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The Spending War of the Sexes 男女消费大不同

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Judy is a living spending machine, according to her boyfriend Marty. A mere “let’s take a quick peek inside a shopping mall” inevitably turns into a real shopping cyclone. Shoes, handbags and articles of clothing – as if she didn’t have enough of those already – tempt her as the song of a mermaid does a sailor. Women are all the same, Marty thinks, shaking his head. Not surprisingly, his male friends agree.

根据男友马帝的描述，茱蒂是活生生的花钱机器。简单的一句「我们去卖场逛一下吧！」无可避免地会变成一阵购物旋风。鞋子、包包、各种衣物──好像怎么买都不嫌多──她就像是被美人鱼甜美歌声迷住的水手一样。马帝边摇头边想，天下的女人都一样。一点都不意外地，他的男性友人都同意这样的看法。

But hold on a second. If you walk into Marty’s room, you’ll see hundreds of CDs, plastic miniatures, two computers, the latest iPod, and stacks of DVDs. To prove that he’s just as much of a consumer as she is, Judy often points to all these. “You have thousands of dollars’ worth of toys!” she exclaims. “What’s the difference between your thousands and my thousands?”

但等等，如果走进马帝的房间，你会看到数以百计的CD、塑料模型、两台计算机、最新型的iPad 、一大堆DVD。茱蒂为了要证明马帝和她一样败家，她经常将矛头指向这些物品：「你有价值好几千块钱的玩具！」她很不平的大声说，「你花的好几千块跟我花好几千块，有什么不同呢？」

The difference actually lies not only in how we rationalize our spending but also in the language we use to describe it. When talking about what they spend their money on, men usually use rational-sounding words like “collecting” and “upgrading.” Men use their expensive cars and large collectibles for social recognition. The biggest or the most, the better. In contrast, women buy various items because “they make them look good,” as physical appearance is crucially important to women. Whether it’s big shiny cars and state-of-the-art computers, or outrageously costly purses and a twentieth pair of shoes, men and women both enjoy spending loads of money on what makes them feel good.

其实这两者之间的不同，不只在于我们如何合理消费行为，也在于我们如何描述这种消费行为。当论及把钱花到那儿去了，男性通常使用看似理性的字眼，如「搜集」和「升级」。男性会以昂贵的汽车和大量收藏品作为社会地位的象征，愈大或愈贵就愈好。相对地，女性买各种物品是因为「这些东西让我看起来很不错」，外貌对她们而言是极重要的。不管是闪亮的大轿车、最新型的计算机，或贵得吓人的皮包和第二十双鞋，男性和女性都一样乐于花大钱买那些能让他们觉得满足的物品。

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Vocabulary

peek [pik] n. 看一下，一瞥

inevitably [ɪnˋɛvətəblɪ] adv. 不可避免地；必然地

tempt [tɛmpt] v. 引诱，诱惑

miniature [ˋmɪnɪətʃɚ] n. 微型复制品

exclaim [ɪksˋklem] v.（表示抗议等）大声叫嚷

rationalize [ˋræʃən!͵aɪz] v. 使合理化

outrageously [aʊtˋredʒəslɪ] adv. 不寻常地；惊人地

More Information

mere [mɪr] adj. 仅仅的

cyclone [ˋsaɪklon] n. 旋风

mermaid [ˋmɝ͵med] n. 美人鱼

stack [stæk] n.（整齐的）一堆，一迭

consumer [kənˋsjumɚ] n. 消费者

collectible [kə`lɛktəbꨅ]  n. 因有兴趣而收集的东西，珍藏物

recognition [͵rɛkəgˋnɪʃən] n. 确认；认可

in contrast [ˋkɑn͵træst] 相比之下,相反

various [ˋvɛrɪəs] adj. 各种各样的

state-of-the-art [ˋstetəvðiˋɑrt] adj. 最先进的，最高级的

costly [ˋkɔstlɪ] adj. 贵重的，宝贵的

load [lod] n.【口】大量，许多，一大堆

Reading Questions

1.   How do men and women differ in spending money?

A.  They each rationalize their spending.

B.  They use different language to describe their spending.

C.  They like to buy different things.

D.  All of the above.

2.   According to the article, what is true about men?

A.  They buy things for social recognition.

B.  They buy things that are practical.

C.  They buy things that make them look good.

D.  They buy things that are expensive.

3.   Which of the following can be inferred from the article?

A.  Men spend too much time shopping.

B.  Only women are problem shoppers.

C.  Both men and women like buying things to feel good.

D.  Many people are wasting their money on things they don’t need.

Answer