钻石真要降价了吗？
“A Diamond Is Forever.”也许你对这句广告语比较陌生，但是这句话的中文版本你肯定听过，而且相当熟悉，那就是“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”。一想到钻石，脑海中除了会浮现它耀眼的光芒，同时还会联想到那光芒照耀下的新娘的美丽脸庞。那么从何时开始，钻石与爱情、婚姻关联起来了呢？
这还要倒推回大萧条时代，钻石业巨头戴比尔斯（De Beers）在广告语中将钻石赋予了特殊意义，同时暗示准新娘们“只有愿意花大价钱为你买钻石的人才是真正爱你的人”。这样的营销策略准确地抓住了准新娘的心理，因而成功引爆了钻石市场。长久以来，人们对钻石的热情有增无减，但是近些年，钻石市场却黯然失色。
贝恩咨询公司（Bain & Company）认为，2017年毛坯钻石的交易额比2016年下跌了10亿美元，且未来十年将近2亿6千万克拉的钻石开采量使得钻石制造商的利益逐渐蒸发。与此同时，人造钻石的出现不仅靠着相对便宜的售价抢占了钻石市场的份额，而且避免了钻石背后可能会产生的血腥交易。面对种种新情况的出现，钻石产业正处在举步维艰的境地。钻石的未来是否会像广告中讲的那样长久呢？让我们拭目以待吧。
本篇课程首发于2018年10月30日，选自 The Economist Espresso APP
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Shine off: diamonds
① During the Great Depression, De Beers invented a clever marketing wheeze: it persuaded fiancées that unless their husband-to-be spent a month's salary on a diamond engagement ring, he was a cold-hearted miser. (Later, that was upped to two months' salary.)
② Demand for diamonds has grown steadily since.
③ But recently the industry, gathering today at the World Diamond Council annual meeting in Mumbai, has been in less than sparkling spirits.
④ Bain & Company, a consultancy, reckons that rough-diamond sales fell from $15bn in 2016 to $14bn in 2017.
⑤ Producers' profits have disappeared as supplies have increased.
⑥ Bain reckons an extra 26m carats a year will be mined over the next decade.
⑦ Retailers are under pressure, too.
⑧ The trade in blood diamonds has tainted the gems' image.
⑨ And laboratory-grown diamonds—now almost indistinguishable from mined ones—are gaining market share.
⑩ Should America, which accounts for almost half of diamond-jewellery sales, stutter, the industry could find itself between a rock and hard place.
▍生词好句
wheeze /wiːz/: n. (尤指为获利而想出的) 巧计；计谋
fiancée /fiˈɒnseɪ, ˌfiːɑːnˈseɪ/: n. 未婚妻
· fiancé /fiˈɒnseɪ, ˌfiːɑːnˈseɪ/: n. 未婚夫
husband-to-be: n. 未婚夫；准丈夫
· mother-to-be: n. 准妈妈
· bride-to-be: n. 准新娘
diamond engagement ring: 订婚钻戒
· wedding ring: 结婚戒指
cold-hearted /ˌkəʊldˈhɑːtɪd, ˌkoʊld ˈhɑːrtɪd/: adj. 冷血的
· warm-hearted: adj. 热心的
· kind-hearted: adj. 善良的
· heart-warming: adj. 暖心的
· heart-melting: adj. 融化心房的
· heart-breaking: adj. 让人伤心的
Your smile is heart-meltingly beautiful.
你的笑好美，你一笑，我的心都化了。
miser /ˈmaɪzə, ˈmaɪzər/: n. 吝啬鬼
up /ʌp/: vt. 使上涨；提升 (价格等)
grow steadily: 稳步增长
be in ... spirits: 在……的精神状态中
· be in high spirits: 兴高采烈；情绪高昂
· be in low spirits: 情绪低落
rough diamond: 毛坯钻石
· loose diamond: 裸钻
reckon /ˈrekən/: vt. 认为
carat /ˈkærət/: n. 克拉
mine /maɪn/: vt. 挖掘；开采
retailer /ˈriːteɪlə, ˈriːteɪlər/: n. 零售商
be under pressure: 处于某种压力之下
你让我压力很大。
You put me under huge pressure, you know that?
别再给我加压了！
Don't add to the pressure that I'm already under, please.
taint one's image /teɪnt/: 损害……的形象
你的行为损害了公司的形象。
Your conduct has tainted the company's image.
你的作为损害了你家庭的形象。
Your behavior has tainted the family's image.
distinguish A from B: 分得清 A 和 B
A is indistinguishable from B /ˌɪndɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəbəl/: 很难区分 A 和 B
gain market share: 获取市场份额
account for: 占比；导致，是……的原因；说明
stutter /ˈstʌtə, ˈstʌtər/: vi. 说话结巴，吞吞吐吐；进展不顺利
Should 倒装句：
Should there be any problems, please don't hesitate to contact me.
如果有任何问题，请及时联系我。
(be) between a rock and hard place: 进退两难；举步维艰
I am now between a rock and hard place.
我现在就是左右为难。
▍毛坯钻石和裸钻对比
▍特别感谢
参加第一期友邻优课参与式课堂（Participative Practicum）的16位同学
▍责任编辑
李焕、李慧璇、陈鑫悦、章晓丹