又中又英 | Come down to earth | 褚简宁

　　Some people like to fantasize about retiring young with millions of dollars in their bank accounts so they can travel, buy designer clothes, and dine in expensive restaurants. But they come down to earth after fantasizing for a while. To fantasize means to daydream about something very pleasant that is unlikely to happen. To come down to earth means to start dealing with the realities and problems of life after daydreaming or fantasizing about something. It is far easier in today’s world of high tech and AI for some people to make enough money to retire young.

　　But most people skilled in high tech and AI, such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, choose to continue making more money rather than retiring. I read a recent Wall Street Journal article about Elon Musk’s wealth that made my eyes pop out. If something makes your eyes pop out, it means it astonishes you. The paper calculated that Musk, who is 54 and runs high tech companies including Tesla and SpaceX, now has about US$970 billion in stocks and other assets. It said an American family earning the median income of US$83,730 yearly would have to work more than 11 million years to make what Musk has.

　　The paper calculated that for Musk to accumulate US$970 billion over his career meant he earned about US$ 3.6 million an hour or US$85.7 million a day! The initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX on June 12 could make Musk the world's first trillionaire. A headline in the New York Times said Wall Street is going gaga for the SpaceX IPO. To go gaga means to be very excited or enthusiastic.

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　　有些人喜欢幻想（fantasize）自己年纪轻轻便得以退休，银行户口有数以百万计的存款，让他们可以环游世界，买名设计师的时装，在贵价的餐厅里进膳。然而他们幻想（fantasizing）一会过后，便得返回现实世界（come down to earth）。To fantasize意即发白日梦，奢想一些不大可能会发生的美梦。To come down to earth意即发过白日梦（fantasizing）过后，开始回归现实，面对生活中的琐事与困难。在今天高科技与人工智能的世界，有些人要赚到足够的钱在年轻的时候退休，确实容易得多。

　　然而，许多精于高科技与人工智能的人，例如伊隆．马斯克以及马克．朱克伯格，却选择继续赚更多的钱而非退休。我读到最近《华尔街日报》的一篇报道，当中谈及马斯克的财富made my eyes pop out。若某事makes your eyes pop out，意即它令你极为惊奇，眼睛瞪得快掉出来了。报章计算现在54岁，经营特斯拉和太空探索技术公司SpaceX等高科技公司的马斯克，现在有大概9700亿美元的股票和其他资产。报道又指，一个美国家庭的年收入中位数为83730美元，得另外工作逾1100万年，才能达到马斯克的财富。

　　报章又计算，马斯克在其事业上累积9700亿身家，意味着他每小时赚约360万美元，又或一天8570万美元！而SpaceX于6月12日的首次公开招股（IPO），很有可能会令马斯克成为世界首位万亿富翁。《纽约时报》的一则头条说，华尔街将会为SpaceX的首次公开招股欣喜若狂（going gaga）。To go gaga就是极为兴奋、为之狂热痴迷。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