本期精读选自The Economist英国板块的一篇文章：How British family life is going back to the 1950s

由于出不了门，很多英国家庭过上了一种复古生活：养鸡、烤面包、研究做饭、玩棋牌游戏、学乐器以及健身等。作者将这种生活方式形容为"a way of life that in many ways resembles a timewarp"（一种从很多方面来看都像是时间错位的生活方式），但由于现代科技的存在，很多传统活动现在做起来也更加方便和有意思。

这篇文章里面有不少值得借鉴的写作手法，我在下文进行了分析：

开头段介绍了一名普通人在隔离期间的饮食生活。

“Frittatas, scrambled eggs, omelettes...” The crisis is no reason to let diets slip, reckons Eleanor Jaskowska.

“意式蛋饼、炒鸡蛋、煎蛋……”埃莉诺·雅斯考斯卡认为，这场危机不能成为降低日常饮食质量的理由。

开头第一句先列出几种食品的名称，这样做的好处是能快速抓住读者注意力，吸引他们继续往下读。

Slip在这里的意思是“下降，退步”（to go into a worse state, often because of lack of control or care），例如：Productivity in the factory has slipped quite noticeably in the last year. 工厂一年来生产率显著下降。

As panic buying took off and lockdown loomed, she bought three rescue hens.

由于出现了抢购热潮，以及封城即将来临，她买了三只从屠宰场救下来的母鸡。

loom在这里是指“（困难或问题等）逼近，临近”，这一用法在外刊新闻报道中很常见，比如要表达“经济危机正在逼近”，可以说：An economic crisis is looming.

Saved from an untimely end in the slaughterhouse, Maggie Hatcher, Roberta and Ginger are now free to roam around her sunny garden in Bristol. In return, their eggs make for delicious suppers.

玛吉·海切尔、罗伯塔和姜这三只母鸡因为屠宰场过早关门而幸存下来。它们现在可以自由地在女主人位于布里斯托尔阳光明媚的花园里闲逛。作为回报，它们的鸡蛋可以做成美味的晚餐。

作者在这里特地强调了三只母鸡的名字，这样可以增加文章的趣味性。

Something makes for XX是一个固定搭配，意思是“某事导致了XX的发生；某事有利于XX的发生”，例如：Having faster computers would make for a more efficient system. 配备速度更快的电脑可以提高系统的工作效率。

第二段介绍了普通英国人在隔离期间的生活。

As Britain hunkers down in week two of self-isolation, families are settling into a timewarp that lies somewhere between the mid-21st century and the 1950s.

随着英国进入第二周的自我隔离期，很多家庭似乎回到了二十世纪五十年代到二十一世纪中叶之间的某个时间点，并且他们正在习惯这种生活。

这句话刚开始读可能有点不好理解：由于疫情原因，很多人不得不过上在家养鸡种菜的自给自足生活，但同时他们又可以上网和看剧，因此作者将这一阶段称为“二十世纪五十年代到二十一世纪中叶之间的某个时间点”。Timewarp是科幻小说中经常出现的一个概念，意思是“时间异常，时间错位”。

Hunker down意思是“准备长期呆在某处”（to prepare yourself to stay somewhere for a long time），settle into something这一搭配的含义是“习惯，适应（新情况）”，例如：It takes a few months to settle into life at college. 适应大学生活需要几个月时间。

Aside from working virtually and binge-watching Netflix, they are keeping chickens, playing board games, baking bread and knitting sweaters.

除了线上工作和疯狂观看网飞节目外，他们还在养鸡、玩棋盘游戏、烤面包和织毛衣。

binge-watching由binge drinking（纵酒）这一固定用法改编而来，用来形容短期内大量观看电视节目。

The British Hen Welfare Trust rehoused 2,000 ex-battery hens in the week to March 29th; it has had requests for 20,000 more. One poultry breeder says she has been bombarded with requests for hens that are “ready to lay”.

在3月29日之前的一周，英国的母鸡福利基金会为2000只之前被笼养的母鸡安置了新住处。它还收到了再安置2万多只母鸡的请求。一名家禽饲养员说，她已经收到了大量领养“准备下蛋”母鸡的请求。

Bombard somebody with something 是一个固定搭配，意思是“向某人连续质问；向某人提供大量信息”，比如要表达“我们不断受到电视广告的轰炸”，可以说：We're constantly bombarded with television advertisements.

