已有很多人在撰文著书，对纯粹为经济发展而加速发展经济是否可取这一问题提出质疑，至少在较富裕的工业化国家是够可取。但经济发展的越快的确意味着财富越多，并且大多数人都追求财富，这无可厚非。据说一位知名演员曾向采访者坦言：：富裕也罢，贫穷也罢。我都经历过。说实话，富裕当然胜过贫穷。”大多数人似乎对整个经济也持相同态度。（学习其中文表达）对于持这种看法而言，健康的经济能创造出大量的鞋子、食品、汽车和电视机。如果经济产能不能再扩大，人们就认为经济陷入了停滞、病入膏肓。（在语义结构上，本句中的定语从句与主句之间存在逻辑上的假设关系，所以表述为恶假设状语从句最好。）

Economists from Adam Smith to Karl Marx saw great virtue in economic growth. Marxarguedthat capitalism, at least in its earlier historical stages, was a vital form of heconomic organization by which society got out of the rut in which the medieval stage of history had trapped it./Marx believed that “the development of theproductive powersof society...alonecan form the realbasisof a higher form of productive powers of society”.Marx went on to tell us that only where such great productive powers have beenunleashedcan one have “a society in which the full and free development of every individual forms the ruling principle.”In other words,onlya wealthy economy can afford to give all individuals the opportunity for full personal satisfaction through the use of their special abilities in their jobs and through increased leisure activities.（强调句，only修饰where引导的从句，主句半倒装）

争论

argue+宾语：为带来某种主观性的“认为”

+prep（about、against）：争论

从亚当·斯密到卡尔·马克思，许多经济学家都认识到经济增长的好处。马克思认为资本主义是一种重要的经济组织形式，它使整个社会摆脱了中世纪的桎梏，至少在其历史发展初期是如此。马克思认为“单凭社会生产能力的发展就能为更高形式的社会生产能力打下务实的基础。”马克思还告诉我们，只有当这种强大的生产能力有了长足的发展之后，人们才能拥有“一个以个人的完全自由发展为指导原则的社会。”换言之，只有富足的经济才能使每个社会成员的自我需求得到充分满足，这种满足是通过在工作中施展特别的才能或参加日益丰富的休闲活动来实现的。

Yet the desirability of further economic growth for a society that is already wealthy has been questioned on grounds that undoubtedly have a good deal of validity.It is pointed out that the sheer increase in quantity of products has imposed an enormous cost on society in the form of pollution, crowding,proliferationof wastes that need disposal, anddebilitatingpsychological and social effects. It is said thatindustryhas transformed the satisfying and creative tasks of theartisaninto the mechanical anddehumanizingroutine of the assembly line. It has dotted our roadsides with junkyards, filled our air with smoke, and poisoned our food with dangerous chemicals. The question is whether the outpouring of frozen foods, talking dolls, radios, and headache remedies is worth its high cost to society.

然而对于一个已经非常富足的社会而言，是否有必要一味地追求发展？人们对此的质疑，无疑是有充分的依据的。已有人指出，产品数量的一味增长已给社会增加了高昂的成本，如环境污染、交通拥挤、大量需要处理的垃圾，以及负面的心理和社会影响。人们认为，工业化的出现，已把以往手艺人赏心悦目的创造性工作变成了流水线上机械的、扼杀人性的刻板操作。路边堆满了垃圾，空气中弥漫着烟雾，食品中残留着危险的化学物质。问题在于，大量冷冻食品、会说话的玩偶、收音机和头疼药的涌现是否能弥补工业化给社会带来的高昂成本。

As one well-known economist put it: the continued pursuit of economic growth by Western Societies is more likely on balance to reduce rather than increase social welfare... Technological innovations may offer to add to men’smaterial opportunities. But by increasing the risks of their obsolescence it adds also to their anxiety.Swifter means of communications have the paradoxical effect of isolating people;increased mobility has led to more hours commuting; increased automobilization to increased separation; more television to less communication. In consequence, people know less of their neighbors than ever before.

正如一位著名经济学家所言：西方社会一位追求经济发展，总体来看，非但没有改善民生，相反有恶化趋势。科技创新也许增加了人们获取物质财富的机会。但由于人们可能越来越跟不上科技创新，榻们倍感焦虑。通讯方式愈加快捷，人们反而更加孤独；汽车增大了人们的机动性，但他们却要花更多时间上下班，汽车越来越多，人们反而更加疏远；看电视的时间多了，人们交流的机会反而少了。结果，人们与周围邻居之间从来没有像现在这样陌生。

Virtuallyevery economist agrees that these concerns are valid, though many question whether economic growth is their major cause. Nevertheless, they all emphasize that pollution of air and water, noise and congestion, andthe mechanization of the work processare very real and very serious problems. There is every reason for society to undertake programs thatgrapplewiththese problems.

几乎所有的经济学家都认为这种关切并非杞人忧天，尽管很多人并不认为经济的增长就是罪魁祸首。然而他们一致强调：水和空气污染、噪音、交通拥挤、机械性的工作流程等问题的确是很严重的现实问题。社会没有任何理由不尽一切努力解决好这些问题。

whole:（指没有缺损）整体的

whole：n. as a whole :作为整体的、整体上

all:（指包括所有人或物）所有的

complete：全部凑齐的

entire：以一个整体的形式包括所有的

total：（指作为各个个体的总和）全体的

但最近越来越多中国二、三线城市房价下跌所引发的恐慌并不代表房地产泡沫开始破灭。相反，这是一个积极的信号，预示着非一线城市与一线城市之间在城市建设方面的差距在缩⼩小。当经济发展机会和基础设施都严重短缺时，二、三线城市建房过量，诸多开发商都怀着借助⼀一线城市房价的愚蠢意图。

But the recent panic over the property price reductions in China’s ever-increasing numbers of second- and third-tier cities does not mean that theproperty bubble is about to burst. Instead, they constitute a positive signal of a narrowing gap between first-tier cities and other cities in development levels. When the economic opportunities and infrastructure in the second- and third-tier cities are both seriously inadequate, developers have built too many apartments there because they have unwisely expected price hikes similar to those in the first-tier cities.

结果在许多二、三线城市，尤其是那些远离一线城市没有地理优势的地方，可能迎来更大规模的房价下跌。因此几乎可以肯定，对于二、三线城市的投资以及新住房建设都将会锐减。

Consequently, there may be more massive price cuts for homes in many second- and third-tier cities, especially those that do not benefit from being relatively close to the first-tier cities. There will also almost certainly be a substantial cut in investing and constructing new homes in many second- and third-tier cities.

但是，全国性的房地产重大崩盘并不会上演，不会像最近美国发生的情况，也不会像很久以前英国发生的情况。

But there will not be a major nationwide property price crash similar to those witnessed recently in the United States or long ago in the United Kingdom.

一线城市房价将继续保持坚挺，并且其部分区域房价甚⾄至还会⼤大幅显著地上升，这跟伦敦房价大幅上涨，⽽而英国其余区域房价仍相当平稳的情 况极为相似。

First-tier city property prices will continue to be strong and in some parts of these cities, prices may even increase substantially. This is very similar to the major increases that occurred in the prices of London property while the rest of the UK market remained quite stable.