经济学人赏析-日本人口问题（全）

第二次和现象级英语小伙伴组队赏析经济学人，其中1-3段来自荆棘海(背景信息from灿灿)，4-5段来自灿灿，6-7段来自0，8-9段来自王大冠，10-12段来自Zeroun。

How Japan’s prime minister plans to cope with daunting demography

The reforms he has in mind are not bold enough

图片来源于《The Economist》11月9日刊

How Japan’s prime minister plans to cope with daunting demography

大标题：日本首相将会如何应对本国令人气馁的人口问题

The reforms he has in mind are not bold enough

小标题：他筹划中的改革方案不够大胆

正副标题中我们可以看出来daunting和bold是一组反义词，我们先来学习一下daunting，这个词表示令人气馁的、吓人的，与后面demography连用让人感到人口下降这件事有点细思恐极。而小标题中的bold为勇敢和敢于冒险之意，两个标题一对比，令人更加体会到面对令人恐慌的人口问题时，安倍首相给出的改革措施实在有点过于保守。

这里可以学习一下两个表达：

1.daunting：adj. frightening in a way that makes you feel less confident.表示使人气馁，让人变得不自信、望而却步的意思。

例句：The trip seemed rather daunting for a young girl.

2.cope with：这个动词短语表示应对、处理，to succeed in dealing with a difficult problem or situation，可以作为deal with，handle，manage等的同义替换词。

例句：She feared she wouldn’t be able to cope with two new babies.

Paragraph 1：

①“THE DECLINE of the birth rate and the ageing of Japanese society is accelerating at unprecedented speed,” warns Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister.②Given the scale of the problem, he told The Economist this week, the government must push for “impactful policies” to tackle it right away. ③He mentions a series of reforms, intended to boost the workforce and reduce the cost of supporting the elderly. ④The Diet is currently debating a government proposal to admit 345,000 foreign workers over five years, for instance.

段落解析：

面对日趋严重的日本的出生率低和人口老龄化问题，日本首相安倍晋三希望推出有力的应对措施，刺激劳动力市场并减少对老龄人口的服务开支。此外，日本国会现正在对一项五年内引进超过30万的外国劳动力提案进行辩论。

词句精读：

1.accelerate：v（及物）表示加速，释义为if a process accelerates or if something accelerates it, it happens faster than usual or sooner than you expect，后面经常与speed、rate等表示速度的词连用，文中“THE DECLINE of the birth rate and the ageing of Japanese society is accelerating at unprecedented speed”就表示日本的出生下降率和老龄化正在以前所未有的速度上升着。

2.unprecedented：adj. never having happened before, or never having happened so much 中文可以翻译为空前的，前所未有的，与unusual是近义词。这个词来源于precedent，表示先例。

例句：Crime has increased on an unprecedented scale .

CNN就出过一本关于川普的书，书名叫Unprecedented：The election that changed everything，联想到川普的种种骇人言论，这个单词是不是很容易就记住了？

Unprecedented：The election that changed everything

3.Given the scale of the problem…：given这个词非常好用，在这里表示鉴于、考虑到，可以与considering做同义替换，后面可与名词连接，也可接that引导的从句，在文中就表示，考虑到问题的严重程度…。

例句：Given that the patients have some disabilities, we still try to enable them to be as independent as possible.

4.tackle：v（及物）表示处理、解决，to try to deal with a difficult problem，与前面标题中的cope with同样可做同义替换，后面可以直接跟名词，比如：tackle the problem/issue；或者连接程度副词，比如tackle directly；还可以与with或about连用，比如：When I tackled Susan about it, she admitted she’d made a mistake.

