|
《中英對照讀新聞》Russia's Billionaires Club 俄國的億萬富豪俱樂部
◎ 羅彥傑
The rich in Russia are getting richer.
俄國的有錢人愈來愈有錢。
Record high prices for oil and metals helped to move Russia up in the billionaire tally last year, as it leapfrogged Japan to the No. 3 spot on Forbes magazine's latest list of billionaires, behind Germany, which is No. 2, and the United States.
石油與金屬的價格創下紀錄，讓去年俄國的億萬富豪人數向上躍升，一舉超越日本，列名「富比世」雜誌最新富豪排行榜的第三名，僅次於第二名的德國以及美國。
Some of the wealth in this booming, Communist-to-capitalist country is trickling down, but inequality is widening because of the way resources have been divided in the post-Soviet era.
在這個欣欣向榮、從共產主義轉型為資本主義的國家裡，雖然若干財富逐漸釋出，但由於前蘇維埃時代的那種資源分配方式，不均的現象卻一直在擴大。
Although wages in Russia have risen -- the average jumped 50 percent in the last three years, to 6,832 rubles （$246） a month in 2004 -- the income gap between the richest and the poorest Russians is growing, said Viktor Ivanter, director of the Economic Forecasting Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a recent interview with the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
雖然俄國的工資增加─平均額在過去三年躍升五十％，二○○四年達到每個月六千八百三十二盧布（二百四十六美元），但最富有與最貧窮者之間的所得差距不斷增加，俄國科學院經濟預測研究所主任維特．伊凡特最近接受「獨立報」訪問時說。
Dictionary-新聞辭典
billionaire：指擁有十億財富的人、億萬富翁。millionaire則指百萬富翁。例句：Only a billionaire could afford these prices.（只有億萬富翁才負擔得起這些價錢。）
leapfrog：動詞，原指跳背遊戲，即分開兩腿，從彎背站立的人身上跳過。這裡引申為跳過、超越之意。例句：The government allows the poor to leapfrog poverty barriers by creating jobs.（政府透過創造就業讓窮人跳過貧窮障礙。）
trickle down：片語，指涓滴流出、小量流動。例句：The rain trickled down from the windscreen.（雨水從擋風玻璃上涓滴流下。）
income gap：指所得差距，gap指缺口、差距。The investment shift to China widens the income gap in Taiwan.（投資移向中國讓台灣的所得差距擴大。）
|
