沒(méi)有哪個(gè)國(guó)家比中國(guó)對(duì)汽車更癡狂了，這里新成為中產(chǎn)階層的人們的夢(mèng)想就是擁有一輛閃閃發(fā)光的新汽車。但僅僅有汽車對(duì)這些渴望超越中產(chǎn)階層的人們是不夠的，牌照號(hào)就成為與汽車一樣能夠象征身份和地位的東西。車牌號(hào)的發(fā)放通常是隨機(jī)的。但在這個(gè)每年有10萬(wàn)人死于交通事故的國(guó)家，對(duì)于迷信的常乘車的人來(lái)說(shuō)，以4結(jié)尾的牌照號(hào)被認(rèn)為是不吉利的象征，因?yàn)?的讀音與"死"相同，而帶8的車牌號(hào)則預(yù)示著你可能會(huì)發(fā)財(cái)。
No country is more bonkers over cars than China, where achieving the new middle-class dream means owning a shiny new vehicle. But the car is not always enough for those who aspire beyond the middle class. A license plate has become almost as much of a status symbol as the car. License plates are usually issued randomly. But in a country where 100,000 people die annually in traffic accidents, a plate that ends in 4 is considered a very bad omen for a superstitious motorist because 4 has the same pronunciation as death. Yet a plate overflowing with 8's portends you may make a fortune.
