雁叫声；汽车的喇叭声。
2 . v If a car horn or a goose honks, it makes a loud noise: （使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）
Rumble：
1 . v. to make a series of long low sounds, especially a long distance away from you: 隆隆作响；（车辆）辘辘行驶
2 . n. a series of long low sounds. 隆隆声，辘辘声
University entrance exams, known as gaokao.：高考
括号内内容可以作为关于考试的相关话题的习作观点和论点支持。表达自己对于考试决定一生这种观点的的不认可和反对。值得背诵~
在这里，如果读者水平比较好，笔者建议使用英英释义，更为准确、地道。因为所有的汉语释义在读者阅读之前，已经被字典的译者“加工”一遍了，意思或许会发生微变~
To give more students access to higher education, the government has increased its investment in the sector five fold since 1997. The number of universities has nearly doubled. In 1998 46% of secondary-school graduates went on to university. Now 88% of them do. About 7m people—roughly one-third of those aged between 18 and 22—now gain entry to some form of higher institution each year.
Sector：one of the areas into which the economic activity of a country is divided
（一国经济活动的）部门，领域，行业
例句：In the financial sector, banks and insurance companies have both lost a lot of money.在金融领域，银行和保险公司都损失严重。
在这一段中，重点提到了国家对于中国学生上学的难题采取的措施，大量的数字罗列。Increase, double, roughly等是描述数据的时候十分常见的词汇。
重点在于学习如何进行数字有效表达信息，说明问题所在，在表述数字的时候注重连词的正确和流畅使用。
China’s universities offer more opportunity for social mobility than those in many other countries, says James Lee of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. But the social backgrounds of those admitted have been changing. Until 1993, more than 40% of students were the children of farmers or factory workers. Now universities are crammed with people from wealthy, urban backgrounds. That is partly because a far bigger share of young people are middle-class. But it is also because rural Chinese face bigger hurdles getting into them than they used to.
Social mobility ：the ability to move from one level of society to another (个人从一个社会阶层转向另一个社会阶层的)社会流动
在这一段中，主要介绍了全国高考学生的背景和不公平根源所在，解决困难之大。
The problem lies with inequality of access to senior high schools, which take students for the final three years of their secondary education. Students from rural backgrounds who go to such schools perform as well in the university entrance exams as those from urban areas. But most never get there. Less than 10% of young people in the countryside go to senior high schools compared with 70% of their urban counterparts. The result is that a third of urban youngsters complete tertiary education , compared with only 8% of young rural adults.
Tertiary education ：education at college or university level:高等教育，大学教育
例句：More than 60% of American high school graduates start some form of tertiary education.
这一段主要介绍出生在的乡村高中生的学习窘境，由于环境原因最后可能无法进入大学学习之门，相比之下，城市高中生的升学率则高的太多。
经济学人中常见一些长难句（但是没有英语专业论文那么冗长，那么艰涩难懂），
The problem lies with inequality of access to senior high schools, which take students for the final three years of their secondary education. Students from rural backgrounds who go to such schools perform as well in the university entrance exams as those from urban areas.定于从句与状语从句组成的复合句，虽然在理解上可能会产生一定难度，但两个句子本身难度不大。….which…引导非限定性定语从句, as…as句型用来比较城市和乡村的区别。语法结构明晰，易于分析。
【One reason is that junior high schools in the countryside are far weaker academically than urban ones. Local governments invest less in them per student than they do in cities. Urban parents tend to be better educated and thus better able to help children with their studies. Rural pupils often suffer from a “poverty of expectations”,】 says Jean Wei-Jun Yeung of the National University of Singapore: they are not encouraged to think they can succeed, so they do not try to.
Academically： 学术上; 理论上。
在这一段主要介绍的是新加坡国立大学的专家提出为什么农村的孩子更加难以上大学的原因，其特点不仅仅在于外部环境，还在于家庭的压力，双重的窘境和困难使求学之路艰巨难行。
本段落主要表现的是某一方的观点，多具说理性。可以进行相关话题的仿写和背诵。对于应对托福，雅思写作训练的多论点和两论点话题仿写和实战大有裨益，也可作为文章论据的存储。
这样，通过以上的分析和举例，我们可以总结出读外刊的一些方法：
解决选文词汇难题，挑出重点短语，缕清句子结构，分析大致含义，补充背景知识，学习地道写作。通过这样有目的和计划的训练，经济学人等外刊的阅读不再是难题，而更是提高眼界、更换视角的过程。
如果你的词汇量可以达到2万词，那么阅读《经济学人》的词汇障碍会大大减小，如果可以达到3万词，那么读起来就会畅快很多。阅读的过程，也是快速增长词汇量的过程。在此，由于每个人的术业专攻不同，建议取长补短，逐步建立专属词库，或者多分类词库，以实现词汇的丰富度和数量扩展。
网络资源共享是获得《经济学人》的一个有效途径，在线字典的出现使得查询词汇便利和更具可获得性。《牛津双解词典》 ，《柯林斯高阶词典》 ，《韦氏大字典》等字典可以较为全面的提供纸质词汇研读途径。书写好电子笔记，可以分门别类归纳，比如，段落，文化背景，誊写在纸质笔记上形成《经济学人常用语字典》进行记忆背诵。
正是由于《经济学人》的权威性、难度高、内容广泛等特点，常常也会被选为翻译练习的源文章，专注于《经济学人》翻译分析的公众号，微博比比皆是，为我们做翻译练习提供了参看。因此，若想提高双语理解，可以选择相关文章进行翻译，和网上较为优美的译文对比。这样，翻译的水平就会不断提高。
最后，《经济学人》可以作为英语学习进阶提高的优秀材料。工科学生具有努力学习的精神，只要认真做好记录，勤加练习，一定可以在英语学习的过程中收获良多，提高自己的水平！
