经济学人答疑群精彩问答

1、问：如何理解这句话：I suspect a deep pessimism about the downward trajectory of birthrates - the kind that imagines  a 22nd-century America dominated by the Amish, say - underrates human adaptability, the extent to which populations that flourish amid population decline will model a higher-fertility future and attract converts over time. (摘自South Korea could be disappearing)

答：把从句去掉后得到整句话的主干部分：I suspect a deep pessimism about the downward trajectory of birthrates underrates human adaptability, the extent to which populations will model a higher-fertility future and attract converts over time.

经过简化后，整句话的意思是：我怀疑对出生率下降趋势的悲观情绪低估了人类的适应性，人口将在未来拥有更高的生育率，并随着时间的推移吸引更多人选择生育更多的子女。

原文中有一个单词Amish，Amish是指一群信奉阿米希教派的人，他们是美国宾夕法尼亚州的一个传统农业社区。阿米希人注重简朴的生活方式，遵循传统的价值观和宗教规定。他们通常不使用现代科技，拒绝使用电力、汽车和现代化的设备。他们以农业和手工艺品制作为生，严守社区规则和传统习俗。前半句话是说，作者不相信出生率下降会导致22世纪时的美国会变成阿米希人那样。

2、问：如何理解下段文字中的最后一句话：

Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods signalled it would take a more conventional  approach to the supermarket business. That is probably why, when the deal was announced, Amazon's share price soared and those of its rivals, such as Walmart, fell. But since then Amazon has treated grocery more like a science experiment than an exercise in seduction, with weak results at Whole Foods and in other formats. Its best-known addition to the retail experience is the "just walk out" technology in physical stores, equivalent to its one-click shopping online. Yet cashierless supermarkets sound like something more beloved of geeks than grocers. What may cut down on time-wasting queues also minimises what some people love about shopping: the human interaction at the till, the hunter-gatherer instinct as they jostle at the meat counter, the Columbian exchange between fellow foodies at the spice rack.

答：这段话的意思是亚马逊的科技让零售店失去了该有的那种氛围，所以亚马逊并不能取代沃尔玛。而最后这句话是在形容这种氛围，其中三种场景的共同特点是这种交换的热闹场面。

foodies是美食家或者吃货。哥伦布交换(Columbian Exchange)指的是15世纪末哥伦布的航海探险后，在新旧世界之间进行的食材、烹饪技巧和饮食文化的交流。这一历史事件对全球美食和食物的准备和消费方式产生了深远影响。

哥伦布交换将大量新的食物引入了新旧世界。例如，番茄、土豆、辣椒、玉米和巧克力等食物被带到了欧洲，而小麦、稻米、咖啡、香蕉和柑橘类水果则传入了美洲。这种食物的交换导致了烹饪传统的多样化，创造了融合不同文化元素的菜肴。

3、问：The bank called today and I told them my deposit was in the mail，even though I hadn’t written a check yet. 这是什么存钱方式啊？没怎么理解。

答：这里应该是邮寄支票，作者告诉对方会邮寄支票，但是还没有签发支票。