经济学人精读笔记18: 为什么越来越多中国人想要移居海外？

经济学人精读笔记18: 为什么越来越多中国人想要移居海外？

标签（空格分隔）： 经济学人

---

Part 1

Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

Chinese firms are piling into the business

Tang Shougang is one of a generation of young Chinese who seem to have it all. Aged just 35, Mr Tang (not his real name) has a well-paid job for a tech firm, and his wife owns a successful shop.

They have two young sons, two cars and an apartment in downtown Shanghai worth a fortune. One perk enjoyed by others of their class, however, eludes them: a passport or long-term residents’ visa for a country other than China.

中国人成为外国居住权计划的最大受众
中国企业纷纷涌入该行业
中国的年轻一代似乎拥有着一切，汤授罡正是其中一员。年仅35岁的汤先生（化名）在一家科技公司干着一份高薪的工作，他的妻子成功地开着一家商店。
他们拥有两个年幼的儿子、两辆车以及一套位于上海市中心的价值不菲的公寓。然而，还有一项这一阶层其他人所享有的福利他们却并不享有：外国护照或长期签证。

• scheme [skim] n.a plan or system for doing or organizing sth计划；体系

scheme for doing/to do sth计划做某事

A local scheme for recycling newspapers当地的报纸回收计划。

我们知道plan也有计划的意思，但更偏向于比较抽象的计划，没有很具体的细节。scheme语气更加严肃，指一个更细节、更专业的计划。写作中大家可以根据具体情况用scheme来代替plan，增加文章的严谨性。【写作推荐】

• residency 驻留时间, 驻留期

• 动词短语pile in/into 表示“蜂拥而入”(to go somewhere quickly without order or control)，常用于形容某个热潮席卷而来，大家纷纷蜂拥而入，比如《经济学人》一篇讨论网约车公司的文章提到：As more firms pile into ride-sharing, and autonomous vehicles become part of the mix, the business may prove to be less lucrative than expected.来越多的公司争相提供打车服务，再加上自动驾驶汽车也加入这一行列，这门生意也许最终并没有预期的那么赚钱。

• pile up to become larger in quantity or amount堆积；积压 Work always piles up at the end of the year. 年底总是积压一大堆工作。

• downtown表示“市中心”，此外city centres/ the urban core/the centre of town/the heart of the city都可以用来表示“市中心”

• be worth a fortune 价值不菲

fortune n. 1.[C]大笔钱；巨款

make a fortune 发财

the family fortune 家庭财产

be worth a fortune 很值钱

seek fame and fortune 追名逐利

2.[U]（尤指影响人生的）机会，运气

good fortune 好运气 Government ministers are starting to wonder how long their good fortune can last. 政府部长们开始怀疑他们的好运还能够持续多久。

[注意]good fortune是一个抽象名词，前面不加a，也没有复数形式。fortune 单独用作“好运”解也是这样。a piece of (good) fortune 作“一件幸运的事”解。luck同理，have good luck 有好运气，a piece of luck好运

• • perk n.|pɜ:k |( also formal perquisite) [常用复数] something you receive as well as your wages for doing a particular job （工资之外的）补贴，津贴，额外待遇

Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance.公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。

• long-term 长期的The long-term unemployed are becoming a new underclass. 长期失业的人正形成新的贫困阶层。

short-term 短期的；近期的 a short-term loan短期贷款

• eludes vt. 逃避，躲避

Part 2

Ideally they would like a green card that makes it easier to live, work and educate their children in America. That looks difficult, so the Tangs are pondering other options.

A whole industry has grown in China to help them choose. About a hundred countries around the world have schemes that offer residence—a “golden visa”—in return for a big investment from the applicant.

在理想情况下，他们希望拿到一张美国绿卡，以便让他们的孩子更容易在美国生活、工作和学习。但这似乎太难了，所以汤先生一家正在考虑其他的选择。
在中国，这一行业已经发展壮大，可以帮他们作出选择了。世界上大约有100个国家有提供居住权的计划（可以称之为“黄金签证”），并将其作为对申请人巨额投资的回报。

• ponder v.|ˈpɒndə(r) |~ (about/on/over sth) (formal) to think about sth carefully for a period of time 沉思；考虑；琢磨=consider

She pondered over his words.她反复琢磨他的话。

They were left to ponder on the implications of the announcement.他们被留下来琢磨这项宣告的含义。

• muse [mju:z] v. ~ (about / on / over / upon sth) to think carefully about sth for a time, ignoring what is happening around you沉思；冥想 I sat quietly, musing on the events of the day. 我静静地坐着，沉思一天中所发生的事。

Part 3

A dozen or so of these go further, and also offer a passport, in effect selling citizenship. By far the biggest users of these “residence or citizenship by investment” (RCBI) schemes are Chinese.

Hundreds of businesses compete to help them navigate the labyrinthine procedures. They usually offer other services as well, such as help with applications for student visas.