背景信息补充：（此段由灿灿提供）

Diet，名词，常用释义“饮食”，这里是指“议会”，a legislative assembly in certain countries (e.g., Japan). 日本议会是Diet，英国/加拿大议会是Parliament，美国国会是Congress。比如说，日本的议会相当于美国的国会，就可以说：The Diet in Japan corresponds to the American Congress.应用最近“每日一词”学习的equivalent，可以说“The Diet is the Japanese equivalent of the American Congress”。

从词源角度来看，Diet(议会)源自中世纪拉丁语的dieta，其有两个意思，“parliamentary assembly 议会”和“daily food allowance 每天的食物津贴”，最初源自古希腊语的diaita，意思是“way of living 生活方式”，也即“diet 日常饮食”,"regular (daily) work 定期(每日)工作"。Diet这个词之所以表示“会议”这个意思，是因为会议是在每日的基础上进行的。日本议会Diet也是沿用德国的传统，明治宪法（Meiji Constitution）深受德意志(普鲁士)的影响(the heavy Prussian influence)。

Paragraph 2

①That sounds dramatic, but the demographic decline is even bigger. ②There are 400,000 more deaths than births each year.③Life expectancy is 84 years—the highest in the world. ④Over 28% of the population is older than 65, compared with 21% in Germany, 15% in America and 6% in India.⑤The country has 69,785 centenarians, a seven-fold increase on two decades ago.

段落解析：

本段承接上文，虽然五年内引进30万劳动力像是个夸张的数字，但日本人口问题却更为夸张。并用数字举例说明了日本老龄化的严重程度。

词句精读：

1.Life expectancy：表示预期寿命，是一个专有名词，可以形容人、动物或者用品。expectancy这个词是期待的意思，the feeling that something pleasant or exciting is going to happen。

expectancy这个词在经济学领域应用广泛，比如说：

expectancy of value：期望值

expectancy theory：期望理论

expectancy effect：期望效应

2.seven-fold：七倍。fold作为名词表示折叠的痕迹，与数字连用就表示倍数，是很形象的表达，可以与times同义替换。后常接increase/rise，表示增长了几倍。

例句：Burglaries have increased sixfold.

3.Over 28% of the population is older than 65, compared with 21% in Germany, 15% in America and 6% in India.

这段话我们可以学习一下用数据来证明文章论点。在用数字之间的对比进行论证时，可以参考文中的写法，提炼出来就是：over xx% is…,compared with xx% in…,xx% in…and xx% in…，把想要说明的主句放到前面，后面用compared with引导其他参照物的数据。

比如我们想表达中国经济及其他地区的经济增长率，就可以说：

China's GDP growth in 2017 is 6.9%,compared with 2.3% in America,1.8% in U.K and 1.6% in Japan.

Paragraph 3

①The welfare state has become unaffordable. Public debt is 250% of GDP. ②And Japan is suffering from an acute labour shortage. ③There are already 1.6 jobs for every job-seeker, and the workforce is predicted to shrink from 67m last year to 58m in 2030.

段落解析：

这段进一步讲述日本的福利制度快要崩不住了。而且劳动力市场也非常短缺，预计到2030年还会减少九百万劳动力。

词句精读：

1.suffer：v（及物）我们通常用这个词表示遭受身体上的苦痛，然而它与经历、损失连用，来表示面临和承受也同样好用，可以与face、encounter等进行同义替换。suffer后面可以与介词from连用，也可以直接接名词，比如loss/consequence/damage等。

本段中②Japan is suffering from an acute labour shortage.就表示日本正在面临严重的劳动力市场空缺。suffer用在这里比使用它的同义词face更能令人感受到这个空缺带来的种种困难。

其他例句：They are unlikely to suffer any further loss of business.

2.acute：adj. an acute problem is very serious.这个词在修饰问题的时候通常表示很严重，可以与serous做同义替换。但在与sense、mind等连用时也有“灵敏的、聪明的”之意。要注意上下文。

在表示住房短缺问题严重时，可以这么说：The housing shortage is more acute than first thought.

3.shrink：v（及物）to become or to make something smaller in amount, size, or value.

这个词原意为缩水，引申为（使）缩水、减少，当在表示体积、体量减少的时候，可以使用shrink，可避免在论述中多次使用reduce等词。后面可以与to连用，表示缩小到什么样的程度。

比如：The firm’s staff had shrunk to only four people.

Paragraph 4

①One obvious solution is immigration. ②Only 2% of the workforce is foreign-born, compared with 17% in America. ③But the government has been surreptitiously admitting more foreign workers, mostly in the guise of students and trainees. ④The plan before the Diet aims to attract blue-collar workers in 14 industries, including construction, shipbuilding and caring for the elderly. ⑤They will receive visas of no more than five years, at least initially, and will not be able to bring their families. ⑥All must have some proficiency in Japanese.

