156. A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the "labor-market premium to skill"—or the amount college graduates earned that's greater than what high-school graduate earned—decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance (報(bào)復(fù)性地) since the 1980s.
譯文
兩位哈佛經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家在一份2008年的研究中指出，“勞力市場(chǎng)給予技術(shù)的補(bǔ)貼”——或者說(shuō)，大學(xué)畢業(yè)生與高中畢業(yè)生的收入差距——在20世紀(jì)大多數(shù)時(shí)間里縮小了，但從20世紀(jì)80年代起這種差距又報(bào)復(fù)性地拉大了。
點(diǎn)睛
本句的主干是...study...notes that...。第一個(gè)that引導(dǎo)的賓語(yǔ)從句that the "labor-market..."...since the 1980s作notes的賓語(yǔ)。該從句中又包含多重從句，其主干為the "labor-market premium to skill" decreased, but has come back；兩個(gè)破折號(hào)之間的內(nèi)容則對(duì)labor-market premium to skill進(jìn)行補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明，在該部分中，兩個(gè)定語(yǔ)從句college graduates earned和that's greater than what high-school graduate earned 均修飾the amount。
premium意為“酬金，額外費(fèi)用”。vengeance意為“報(bào)仇，復(fù)仇”。decrease意為“下降，減少”。如：
Our company tries to decrease the costs. 我們公司設(shè)法降低成本。
考點(diǎn)歸納
decrease、lessen、diminish和reduce這組動(dòng)詞的一般含義為“減少”。decrease和lessen比較普通，一般可以代替這組詞中的任何其他詞。
decrease強(qiáng)調(diào)數(shù)目逐漸減少或情感逐漸減退。如：
My interest in online shopping gradually decreases. 我對(duì)網(wǎng)上購(gòu)物的興趣逐漸減退。
lessen與decrease近義，指數(shù)目、程度、價(jià)值、實(shí)力等的減少。如：
The cancer patient has to take painkillers / turn to drugs to lessen his pain. 癌癥病人靠吃止痛藥來(lái)減輕痛苦。
diminish表示減少損失。如：
We must diminish the cost of production. 我們必須縮減生產(chǎn)成本。
reduce可以表示尺寸、數(shù)量、程度或強(qiáng)度的減少，也可以表示地位、處境、狀況的降低。如：
The landlady won't reduce the rent of our house. 女房東不肯減收我們的房租。
The bankrupt was reduced to despair. 破產(chǎn)者陷入了絕望。
