[E389]To the lighthouse
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第15期，Britain版块。
Second homes
One seaside town in Cornwall is taking on the out-of-towners
Apr 9th 2016
“I COULD fill pages remembering one thing after another that made the summer at St Ives[1] the best beginning to a life conceivable,” wrote Virginia Woolf[2] of her childhood summers in Britain’s idyllic south-west. The beauty of St Ives (current population: 11,000) formed the backdrop[3] to some of her best-known works. The artistic fragrance[4] has lingered. Writers and artists still visit. Fancy restaurants cater to[5] their cosmopolitan tastes, and there is a branch of London’s Tate Gallery[6] to stroll through[7].
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注释
[1]圣艾夫斯(St Ives)，英国康沃尔郡一座海滨城市，为一处旅游和艺术中心。
[2]弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙(Virginia Woolf)，英国女作家。最知名的小说包括《达洛维夫人》（Mrs. Dalloway）、《到灯塔去》（To the Lighthouse-->本文标题）
[3]backdrop (事件的)背景;背景幕布
[4]艺术的芬芳/气息
[5]迎合;为…服务;款待;满足
[6]泰特美术馆（位于英国伦敦）
[7]stroll through 漫步走过
(to walk casually through something or some place)
生词
▷conceivable [kən'siːvəb(ə)l]
to or to
可想象的；可想到的；可以相信的Books on every conceivable one .靠墙一排排地摆放着所有能想得到的各学科的书。It's just conceivable (= to ) (that) the made a .有可能是医院出了错。
▷idyllic [ɪ'dɪlɪk]
An idyllic or is , or
田园诗般的，田园风光的，恬静的an idyllic /恬静愉快的童年／诗情画意般的夏天an idyllic in the Yorkshire Dales约克郡山谷国家公园中闲适恬静的村庄
▷linger ['liŋɡə]
to take a to or
停留，逗留；徘徊The from the still lingered .大火过后好几天还能闻到烧焦的味道。It's to such - they linger (on) in the .这样恐怖的事件让人难以忘记——它们会永远留在人们的记忆中。
▷cosmopolitan [,kɒzmə'pɒlɪt(ə)n]
or having of and things from many different of the
来自世界各地的；国际大都会的；世界性的New York is a cosmopolitan .纽约是个国际化程度很高的大都市。
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One consequence of the views and the artiness is that house prices have shot up[1], with even parking spots in the town going for £70,000 ($99,000). A quarter of the properties in St Ives are second homes or holiday lets.
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注释
[1]shot up 迅速长大(或增加、提高；猛增)
(to grow in size, or increase in number or level, very quickly)
David has really shot up since I saw him last.
自我上次见到他以来，戴维长得真快。
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The situation has become so tense that local residents are now fighting back. On May 5th, when the town votes in a referendum[1] on a number of local issues, tucked into the ballot[2] will be a particularly controversial question: whether to make it a legal requirement that all new housing in the area must be for principal residences[3] only. The town expects over 1,000 new homes to be built before 2030. If the measure passes, outsiders will still be able to buy existing properties as second homes, but not new ones.
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注释
[1]全民公投
[2]ballot投票，指代上面的referendum.
[3]主要住所
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The vote is causing divisions[1]. Some point to the wealth brought in by second-home owners and holiday-makers. Others feel they are destroying the town. “Enough is enough[2],” says Tim Andrewes, a local councillor[3], who supports the proposal. He argues that a less wealthy family living in St Ives all year round[4] is likely to spend just as much as a wealthy London family that is there for six weeks.
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注释
[1]造成分歧
[2]够了;适可而止
[3]当地议员
[4]一年到头;全年
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“Some people here are living on streets where half the houses are empty for more than half the year,” he says. “It affects the sense of community.” It also means that local people with low incomes cannot buy. One resident called it “financial cleansing[1]”. There are nearly 600 households (out of 7,000) on the waiting list for social rented housing[2].
About 1.6m people in England and Wales (2.8% of the population) own a second home. St Ives is not the first to take action. Lynton and Lynmouth in Devon passed a similar measure in 2013. Seaside towns are idyllic, but only if you can afford them*.
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注释
[1]金融清洗
[2]社会出租住宅
*结尾都不忘来嘲讽一句。
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以上言论不代表本人立场。
原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。
其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries
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