段落解析：

前文提出了日本的生育率降低、人口老龄化带来的劳动力急剧短缺的问题，从本段开始讨论应对的举措。本段主要提到的是，通过移民的举措解决劳动力短缺。相对于美国这样的移民大国来说，日本劳动力市场上的外国人占比还是很低的。政府其实已经打着学生和实习生的幌子，私下准入了更多的外国打工者，主要还是吸引建筑、造船、夕阳产业等蓝领工人，这样的劳动力也是有一定条件的，首次签发的签证有效期在5年之内，还不能携家带口，并且对日语水平也有要求。

词句精读：

③But the government has been surreptitiously admitting more foreign workers, mostly in the guise of students and trainees.

surreptitiously，副词，形容词是surreptitious，秘密的，偷偷摸摸的，鬼鬼祟祟的，done secretly or quickly because you do not want other people to notice. 同义词secret，反义词barefaced(不隐瞒的)/aboveboard(光明正大的)。单词很长，但我们可以这么记忆：sur-rept-itious，sur下面, rept = creep爬（reptile爬行动物）itious表示形容词，在下面爬来爬去，偷偷摸摸的。比如我们想表达，商人私下付的报酬补充了低工资，就可以说：Low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments from tradesmen.

guise，名词，意思是“伪装，外表，幌子”，是比较正式的表达，the way someone or something appears to be, which hides the truth or is only temporary，常用表达“in / under the guise of sth”，本文是指日本政府打着学生和实习生的幌子，私下准入了更多的外国工作者。

比如我们想表达，他们挂着职业介绍所的牌子从事毒品走私活动，就可以说：They operated a drug-smuggling business under the guise of an employment agency.

再比如说我们想表达，一样的观点只是形式不同，就可以说：It’s the same idea in a different guise.

Paragraph 5:

①Mr Abe plays down the idea that he is doing anything momentous. ②In debates he is at pains to stress that the new arrivals are not permanent immigrants, but guest workers. ③Moreover, he portrays foreign workers as a last resort, to fill gaps while the government tries to get more Japanese to work. ④During his six-year tenure, 2m more women have joined the workforce, lifting the female participation rate above America’s. ⑤He has increased the number of nurseries and made big companies document their efforts to promote female workers. ⑥From next year nurseries will be free. ⑦Over half of women return to work after having a child, compared with 38% in 2010. ⑧“We have tried to make a society that enables more women to be active, advanced and empowered,” he says.

段落解析：

本段承接上一段，安倍对议会轻描淡写移民举措的重要性，强调外来务工者只是来“客座”工作的，可不是永久移民，而且这是迫不得已而为之的最后举措了。除了“引进外援”，安倍在任期内大力鼓励女性工作，日本女性的工作参与率已超过了美国（这已颠覆了我的认知），安倍通过增建托儿所和给职业女性晋升空间解决女性职工的后顾之忧，并且从明年起托儿所都免费啦！免费啦！免费啦！（重要事情说三遍）怪不得日本有一半以上生完孩子的女性都重返职场。安倍希望打造一个社会，让更多的女性积极、先进、赋有权力。

词句精读：

①Mr Abe plays down the idea that he is doing anything momentous.

play down，表示“减低…的重要性，轻视”，give less emphasis or make something seem less important，可以说是对某事的轻描淡写，同义词downplay。比如我们想表达，这个政客对民意测验显示出的他的影响力下降不予重视，就可以说：The politician played down the polls that showed that he was becoming less popular.（请脑补川普大爷傲娇地噘着小嘴表示“I don't care”）

momentous，表示“重大的”，程度要重于important，very important because it will have a great influence on the future. 本文是说安倍首相想表示出在移民方面他并没有做什么重大举措。如果我们想表达，现在我们在经历东西方关系发生重大转变的时期，就可以说：Now we are experiencing a period of momentous changes in East–West relations.

