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🎁 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I’m Rob and with me is Neil.
大家好，歡迎來到BBC 6分鐘英語，我是Rob，我的搭檔是Neil。
Hello.
大家好。
Today we’re talking about class. This is something of an obsession with British people; it’s something they talk about and think about all the time! So Neil, what class are you – lower, middle or upper?
今天我們討論下階層的話題。對英國人來說這是有些困擾的；是他們一直在談論和思考的事情！Neil，你屬於哪個階層呢—低收入階層、中產階層還是富有階層？
I suppose if you look at my background, you could say I am middle class.
我想如果你瞭解我的背景，你會說我是中產階層了。
Yes, me too – middle class. So we belong to a social group that consists of well-educated people, who have good jobs and are neither very rich nor very poor.
是的，我也是中產階層。因此我們屬於這樣一個階層--這個階層的人都受過良好的教育，有一份較好的工作，他們既不富裕也不貧窮。
Well we are certainly not rich! But being middle class is not just a British thing.
我們當然不富裕了！但是成為中產階層並不僅僅是英國的事。
No – the number of middle class people around the world is rising as people earn more money. So, for your question today Neil, can you guess how many people are predicted to be middle class in the world by 2030? a) 2.9 billion b) 3.9 billion c) 4.9 billion
是的--隨著人們賺錢愈來愈多，世界上中產階層的數量在不斷增長。因此，Neil，今天你的問題是你能猜一下到2030年世界上預計中產階層的人數有多少嗎？a）29億 b）39億 c）49億
Such large numbers, I don’t know. I’ll go for b) 3.9 billion.
我不知道竟然這麼多。我選b）39億。
We’ll find out the answer later. So, being middle class involves a number of factors – good education, a good job, sometimes owning your own home and having a number of possessions like a car or a TV.
一會我們來揭曉答案。要想成為中產階層由很多的因素組成--良好的教育、一份良好的工作，有些人擁有一個屬於自己的房子，並且有一定數目的財產--比如一輛車或一台電視。
It’s quite a privileged or comfortable position to be in – but the most important factor is having disposable income – that’s spare money to spend on more than just things you need for everyday survival, like food.That’s what you’ve got Rob, right?
那是一個相當特權或舒適的位置——但最重要的因素是擁有可支配收入——這是些錢不是用來購買生活必需品的，比如食物。這是你已經達到的，Rob，對吧？
A little – spare money to spend on little luxuries like a holiday, a computer or a meal at a restaurant.But we always complain we never have enough money, don’t we!
有一點吧--有多餘的錢用來一些小奢侈品上比如一個假期、買一台電腦、在飯店吃一頓飯。但是我們總是抱怨我們從來沒有足夠的錢，不是嗎？
Yes, we do: the UN says to be middle class you have to earn between $10 and $100 per day. In the UK I think that’s quite a small amount so we could say, very generally, we are quite well-off – but in places such as Asia there has been a huge shift recently from people in poorer working class jobs to middle class ones.
是的。聯合國稱要想變成中產階層，你一天必須要賺10-100美元。在英國我覺得那是相當相當少的所以我們可以說，非常普遍，我們相當富裕 —但是在一些地方比如亞洲，已經有了巨大的轉變，有相當多在較窮工作崗位的人變成了中產階層。
It’s interesting: that by 2030 there could be 3.2 billion middle class people in Asia – overtaking Europe and America. The BBC’s John Sudworth can explain what is happening now in China. What does he say people are becoming?
這很有趣：到2030年亞洲的中產階層將要達到32億--超過歐洲和美國。BBC的John Sudworth告訴我們現在的中國在發生著什麼。他會怎麼說人們的變化呢？
Now there’s a new chapter, the farmers leaving these fields for cities like Zhengzhou, are becoming not just workers but consumers too. In short – they’re off to join the middle class.
現在是一個新的篇章，農民離開田地奔向城市比如鄭州，他們也不僅僅是工人也變成了消費者。簡單地說 — — 他們加入了中產階級。
So, people are now moving to the city not just to find work but to spend the money they earn. They are becoming consumers because their income – the money they earn – has gone up.
