Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term “downshifting” has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality.

奇怪是，大约两年半时间我写完两部小说后，我这国人称为“放慢生活节奏”试验，却使我老掉牙借口变成了现实。

There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives.

对于那些想简单生活人来说，有许多很帮你轻松生活自助书籍。

Is it like we're downshifting from fifth gear into fourth gear?

这就像我们把车从五档降到了四档一样吗？

The economy is downshifting its gears, and we can see the share of men with jobs fell slightly, which continues this long-run trend that's mostly been declining since the 1950s.

经济正在换挡，我们可以看到男性就业比例略有下降，这延续了自20世纪50年代以来长期下降趋势。

Downshifting—also known in America as " voluntary simplicity" —has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism.

具有讽刺意味是， 降档——在国也称为“自愿简单化”——甚至孕育了一可以称为反消费主义新领域。