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的来说，有许多的帮你轻松生活的自助书籍。

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？

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.

奇怪的是，大约两年半的时间我写完两部小说后，我这个被美国“放慢生活节奏”的试验，却使我老掉牙的借口变成了现实。

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

具有讽刺意味的是， 降档——在美国也被“自愿的简单化”——甚至孕育了一个可以反消费主义的新领域。

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的比例略有下降，这延续了自20世纪50年代以来长期下降的趋势。