2018年经济学人 关于投资:利用现有资产孵化其他资产(1)

 

In Gesell's story, unlike Fisher's, storing wealth requires considerable effort and ingenuity¹.

在格塞尔的故事中，不同于费雪的是，储存财富需要巨大的努力和心灵手巧。

Meat must be cured.

肉必须加以处理。

Wheat must be covered and buried.

麦子必须盖好并埋起来。

The buckskin that will clothe him in the future must be protected from moths² with the stink-glands of a skunk³.

今后将给他挡风遮雨的鹿皮必须要用臭鈾的臭腺保护起来，以便免遭蚊虫侵害。

Saving the fruits of Crusoe's labour entails⁴ considerable labour in its own right.

储存鲁滨逊的劳动果实需要他自己相当多的劳动。

Even after this care and attention, Crusoe is doomed⁵ to earn a negative return on his saving.

即便是有了这些关注和照料之后，鲁滨逊也注定会在他的储备上挣一笔负回报。

Mildew⁶ contaminates his wheat.

霉菌弄脏他的麦子。

Mice gnaw⁷ at his buckskin.

老鼠啃噬他的鹿皮。

"Rust⁸, decay, breakage...dry-rot, ants, keep up a never-ending attack" on his other assets.

“生锈，腐烂，破损...干枯、蚂蚁”对他的其他资产“保持着一种永不停息的攻击”。

Salvation⁹ for Crusoe arrives in the form of asimilarly shipwrecked "stranger".

鲁滨逊的救赎以一位同样是船只失事的“陌生人”形式到来。

The newcomer asks to borrow Crusoe's food, leather and equipment while he cultivates afarm of his own.

这位新人一边借鲁滨逊的食物，毛皮和装备，一边开垦出他自己的一块地。

Once he is up and running, the stranger promises to repay Crusoe with freshly harvested grain and newly stitched clothing.

一旦开始运转，这位新人承诺用刚收获的稻谷和新编织的布料偿还鲁滨逊。

Crusoe realises that such a loan would serve as an unusually perfect preservative¹⁰.

鲁滨逊认识到，这样一笔贷款会相当于一次异乎寻常之完美的储藏。

By lending his belongings¹¹, he can, in effect, transport them "without expense, labour, loss or vexation" into the future, thereby¹² eluding¹³ "the thousand destructive forces of nature".

通过出借他的财产，实际上，他能够“不破费、不劳动，毫无损失或烦恼”地将它们转移到未来，因而也就避开了“大自然中数以千计的破坏力量”。

He is, ultimately, happy to pay the stranger for this valuable service, lending him ten sacks of grain now in return for eight at the end of the year.

最后，他高高兴兴地为这次有价值的服务而给这位陌生人掏腰包，现在借给他十袋麦子，换取年底的八袋麦子。

That is a negative interest rate of -20%.

这是一种-20%的负利率。

If the island had been full of such strangers, perhaps Crusoe could have driven a harder bargain, demanding a positive interest rate on his loan.

如果岛上满是这类陌生人，鲁滨逊或许会进行一次更狠的讨价还价，为他的贷款求得一种正利率。

But in the parable¹⁴, Crusoe is as dependent on the lone¹⁵ stranger, and his willingness to borrow and invest, as the stranger is on him.

但是，在这个寓言中，鲁滨逊就像陌生人依赖他那样，依赖这位仅有的陌生人以及对出借和投资的意愿。

1 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

2 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

4 entails   

使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需

参考例句：

• The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
• This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。

5 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

6 mildew   

n.发霉；v.（使）发霉

参考例句：

• The interior was dark and smelled of mildew.里面光线很暗，霉味扑鼻。
• Mildew may form in this weather.这种天气有可能发霉。

7 gnaw   

v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨

参考例句：

• Dogs like to gnaw on a bone.狗爱啃骨头。
• A rat can gnaw a hole through wood.老鼠能啃穿木头。

8 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

9 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

10 preservative   

n.防腐剂；防腐料；保护料；预防药

参考例句：

• New timber should be treated with a preservative.新采的圆木应进行防腐处理。
• Salt is a common food preservative.盐是一种常用的食物防腐剂。

11 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

12 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

13 eluding   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• He saw no way of eluding Featherstone's stupid demand. 费瑟斯通的愚蠢要求使他走投无路。 来自辞典例句
• The fox succeeded in eluding the hunters. 这狐狸成功地避过了猎手。 来自辞典例句

14 parable   

n.寓言，比喻

参考例句：

• This is an ancient parable.这是一个古老的寓言。
• The minister preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep.牧师讲道时用了亡羊的比喻。

15 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。