②In debates he is at pains to stress that the new arrivals are not permanent immigrants, but guest workers.

at pains，表示“小心翼翼地做某事(以免别人误解)”，be especially careful to make sure people understand what you are saying or what you plan to do. 本段通过一个“at pains”（小心翼翼）和前句的一个“play down”（轻描淡写），很形象的把安倍首相对移民问题谨小慎微的处理方式表现出来，也与上一段的surreptitiously有暗合之处。比如我们想表达，翠花特地说明英语是她唯一曾经考试不及格的科目，就可以说：Tracy was at pains to point out that English was the only exam she’d ever failed.

③Moreover, he portrays foreign workers as a last resort, to fill gaps while the government tries to get more Japanese to work.

resort，名词，常用释义“度假胜地”，在本文“last / final resort”是指（其他办法都失败后采用的）最后的办法，what you will do if everything else fails，常用搭配为“as a last resort”，“of last resort”和“in the last resort”。比如我们想表达，药物治疗只能作为最后的办法，就可以说：Drug treatment should only be used as a last resort. 再比如说我们想表达，最后使出的武器，就可以说：a weapon of last resort. 还比如说我们想表达，实在没有别的办法时，才会采取经济制裁，就可以说：Economic sanctions will be used only in the last resort.

除了“last resort”的表达方式，英文中还有“first resort”的表达，表示“最先采取的手段”，what you will do first before you try other things. 比如我们想表达，过去找工作总是先找家人帮忙，就可以说：In the past, your family was the first resort when looking for a job.

④During his six-year tenure, 2m more women have joined the workforce, lifting the female participation rate above America’s.

lift，常用义“抬起，提起，举起”，这里的意思是“增加，提高(价格﹑利润等)”，to make prices, profit etc increase，同义词increase，本文是指提升女性的参与率。比如我们想表达，美国可能会用减税的方法来提振经济，就可以说：The U.S. may use tax cuts to lift the economy.

⑤He has increased the number of nurseries and made big companies document their efforts to promote female workers.

document，动词，常见义是做名词的“文件，文档”，这里是“记录”的意思，make a detailed record of it in writing or on film or tape. 比如我们想表达，他写了一本书，记录他的海外经历，就可以说：He wrote a book documenting his overseas experiences.

Paragraph 6:

①Mr Abe also wants people to “remain active without retirement throughout their lives”.②His government is likely to raise the retirement age for civil servants from 60 to 65, and to encourage companies to do the same.③As it is, many companies have raised their retirement ages or taken to rehiring retired workers, often on a part time basis. ④Fully 23% of over-65s work; they constitute a much bigger share of the workforce than in other rich countries (see chart).⑤Mr Abe plans to bolster this trend by increasing the public pension for those who agree to start drawing it later than they are currently entitled to.⑥In the long run, the prime minister hopes, robots and artificial intelligence will help ease the labour shortage. ⑦“I do think that we will need fewer jobs because of higher productivity.”

段落解析:

除了上文中提到的通过移民和让更多女性进入职场，安倍还计划通过提高退休年龄，来应对日本人口衰减带来的劳动力短缺问题。安倍政府准备把公务员的退休年龄从60岁提高到65岁，很多公司也开始推行延迟退休。目前日本65岁以上人群中有23%的人还在工作，比例远远高于其他富裕国家。为了鼓励这种趋势，安倍计划提高延迟退休的人的公共养老金。而从长远来看，安倍寄希望于机器人和人工智能带来生产率的提高，来彻底缓解日本的劳动力短缺。本段最后提到的安倍寄希望于机器人和人工智能来缓解劳动力短缺.

词句精读:

1.Likely:adj./adv.

has a good chance of being the case or of coming about. 常用短语：be likely to do sth.有可能做某事。比如看外面的情况，雨雪天气可能还会持续几天。可以这么说：The raining day is likely to last for a few days.

2.数据图表的解读

图片来自于The Economist

Fully 23% of over-65s work; they constitute a much bigger share of the workforce than in other rich countries (see chart).

文中没有直接以文读图，而是用图文互补的方式，表达日本65岁以上还在工作的人所占比重很大。文中先说在65岁以上的人群中，日本有23%的人还在工作，图表则是各国65岁以上人群在国内总劳动力的占比，进一步扩大影响范围说明在国内整体劳动力市场中，日本65岁以上工作人群数量的情况。

3.bolster：vt. support and strengthen

这里的句型可以直接套用：sb. plans to bolster sb./sth. by doing sth. 文中安倍通过增加退休金来鼓励延迟退休。我们可以说：老板发了一大笔奖金来鼓励员工继续努力：

The boss hopes to bolster his staff keeping their efforts by offering a large bonus.

