Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas. Just off Singing Hills Road, in one of hundreds of two-story homes dotting a former cattle ranch beyond the southern fringes of Denver, Phil Boyle and his family openly wonder if they will have to move close to town to get some relief.
They still revel in the space and quiet that has drawn a steady exodus from American cities toward places like this for more than half a century. But life on the edges of suburbia is beginning to feel untenable. Mr. Boyle and his wife must drive nearly an hour to their jobs in the high-tech corridor of southern Denver. With gasoline at more than $4 a gallon, Mr. Boyle recently paid $121 to fill his pickup truck with diesel fuel. In March, the last time he filled his propane tank to heat his spacious house, he paid $566, more than twice the price of 5 years ago.
Though Mr. Boyle finds city life unappealing, it is now up for reconsideration. “Living closer in, in a smaller space, where you don’t have that commute,” he said. “It’s definitely something we talk about. Before it was ‘we spend too much time driving.’ Now, it’s ‘we spend too much time and money driving.’ ”
Across the nation, the realization is taking hold that rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs. In Atlanta, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minneapolis, homes beyond the urban core have been falling in value faster than those within, according to an analysis by Moody’s Economy.com. In Denver, housing prices in the urban core rose steadily from 2003 until late last year compared with previous years, before dipping nearly 5 percent in the last three months of last year, according to Economy.com. But house prices in the suburbs began falling earlier, in the middle of 2006, and then accelerated, dropping by 7 percent during the last three months of the year from a year earlier.
Many factors have propelled the unraveling of American real estate, from the mortgage crisis to a staggering excess of home construction. But economists and real estate agents are growing convinced that the rising cost of energy is now a primary factor pushing home prices down in the suburbs. More than three-fourths of prospective home buyers are now more inclined to live in an urban area because of fuel prices, according to a recent survey of 903 real estate agents with Coldwell Banker, the national brokerage firm.
长难句分析
1. Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas.
【解析】这是一个复合句。主句的主干是the economics … are under assault….，as 所引导的从句为原因状语从句，解释说明经济受挫的原因。本句中中的部分词汇在翻译时需要适当转译，如skyrocketing，由名词skyrocket（一种鞭炮“冲天火箭”）转化而来，作动词用，意思是“直线上升”或“飞速上升”，加上ing后用作形容词，表示“飞速上涨的”；再如inflate在本句中不能直接翻译为“使通货膨胀”，该词在句中相当于increase，反以为“增加”或“加大”。由于句中修饰成分冗长，所以该句需要调整语序，并适当转译。
【译文】突然之间，美国郊区生活圈的经济受到了打击，因为飞速上涨的能源价格迅速提升了城市边缘地区家庭的回家、取暖以及空调制冷的成本。
2. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs.
【解析】这是一个简单句。句子的主干是The shift … is threatening…, while exacerbating…，其谓语包括并列的两个部分。该句中冗长的结构较多，翻译是应该注意简化，例如，The shift to costlier fuel（字面含义：燃料更加昂贵的变化）可以直接简化为“燃料涨价”。这种长片段需要适当简化或转译才能让汉语译文更流畅通顺。
【译文】燃料价格上涨预示着数十年来城市居民移出城市（搬往郊区）的趋势会减缓，同时由于远离城里工作地点的大房子的吸引力减小，也会恶化住房的低迷状况。
3. But economists and real estate agents are growing convinced that the rising cost of energy is now a primary factor pushing home prices down in the suburbs.
【解析】这是一个复合句。句子的主干是…economists and…agents are… convinced…，that引导的从句是宾语从句，其中的现在分词短语pushing home prices down in the suburbs作后置定语修饰factor。理解该句时应当注意一些短语的翻译，例如，be convinced that应当翻译为“坚信”；push…down可以翻译为“压低……的价钱”。
【译文】但是，经济学者和房地产经纪人日益坚信能源价格上涨是压低郊区房价的首要原因。
全文翻译
突然之间，美国郊区生活圈的经济受到了打击，因为飞速上涨的能源价格迅速提升了城市边缘地区家庭的回家、取暖以及空调制冷的成本。在星灵希尔大道尽头有数百户住着两层楼的家庭，菲尔.波义尔一家也在其中，他们家过去从事家畜养殖，住在远离丹佛南郊的地方，菲尔.波义尔一家毫不隐瞒说想知道他们是否也得搬到里城近一点的地方来缓解（经济）压力。
尽管五十多年来，他们远离美国城市，来到这样的地方，得意于这里开阔的空间和宁静的环境，但是这种郊区生活已经难以维持了。波义尔夫妇得驾车一个小时才能到达到丹佛南部“高科走廊”的工作地点。油价高达每加仑4块多，波义尔夫妇最近花了121美元才把他的柴油敞篷小货车的邮箱加满。他上次在三月份把给大房子取暖用的丙烷燃料箱加满，花了566美元，这次的支出是去年的两倍多。
虽然波义尔认为城市生活并不吸引人，但是现在也该再考虑一下了。“住在一个不用如此通勤赶路的小地方，”他说，“我们的确实在谈论这事。在油价飞涨之前，‘我们开车赶路花的时间太多了’，现在‘我们开车赶路花的时间和钱都太多了。’”
在整个美国，人们逐渐意识到能源价格上涨与其说是一种临时现象，不如说是一个给人们带来长期影响的变化。燃料价格上涨预示着数十年来城市居民移出城市（搬往郊区）的趋势会减缓，同时由于远离城里工作地点的大房子的吸引力减小，也会恶化住房的低迷状况。根据穆迪Economy.com的网络分析，在亚特兰大、费城、旧金山和明尼阿波利斯，城市核心区以外的房子比城区内的房子贬值更快。在丹佛，去年第四季度城区内的房价几乎下跌了5个百分点，而在此之前，与以往相比，从2003年到去年，城区内的房价一直在稳步上升。但是郊区房屋的价格却早在2006年年中就开始下跌，随后加剧下滑，从前年到去年第四季度下跌了7个百分点。
从抵押贷款危机到房地产过度开发，诸多的因素都已经解析了美国房地产业的现状。但是，经济学者和房地产经纪人日益坚信能源价格上涨是压低郊区房价的首要原因。本国信义地产公司对903名房地产经纪人所做的调查表明，由于燃料价格上涨，四分之三以上的可能购房者现在更倾向于住在市区。
这只是其中一篇的分析，还有其他篇目的分析。本人传到了网盘之中，共大家分享。求版主别删我贴。
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