爱思英语编者按：最新发布的《中产家庭幸福白皮书》显示，中国大多中产阶级生活得并不幸福。面对越来越大的压力，这些有车有房，收入可观的人群却显得更为脆弱。看来，中国在实施扩大中产阶层(middle class)计划方面还有很长一段路要走。

Daniel Zhou paused, trying to remember his son's age.
丹尼尔·周停顿了一下，试着回想儿子的年龄。

While it might seem shocking to some, his situation is far from unique among members of Shanghai's middle class, many of whom can not easily recall their children's birthdays or grades in school. They simply do not have time to spend with their families.
也许这在某些人眼中似乎有点不可思议，但在上海中产阶层人群中，周先生绝非特例。他们中的许多人都记不住自己孩子的生日或正在就读的年级。他们只是忙得没有时间来陪自己的家人。

Zhou, a department director with a media company in Shanghai, said he does not feel happy, even though he has a 300,000-yuan ($45,000) annual income, a well-decorated downtown apartment and a fancy car.
周先生是上海一家媒体公司的部门经理。他表示，尽管自己年收入有30万元（合45000美元），住在市中心一套装修精美的公寓内且还拥有一辆高档轿车，但他觉得并不幸福。

Zhou said an intensive workload, little leisure time and pressure from almost all facets of life erode his happiness.
周先生称，高负荷的工作量、少有的闲暇时光以及来自生活各方面的压力吞食了他的幸福。

"But we can't complain," he said. "At least we are better off than migrant workers."
他说：“但我们没什么好抱怨的，最起码我们要比外来务工人员过得好。”

Shanghai's middle-class families are the least happy, according to the White Book of Happiness of Middle Class Families released early this year.
今年年初出炉的《中产家庭幸福白皮书》显示，上海中产阶层家庭的幸福指数最低。

The white book was based on surveys of more than 100,000 people from 35 cities in 10 provinces and municipalities.
该白皮书源于全国10个省区35个城市发起的，共有10万人参与的联合调查。

Even in the happiest provinces, such as Jiangsu, Sichuan and Fujian, more than half of middle class families said they are "not happy".
即便在江苏、四川、福建这样幸福指数最高的省份，仍有超过半数的被调查者对家庭生活现状表示不满。

But Chinese Academy of Social Sciences` Social Policy Research Center Secretary General Tang Jun said the government should continue to strive to bring a third of the population into the middle class during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period. The middle class should become society`s backbone and shoulder responsibility, he said.
但中国社科院社会政策研究中心秘书长唐钧表示：“政府应在‘十二五期间’（2011-2015）争取让三分之一的人步入中产阶级行列中，中产阶层应该成为社会的中坚力量并承担起相应的责任。”

About 23 percent of Chinese are middle class, and the proportion could increase to 40 percent by 2020, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher Lu Xueyi said.
中国社科院教授陆学艺（音译）称：“目前，中国中产阶层人数约占总人口的23%，截止2020年，预计这一比例将会达到40%。”

"In the rat race that is keeping up with the Joneses, people forget about the most precious parts of life, such as spending time with families." Daniel Zhou said.
周先生说：“在与邻里互相攀比物质生活与社会地位的激烈竞争中，人们逐渐忘却了生命中最珍贵的东西，如多花时间陪陪家人。”

"People want to be both rich and responsible. But they crave money more than anything else, including responsibility, until they feel financially secure," Zhou said.
周先生还说：“人们既想拥有财富，又想富有责任心。但当人们具备一定的经济实力之前，对金钱的渴望仍然胜过包括责任在内的其他一切。”

相关词汇 更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/

crave 热望，渴望
 
facet 方面
 
keep up with the Joneses 赶上别人，与……攀比
 
rat race 激烈的竞争，忙忙碌碌的生活