妈妈准备周末给小明买他想要了很久的糖果，奖励他在学校的良好表现：

Mother plans to bolster Xiao Ming by buying him the dreaming candy this weekend.

Paragraph 7：

①Getting older people to work for longer is especially beneficial to the government’s finances, since it leads both to higher tax revenue and lower spending on pensions.②Mr Abe’s tweaks are the latest in a series of changes intended to make the pension system more affordable. ③But the government is always playing catch-up, as the ageing of the population and shrinking of the workforce accelerate. ④It reckons social-welfare costs will rise by more than half by 2040, from ¥121trn ($1.06trn) to ¥190trn.

段落解析：

延迟退休对政府的财政尤其有利：一方面增加了税收，另一方面又能降低养老金的支出。而安倍近期的一系列调整正是为了防止日本的养老系统崩溃。但是政府的举措总是落后于日本人口老龄化和劳动力萎缩的速度。据估计，到2040年，社会福利成本将增加一半以上。

词句精读：

1.Getting older people to work for longer is especially beneficial to the government’s finances, since it leads both to higher tax revenue and lower spending on pensions.此句可以提炼出一个句型：A is especially beneficial to B,since it leads both to C and D.

本段第一句提到延迟退休对政府财政有点妙，一石二鸟：增加收入还能减少支出。手段还是不错的，一个举动达到两个目的，句型套用起来也是很顺的。做什么对什么特别有利，既能怎样又能怎样（怎么想都觉得有点贼）。

比如最近追的剧中：放出老板生病的假消息对公司度过难关特别有用，一方面为自己争取了时间，另一方面放松了竞争对手的警惕心。

可以这么说：Let out false information about the boss's illness is especially beneficial to their company，since it leads both to longer time for itself and lower vigilance of competitors.

2.play catch-up

这也是一个有趣的表达，句中③But the government is always playing catch-up, as the ageing of the population and shrinking of the workforce accelerate.看起来就像是政府永远在玩猫和老鼠的游戏，动画中的猫和永远也追不上的老鼠。

生活中也有很多无奈的时候，可以用起来。比如信息焦虑，职场中的我们,感觉一天都是追在信息的后面疲惫不堪，回不完的邮件，看不完的新消息…

可以这么说：In the work place,we always spend much of our day just playing catch-up to news,emails,new messages…

3. 数据的表达

④It reckons social-welfare costs will rise by more than half by 2040, from ¥121trn ($1.06trn) to ¥190trn. 本段最后一句的数值表达套路：It reckons A will rise by B by 2040, from C to D. 据估计，到2040年，A将会上升到B，从现在的具体数值C到2040年的数值D。

例句：预计到2050年，月球旅行的人数将会上升到十倍以上，从现在的3000多人到3万人以上。（瞎扯的数据%>_<%）

It reckons the number of people traveling to the moon will rise by more than ten fold by 2050, from over 3000 now to 30,000.

Paragraph 8：

①Mr Abe appears to be planning sweeping changes to put the welfare state on a firmer footing. ②“There will be an overall social-security reform, including health and medicine, pension and others,” he says. “We are trying to create a society and community where people can remain healthy and active...and find meaning in staying alive and living long.”

段落解析：

这段的大意是讲安倍看上去在计划在社会福利方面有一些大动作以便使其基础更加稳固。这是根据他说的话推断的：“马上会有一个整体的社会安全的改革，包括健康、医疗、养老金和其他。....我们正试图创造一个人民可以保持健康和活力的社会和社区...让他们能找到活得长久的意义...”

