A篇
level off呈平稳状态；趋平；把...弄平
except for 除了
stands at 站在....的立场
the ordinary 普通人
more or less 或多或少
breast cancer乳腺癌
the Far East 远东地区
Western Europe 西欧
This is not at all the meaning. 根本不是这意思。
B篇
take breaks 休息
graphic designer平面设计师
take me aside把我拉到一边
cutting-edge时髦的
ahead of the curve引领潮流
cocktail party 鸡尾酒会
around the same time 与此同时
conventional ideas世俗的思想
cliff-top room 悬崖顶端的房间
part with 舍得花钱；分开；舍弃
lie in 在于；
black-hole resorts 黑洞度假区
desperate to 渴望
addict to 对....上瘾
absorb in全神贯注；沉浸在
enable sb to do sth 使得某人做某事
manage to do sth 努力去做某事
rush to do sth 急急忙忙做某事
long for 渴求
the moments 当下；立刻
scrolling headlines 滚动的大字标题
all at once 突然；一起
lose touch with sb 与某人失去联系
stay in touch with sb 与某人保持联系
Since luxury is a function of scarcity
奢侈源于匮乏
meet deadline 赶上最后期限
rural setting乡间环境
new age fads时尚的事物
fad n.一时的流行; 一时的风尚; 一时的怪念头;
turn off 关掉
{apathy 冷漠的
{ empathy 同感，共鸣
Internet Sabbath安息日
monk David 僧侣戴维
I am reliably told 有人确切地告诉我
知识拓展：
Intel 英特尔公司
Jesuit center 耶稣会中心
tai chi 太极拳
neural process 神经突
C篇
economic disruption 经济破坏
economic recession 经济衰退
self-service checkout 自助结账
carve up 瓜分；分割
kick sb out of .... 把某人踢出某地
artificial intelligence=AI 人工智能
blue-collar job 蓝领工作
white-collar job 白领工作
wipe out 彻底摧毁；消灭
to be sure 诚然；的确
quality requirements质量要求
vacuum cleaner 真空吸尘器
show off 展示；炫耀
attend a meeting 参加会议
hang around四处闲逛
technological revolution 科技革命
D篇
believe it or not 信不信由你
for the sake of 为了拯救...；为了...的利益
other side of that equation 等式的另一边
personal-savings rate 个人储蓄率
dip to 降低到
snap shut their wallet=tighten their belt 节俭
flimsiest pension system 脆弱的养老金系统
publicly-funded health care 公共医疗体系
social safety net社会安全网（社会保障体系）
dis-saving 负储蓄
in turn 反而；转过来；
be incline to do 倾向于做某事
world’s biggest creditor世界最大债权国
financial prudence财政脆弱
lecture president向总统宣教
Debt load 债务负担
hold sth in reserve 留着…以防万一；保留储蓄
currency trader 外汇交易员
a heart attack 心脏病
economic crisis 经济危机
hinge on 取决于
currency exchange rate货币汇率
foreign reserve 外汇储备
知识拓展：
President Obama 奥巴马总统
Budget Director 预算主任
翻译题：
the Strait of Malacca马六甲海峡
the world had ever seen 有史以来
the India Ocean 印度洋
the Western Seas 西洋
the South China Sea 南海
Zheng He’s Voyages to the Western Seas 郑和下西洋