‘They Were Conned’: How Reckless Loans Devastated a Generation of Taxi Drivers
“他们被骗了”：鲁莽贷款如何毁掉了一代出租车司机
--------From YLYK 每日外刊精读专辑
Over the past year, a spate of suicides by taxi drivers in New York City has highlighted in brutal terms the overwhelming debt and financial plight of medallion owners. All along, officials have blamed the crisis on competition from ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
在过去的一年里，纽约市发生了一连串出租车司机自杀事件，残酷地凸显了出租车牌照持有者所面临的巨额债务和财务困境。一直以来，官员们都把这场危机归咎于优步和来福车这样的网约车公司所带来的竞争。
But a New York Times investigation found much of the devastation can be traced to a handful of powerful industry leaders who steadily and artificially drove up the price of taxi medallions, creating a bubble that eventually burst. Over more than a decade, they channeled thousands of drivers into reckless loans and extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the market collapsed.
然而，《纽约时报》的一份调查显示，这场灾难的大部分原因，可归咎于少数有权有势的行业领导者，他们持续地通过人为手段抬高了出租车牌照的价格，制造了最终破裂的泡沫。十多年来，他们引导成千上万的司机不计后果地申请贷款，并在市场崩溃前获利数亿美元。
The practices were strikingly similar to those behind the housing market crash that led to the 2008 global economic meltdown: Banks and loosely regulated private lenders wrote risky loans and encouraged frequent refinancing; drivers took on debt they could not afford, under terms they often did not understand.
这些做法与之前致使房地产市场崩盘的操作惊人地相似，后者导致了2008年的全球经济的崩溃：银行和监管松散的商业贷款机构发放高风险贷款，并鼓励频繁的再融资；司机们往往是在不理解条款的情况下，承担了他们无力偿还的债务。
A Pakistani immigrant who thought he was just buying a car ended up with a $780,000 medallion loan that left him unable to pay rent. A Haitian immigrant who worked to exhaustion to make his monthly payments discovered he had been paying only interest and went bankrupt.
一名巴基斯坦移民以为自己只是在买车，却最终背负了78万美元的出租车牌照贷款，导致他无力支付房租。一名海地移民为了偿还每月的贷款，工作到精疲力尽，却发现自己一直以来只支付了利息，最终破产了。
内容拓展：
普利策奖是新闻媒体业的最高荣誉，被称为“ 新闻界的诺贝尔奖”。
本文获得了The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Investigative Reporting，2020年普利策调查性报道奖。
生词好句
con UK /kɒn/ US /kɑːn/ vt. 诈骗，哄骗（通常指骗取钱财）
He conned $10,000 out of this old couple.
他从这对老夫妇那里骗来了一万美金。
reckless loan 鲁莽借贷，不计后果的贷款
reckless driving/burning/lending 鲁莽驾驶/放火/放贷
devastate UK /ˈdevəsteɪt/ US /ˈdevəsteɪt/ vt. 摧毁，毁灭（cause great damage or destroy）
devastation n. 摧毁，毁灭
a spate of 大量的，一连串的（a large number of similar things or events appearing or occurring in quick succession）
There has been a spate of robberies in this area recently.
最近这块区域发生了多起抢劫事件。
highlight sth. in brutal terms 以残酷的方式突出某事/引起注意（highlight sth. brutally）
highlight vt. 使引起注意，突出，强调（to attract attention to or emphasize sth. important）；高亮
in brutal terms = brutallyin financial terms = financially
overwhelming debt 巨债
overwhelming adj. 巨大的，极大的，难以抵挡的，压倒性的（very great or very large, or difficult to fight against）
financial plight 财务困境
plight n. 困境，苦境（a difficult and sad situation）
词义辨析：dilemma 强调左右为难、进退两难的困境（a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do）
plight 强调的是一种不幸的、苦难的困境（a difficult, sad, unfortunate situation）
medallion owner 牌照主
all along (the line) 自始自终，一直以来（from the very beginning of process or relationship）
The project has been struggling with financial problems all along the line.
这个项目自始自终都受到资金问题的困扰。
近义表达：all this time
blame sth. on sb. 将某事归咎于某人
ride-hailing company 叫车公司
hail a cab/taxi 挥手拦一俩出租车
investigation UK /ɪnˌvestɪˈɡeɪʃən/ US /ɪnˌvestəˈɡeɪʃən/ n. 调查
investigative adj. 调查性的
investigative report 调查性报道
investigative reporter 调查记者
devastation UK /ˌdevəˈsteɪʃən/ US /ˌdevəˈsteɪʃən/ n. 摧毁，毁灭（cause great damage or destroy）
be traced to 追溯到
The origin of tea can be traced all the way back to ancient China almost 5000 years ago.
茶的起源可以追溯到5000年以前的中国。
a handful of industry leaders 少量/少数的行业领导者
steadily UK /ˈstedəli/ US /ˈstedəli/ adv. 稳步地
artificially UK /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃəli/ US /ˌɑːrtəˈfɪʃəli/ adv. 人为地
drive up the price 哄抬价格
over more than a decade 在过去的十几年里
over prep. 一段时间以来
over the past year 在过去的一年里
channel UK /ˈtʃænəl/ US /ˈtʃænəl/ n. 通道，渠道 vt. 引导，引入（to direct sth. into a particular place or situation）
extract UK /ɪkˈstrækt/ US /ɪkˈstrækt/ vt. 设法获取，强行获取；（本文）从中谋利
collapse UK /kəˈlæps/ US /kəˈlæps/ n. 突然倒塌，失败（fall down or fail suddenly）
strikingly similar 惊人地相似
private lender 私人贷款方（非银行）
work to exhaustion 累死累活
go bankrupt 个人破产