词句精读：（可以学习的实用表达）

1. appears to be

V-LINK 连系动词:①好像;似乎;看来 If you say that something appears to be the way you describe it, you are reporting what you believe or what you have been told, though you cannot be sure it is true.②看起来；显得 If someone or something appears to have a particular quality or characteristic, they give the impression of having that quality or characteristic. 同义词：give the impression。

这个词组可以学起来，保证使用率超高哦。不管是口语中还是写作中都可以使用。如果你说一个东西看起来像你形容的样子，就是表示你在表达你的主观看法，你认为你说的是对的，但是你并不完全确定百分之百正确。在这里是用在了形容政治立场上，也是比较常见的句型:

someone or something appear to be xxxxx

牛津搭配词典例句：

There appears to be increasing support for the leadership to take a more aggressive stance...好像有越来越多的人支持领导层采取更为强势的立场。

Under stress these people will appear to be superficial, over-eager and manipulative.这些人在压力下会显得浅薄无知、操之过急，而且爱摆布人。

在口语中，你也可以经常使用在八卦或者表达个人看法上面。比如你第一次见到Jasmine，感觉她看上去很傲慢耶，就可以说：

Jasmine appears to be very arrogant.

2. planning sweeping changes

ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词(变化)巨大的，重要的，有广泛影响的,深远的 Sweeping changes are large and very important or significant.

我刚开始就有点想当然了，把sweeping的意思认作了sweep的动词含义再延伸过来，以为是扫平的意思，但是其实不是。sweeping在这里做形容词，表示的是重要的改变，在政治经济领域会很常用到这个表达，可以在写作中使用到。

例句：The new government has started to make sweeping changes in the economy...新政府已经着手在经济领域进行意义深远的改革。

3. on a firmer footing

footing这个词理解起来比较tricky，属于那种你好像理解了又好像没理解的词汇类型。看上去简单，实际上的使用范围也很广，需要你有一些英式思维。foot指的是脚跟，加上ing变成名词footing，很容易让人联想到中文中的“站稳脚跟”，拓展一下就是表达基础和地位的意思。在这里，firmer footing的意思就是打一个牢固的基础。这个表达同样在政治经济领域很常见。比如：

A Supreme Court ruling against the university might put ethnic and racial diversity on college campuses on a firmer-footing for the long term.

同样我们还可以变化下这个表达就是一个俚语，用在口语中表达一个坚定的立场：on firm footing，意思是well supported。例句：

He believes that his argument is on firm ground/footing.

Paragraph 9：

①Yet in practice Mr Abe is being cautious. ②Even after the retirement age increases, it will still be lower than in many other rich countries. ③Moreover, the current system discourages those over 65 from working more than part-time since their pension is reduced if their income from it and their salary exceeds 460,000 yen ($4,039) a month. ④It is not clear whether this will change. ⑤The government has modified but not eliminated a tax quirk that discourages married women from earning more than a relatively lowly amount. ⑥By the same token, the share of medical expenses that patients must pay under the public health-care system falls as they get older, imposing a big burden on the state. ⑦There are various ways the government could reduce its health-care bill, including increasing premiums for the public insurance scheme, raising patients’ co-payments for treatments and excluding some expensive procedures from the scheme.

段落解析：

上一段讲的是安倍看上去想搞大动作改革，这一段接着说和看上去相反，安倍实际上却非常谨慎。这段具体描述了安倍实际上都做了哪些事情，而这些举措收效甚微。老龄化还是很严重，这些举措也很不合理，比如针对65岁老年人的税收和医疗花费等：即使退休年龄增长了，但是还是和其他富裕国家相比更低。现有的系统也很奇怪，65岁的老人如果想要全职工作的话他们的养老金会减少，所以他们只会选择做 part-time。政府也并没有取消一个针对已婚女性的很奇怪的税收政策，不鼓励她们去赚钱。同样的奇怪的情况也发生在医疗上。随着年龄的增长，病人付钱享受公共医疗系统的金额却逐渐下降，这给国家带来了巨大的负担。而实际上政府有很多的方式来减少医疗支出，比如增加公共保险的保费啊，提高病人的 co-payments啊，去除一些昂贵的项目啊，然而政府却没有这么做。

词句精读

1.in practice：used to say what is actually done or what the actual effect or result of something is.这个表达看上去很简单却很实用，不管用在句首句中句尾，口语或写作中，都是一个实用的表达。给自己的词库里多增添一些可替换表达，去替换in reality或者actually。

例句：The software is designed to block pornographic Web sites, but in practice[=in reality], it blocks many other sites as well.

