2019年经济学人 伦敦金融城能否挺过英国退欧(1)

伦敦金融城能否挺过英国退欧(1)

Leaders

来源于《社论》版块

Can the City survive Brexit?

伦敦金融城能否挺过英国退欧?

The biggest international financial centre in the world faces its toughest test

世界上最大的国际金融中心面临着最严峻的考验

The world has a handful of great commercial hubs. Silicon¹ Valley dominates technology. For electronics, head to Shenzhen. The home of luxury is Paris and the capital of outsourcing is Bangalore, in India. One of the mightiest² clusters of all is London, which hosts the globe’s largest international financial centre. Within a square mile on the Thames, a multinational³ firm can sell $5bn of shares in 20 minutes, or a European startup can raise seed finance from Asian pensioners⁴. You can insure container ships or a pop star’s vocal⁵ cords. Companies can hedge the risk that a factory anywhere on the planet will face a volatile⁶ currency or hurricanes and a rising sea level a decade from now.

世界上有几个伟大的商业中心。硅谷主导着科技。深圳主要是电子产品。奢侈品之乡是巴黎，外包之都是印度的班加罗尔。其中最强大的集群之一是伦敦，拥有全球最大的国际金融中心。在泰晤士河一平方英里内，一家跨国公司可以在20分钟内发行50亿美元的股票，或者一家欧洲初创企业可以从亚洲退休人员那里筹集种子资金。你可以为集装箱船或流行歌星的声带投保。企业可以对冲从现在起10年内，全球任何地方的工厂都将面临汇率波动、飓风和海平面上升的风险。

This metropolis⁷ of money, known as the City, generates ￡120bn ($152bn) of output a year—as much as Germany’s car industry. Because it allocates⁸ capital and distributes risk at a vast scale, its influence is global. But now, with a “no-deal” conclusion looking increasingly likely after a change of leader of the Conservative Party, Brexit threatens to rupture⁹ Britain’s financial links with the European Union. If Labour wins the next election under Jeremy Corbyn, Britain will also end up with its most left-wing government since 1945, one that is deeply hostile to capital and markets. Either outcome would make the EU poorer and damage London’s position. Together, they could change the workings of the global financial system.

这座被称为“金融城”的金钱之都每年创造1200亿英镑(1520亿美元)的产值，相当于德国整个的汽车业。由于其大规模的资本配置和风险分配，其影响是全球性的。但现在，在保守党领导人换届后，“无协议脱欧”的可能性似乎越来越大，英国退欧可能会破坏英国与欧盟的金融联系。如果工党在杰里米?科尔宾领导下的下届选举中获胜，英国也将迎来自1945年以来最左翼的政府，这个政府对资本和市场极为敌视。无论是哪种结果，都会让欧盟更加贫穷，损害伦敦的地位。它们可以共同改变全球金融体系的运作方式。

1 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

2 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

3 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

4 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

5 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

8 allocates   

分配，分派( allocate的第三人称单数 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金，发展支农工业。
• The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。

9 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。