Just when China's new affluents have begun to enjoy their xiaozi, or bourgeois lifestyle( a downtown apartment, flashy automobiles and Starbucks mochaccinos ) , along comes a book from America to stir up their lifestyles. Recently young Chinese have been snapping up2 copies of the newly translated version of“Bobos in Paradise 3”, by American author David Brooks. The book’s thesis — that the bohemian spirit of the 1960 s has come together with the acquisitive impulses of the 1980 s to create the hybrid bourgeois-bohemian, a. k. a. 4 the Bobo — has sparked debate all around China .“All my friends are talking about the Bobos, ”one Beijing book shopper told the official Xinhua News Agency. Clubs have been formed offering lectures and discussions on the Bobo Lifestyle , and Bobo magazines are appearing on newsstands. Chinese Bobos are being targeted by everyone from real- estate agents to mobile phone companies. A local businessman opened the Bar in Beijing, which is fitted with computers so customers can check their e -mail while sitting on rustic Chinese furniture hand-picked by the owner from peasant villages. Web sites keep springing up to help people determine if they are“Bobo qualified”, and if so, how to act appropriately.
As the“ pleased and surprised”Brooks waits to see whether he’ll get his fair share of author royalties out of the phenomenon (“I mean, that’s a billion copies, ”he told journalist) , Beijing is breeding its fair share of Bobo-bashers. Another journalist says the average Chinese person has a strong disdain for the nouveau riche5 . He wonders how many Chinese today earn enough to be considered a Bobo. And, he argues, those who do are more bourgeois than bohemian.“We have people with a lot of money, but there’s no social consciousness. ”He says. “ Rich people don’t care about the environment, unemployment, rural problems or mine disasters. ”
練習題：
?、? Matching:
1. flashy A. despise
2. hand-picked B. fashionable
3. disdain C. selected
4. trendy D. pastoral
5. rustic E. sparkling
?、? Questions :
1. Give some examples to represent the lifestyle of“xiaozi”.
2. According to the last paragraph, what can you infer about rich Chinese?
答案：
Ⅰ. 1. E 2. C 3. A 4 . B 5 . D
?、? 1. A downtown apartment; flashy automobiles; Starbucks mochaccinos . ..
2. According to the above passage, we know that many Chinese are only to show offrather than to be Bobos. It seems that they have nothing but money. They havesplendid villas, modern cars and luxurious clothes, but they lack social-consciousness.They show little concern about environment, unemployment and rural problems.All of these make them somebody of egoist.
譯文：
香格里拉的波波族
中國的新貴們剛剛開始享受“小資”生活, 或曰資產(chǎn)階級的生活——— 市中心有一套公寓,坐花哨汽車和喝斯達巴克的摩卡咖啡。一本來自美國的書攪亂了他們的生活方式。最近, 年輕人爭相傳閱不久前剛被翻譯出版的美國作家大衛(wèi)·布魯克斯的《天堂里的波波族》譯本。該書的主題是, 20世紀60年代波西米亞精神已經(jīng)和80 年代物質(zhì)占有欲糅合在一起,形成布爾喬亞波西米亞, 即所謂的波波。這一主題在華夏大地上觸發(fā)了一場辯論。“我所有的朋友都在談?wù)摬úㄗ濉?rdquo;北京的一個讀者告訴新華社記者。人們成立俱樂部, 舉行講座, 討論波波式的生活; 波波雜志出現(xiàn)在各個報亭。從房地產(chǎn)代理商到手機廠家都瞄準波波族。北京一家由本地人經(jīng)營的名為DIY@ Bobo 的網(wǎng)吧里, 顧客可以坐在頗具鄉(xiāng)村格調(diào)的桌椅前接收電子郵件, 而這些家具是店主特意從鄉(xiāng)下購進的。網(wǎng)站也層出不窮, 意欲幫助人們判斷自己是否“ 符合波波族的品質(zhì)”,如何才能更像波波族。
“驚喜”交加的布魯克斯則等著從該書的版稅中漁利(“我是說,發(fā)行十億本, ”他告訴記者) 。同時, 北京也正孕育著相當一批波波族。另一名記者說, 普通中國人對暴發(fā)戶往往嗤之以鼻。他還質(zhì)疑中國有多少人的收入高得可堪稱波波。他認為, 即使達到標準的也不過是“ 布爾喬亞”, 而非“ 波西米亞”。“很多人腰纏萬貫,卻毫無社會意識,”他說,“他們漠視環(huán)境、失業(yè)、農(nóng)村和礦難等問題。”
