英语播客EnglishPod 85

 A:     Dad, I’d like to borrow some money.

 B:     Sure, Johnny, how much do you need?  five
        bucks¹?

 A:     Come on,  Dad,  I need thirty thousand. I wanna
        get into the market. You know, I’m tired of hearing
        all  this  news  about  the  economic  downturn,  the
        inevitable² recession,  people stuffing their money
        in their mattresses³. I look at this as an opportunity.
        This  is  a  chance  for  me  to  get  a  jump  start  on
        building my nest egg.

 B:     I don’t know about that; with all the uncertainty⁴ in
        the markets right now, it would be a very unwise
        decision  to  invest. I  don’t  know  if  you’re  aware
        son, but there has been a lot of turmoil⁵ in the mar-
        kets recently. There have already been half a mil-
        lion  layoffs  in  the  last  few  months,  and  we  have
        no idea how the proposed stimulus⁶ package will
        impact the economy. There’s just too much insta-
        bility. I wouldn’t feel comfortable investing in this
        climate.
 A:     But look at it this way, every challenge is an oppor-
        tunity. And anyway, I’m not talking about investing
        in the domestic market. There are emerging mar-
        kets that promise great returns. Look at China, for
        example; they have 1.4 billion people, half a billion
        of whom have recently entered the middle class.
        Here alone, the aggregate⁷ demand for consumer
        goods represents an amazing wealth generating
        opportunity.

 B:     Come on,  son,  you’re looking at this too naively⁸,
        the Chinese market has exhibited a great deal of
        instability,  and their currency has been devalued
        by almost a whole percentage point.

 A:     Fine, then!  If that’s the way you feel, so be it.  But
        you’re losing out on a great opportunity here.  I’m
        going to go hit up Mum for the cash.
 

1 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

7 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

8 naively   

adv. 天真地

参考例句：

• They naively assume things can only get better. 他们天真地以为情况只会变好。
• In short, Knox's proposal was ill conceived and naively made. 总而言之，诺克斯的建议考虑不周，显示幼稚。