8月21日午间英语新闻：高铁站9成是按摩椅？工作人员回应

>Massage chairs: convenience or conflict?

高铁站9成是按摩椅？工作人员回应

Massage chairs have become increasingly popular in recent years and have been installed in a variety of public spaces such as train stations, airports, malls and cinemas.

近年来，按摩椅越来越受欢迎，已经安装在火车站、机场、商场和电影院等各种公共场所。

While these chairs are intended to provide comfort and relaxation, their prevalence has also annoyed some members of the public.

虽然这些椅子旨在提供舒适和放松，但它们的流行也引起了公众的不满。

According to a recent report, out of 1,488 chairs in a train station in Tai'an, Shandong province, only 558 are regular ones. The rest are pay-to-use massage chairs.

据悉，山东泰安高铁站共有各类座椅1488把，其中普通座椅558把、其余的全是收费按摩椅，有930把。

However, not everyone feels comfortable with these chairs being everywhere in the station. Passengers argue regular chairs should outnumber massage chairs as the latter take up more space due to their size. "It's the public space these chairs occupy," said Xu, a passenger. Others expressed discomfort, stating the massage chairs hurt one's back when not in use.

然而，不是所有乘客都对按摩椅的随处可见感到满意。他们认为普通座位应该多于按摩座位，因为按摩椅相对较大，占用面积比普通椅子多。徐女士表示，“按摩椅占据了公共空间”。也有旅客表示，座椅内的按摩突出点在不使用按摩功能时非常不舒服，硌人后背。

The public has also expressed concern about the chairs' overall condition and safety.

除了按摩椅的设置问题，共享按摩椅的安全、卫生问题也频频成为新闻焦点。

Gong Yongzhuang, a staff member with the Jiangsu Consumer Council, said train station lobbies and airports may have violated the public's rights by replacing regular chairs with massage ones, making customers pay for a place to rest in these locations.

江苏省消费者权益保护委员会的工作人员龚永壮认为，场地方对于共享按摩椅的合理布局负有管理责任。他表示，他们担心火车站和机场的大厅用按摩椅取代了普通的椅子，让顾客在这些地方花钱休息，这可能侵犯了公众的权利。

重点词汇：

prevalence

英/ˈprevələns/ 美 /ˈprevələns/

n.流行，盛行

violate

英/ˈvaɪəleɪt/ 美/ˈvaɪəleɪt/

v.违反，违背；侵犯，打扰；亵渎，损毁

>Global wealth drop thins ranks of millionaires

全球财富缩水 350万人失去百万富翁身份

More than 3.5 million people lost their “dollar millionaire” status last year during the first fall in global wealth since the 2008 financial crisis.

去年超350万人失去了百万（美元）富翁身份，这是自2008年金融危机以来全球财富首次缩水。

The number of adults with assets of more than $1 million fell from 62.9 million at the end of 2021 to 59.4 million at the end of 2022, according to the UBS annual wealth report published on Tuesday. The Swiss bank said global wealth was depressed by high inflation and the collapse of many currencies against the dollar.

瑞士联合银行8月15日发布的年度财富报告显示，资产超过100万美元的成年人数量从2021年底的6290万人减至2022年底的5940万人。瑞士联合银行称，全球财富缩水源于高通胀和许多货币对美元的贬值。

The number of millionaires in the US dropped by 1.8 million to 22.7 million, but there are still far more millionaires in the US than any other country. China had the second-highest number with 6.2 million.

美国百万富翁现有2270万人，减少了180万，但美国的百万富翁数量仍然远超其他国家。中国的百万富翁数量为620万人，位居全球第二。

Despite the decline, the report found there were four times as many dollar millionaires as there were at the turn of the century.

尽管百万富翁数量下降，但报告发现，拥有百万美元资产者的数量是本世纪初的四倍。

At the very top, the number of people with more than $50 million each fell by 22,500 to 243,000.

在最富有的阶层，资产超过5000万美元的百万富翁数量降至24.3万，减少了22500人。

The richest 500 people in the world lost a combined $1.4 trillion in 2022, according to separate research for the Bloomberg billionaires index.

彭博社亿万富翁指数的独立调查显示，世界首富500强在2022年资产缩水合计1.4万亿美元。