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Basic Necessities of Life-Tokyo Tops the Most Expensive City
百姓生活—東京獲封全球最昂貴城市
Tokyo has replaced Moscow as the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, and Beijing has moved into the top 10，according to a global survey released Tuesday by consultants Mercer.
據美世咨詢公司周二發布的一項全球調查結果，東京已經取代莫斯科成為全世界外籍人士生活消費水平最高的城市,北京也進入了前10名。
Asian and European cities again dominated the top ranks of the world’s costliest cities for foreigners, but currency swings including a stronger dollar have reshuffled the global rankings,the firms said.
美世咨詢公司稱,亞洲和歐洲城市再次成為世界上外國人生活花費最高的地方。但是由于貨幣匯率波動美元趨于強勢，這一排名已被重新洗牌了。
The survey uses New York as the base city with an index of 100 points when comparing the cost of 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
該調査將紐約作為基點城市，以100點作為指數,一共比較了200個項目，包括住房、交通、食物、服裝、家居用品和娛樂活動。
Tokyo scores 143.7 points and is nearly three times as costly as the cheapest city，Johannesburg, which has an index score of 49.6.
在這一調查結果中,東京得分高達143.7點，相當于花費最低的城市約翰內斯堡的近3倍，約翰內斯堡僅為46.9點。
Tokyo is a major intenatioiial finance center, houses the headquarters of several of the world’s largest investment banks and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan’s transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan’s economy following World War II，many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there.
東京是主要的國際金融中心之一,是世界上幾個最大的投資銀行和保險公司的總部所在地，也是日本交通、出版和廣播業的中樞。二戰后,在日本經濟的集中發展期里，許多大公司把他們的總部從大阪(歷史上的商業中心)等城市搬到東京，以便能更好地利用政府優勢。由于目前東京的人口增長和高生活費,這一趨勢已開始。
Big Mac Index shows that workers in Tokyo are earning the highest salary in the world.
巨無霸指數顯示,東京職員的薪水是世界上最高的。
Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. This analysis is for living a Western corporate executive lifestyle, with items like a detached house and several automobiles.
東京連續14年被經濟學家情報組織評為世界上最昂貴的城市(生活費最高），這一紀錄終止在 2006年。分析表明這是由于他們過的是西方公司管理式的生活,包括住獨立洋房和擁有幾部汽車。
Osaka was in second placemaking Japan the only country with two cities in the top 10~fol-,lowed by Moscow in third, Geneva at four and Hong Kong fifth.
大阪排名第二,這使日本成了唯一一個在前10名擁有兩席的國家。緊隨其后排在第三的是莫斯科，日內瓦和香港分列第四和第五位。
Cities in the United States, China and the Middle East surged from last year. New York juiB|)ed from 22nd to eight place, Beijing is now ninth, up from 20th, while Dubai has climbed 32 places to number 20.
美國、中國和中東城市的消費自去年起就開始攀升。紐約從第22名升到第8名,北京從第20名上升至第9名，迪拜排名上升了32位，現居第20名。
London dropped 13 places from last year to be the 16th most expensive city in the world, while Paris slipped one spot to 13th, according to Mercer's annual Cost of Living survey of 143 cities.
在美世咨詢公司對143個城市的年度生活花費調査中顯示,倫敦在最昂貴的城市里排名第16, 比去年下降了13個名次,而巴黎則下滑了一個名次,排在第13位。
“As a direct impact of the economic downturn over the last year we have observed significant fluctuations in most of the world’s currencies，which have had a profound impact on this year's ranking,said Nathalie Constantin-Metral, senior researcher at the consulting and investment services company.
咨詢和投資服務公司的資深研究員納薩莉.康斯坦丁-梅特拉爾說廣由于受去年經濟衰退的直接影響,我們可以覺察到世界上大多數貨幣都經歷了大幅度的波動,這極大地影響了今年的排名。
“Many currencies, including the Euro and British pound, have weakened considerably against a strong US dollar, causing a number of European cities to plummet in the rankings."she said in a statement.
她在一份聲明中說許多貨幣,包括歐元和英鎊,相對強勢的美元都呈明顯疲勢,這使得不少 歐洲城市的排名驟降。”
Due to the strengthening dollar, all US cities became more expensive. Los Angeles gained 32 places to 23rd and Washington is up 41 places to 66th.
由于美元的強勁勢頭,美國所有城市的消費都變得昂貴起來。洛杉磯上升了32個名次，居第23位，而華盛頓則上升了41個名次，排在第66位。
Most European cities became cheaper for expats, with Warsaw experiencing the most dramatic change, plummeting from 35th to 113th place.
歐洲大多數城市的消費對于外籍人士來說變得便宜了，其中以華沙的變動最為劇烈,從第35位直跌至第113位。
Chinese cities gained as the yuan strengthened somewhat against most other currencies, said Mercer. Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou moved up to 12th, 22nd and 23rd respectively.
美世咨詢公司稱，因為人民幣相對大多其他貨幣處于強勢，中國城市的名次也有所上升。上海、深圳和廣州分別升至第12、22和23位。