其中有十几个国家更是贴心地提供护照，这实际上是在出售公民身份。到目前为止，这类“通过投资获得居留权或公民身份”计划最大的受众是中国人。
成百上千家企业帮助人们在迷宫般的程序中摸索前行。这些企业还提供其他的服务，比如帮助申请学生签证。

• go further 本义是“进一步”，上一段说到这类行业壮大了，提供各种服务，而其中十几个国家提供更多，如“护照”，所以这里意译为“更贴心地…”

further adv. to a greater degree or extent 进一步；在更大程度上；在更大范围内

The police decided to investigate further. 警方决定作进一步调查。

• in effect 实际上；

• navigate本义是“导航；确定方向”，常引申为“驾驭，应付（困难复杂的情况）”(to understand or deal with something complicated)。

比如《经济学人》一篇关于终身学习的文章提到：Not everyone will successfully navigate the shifting jobs market.并非每个人都能成功应付正在变化的就业市场。

《纽约时报》一篇关于特朗普外交政策提到：Most foreign leaders are still trying to get a handle on him. Everywhere I go, I’m still getting asked, ‘Help us understand this president, help us navigate this situation.’大部分外国领导人仍在努力理解他的意思。无论走到哪里，都有人要求“帮我们了解这位总统，帮我们度过目前的局面。”

• labyrinth n.|ˈlæbərɪnθ|(formal) a complicated series of paths, which it is difficult to find your way through 迷宫；曲径

a labyrinth of rules and regulations 错综复杂的规章制度

之后我们形容“繁琐的程序”就可以说：the labyrinthine procedures

• procedures n. 程序, 步骤

Part 4

There are various reasons why Chinese citizens want residence abroad. By far the most common—the Tangs in this respect are typical—is education. Parents want to spare their offspring the horrors of China’s gruelling university-entrance exam, the gaokao.

他们认为，国外的教育所提供的机会是在国内无法获得的。对于那些没有子嗣的中国人来说，将其作为中国政治或经济环境恶化后的“B计划”也是颇具吸引力的。
许多人之所以喜欢在海外投资（尤其是在房地产领域），就是为了让投资组合多样化（就像获得了一个避风港一样）。但对于有些人来说，他们可能就是单纯地喜欢在海外生活，或至少退休后去海外生活。

• spare sb sth 指“让某人免遭到某事”，比如我们对父母一般都是报喜不报忧，因为我们不想让父母担心We want to spare our parents any anxiety.

再比如你的朋友跟你提起前任，事无巨细的讲TA的近况：TA已开启了美好新生活，交了一个新的女/男朋友blablabla，你实在不想听，就可以跟他说Spare me the details. 别跟我说细节了/闭嘴

to spare if you have time, money, etc. to spare, you have more than you need 多余；富余 I've got absolutely no money to spare this month. 我这个月一点儿富余钱都没有。 We arrived at the airport with five minutes to spare. 我们赶到机场时还剩五分钟。

spare 还可以作形容词，意为“不用的；闲置的”比如I let the spare room.我把那间空房出租了。（let作动词有“出租房屋、房间等”的意思）

• offspring n.[ˈɒfsprɪŋ] a child of a particular person or couple 孩子；子女；后代

the problems parents have with their teenage offspring 父母与青少年子女之间的问题

to produce/raise offspring 生育 / 抚养后代

【类似表达】descendant n. [dɪˈsendənt] 后裔；后代；子孙

He was an O’Connor and a direct descendant of the last High King of Ireland. 他属于奥康纳家族，是爱尔兰最后一位君王的嫡系后裔。Many of them are descendants of the original settlers. 他们中许多人都是早期移民的后裔。

subsequent generations 后代

be passed on to subsequent generations 遗传给后代

subsequent adj.[ˈsʌbsɪkwənt] 随后的；后来的；之后的；接后的 Subsequent events confirmed our doubts. 后来发生的事证实了我们的怀疑。

• grueling [ˈgruːəlɪŋ] adj. very difficult and tiring 非常累人的

This turned into a fascination with intellectual property law. At 46, she started grueling legal training. 这使得她对知识产权法产生兴趣。她在46岁时开始艰苦的法律培训。[金融时报]

【类似表达】形容某事令人劳累还可以说tiring, exhausting, backbreaking

Part 5

And they believe that a foreign education will open up opportunities unavailable at home. Even childless Chinese also see the attractions of a “plan B” should the political or economic climate in China deteriorate.

Many like the idea of investing abroad, especially in property, to diversify their portfolios as much as to acquire a bolt hole. And some may actually prefer to live, or at least retire, overseas.

他们认为，国外的教育所提供的机会是在国内无法获得的。对于那些没有子嗣的中国人来说，将其作为中国政治或经济环境恶化后的“B计划”也是颇具吸引力的。
许多人之所以喜欢在海外投资（尤其是在房地产领域），就是为了让投资组合多样化（就像获得了一个避风港一样）。但对于有些人来说，他们可能就是单纯地喜欢在海外生活，或至少退休后去海外生活。

• deteriorate [di’tiəriəreit] v.~ into sth to become worse 变坏；恶化；退化

Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。

The discussion quickly deteriorated into an angry argument.这场讨论迅速演变成愤怒的争吵。

deterioration n.[U,C]恶化

• portfolios n.(finance 财) a set of shares owned by a particular person or organization （个人或机构的）投资组合，有价证券组合

an investment/share portfolio投资 / 股份组合

• property n. 财产；性质，性能；所有权

• acquire v. to gain sth by your own efforts, ability or behavior（通过努力、能力、行为表现）获得，得到

She has acquired a good knowledge of English.她英语已经学得很好。

acquire a taste for sth 培养对…的兴趣；发展对…的兴趣She acquired/ developed a taste for journeys to isolated hazardous regions in North America.她喜欢上了到北美那些险象环生的偏远地区旅行。

学到/获得技能:develop/learn/master/have/possess/acqire a skill

完善/提高技能：improve/ hone a skill

缺乏技能：lack a skill

【形近词辨析】acquire /require /inquire

这几个词词形、发音相近，容易记混。acquire的意思是“经过自己的努力获得，习得”;require的意思是“要求”;inquire的意思是“调查，询问，打听”。

比如：She has acquired a new set of interests.　她现在又有了一些新的爱好。The rules require us all to be present. 按规定我们都要出席。　Why don’t you inquire by telephone? 你为什么不打电话询问一下呢?

• bolt hole 避难所