所以，人們搬到城市不僅僅是找工作，同時也消費。他們變成消費者是因為他們的收入--他們賺的錢變多了。
So, this is because of industrialisation – a change from an economy based on farming to a growth in factories making things. Now, this happened in China in the 1970s but it is now upgrading or improving its industries again making people wealthier.
這是工業化引起的--一個基於農業的經濟向在工廠裡製造東西的經濟的改變。這個改變發生在中國上世紀70年代，但是現在它又一次更新或者提高了工業化水準讓人們變得更富裕。
This has led to a consumer society – that’s where people are spending money on things like fridges and washing machines.
這會形成一個消費社會--人們就會花錢買冰箱、洗衣機之類的東西。
Let’s hear from John Sudworth again, talking about a consumer from China – what does this woman do if she can’t afford to buy something?
讓我們再次聯繫John Sudworth，聽聽他怎麼談論中國的消費者--這位女士怎麼辦如果她買不起東西？
Jessica Zhao earns a little more than $12,000 US dollars a year and she spends every last bit of it, often with the help of a credit card. My parents would never spend money they don’t have, she tells me, but attitudes are changing fast.
Jessica Zhao年收入大概 12,000 美元多一點，她花光她賺的每一分錢，並且經常要借助於信用卡。我的父母從來不會花自己之外的錢，她告訴我說，但是看法正迅速改變。
So that woman uses a credit card – it means she can buy now and pay later. It’s a change in attitude – it’s not what our parents or grandparents would do. I do it all the time. You pay for the goods later but with a high interest rate. What have you bought with your credit card recently Rob?
那位女士使用信用卡--這意味著她可以現在買但可以晚些時候還錢。這是一個看法的改變--這不是我們的父母或祖父母會做的事。我一直這麼做。你晚些時候還錢利息會很高。Rob，你最近用你的信用卡買什麼了？
A new carpet… a pair of jeans and some train tickets. But I’m not looking forward to my credit card bill!
一個新地毯...一條牛仔褲和一些火車票。不過我可不期待我的信用卡帳單！
Nor me. You might think we are spending a lot – in China 2,500 vehicles are sold every hour!
我也是。你或許認為我們花的錢很多了--在中國，每小時可賣出2500輛車！
Goodness. Well, the rise of the middle class could be a good thing. As people’s standard of living improves, global poverty could be reduced.
天。不過中產階層的人數增加或許是件好事。隨著人們生活標準的提高，全球貧困人口數量會減少。
Ah, but if people borrow too much money there could be a credit crunch – that’s a bad economic situation where banks do not want to lend as much money.
Ah，但是如果人們借太多的錢可能會導致信用緊縮--那就是不好的經濟狀況了，銀行也不會再借那麼多錢了。
But what I really want to know is when will I become upper class?
但是我真正想知道的是我什麼時候變成富有階層？
Sorry Rob, you’ll never get there – it’s all about your upbringing and your family – something you can’t change, even with money. But let’s prove how well educated I am by seeing if I got today’s question right.
很抱歉Rob，你永遠也達不到了--都是關於你的教養和你的家庭--一些你甚至用錢也不能改變的事。但是可以證明我受了多好的教育如果我回答對今天的問題。
OK. Earlier I asked you how many people are predicted to be middle class in the world by 2030?
OK。之前我問你在2030年全世界預計達到中產階層份人數是多少？
I said 3.9 billion.
我回答的是39億。
You were wrong. The figure is 4.9 billion. Now, Neil, could you remind us of some of today’s language?
你回答錯了，答案是49億。Neil，你現在帶大家一起回想下今天的詞語吧？
obsession, possessions, privileged, disposable income, well-off consumers, income, industrialisation, credit crunch, upgrading, consumer society, upbringing
obsession困擾；possessions財產；privileged 享有特權的；disposable income可支配收入；well-off富裕的；consumers消費者；income 收入；industrialisation工業化；credit crunch 信用緊縮；upgrading升級；consumer society 消費社會；upbringing教養。
OK that’s it for this programme. Do join us again soon for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
好的這就是今天節目的所有內容了。歡迎再次加入BBC 6分鐘英語學習英語。
Bye.
拜~
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