Belgium is expensive--and that's official. According to a new report on Europe's retail sector from the European Commission, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages is (or was in 2008) on average 28.4% higher in Belgium than in the Netherlands next door.
利时物价非常高──官方数据是这样说的。据欧盟委员会(European Commission)新出炉的一份关于欧洲零售业的报告，2008年，比利时食品和非酒精饮料的价格比邻国荷兰平均高出28.4%。
There seems to be no table in the report that would allow us to do this systematically, but here are some snippets that show, among other things, that the advent of the euro hasn't done much to bring retail prices into line across Europe.
报告中似乎没有表格让我们可以对此有个系统性的认识，不过下面是一些零散的例子，显示出欧元的使用并没有使欧洲各地的零售价格统一起来。
For food and non-alcoholic beverages:
食品和非酒精饮料：
Prices in 2008 were highest in Denmark (147% of the EU average) and lowest in Bulgaria (67% of the EU average). From the euro zone, only the Netherlands (88%), Spain (94%) and Portugal (86%) have price levels below the EU average.
2008年，丹麦的价格最高（为欧盟平均值的147%），保加利亚最低（为欧盟平均值的67%）。欧元区之内，只有荷兰、西班牙和葡萄牙的价格低于欧盟平均值，分别为平均值的88%、94%和86%。
It notes: 'The difference in price levels is particularly striking when comparing neighboring member states with similar income levels. For instance, in Belgium price levels are at 113% of the EU average, whereas in the Netherlands prices are at 88% of the EU average.'
报告指出：当把收入水平近似的相邻的成员国进行比较时，物价水平的差异尤其突出。举例来讲，比利时的物价水平为欧盟平均值的113%，而荷兰的则为平均值的88%。
Prices in Germany are 106% of the EU average while in Italy these are at 115%. In the Czech Republic, which has a significantly higher per-capita income than Latvia, price levels are at 82% of the EU average, whereas in Latvia price levels are at 85% of the EU average.
德国的物价水平为欧盟平均值的106%，意大利的为平均值的115%。捷克共和国的物价水平为欧盟平均值的82%；而在人均收入比捷克低很多的拉脱维亚，物价水平为欧盟平均值的85%。
For clothing:
服装：
Prices in Ireland (91%), France (95%) and the U.K. (83%) are clearly below the EU average, whereas those in the Czech Republic (113%) and Slovakia (112%) are clearly higher than the EU average.
爱尔兰、法国和英国明显低于欧盟平均值，分别为平均值的91%、95%和83%。捷克和斯洛伐克则明显高于平均值，分别为平均值的113%和112%。
For footwear:
鞋类：
Prices are below the EU average in Ireland (95%), France (90%) and the U.K. (86%), whereas some new Member States are clearly above it, such as Estonia (119%). These are counter-intuitive findings given the negative correlation with real income levels, it says.
爱尔兰、法国和英国的物价水平低于欧盟平均值，分别为平均值的95%、90%和86%，而一些新加入的成员国明显高于平均值，比如爱沙尼亚为平均值的119%。报告说，研究结果显示这些国家的物价水平与实际收入水平成负相关的关系，这是有悖常理的。
For consumer electronics:
消费电子产品：
Prices are lowest in the U.K. (86% of the EU average) and highest in Malta (126% of the EU average). Almost no difference in prices can be observed between the euro zone and the rest. Only in the U.K., Estonia, Latvia and Bulgaria are prices below the EU average, which is pulled down in particular by the U.K.
英国的物价最低（为欧盟平均值的86%），马耳他最高（为平均值的126%）。欧元区和非欧元区国家之间几乎看不到价格差异。只有英国、爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和保加利亚的价格低于欧盟平均值；欧盟平均值尤其因英国较低的物价而受到拖累。
Stephen Fidler
- european [juərə´pi:ən]
a.欧洲的 n.欧洲人 (初中英语单词) - striking [´straikiŋ] a.显著的，明显的 (初中英语单词)
- neighboring [´neibəriŋ] a.邻近的；接壤的 (初中英语单词)
- income [´inkʌm] n.收入，所得 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- whereas [weər´æz] conj.鉴于；因此；而 (初中英语单词)
- republic [ri´pʌblik] n.共和国；共和政体 (初中英语单词)
- belgium [´beldʒəm] n.比利时 (高中英语单词)
- commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
- denmark [´denmɑ:k] n.丹麦 (高中英语单词)
- portugal [´pɔ:tjugəl] n.葡萄牙 (高中英语单词)
- ireland [´aiələnd] n.爱尔兰 (高中英语单词)
- negative [´negətiv] a.否定的 n.否定词 (高中英语单词)
- consumer [kən´sju:mə] n.消费者；用户 (高中英语单词)
- retail [´ri:teil, ri´teil] n.&a.&v.零售(商品的) (英语四级单词)
- advent [´ædvent] n.来临；降临 (英语四级单词)
京公网安备 11011202003401号