第三段介绍了居家自制面包的兴起。

Bread-making is back in vogue, after being sent into decline in 1961 when scientists developed a way of making bread 40% softer, that also reduced its cost and doubled its life.

自制面包重新流行。科学家们在1961年发明出一种使面包柔软度提高40％的方法，同时这种方法还能降低成本以及使面包保存时间延长一倍，自此之后自制面包开始衰落。

要表达“某事物很流行”，可以说something is in vogue，“某事物过气了”则可以说something is out of vogue，比如：Disaster movies are currently out of vogue. 现在灾难片已经不流行了。

On one community WhatsApp group, families offer to drop off samples of their latest creations on neighbours’ doormats. But many are eschewing traditional cookbooks, and learning the modern way.

在一个社区WhatsApp群组中，很多家庭提议将他们最新的料理发明样品放到邻居家的门垫上。但很多人已经放弃照搬传统料理书，而是通过现代方式来学习烹饪。

Matthew Jones, owner of Bread Ahead in London’s Borough Market, is live-streaming daily baking classes on Instagram. Judging by the figures, the nation thinks Mr Jones’s sessions are the best thing since, well, sliced bread.

马修·琼斯在伦敦自治市镇市场拥有一个名为“面包先行”的烘培学校，他正每天在Instagram直播讲授烘焙课程。从观看人数来看，英国人（大概）认为他的烘培课程是世界上最好的吧。

the best thing since sliced bread 在这里用的非常贴切且巧妙，短语的意思是“极好（或极有意思等）的事物”，短语的字面意思与文章主题切合，读起来更加有趣味性。

第四段介绍了年轻人在隔离期间的生活。

Many young people have scarpered from cities to lockdown with their parents, hunkering down with younger siblings who are off school.

很多年轻人已经从城市逃回父母家中隔离，并做好了与停课的弟弟妹妹们长期待在家的准备。

Of an evening, they gather in their living rooms to make their own fun, just as it used to be. Board games are making a comeback, with sales jumping by 240% during the first week of lockdown.

每天晚上，他们一起在客厅里玩乐，就像他们小时候做的那样。棋盘游戏正重新变得流行，在封城的第一周内，其销量就增长了240％。

Of an evening是一个英式用法，相当于 in the evenings，即“每天晚上”。要表达“某事物重新变得流行”，除了可以说 something is back in vogue，还可以说 something is making a comeback，例如：Country music was out of fashion for many years, but now it is making a comeback.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Monopoly Classic is the most sought-after game: it is the closest that most Londoners are likely to get to Pall Mall or Leicester Square for some time.

《大富翁经典》成了最受欢迎的游戏，这一点可能并不奇怪：这可能是一段时间以来大多数伦敦人离颇尔购物中心或莱斯特广场最近的机会了（注：玩家可以在大富翁游戏中看到这两处地标建筑）。

With gyms closed and people hungry for exercise, bicycles are alsorolling off the shelves at speed.

随着健身房关门以及人们对于运动的需求上涨，超市货架上的自行车也很快被买光了。

为了强调自行车很快售罄，作者用了一个生动的说法：bicycles are also rolling off the shelves at speed，字面意思即“一辆辆自行车从货架上很快滚落下来”，这样写能让读者印象更加深刻。

结尾段介绍了另一种最近流行的活动——学习乐器。

Slow-burning activities like learning an instrument are educational and kill time, too. The Sound Garden, an independent music shop in north London, has sold out of all entry-level acoustic guitars.

诸如学习乐器之类的慢节奏活动富有教育意义，同时还有助于消磨时间。伦敦北部一家私营乐器店“声音花园”里面所有的入门级原声吉他都已售罄。

Ukuleles are also popular. Karen Davis and her 12-year-old son have taken it up. “We strum away badly, sing terribly and bring joy into the monotony of lockdown,” she says.

尤克里里琴也很受欢迎。凯伦·戴维斯和她12岁的儿子学起了这门乐器。她说：“我们弹得很差，唱得也很差，但我们将欢乐带到了单调的隔离生活中。”

And the 21st century can help with 1950s pastimes: their ukulele tuition is being provided by a local music school, via Zoom.

但21世纪给20世纪50年代的娱乐活动提供了便利：他们正在上的尤克里里课程由当地一家音乐学校通过视频平台Zoom讲授。

结尾句也与上文的一句话形成了呼应：families are settling into a timewarp that lies somewhere between the mid-21st century and the 1950s. 点明了科技对于传统娱乐活动的助益。