In actual practice, people sometimes forget to take their medication.

口语中也可以直接用，频率很高。比如说这个工作实际咋做的呀，就可以说：

How would this work in practice?

2. a tax quirk：A quirk is something unusual or interesting that happens by chance.

这句话老实说不太懂，查了很久。第一反应是一个专有名词，特指一种类型的税收。但是谷歌了老半天都没找到什么相关的，只在一些新闻标题上看到使用quirk这词。结合上下文，推断这句话⑤The government has modified but not eliminated a tax quirk that discourages married women from earning more than a relatively lowly amount. 的意思为：政府正在修改但并没有取消这个奇怪的税收政策，这个政策不鼓励已婚女性赚取高于一个相对而言较低的数字的收入。

3.by the same token：for the same reason；in the same way— used to introduce a statement that says something more and often something different about the same situation referred to by a previous statement

这个表达可以学起来，用来丰富写作中的连接词组。有两层意思。

第一层是表示同样的意思：比如我不擅长数学，同样，我也很纠结与科学方程式。

Similarly. In the same manner. I'm not good at math and, by the same token, I struggle with scientific equations.

第二层意思是在之前提到的相同的条件下会怎样：

Because of the same causes or the same reasons as what was previously stated. When crime increases, houseprices plummet by the same token.

这个结果很令人沮丧，但是同样的条件下，说不定会更坏呢。

The result was disappointing, butby the same token, it could have been much worse.

在想表达一些复杂意思的时候，可以用到这个表达。

4. imposing a big burden

这个词组也很简单实用：impose a burden 施加一个很大的影响。

impose这个动词表示强制实行或强加的意思。If you impose something on people, you use your authority to force them to accept it.

这个burden前面的big可以随意替换形容词。例句：

Achievement of the targets set in the framework legislation must not impose a burden on consumers and firms because of an exhorbitant increase in energy costs.

Assure that the use of food additives does not lead to unacceptable risks for the consumer and at the same time does notimpose unnecessary burdento the industry.

背景补充

co-payments:an amount of money that a person with health insurance is required to pay at the time of each visit to a doctor or when purchasing medicine.

co-payments是指你已经有了医疗保险，但是你每次去买药或者看医生的时候还是要自付一部分费用，表达上也可以简化成co-pay。

Paragraph 10:
①Yet Mr Abe only hints at the need for any of this. ②“We are not thinking about immediately raising the co-payment for medical and health services,” he says. “But there must be a careful review of the balance between the contribution and benefit.” ③Those who take action to prevent illness, such as regular exercise, could be rewarded. ④“We would like to think about the incentives—what should be done to the contributions that have to be paid by the people who adopt habits to prevent diseases,” he says.

段落解析：

本段继续前面的话题，安倍解释为什么不提高医疗中的自费金额，以及他的解决方式和这么做的理由。他指出必须有一个对于贡献和利益之间平衡的仔细的审查，比如对采取行动去预防疾病的人进行激励。

词句精读：

1. hint：本词在文段中表示暗示的动词。要注意hint（动词）后面通常接 at，偶尔接 of。也可以接that从句。

动词：暗示;示意；If you hint at something, you suggest it in an indirect way.

要注意这个词的名词用法，除了和动词同义的暗示之外，还有好主意和少量的意思。

名词：暗示；A hint is a suggestion about something that is made in an indirect way/有益的建议，不错的主意，好点子；A hint is a helpful piece of advice, usually about how to do something./少许;微量；A hint of something is a very small amount of it.

例句：

1）I'm hoping to get some fashion hints.

2）She added only a hint of vermouth to the gin.

她只在杜松子酒里加了少许苦艾酒。（熟悉柯南的同学，这个例句的场景你记得在哪一集吗？）

2.incentive：n. If something is an incentive to do something, it encourages you to do it.可以与motivation进行同义替换.

例句：As an added incentive , there’s a bottle of champagne for the best team.

3.reward：v（及物）If you do something and are rewarded with a particular benefit, you receive that benefit as a result of doing that thing.

