雙語(yǔ)新聞閱讀：兩極分化嚴(yán)重 美國(guó)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)正在"縮水"

　　The middle class in America's cities has shrunk dramatically in the 21st century.

　　美國(guó)城市的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)陣容在本世紀(jì)大幅萎縮。

　　A Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data looked at the state of the middle class in America's metropolitan areas. Pew defined "middle-income" households as those whose income fell between two-thirds and twice the national median household income.

　　皮尤研究中心通過(guò)對(duì)美國(guó)人口普查局?jǐn)?shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行分析，察看了美國(guó)大都市區(qū)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的狀態(tài)。皮尤研究中心對(duì)“中等收入”家庭的定義是，收入在全美國(guó)平均收入三分之二到兩倍之間的家庭。

　　Between 2000 and 2014, 203 out of the 229 metropolitan areas analyzed had a decline in the percentage of their populations that fell in that middle-income range.

　　2000年到2014年間，在其分析的229個(gè)大都市區(qū)中，有203個(gè)大都市區(qū)的中等收入群體所占人口比重有所下降。

　　Pew observed that the decline in the middle class is associated with an overall increase in inequality in the US.

　　皮尤發(fā)現(xiàn)，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的衰落與美國(guó)的不平等現(xiàn)象全面增長(zhǎng)有關(guān)。

　　Pew also noted that the drop in the percentage of households that fall in the middle coincides with an overall decline in incomes. Pew's report pointed out that in the time period covered, real median household incomes in the US as a whole fell by 8%.

　　皮尤還發(fā)現(xiàn)，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)家庭比例的降低與收入的全面下滑相吻合。皮尤的報(bào)告指出，在研究覆蓋的時(shí)間段內(nèi)，美國(guó)實(shí)際家庭收入中位數(shù)整體跌落8%。

　　The decline of the middle class in America's cities is one of the biggest political and economic problems of the 21st century, and Pew's analysis shows the severity of the problem.

　　美國(guó)城市中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的下降是二十一世紀(jì)最大的政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)問(wèn)題之一，而皮尤的這一分析表明了問(wèn)題的嚴(yán)重性。

　　"The current and future status of the American middle class continues to be a central issue in the 2016 presidential campaign. Moreover, new economic research suggests that a struggling middle class could be holding back the potential for future economic growth," Pew wrote in its report. "The national trend is clear — the middle class is losing ground as a share of the population, and its share of aggregate U.S. household income is also declining."

　　皮尤研究中心在報(bào)告中寫道：“美國(guó)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的當(dāng)前和未來(lái)的地位仍然是2016年總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選中的一個(gè)核心問(wèn)題。此外，新的經(jīng)濟(jì)研究表明，一個(gè)正在掙扎的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)可能會(huì)阻礙未來(lái)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的潛力。這個(gè)國(guó)家的趨勢(shì)是明顯的--中產(chǎn)階級(jí)正失去作為一部分人口的份額，它的總收入也在下降。”