原文標(biāo)題：
Retailing
Cutback Christmas
German shopkeepers aren’t feeling very festive
零售業(yè)
縮減圣誕節(jié)開(kāi)支
德國(guó)店主沒(méi)有感受到節(jié)日氛圍

War, inflation and fears of recession are weighing on shoppers’ minds
戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)、通貨膨脹和擔(dān)憂(yōu)經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退是壓在購(gòu)物者心頭的三座大山

[Paragraph 1]
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.
上個(gè)月，西柏林的消費(fèi)圣殿卡迪威百貨公司開(kāi)115周年慶奢華香檳派對(duì)時(shí)，有2000人參加，氣氛非常熱烈。

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.
一排燈火通明的圣誕樹(shù)迎接著參加派對(duì)的人，當(dāng)他們走進(jìn)了柏林百貨公司高貴老婦人的一樓時(shí)，香奈兒、迪奧、古馳、蒂芙尼和其他奢侈品牌爭(zhēng)相吸引他們的注意力。

As guests danced through the night, the war in Ukraine, sky-high inflation and other worries seemed far away.
賓客徹夜起舞，這時(shí)的烏戰(zhàn)、高通脹和其他憂(yōu)慮似乎已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)去。

[Paragraph 2]
That cheer, also on display at Christmas markets around Germany, disguises deep unease—among shopkeepers and their clients alike.

這種歡呼雀躍也出現(xiàn)在德國(guó)各地的圣誕集市上，掩蓋了店主和顧客內(nèi)心深處的不安。

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

德國(guó)零售協(xié)會(huì)（HDE）調(diào)查的400家零售商中，只有約四分之一的商家對(duì)圣誕節(jié)購(gòu)物季感到滿(mǎn)意。

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

10月份的零售額是一個(gè)壞兆頭，與去年相比下降了5%，降幅比預(yù)期更大。

That month consumer confidence sank to the lowest level since GfK, a research firm, started to survey it in 1991.
當(dāng)月，消費(fèi)者信心指數(shù)跌至自1991年GfK研究公司開(kāi)始調(diào)研以來(lái)的最低水平。

[Paragraph 3]
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，購(gòu)物者開(kāi)始購(gòu)買(mǎi)糖果和小飾品，他們會(huì)在圣尼古拉斯節(jié)當(dāng)天把這些東西塞進(jìn)靴子里。孩子們會(huì)收到小禮物，但不會(huì)收到高利潤(rùn)的貴重禮物。

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預(yù)計(jì)圣誕節(jié)銷(xiāo)售額將出現(xiàn)2007年以來(lái)最嚴(yán)重的下滑。預(yù)計(jì)零售商在圣誕節(jié)前兩個(gè)月的銷(xiāo)售額將比2021同期減少4%（考慮了通貨膨脹因素）。

[Paragraph 4]
Has the worst passed? “October was the nadir,” thinks Rolf Bürkl of GfK.

最糟糕的階段過(guò)去了嗎？GfK的羅爾夫·庫(kù)爾爾認(rèn)為：“10月是最低點(diǎn)。”

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

通貨膨脹、能源開(kāi)支、烏戰(zhàn)、強(qiáng)勢(shì)美元：消費(fèi)者四面楚歌。

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

從那以后，人們的情緒有所好轉(zhuǎn)，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.

汽油價(jià)格下跌，這對(duì)機(jī)動(dòng)車(chē)駕車(chē)員來(lái)說(shuō)是一種強(qiáng)烈的信號(hào)作用，在大多數(shù)情況下，汽油價(jià)格都會(huì)在加油站顯著位置顯示。

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

作為一次性禮物，政府將在12月為家庭和企業(yè)支付燃?xì)赓M(fèi)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，政府將推出“雙引爆計(jì)劃”，即根據(jù)上一年的消費(fèi)量，政府補(bǔ)貼個(gè)人和公司80%的天然氣費(fèi)用。

[Paragraph 5]
This will offer Germans some respite.

這將為德國(guó)人提供一些喘息的機(jī)會(huì)。

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

但許多人仍然擔(dān)心經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，而德國(guó)似乎已準(zhǔn)備好進(jìn)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”的安德魯·肯寧安表示，本季度和下一季度GDP可能會(huì)收縮。這會(huì)讓消費(fèi)者在打開(kāi)錢(qián)包準(zhǔn)備消費(fèi)之前考慮再三。

So will inflation, which stood at 10% in November, and higher interest rates, which are increasing the cost of servicing household debts.
11月的通貨膨脹率為10%，而利率上升也會(huì)增加家庭債務(wù)的成本。

[Paragraph 6]
The downturn is forecast to be relatively mild, in particular if the winter isn’t too harsh.

預(yù)計(jì)經(jīng)濟(jì)下滑將相對(duì)溫和，如果冬天不太嚴(yán)寒的話(huà)，尤是如此。

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

但HDE的奧拉夫·羅克提醒說(shuō)，明年冬天可能會(huì)帶來(lái)更多的麻煩。

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).

俄羅斯的天然氣將不會(huì)通過(guò)管道輸送到德國(guó)（今年的天然氣仍在流通，直到9月俄為了報(bào)復(fù)西方對(duì)烏的支持，關(guān)閉了天然氣閥門(mén)）。

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.

購(gòu)物者將用完疫情期間積累的儲(chǔ)蓄。即使有慷慨政府的援助，能源開(kāi)支也可能比過(guò)去高得多。

It may be a while before German shopkeepers feel festive again.
德國(guó)店主可能還需要一段時(shí)間才能再次感受到節(jié)日的氛圍。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量521左右）
原文出自：2022年12月17日《TE》Business版塊。

精讀筆記來(lái)源于：自由英語(yǔ)之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
柏林卡迪威百貨（KaDeWe Berlin）是世界知名的百貨公司，成立于1907年，在二戰(zhàn)當(dāng)中卡迪威連同柏林市中心的其它建筑一樣被燒成了一片廢墟，直到1950年才重新?tīng)I(yíng)業(yè)。

每年的12月6日是歐洲傳統(tǒng)的“圣·尼古拉斯日”（St. Nikolas day）。傳說(shuō)每年的這一天，尼古拉斯都會(huì)給孩子們帶來(lái)糖果和小禮物，而他的隨從克拉普斯（Krampus）則會(huì)懲罰那些這一年中做了壞事的孩子。關(guān)于圣誕老人的故事，在歐洲民間流傳的版本很多。但被世界大多數(shù)的人們認(rèn)可的還是來(lái)自北歐芬蘭的圣·尼古拉斯的故事。傳說(shuō)在公元3世紀(jì)，有一位生活在芬蘭北部名叫尼古拉斯的老人，他擁有無(wú)窮無(wú)盡的財(cái)富，而又樂(lè)善好施。他喜歡乘坐鹿拉雪橇漫游各地，遇到窮困人家，總要慷慨地伸出援助之手，幫助人家渡過(guò)難關(guān)。

【重點(diǎn)句子】（3 個(gè)）
Inflation, energy bills, the war in Ukraine, the strong dollar: consumers were under siege on all fronts.
通貨膨脹、能源開(kāi)支、烏戰(zhàn)、強(qiáng)勢(shì)美元：消費(fèi)者四面楚歌。

But many still fear a recession, which Germany looks poised to enter.
但許多人仍然擔(dān)心經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，而德國(guó)似乎已準(zhǔn)備好進(jìn)入衰退。

It may be a while before German shopkeepers feel festive again.
德國(guó)店主可能還需要一段時(shí)間才能再次感受到節(jié)日的氛圍。