不可有双宾语，如不可说 They have rewarded me ¥100，该在 me 后面加上 with。

除去奖赏之外，还有值得付出时间或精力、赏金、酬谢之意。

(1) 动词：值得付出时间或精力；If you say that something rewards your attention or effort, you mean that it is worth spending time or effort on it.

例句：It richly rewards the effort.

(2) 可数名词：奖励;奖赏；A reward is something that you are given, for example because you have behaved well, worked hard, or provided a service to the community/赏金;赏格；A reward is a sum of money offered to anyone who can give information about lost or stolen property or about someone who is wanted by the police./报答;回报;酬谢；The rewards of something are the benefits that you receive as a result of doing or having that thing.

例句：The firm last night offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer.

昨晚这家公司悬赏 1万英镑，寻找能将凶手定罪的证据。

4. adopt：v（及物）采取；采纳；采用；If you adopt a new attitude, plan, or way of behaving, you begin to have it.

在本段中与habits连用，为养成习惯之意。

句子解析：

③Those who take action to prevent illness, such as regular exercise, could be rewarded.

一个句子重点在头和尾，一般中间的插入语不是主要信息。

④“We would like to think about the incentives—what should be done to the contributions that have to be paid by the people who adopt habits to prevent diseases,” he says.

the incentives—破折号解释说明激励措施

what should be done to the contributions 激励应该被用于贡献

that have to be paid 定语从句修饰贡献：贡献不得不被付出

by the people 来自人们

who adopt habits to prevent diseases 定语从句修饰人，养成习惯去预防疾病

这些激励——应该被用于那些养成习惯去预防疾病的人们付出的贡献。

Paragraph 11:
①This caution is excessive. ②Pushing back the retirement age is not as controversial in Japan as elsewhere. ③A government poll conducted in 2017 found that 42% of people aged 60 or more who work want to continue to do so. ④Although some politicians fret about foreigners bringing crime and disturbing social harmony, the majority of the population approves of Mr Abe’s plans to admit more foreign workers.

段落解析：

经济学人首先用开门见山的写法马上亮出自己的观点，对于安倍的政策作出点评。之后马上给出数据证明自己的观点。2017年进行的一项政府民意调查发现，年龄在60岁或以上的人中有42％希望继续这样做。虽然一些政客担心外国人带来犯罪和扰乱社会的和谐，大多数人认可安倍准许接收更多外国工人的计划。

词句精读：

1. push back：to change (a planned event) to start at a later date or time

改变（计划的事件）以便在以后的日期或时间开始。

2. be not as controversial as elsewhere.

……并不像其他地方那样具有争议性。

3. conduct：v（及物）进行;组织;实施，When you conduct an activity or task, you organize it and carry it out.

除了组织，还有其他的名词用法和动词用法

(1) 单数名词(任务或活动的)组织方式，实施办法；The conduct of a task or activity is the way in which it is organized and carried out.

(2) 不可数名词：行为;举止；Someone's conduct is the way they behave in particular situations.

(3) 动词：表现;举止；If you conduct yourself in a particular way, you behave in that way.

(4) 动词：指挥(管弦乐队或合唱团)；When someone conducts an orchestra or choir, they stand in front of it and direct its performance.

例句：Solti will continue to conduct here and abroad.

索尔蒂将继续在国内外担任指挥。

(5) 动词：传导(热或电)；If something conducts heat or electricity, it allows heat or electricity to pass through it or along it.

例句：Water conducts heat faster than air.

水的导热速度比空气快。

(6) 动词：陪伴;引导;带领；If you conduct someone to a place, you go there with them.

例句：He asked if he might conduct us to the ball which was to bring the proceedings to an end.

他问是否可以带我们去舞会现场，整个仪式将在那儿结束。

4. poll：可数名词，A poll is a survey in which people are asked their opinions about something, usually in order to find out how popular something is or what people intend to do in the future.

本词含义都是围绕民意调查相关的，要注意复数名词的用法。

(1) 动词：对…进行民意测验或调查；If you are polled onsomething, you are asked what you think about it as part of a survey.

(2) 复数名词：政治选举；大选；投票地点；The polls means an election for a country's government, or the place where people go to vote in an election.

(3) 动词：获得…票数；If a political party or a candidate polls a particular number or percentage of votes, they get that number or percentage of votes in an election. [V n]