2021年经济学人 比特币成为合法货币（1）

Finance & economics

财经板块

Bitcoin as legal tender: Satoshis for cervezas

比特币成为合法货币：Satoshis换啤酒

Is El Salvador’s move a costly¹ gimmick² or a worthwhile experiment?

萨尔瓦多的举动是代价高昂的噱头还是值得一试的实验?

WHEN ASKED if anyone has tried to use bitcoin to pay her, a woman selling coffee and pastries³ in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, replies “thank God, no”, and rebuffs an attempt to do so.

当被问及是否有人试图用比特币付款时，一名在萨尔瓦多首都圣萨尔瓦多卖咖啡和糕点的女子回答说：“谢天谢地，没有”，并拒绝了这种做法。

A man selling soup for lunch brushes off the idea with laughter.

一个午餐卖汤的男子笑着拒绝了这个想法。

By dinnertime, low on phone battery and morale⁴, your correspondent is pointed⁵ to a bar called Leyendas where the logo for Strike, a digital bitcoin wallet, adorns⁶ the walls.

到晚餐时间了，手机电量所剩无几，士气也很低落，这时有人给记者指了一家名为Leyendas的酒吧，酒吧墙上挂着数字比特币钱包Strike的标识。

But the attempt to pay with bitcoin is met with confusion.

但在用比特币支付的过程中遇到了困惑。

The bar’s owner, who controls the wallet, is missing.

控制钱包的酒吧老板失踪了。

A few frantic⁷ texts later he sends his wallet address.

给他发了几条疯狂的短信之后，他把钱包地址发了过来。

At last, 26,618 Satoshis (one hundred millionth of a bitcoin), $12.50-worth, are swapped⁸ for beers.

最终，记者花了价值12.50美元的26618个Satoshis(单位，比特币的一亿分之一)，换来了啤酒。

On September 7th bitcoin will become legal tender in El Salvador, alongside the dollar.

9月7日，比特币将和美元一样成为萨尔瓦多的法定货币。

The Central American country of 6.5m people is the first to attempt such a feat⁹.

这个拥有650万人口的中美洲国家是第一个尝试这一壮举的国家。

A week before the big day those who had put plans in place to use bitcoin were the exception, rather than the norm.

在这个重要日子的前一周，只有少数人打算使用比特币，这一现象并不常见。

Three-quarters of Salvadoreans surveyed in July by Disruptiva, a polling firm, were sceptical of the plan to adopt bitcoin.

7月份，一家名为Disruptiva的民意调查公司做了一项调查，在受访对象中，有四分之三的萨尔瓦多人对采用比特币的计划表示怀疑。

Two-thirds were not willing to be paid in it and just under half knew nothing about it.

三分之二的人不愿意接受比特币收款，近一半的人对此一无所知。

Both the World Bank and the IMF have warned against adoption¹⁰, citing the potential impact on macroeconomic stability and bitcoin’s environmental costs.

世界银行(World Bank)和国际货币基金组织(IMF)都对采用比特币提出了警告，称其对宏观经济稳定和环境成本都有潜在影响。

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

3 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

4 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 adorns   

装饰，佩带( adorn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Have adornment, the building adorns the product of material. 有装饰，就有建筑装饰材料的制品。
• In this case, WALL-E adorns every pillar. 在这段时间，Wall-E占据了各个显要位置。

7 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

8 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

9 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

10 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。