《经济学人》双语：为什么今年西方圣诞节不喜庆？

原文标题：
Retailing
Cutback Christmas
German shopkeepers aren’t feeling very festive
零售业
缩减圣诞节开支
德国店主没有感受到节日氛围

War, inflation and fears of recession are weighing on shoppers’ minds
战争、通货膨胀和担忧经济衰退是压在购物者心头的三座大山

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WHEN THE Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), a temple of consumption in West Berlin, celebrated its 115th birthday last month with a glitzy champagne party for 2,000, the mood was sparkling.
上个月，西柏林的消费圣殿卡迪威百货公司开115周年庆奢华香槟派对时，有2000人参加，气氛非常热烈。

A row of brightly lit Christmas trees greeted partygoers when they entered the ground floor of the grand old lady of Berlin’s department stores, where Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Tiffany’s and other luxury brands vie for their attention.
一排灯火通明的圣诞树迎接着参加派对的人，当他们走进了柏林百货公司高贵老妇人的一楼时，香奈儿、迪奥、古驰、蒂芙尼和其他奢侈品牌争相吸引他们的注意力。

As guests danced through the night, the war in Ukraine, sky-high inflation and other worries seemed far away.
宾客彻夜起舞，这时的乌战、高通胀和其他忧虑似乎已经远去。

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That cheer, also on display at Christmas markets around Germany, disguises deep unease—among shopkeepers and their clients alike.

这种欢呼雀跃也出现在德国各地的圣诞集市上，掩盖了店主和顾客内心深处的不安。

Only around a quarter of 400 retailers surveyed by Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE), the retail association, are happy with the Christmas shopping season so far.

德国零售协会（HDE）调查的400家零售商中，只有约四分之一的商家对圣诞节购物季感到满意。

Retail sales in October were a bad omen, plunging by 5% compared with last year, a bigger drop than expected.

10月份的零售额是一个坏兆头，与去年相比下降了5%，降幅比预期更大。

That month consumer confidence sank to the lowest level since GfK, a research firm, started to survey it in 1991.
当月，消费者信心指数跌至自1991年GfK研究公司开始调研以来的最低水平。

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By early December shoppers were buying sweets and trinkets that can be stuffed in boots on St Nicholas’s Day, when children receive small gifts, but steering clear of high-margin big-ticket goods.

到12月初，购物者开始购买糖果和小饰品，他们会在圣尼古拉斯节当天把这些东西塞进靴子里。孩子们会收到小礼物，但不会收到高利润的贵重礼物。

HDE is forecasting the deepest slump in Christmas sales since 2007. It expects retailers to sell 4% less in the two months before Christmas relative to the same period in 2021 (adjusting for inflation).
HDE预计圣诞节销售额将出现2007年以来最严重的下滑。预计零售商在圣诞节前两个月的销售额将比2021同期减少4%（考虑了通货膨胀因素）。

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Has the worst passed? “October was the nadir,” thinks Rolf Bürkl of GfK.

最糟糕的阶段过去了吗？GfK的罗尔夫·库尔尔认为：“10月是最低点。”

Inflation, energy bills, the war in Ukraine, the strong dollar: consumers were under siege on all fronts.

通货膨胀、能源开支、乌战、强势美元：消费者四面楚歌。

The mood has lifted a little since, for two reasons.

从那以后，人们的情绪有所好转，原因有二。

The price of petrol is down, which has a strong signalling effect as motorists see it most days, prominently displayed at service stations.

汽油价格下跌，这对机动车驾车员来说是一种强烈的信号作用，在大多数情况下，汽油价格都会在加油站显著位置显示。

As a one-off gift, the government will foot the gas bill for households and businesses in December.

作为一次性礼物，政府将在12月为家庭和企业支付燃气费用。

Next year it will introduce a “double ka-boom”, a subsidy to cover 80% of individuals’ and companies’ expenditure on natural gas, based on consumption in the previous year.
明年，政府将推出“双引爆计划”，即根据上一年的消费量，政府补贴个人和公司80%的天然气费用。

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This will offer Germans some respite.

这将为德国人提供一些喘息的机会。

But many still fear a recession, which Germany looks poised to enter.

但许多人仍然担心经济衰退，而德国似乎已准备好进入衰退。

GDP is likely to contract this quarter and next, says Andrew Kenningham of Capital Economics, another research firm.That will make consumers think twice before opening their wallets.

另一家研究公司“Capital Economics”的安德鲁·肯宁安表示，本季度和下一季度GDP可能会收缩。这会让消费者在打开钱包准备消费之前考虑再三。

So will inflation, which stood at 10% in November, and higher interest rates, which are increasing the cost of servicing household debts.
11月的通货膨胀率为10%，而利率上升也会增加家庭债务的成本。

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The downturn is forecast to be relatively mild, in particular if the winter isn’t too harsh.

预计经济下滑将相对温和，如果冬天不太严寒的话，尤是如此。

But next winter could bring more woe, warns Olaf Roik of HDE.

但HDE的奥拉夫·罗克提醒说，明年冬天可能会带来更多的麻烦。

No Russian gas will have reached Germany via pipelines (this year gas still flowed until September, when Russia turned off the taps as payback for Western support of Ukraine).

俄罗斯的天然气将不会通过管道输送到德国（今年的天然气仍在流通，直到9月俄为了报复西方对乌的支持，关闭了天然气阀门）。

Shoppers will have used up savings accumulated during the pandemic.And even with generous government assistance, energy bills could be much higher than in the past.

购物者将用完疫情期间积累的储蓄。即使有慷慨政府的援助，能源开支也可能比过去高得多。

It may be a while before German shopkeepers feel festive again.
德国店主可能还需要一段时间才能再次感受到节日的氛围。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量521左右）
原文出自：2022年12月17日《TE》Business版块。

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路

本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来自于网络）
柏林卡迪威百货（KaDeWe Berlin）是世界知名的百货公司，成立于1907年，在二战当中卡迪威连同柏林市中心的其它建筑一样被烧成了一片废墟，直到1950年才重新营业。

每年的12月6日是欧洲传统的“圣·尼古拉斯日”（St. Nikolas day）。传说每年的这一天，尼古拉斯都会给孩子们带来糖果和小礼物，而他的随从克拉普斯（Krampus）则会惩罚那些这一年中做了坏事的孩子。关于圣诞老人的故事，在欧洲民间流传的版本很多。但被世界大多数的人们认可的还是来自北欧芬兰的圣·尼古拉斯的故事。传说在公元3世纪，有一位生活在芬兰北部名叫尼古拉斯的老人，他拥有无穷无尽的财富，而又乐善好施。他喜欢乘坐鹿拉雪橇漫游各地，遇到穷困人家，总要慷慨地伸出援助之手，帮助人家渡过难关。

【重点句子】（3 个）
Inflation, energy bills, the war in Ukraine, the strong dollar: consumers were under siege on all fronts.
通货膨胀、能源开支、乌战、强势美元：消费者四面楚歌。

But many still fear a recession, which Germany looks poised to enter.
但许多人仍然担心经济衰退，而德国似乎已准备好进入衰退。

It may be a while before German shopkeepers feel festive again.
德国店主可能还需要一段时间才能再次感受到节日的氛围。