VOA慢速英語：2015年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎得主研究人們的消費方式

The winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences studies how people spend their money. He also has explored how spending can affect both living conditions and poverty.

2015年諾貝爾經(jīng)濟科學獎的獲獎者對人們的花錢方式進行研究。他還探討了消費是如何影響生活水準及貧困的。

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is presenting the Economics Prize to Professor Angus Deaton of Princeton University in New Jersey. The Nobel committee says his research has mainly dealt with three questions: How do consumers distribute their spending among different goods? How much of society's wealth is spent and how much is saved? And, how do we best measure and study well-being and poverty?

瑞典皇家科學院將諾貝爾經(jīng)濟學獎頒發(fā)給新澤西州普林斯頓大學的安格斯·迪頓教授。諾貝爾委員會表示，他的研究主要涉及三個問題：消費者如何分配不同產(chǎn)品之間的開支？社會財富花費多少？節(jié)省多少？還有，我們?nèi)绾胃玫暮饬颗c研究幸福與貧困？2

Angus Deaton speaks at a gathering at Princeton University after he was named Nobel prize winner for economics.

Mr. Deaton usedhousehold surveys to collect detailed information about how families spend their money. For example in one study, the Princeton professor examined the relationship between poverty and the amount of calories in the food people ate.

迪頓先生采用住戶調(diào)查來收集有關家庭消費方式的詳細信息。例如，在一項研究中，普林斯頓大學教授考察貧困與人們所食食物中卡路里總量之間的關系。

The Nobel committee said Mr. Deaton's research has shown "how the clever use of household data can shed light on issues such as the relationship between income and calorie intake, and the extent of gender discrimination with the family."

諾貝爾委員會表示，迪頓先生的研究表明“如何巧妙利用家庭數(shù)據(jù)來闡明問題，如收入與卡路里攝入量及家庭性別歧視程度之間的關系。”

The Princeton professor was asked why he paid so much attention to household information. Mr. Deaton said that his studies were mainly about people and their behavior.

普林斯頓大學教授在被問到他為什么如此關注家庭信息時，迪頓先生表示，他的研究主要是關于人們及其行為。

"Well, you know, it's individually... it's about people in the end, and if you don't understand... you have to understand what makes people tick, and you have to understand, you know, what's good for them. And for me it's always been about trying to understand behavior and to try to infer from that behavior, you know, how people are doing." Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

“嗯，你知道，單獨而言，它最終是關于人們的。如果你不明白......你必須明白人們?nèi)绾尉駬?，不得不明白，你知道的，什么對他們有益。對我而言，我一直在試圖理解他們的行為，并試圖從這種行為中推斷他們會怎樣做。

The Nobel committee also praised Mr. Deaton's work because it used detailed information about real people, not theoretical ideas. Subjects of his research have included happiness, well-being and aging.

諾貝爾委員會還對迪頓先生的工作表示贊揚，因為它使用了真實人群的詳細信息，而不是靠理論設想。他的研究課題包括幸福、福利與老齡化。

At a press conference this week, the Nobel Prize winner said he was pleased that his work had been recognized. He told reporters he believed poverty would decrease. "I think we've had a remarkable decrease for the past 20 to 30 years. I do expect that to continue," he said.

本周的新聞發(fā)布會上，這位諾貝爾獎得主表示，他很高興他的工作得到認可。他告訴記者，他相信貧困將會減少。迪頓表示，“我認為在過去的二三十年里，貧困顯著下降。我確實希望該趨勢將繼續(xù)下去。”

Mr. Deaton is a citizen of both the United States and Britain. He was born in Scotland. He has served as a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton since 1983. The Economics Prize has been offered by Sweden's central bank in memory of Alfred Nobel since 1969. It is valued this year at $978,000.

迪頓先生既是美國公民，又是英國公民。他出生在英格蘭。自1983年以來他一直擔任普林斯頓經(jīng)濟和國際事務學教授。自1969年以來，經(jīng)濟學獎一直由瑞典中央銀行提供，用以紀念阿爾弗雷德·諾貝爾先生。今年該獎項價值978,000美元。

I'm Mario Ritter.

我是馬里奧·理特。

How do you spend your money? Are you a saver or a spender? Let us know in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Mario Ritter wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

consumers– n. people who buy and use goods and services

distribute– v. to choose how much of something (money) to be used for different purposes

analyze – v. to study something closely and carefully; to learn the nature and relationship of the parts of something

infer– v. to form an opinion about someone or something based on available evidence

household– adj. one or more people who live in the same home

surveys– n. studies; collecting information about a population