聖誕節，讀讀《經濟學人》雙周特刊

https://github.com/hehonghui/awesome-english-ebooks

就幫到這啦🧑‍

2.

每年聖誕節特別雙刊的封面都很有趣，這一次特別介紹了本期封面的由來。

來自 The Economist 的官方 Twitter

這次的 3D 卡通人物封面來自在曼谷生活的中國插畫師 Joanne Joo（微博@喬安夫斯基） 。

選這幅作品一是因為切題，處處有梗；二是有節日氛圍。

It had two strengths. First, its visual references to different stories helped convey the extravagance of the issue. Second, its mood of joyful warmth felt appropriate at this time of year.

《經濟學人》介紹說封面設計的最初版本已經很好，但細節上不夠突出，修改的最終版本中，川普、邱吉爾、魯賓遜辨識度更高。看過了這期特別報道，再看封面會覺得更有趣。

Joanne's first version worked well, but the details needed refining

有沒有注意到，我提到了插畫師Joanne Joo的微博帳號是@喬安夫斯基？

這是我想分享的地方：感興趣，就多去搜一搜，會有意外驚喜的。

我看了她的個人網站、社交媒體和採訪，了解了一種插圖風格和生活方式。

我還想到之前寫過這篇「這期《經濟學人》封面上畫的是誰？ 」心想，說不定日後還有機會與插畫師在曼谷相遇呢

3.

我重點讀了 Christmas Specials 版塊。

選題有趣，文章節奏比較慢，是我喜歡的類型。

比如第一篇講川普支持者：

為什麼一些基督徒支持川普？

文中用了一句 We need a bull in the chian shop.

第二篇講一對雄性企鵝引發的一系列爭議：

兩隻雄性企鵝孵化了一隻蛋，這件事被寫成了一本書 And Tango Makes Three。有人舉報這本書，說對孩子影響不好，《經濟學人》說：

The attacks betray several misconceptions, the most elementary involving science.

還說一本書沒那麼的影響了，孩子自己有解讀的能力，通過讀一本書改變了性取向，這事不太可能。

第三篇講網購一雙鞋的故事：

在一些國家，網購依然是件新鮮事。比如在印度尼西亞，13000 個島嶼（the world's biggest archipelago），從買賣到交付，難度係數極大。

這一篇從在印尼網購一雙鞋寫起，介紹了這個穆斯林國家的變化——E-commerce helps bind together a nation of skyscapers and jungles, miniskirts and hijabs.

提這幾篇文章是想說：讀一段，至少能學點英語。喜歡的話就再多讀幾段。

練習放鬆，享受這個過程。

4.

再看這篇寫拖拉機的。

第一句就很好玩：It was the ChatGPT of its day.

我走馬觀花式讀了讀，注意到了兩個簡單、好玩的語言點：

• Over the sweep of history the tractor has indeed had an immense impact on people’s lives. But it conquered the world with a whimper, not a bang.

Over the sweep of history the tractor has indeed had an immense impact on people’s lives. But it conquered the world with a whimper, not a bang.

• Tractors worked best on big farms, where the farmer could spread out the expense of a huge upfront investment. As a result, enlarging the size of their holdings and buying a tractor were two sides of the same coin.

Tractors worked best on big farms, where the farmer could spread out the expense of a huge upfront investment. As a result, enlarging the size of their holdings and buying a tractor were two sides of the same coin.

還有一篇寫國人喜歡去沙灘度假：

遇到好多我上課時講過的英文表達，它們常因長相樸實常被忽略。

比如：

• Two of them sportmatching flowery swimming trunks that they have just bought for 45 yuan.

Two of them sportmatching flowery swimming trunks that they have just bought for 45 yuan.

• Like millions of Chinese, they are making first trip to the edge of their country—to samplethe pleasures of the beach.

Like millions of Chinese, they are making first trip to the edge of their country—to samplethe pleasures of the beach.

• In the West the dawn of mass travel sawholidaymakers jetting off to sunny shores at a time when most Chinese were tied to the land or factory.

In the West the dawn of mass travel sawholidaymakers jetting off to sunny shores at a time when most Chinese were tied to the land or factory.

• When 「Born to Fly」, China’s answerto 「Top Gun」, was released in April 2023, it portrayed the fighter-pilot hero as a steely daredevil. The evidence? His love of surfing.

When 「Born to Fly」, China’s answerto 「Top Gun」, was released in April 2023, it portrayed the fighter-pilot hero as a steely daredevil. The evidence? His love of surfing.

Daniel Defoe 的《魯濱遜漂流記》不僅是部出色的文學作品，魯濱遜的經歷也成了經濟學家中的研究對象：

副標題里的 yarn表示 story。

英文中常用 spin a yarn，和我們常說的「侃大山」「擺龍門陣」差不多。

寫到 Daniel Defoe 時，用到了一個 a chequered career：

這個 chequered常表示「方格圖案」。在這裡可以理解為跌宕起伏、時好時壞，和後面的「And thirteen times I have been rich and poor」呼應。

《經濟學人》的語言質量一直在線，聖誕特刊的這些文章也多下了些功夫，讀起來非常舒服。

如果能在閱讀時賞析英文，我想快樂會加倍吧。

5.

這篇文章並不是什麼推薦，只是提供一個可能的學習方式、學習素材。

沒有什麼非讀不可，沒有什麼錯過一個億。會學習，愛學習，在哪裡都能物盡其用。

6 年前的今天，我在雪梨讀聖誕節特刊，寫了篇文章。 今天，我在清邁寫下這篇文章。

讀到了什麼，很快就會忘記。沒關係呀。學習就是一次次體驗，一次次忘記，然後再一次次地 connect the dots。

如果你的英文水平已經很高，還沒有讀過《經濟學人》聖誕特刊，試一試吧。把它當作一個小挑戰——有難度，不舒服，說明它會給你帶來進步

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