2017年考研英语一阅读 Text 3 原文翻译及答案解析

Robert F. Kennedy once said that a country's GDP measures "everything except that which makes life worthwhile." With Britain voting to leave the European Union, and GDP already predicted to slow as a result, it is now a timely moment to assess what he was referring to.

罗伯特·F·肯尼迪曾经说过，一个国家的GDP衡量的是“除了使生活有价值的一切之外”。随着英国投票脱离欧盟，以及GDP因此预计将放缓，现在是评估他所指内容的恰当时机。

The question of GDP and its usefulness has annoyed policymakers for over half a century. Many argue that it is a flawed concept. It measures things that do not matter and misses things that do. By most recent measures, the UK's GDP has been the envy of the Western world, with record low unemployment and high growth figures. If everything was going so well, then why did over 17 million people vote for Brexit, despite the warnings about what it could do to their country's economic prospects?

GDP及其有用性的问题已经困扰政策制定者超过半个世纪。许多人认为这是一个有缺陷的概念。它衡量的是无关紧要的事情，而遗漏了重要的事情。根据最近的衡量标准，英国的GDP一直是西方世界羡慕的对象，失业率创历史新低，增长数据高。如果一切进展如此顺利，那么为什么超过1700万人投票支持脱欧，尽管有关于其可能对国家经济前景造成影响的警告？

A recent annual study of countries and their ability to convert growth into well-being sheds some light on that question. Across the 163 countries measured, the UK is one of the poorest performers in ensuring that economic growth is translated into meaningful improvements for its citizens. Rather than just focusing on GDP, over 40 different sets of criteria from health, education and civil society engagement have been measured to get a more rounded assessment of how countries are performing.

最近一项关于国家及其将增长转化为福祉能力的年度研究为这个问题提供了一些启示。在衡量的163个国家中，英国是确保经济增长转化为公民有意义改善方面表现最差的国家之一。不仅仅是关注GDP，还衡量了来自健康、教育和公民社会参与的40多个不同标准，以更全面地评估国家的表现。

While all of these countries face their own challenges, there are a number of consistent themes. Yes, there has been a budding economic recovery since the 2008 global crash, but in key indicators in areas such as health and education, major economies have continued to decline. Yet this isn't the case with all countries. Some relatively poor European countries have seen huge improvements across measures including civil society, income equality and the environment.

虽然所有这些国家都面临各自的挑战，但也有一些一致的主题。是的，自2008年全球崩溃以来，经济复苏初现端倪，但在健康和教育等领域的关键指标上，主要经济体继续下滑。然而，并非所有国家都是如此。一些相对贫困的欧洲国家在公民社会、收入平等和环境等衡量指标上取得了巨大改善。

This is a lesson that rich countries can learn: When GDP is no longer regarded as the sole measure of a country's success, the world looks very different.

这是富裕国家可以学到的一课：当GDP不再被视为衡量国家成功的唯一标准时，世界看起来大不相同。

So, what Kennedy was referring to was that while GDP has been the most common method for measuring the economic activity of nations, as a measure, it is no longer enough. It does not include important factors such as environmental quality or education outcomes - all things that contribute to a person's sense of well-being.

所以，肯尼迪所指的是，虽然GDP一直是衡量国家经济活动最常用的方法，但作为一项衡量标准，它已不再足够。它不包括环境质量或教育成果等重要因素——所有这些都对一个人的幸福感有贡献。

The sharp hit to growth predicted around the world and in the UK could lead to a decline in the everyday services we depend on for our well-being and for growth. But policymakers who refocus efforts on improving well-being rather than simply worrying about GDP figures could avoid the forecasted doom and may even see progress.

预计在全球和英国对增长的剧烈打击可能导致我们依赖的日常服务下降，这些服务关系到我们的福祉和增长。但那些将努力重新集中在改善福祉上，而不是仅仅担心GDP数字的政策制定者，可以避免预测的厄运，甚至可能看到进展。

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