经济学人83:会计造假 抓住他们!哥谭

 Accounting¹ fraud会计造假Got'em, Gotham抓住他们！哥谭The company-accounts detectives collar another suspect公司财务侦探们抓到了另一位嫌疑犯JENARO GARCiA was an eloquent² cheerleader for Gowex, helping³ to propel the Spanish Wi-Fi firm to European startup stardom. When investors⁴ asked detailed⁵ financial questions of its founder⁶ and boss, however, he would clam⁷ up. Short-sellers, who bet against companies by selling borrowed shares, in the hope of buying them back more cheaply later, began to act on this reticence⁸ early this year. But the killer⁹ blow was a report by an opaque¹⁰ outfit¹¹ called Gotham City Research, alleging¹² that Gowex had far fewer wireless¹³ hotspots than it claimed and that 90% of its sales were bogus. On July 6th, five days after the report's publication, the firm said it would file for bankruptcy¹⁴ and that Mr Garcia had resigned after admitting to fiddling¹⁵ the accounts for at least four years.

赫那罗·加西亚，这位口才十分了得的Gowex掌舵人，正推动着这家西班牙Wi-Fi公司成为欧洲一颗冉冉升起的明星。然而，当投资者们想要对公司创始人以及老总的财务细节进行质询之时，他便开始沉默不语。“做空者”，指的是一批在金融投资领域中，由于不看好市场前景而向证券公司借股票先卖掉以后，接着在未来等股票价格跌倒一定水平再买回来的人，他们在今年早些时候就开始对上述的“沉默”做出反应。但其最致命的一击还是来自别的地方—一份来自隐秘机构Gotham City Research的报告，宣称Gowex公司旗下的无线热点远比自己公布的要少，并且该公司90%的销售额是伪造而成的。6月6号，正是这份报告公布的五天后，Gowex公司宣布自己将申请破产，并且加西亚先生在承认进行了至少四年的会计造假后，也随即辞职。

会计造假.jpgGowex's dramatic collapse¹⁶ marks one of the biggest victories for a relatively¹⁷ new breed of company-accounts “detectives”: small, independent research-and-investment outfits¹⁸ that revel¹⁹ in unearthing²⁰ alleged²¹ book-cooking. Having focused largely on China's fraud-filled market until now, they are branching out. Gotham is a secretive group linked to Daniel Yu, a trader whose motto is, “It is not who we are underneath²², but what we do that defines us.” Other firms with which it has locked horns include Quindell and Ebix, two software providers. Both deny wrongdoing.

Gowex公司戏剧般的坍塌，标志着一次公司财务“侦探”相对来说的新生，标志着一次新生以来最大的胜利：小型、独立、调查与投资业务并存的机构，在搜索疑似财务造假案当中如鱼得水。现在，这些机构正扩展着自己的针对范围，此前他们一直都将大部分精力放置于充满着虚假财务数据的中国市场当中。Gotham是一个与交易员Daniel Yu相关联的秘密组织，而这位仁兄的座右铭是“我们到底是谁并不重要，而是我们所做的一切才真正定义了我们！”。还有一些别的公司也被Gotham锁定为嫌疑目标，其中包括两家软件供应商Quindell和Ebix。这两家公司均否认自己存在财务造假。

Gotham's approach is to short and shout: it takes a negative investment position, then noisily publicises its findings. It is cut from the same cloth as Muddy Waters, which is run by Carson Block, a former self-storage entrepreneur. His biggest scalp to date is Sino-Forest, which went bust²³ in 2012 after Muddy Waters accused it of overstating its forest holdings in China.

Gotham手段就是制造舆论与关注，使得目标陷入混乱：它会对目标进行消极的投资，进而大张旗鼓地公布自己的所有发现。它与浑水公司是一路货色，而后者是由卡森·布洛克所运营的，一位之前专注于自助式仓储的企业家。布洛克迄今为止最大的战利品莫过于嘉汉林业，一家于2012年破产的企业，其缘由正是浑水公司指控这家企业夸大自己在中国森林资源的储量。

Another such outfit is Citron Research, whose leader, