今日份雅思阅读内容来自《经济学人》，文章内容有关：标题是：Status contentment，It’s getting easier for the merely rich to live like tycoons(地位满足，小富充大亨愈加容易)，本篇雅思阅读文章建议精读时间：30分钟，阅读难度中等，附雅思阅读高频词汇。在经济停滞时期还能有增长的领域并不多，人们对社会日趋不平等的怨念便是其中之一。供职于美国全国广播公司财经频道CNBC的罗伯特·弗兰克(Robert Frank)是研究美国富豪的专家，他担心富豪们正日渐自成一国。从记者转身成为政客的克里斯提亚·弗里兰(Chrystia Freeland)为“全球新型超级富豪”的崛起以及其他所有人的没落而忧虑。美国最悲观的社会学家查尔斯·默里(Charles Murray)警告说，随着富人们退避至重门深户内，社会正在“分崩离析”。

LAMENTING the rise of inequality is one of the few growth industries in an age of stagnation. One authority on the American wealthy, Robert Frank of CNBC, a TV channel, worries that the rich are “floating off” into their own country. Chrystia Freeland, a journalist-turned-politician, frets about the rise of the “new global super-rich” and the fall of everyone else. Charles Murray, America’s gloomiest social scientist, warns that society is “coming apart” as the rich retreat into their gated communities.

在经济停滞时期还能有增长的领域并不多，人们对社会日趋不平等的怨念便是其中之一。供职于美国全国广播公司财经频道CNBC的罗伯特·弗兰克(Robert Frank)是研究美国富豪的专家，他担心富豪们正日渐自成一国。从记者转身成为政客的克里斯提亚·弗里兰(Chrystia Freeland)为“全球新型超级富豪”的崛起以及其他所有人的没落而忧虑。美国最悲观的社会学家查尔斯·默里(Charles Murray)警告说，随着富人们退避至重门深户内，社会正在“分崩离析”。

At the top of the income scale, however, a small counter-trend is observable. Never before have so many people been able to get access to the accoutrements of tycoonery —private planes, luxury yachts, fancy cars and interior-designed, exclusive homes. There is only so much comfort to be had from the fact that it is easier for the merely rich to lay claim to the lifestyle of the super-rich. But as a result of a combination of new technologies and businesses, that is nonetheless what is happening.

然而，在顶层收入群体中，却可观察到一个小小的逆趋势。从来没有那么多人可以享用到大亨式的行头装备——私人飞机、豪华游艇、炫目豪车，以及装潢考究的高档住宅。小富之人愈加容易拥有巨富的生活方式了，这一点带给人们的安慰颇为有限。不过，由于一系列新科技和新业务的结合，这确实是正在发生的事。

Tycoon living begins with a private jet. Whereas yachts are dispensable (not everyone wants to float around for weeks with the same dinner companions) private jets are necessities for the aspiring billionaire. They save valuable time. Even first-class passengers have to wait an hour or so for their flights. Private-jet owners can turn up when they want and climb on board. The planes can double as flying offices, and you don’t have to worry about other passengers eavesdropping on your deals or objecting to your spreading papers. The flight is smoother (private jets typically fly at 45,000 feet), the seats are more throne-like, and you can bring your pets.

要享受大亨式的生活首先得有一架私人飞机。游艇是可有可无的(并非每个人都喜欢花上好几周时间漂游海上，天天和同一群人用餐)，但对于未来的亿万富翁而言，私人飞机则是必需品。拥有飞机可以节省宝贵的时间。即使头等舱乘客也得为航班等候一小时左右，而私人飞机机主则可随心所欲地即时登机。飞机可以充当空中办公室，不必担心其他乘客听到你谈的交易，摊开报纸也不会有人提意见。飞行也更顺畅平稳(私人飞机一般在45,000英尺的高度飞行)，座椅更加豪华舒适，乘客还可以带上宠物。

No longer do you need a net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars to have one. With 700 jets, NetJets is now the fifth-largest airline by number of planes, after Southwest Airlines, and it has access to thousands of private airports. Its main innovation was to apply the principle of fractional ownership, or time-sharing, to the ultimate executive tool. Customers buy a share in a jet which entitles them to, say, 200 hours of travel a year.

如今，你并不需要身家数亿美元才能坐拥私人飞机。备有700架喷气式飞机的NetJets现已成为排在西南航空公司之后的第五大航空公司(按飞机数量计算)，可抵达数以千计的私人机场。该公司的主要创新是把所有权共享或分时共享的原则应用在私人飞机这一“高管终极交通工具”上。客户购买私人飞机的部分所有权进而获得一定使用权，比如，每年200小时的飞行时数。

NetJets is skilled at providing its rich clients with an entrée into the cultural world of the super-rich, with hard-to-get tickets to events such as Art Basel, a series of art fairs, and to private dinners with celebrities. The company is also finding ways to bring down the cost: one of its latest ideas is the private-jet equivalent of London Underground’s electronic ticket, the Oyster card. Rather than buying a share in a jet you can buy a pre-paid card that entitles you to a certain number of flying hours a year, with 25 hours’ worth of flights adding up to about €155,000 ($163,435).

NetJets善于把一般富人领入超级富豪的文化世界，让其跻身巴塞尔艺术展(Art Basel)的系列展会这类一票难求的盛事以及名流的私人晚宴。该公司也正在想办法降低成本：最新的一个创意是推出类似伦敦地铁电子票“牡蛎卡”的私人飞机搭乘卡。你不必拥有私人飞机的部分所有权，只需购买一张预付卡，每年便可享用一定飞行时数，25小时的飞行约花费155,000欧元(163,435美元)。

The sharing economy was hardly inspired by the needs of the rich. But in some ways it suits them perfectly. The whole idea depends on people having spare assets that they are willing to rent out to total strangers. Who has more idle assets than the super-rich? And who loves extra income more than people who have spent their lives accumulating money? On the other side of the market, bustling plutocrats are an ever-present source of demand for temporary accommodation and bursts of luxury. The system can even have a strange public-relations benefit. A wealthy boss who makes use of NetJets won’t need to explain to his shareholders why he bought a jet, even as he treats the one he flies on as though it were his own.

分享经济并非由富人的需求所催生，但在某些方面，这一经济模式却完全贴合其需求。这一模式的整体理念是基于人们拥有空闲资产且愿意出租给陌生人。谁能比超级富豪拥有更多闲置资产?谁又会比这些终生金钱挂帅的人更爱额外收入?在市场的另一边，在商界忙碌的小富豪们对临时租用住所和时不时的豪奢生活总有需求。分享经济甚至能带来一种奇特的公关效益。豪阔的老板们可以通过NetJets享用如同自有私人飞机的服务，而无须向股东解释为何斥资购买私人飞机。

Uber, a ride-hailing firm, and Airbnb, an accommodation-sharing service, are prominent in the luxury market as well as the mass market. Uber offers yacht trips in Dubai (UberYacht) and helicopter commutes in São Paulo (UberCopter). Airbnb does a booming trade in luxury apartments in London, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. There are providers in almost every cranny of the luxury landscape. GetMyBoat, a San Francisco-based company, gives customers access to motorboats, luxury houseboats, yachts and jet skis in 7,100 places around the world. Stratajet sells tickets on empty legs on private jets for the price of a business-class ticket or even less. Staller, which describes itself as the “Airbnb for horses”, helps horse-owners rent stalls near equestrian competitions. A home-sharing club called ThirdHome.com allows people with just a couple of homes to live as if they have a dozen.

网约车公司优步及住宿分享服务公司Airbnb除了在大众市场大行其道，在奢侈品市场的服务也很突出。优步在迪拜提供游艇旅行服务(优步游艇)，在圣保罗推出直升机接送服务(优步直升机)。Airbnb在伦敦、香港、加勒比海的豪华公寓业务兴旺。富豪生活的方方面面几乎都有公司在提供服务。总部位于旧金山的GetMyBoat在全球7,100个地方向顾客出租摩托艇、豪华船屋、游艇及水上摩托。Stratajet以等同甚至低于商务舱的票价出售私人飞机的空驶航段机票。Staller自称是“服务马匹的Airbnb”，帮助马主在马术竞赛场地附近租借马厩。名为“ThirdHome.com”的房屋共享俱乐部让仅拥有三两套房子的人们像是十多套房子的主人那样到处旅行居住。

The same constraints that affect the wider sharing economy—NIMBY pressure groups who put their interests above the common good and regulators who fail to adapt to new technology—find echoes in the luxury market. With its helicopter service from Manhattan to the Hamptons, Blade has immeasurably improved the life of those New Yorkers who weekend on Long Island. That hasn’t prevented curmudgeons in Battery Park and Brooklyn Heights from complaining about the occasional whump-whump-whump over their heads.

但奢侈市场同样面临更大范围共享经济所面对的制约——将自己利益置于大众利益之上的邻避压力群体及无法适应新技术的监管者。Blade提供从曼哈顿到汉普顿的直升机服务，大大方便了到长岛度周末的纽约人，但无法阻止炮台公园和布鲁克林高地的倔老头们抱怨头顶偶尔出现的直升机轰鸣声。

From merely rich to Uber rich 从小富到超级富

Methods of managing wealth as well as consuming it are trickling down. Until recently only people called Rockefeller and Morgan could afford so-called “family offices” that manage their investments, taxes and charitable giving (and get entry into the best hedge funds). Now people with as little as $5m to invest can afford to do so thanks to a boom in so-called “multi-family” offices. Banks such as Citigroup have set up multi-family divisions. Even blue-blooded wealth advisers such as Rockefeller & Co, in Manhattan, are offering family-office services to the “merely” crowd.

除了消费财富，管理财富的方法也正一点点向下渗透。以往只有那些名叫洛克菲勒和摩根的名门望族才有能力设立所谓“家族理财室”来管理自己的投资、税务及慈善捐赠(并涉足最优质的对冲基金)。现在，由于“多家族理财办公室”的兴起，即使只有500万美元投资资金的人们也能享用这一服务。花旗集团等银行已设立了多家族理财部门。连曼哈顿的洛克菲勒公司(Rockefeller & Co)这类高贵的投资咨询公司也开始为小富人群提供家族理财服务。

That things are getting better for more rich people does not contradict Mr Frank’s broader worry, but among the Art Basel class it is a notable shift. Once upon a time you had to be born rich to join the global elite. Then you had to make a hundred million dollars, and then the threshold rose to a billion. Now goods and services that used to be confined to a handful of tycoons are available to the millionaire or pretend-millionaire next door, thanks to the magic of the sharing economy. The super-rich may be floating off into their own country. But more people can join them, even if temporarily, than ever before.

更多富人的生活质量得到提升与弗兰克更宽泛的忧虑并不矛盾，但在巴塞尔艺术展的观众人群中，这是个显著的转变。在过去，你必须出身富贵才能打入全球精英圈子。之后是你得赚上一亿美元，后来门槛又上升到十亿。然而由于分享经济的魔力，以前仅限于少数大亨专享的商品和服务现在连隔壁的百万小富或装阔之人也能享用。超级富豪们也许是越来越自成一国，但史无前例地，更多的人可以加入其中，即便只是暂借的奢华。

雅思阅读高频词汇

time-sharing 分时

temporary 临时

temporarily 暂时

sharing economy 分享经济

ride-hailing firm 专车服务公司

ownership 所有权

nonetheless 尽管如此

floating off 漂浮了

dispensable 可有可无的

constraint 约束

business-class ticket 商务舱机票

bring down 降低

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