淘金热

　　2015复习正是强化复习阶段，在考研英语中占了40分，所以考研英语阅读是英语科目中重要的一项。名师老师曾建议过考研生需要坚持每天泛读10-15分钟的英文原刊。强烈推荐了杂志《经济学人》.杂志中的文章也是考研英语的主要材料来源.希望考研考生认真阅读，快速提高考研英语阅读水平。 　　How money works 　　钱是如何运作的 　　Gold rush 　　淘金热 　　A good guide to the stuff in our pockets 　　一本关于我们囊中物的优秀指南 　　Money: The Unauthorised Biography. By FelixMartin. 　　《金钱：非授权自传》。作者：Felix Martin。 　　ONE story in this surprisingly entertaining book on the nature of money is about the Irishbanking crisis. The country s bank system ground to a complete stop, with branches closed,the clearing system suspended and customers unable to withdraw or deposit money. Ascash ran out, people had to find a way of paying their regular bills, or even just stumping upfor a pint of stout in a pub. What actually happened was that businesses started acceptingIOUs or cheques for everything, even though there was no telling when the cash would beforthcoming. It helped that a lot of Irish life is lived locally: builders, greengrocers,mechanics and barmen all turned out to be dab hands at personal credit profiling. 　　这本关于金钱性质的书出乎意料地有趣，其中一个故事与爱尔兰银行危机有关。爱尔兰的银行系统完全瘫痪，各分行全部关闭，清算系统被暂停，顾客无法存取款。在现金用完后，人们不得不想办法支付日常账单，就连在酒吧为一品脱烈性黑啤埋单也是如此。结果商家开始接受欠条或支票，虽然没人知道现金何时会来。还好爱尔兰人的生活起居很大程度上都可以在当地解决：建筑工、零售店主、机械师和酒保摇身变成了个人信用建档的行家 。 　　In short, Ireland developed a new class of money. Its currency was not backed by any centralbank, but based solely on informal if surprisingly accurate credit scoring. And the currencywas transferable: if certain people said the bond was good, then the bond was good. 　　总之，爱尔兰发展出一种新的钱种类。其货币不被任何央行支持，仅仅基于非正式却出奇准确的信用记录。并且这种货币是可流通的，如果某些人说债券有效，那么债券就有效。 　　This particular Irish banking crisis might seem vaguely familiar, but only vaguely. It tookplace more than 40 years ago, when the Irish financial sector came to a seven-month halt asa result of a national labour dispute. The point of the story is that it supports two of theauthor s main contentionsfirst that money is not currency and that sovereign support forcurrency is not particularly important, and second that financial crises are endemic. Nosooner has the last one been put to bed than the next is waking up. 　　这个奇特的爱尔兰银行危机听起来可能隐约有些熟悉，但也只是隐约而已。那次危机发生在40多年前，当时爱尔兰金融业因全国劳动争议瘫痪了七个月。讲这个故事是因为它支持了作者的两点主张第一，钱不是货币，并且主权对货币的支持并非特别重要;第二，金融危机是普遍的，刚刚解决一个危机，另一个危机又出现了。 　　For some people, money is merely something underwritten by the state and designed toenhance a basic barter economy. Felix Martin, an economist and fund manager, goesfurther. Early societies, such as the Babylonians and the ancient Egyptians, were static, witha fixed hierarchy of social obligations. They had no need of money or currency. Money wasthe instrument through which later societies unshackled themselves from preordainedsocial orders and became individualistic. 　　对于一些人来说，金钱仅仅是国家担保的东西，用于增强基本的物物交换。经济学家、基金经理FelixMartin对金钱的理解更进了一步。早期社会，例如巴比伦和古埃及，是静止的，每个阶层承担的社会责任固定不变。这些社会不需要金钱或货币。金钱将之后的社会从上天安排的社会制度中解放出来，变为个人主义。 　　With money came speculation, bringing in turn those endemic financial crises. To ensuregreater stability, Mr Martin would like to see the introduction of an ultra-simple version oflimited-purpose banking. Money must be shorn of its specious promise he says; let thestate underwrite a tiny core of deposit-taking banks. Everything elsefrom interest-ratederivatives to collateralised debt obligations should carry on unregulated and uninsured. Ifyou lose your dough, tough. You knew the risks. It is a solution that will attract anyoneseeking a clean, clear, fair way of managing financial markets. Until they lose their money, ofcourse. 　　有金钱就有投机，有投机就有普遍的金融危机。为确保稳定性，Martin希望引入超简版的限制用途银行。他说，必须去除金钱似是而非的承诺让国家为储蓄银行极少的核心业务担保。其他业务从利率衍生工具到债务抵押债券应继续不受监管，不受保护。如果你输了钱，糟糕。不过你本来就知道风险的。这个解决方法会吸引寻求以干净、清楚、公正的方式管理金融市场的人。当然在他们自己输钱以前。 　　词语解释 　　1.banking crisis 银行业危机，银行风潮 　　Spain needs to change tack before its banking crisisspins out of control. 　　西班牙需要在银行危机失控前改变方向。 　　That is the unwelcome price of sorting out abanking crisis. 　　这是整顿金融危机所付出的令人生厌的代价。 　　2.stump up 付清，掏腰包 　　But how much might the state have to stump up? 　　但是国家需要为此掏多少腰包呢? 　　Or it may be because they felt that in the current regulatory and political environment theyhad little choice but to stump up. 　　又或者是因为在当前的管理机构和政治环境之下他们觉得他们别无选择只能拿出这笔钱。 　　3.turn out to 结果是 　　But that might turn out to be the joint strike fighter s downfall. 　　但是，这也可能会变成这架联合攻击战斗机的陷阱。 　　None of those assertions turn out to be accurate. 　　这些断言没有哪一个证明是准确的。 　　4.base on 使建立在基础上 　　But this is a worryingly flimsy base on which to build a bigger economic and monetaryunion. 　　但是在经不起风吹雨打的基础上就想建立一个较为庞大的经济和货币联盟实在是令人忧心如焚。 　　Make monthly schedule base on sales monthly order and plant production capacity. 　　根据销售月度订单及工厂生产能力，制定月度生产计划。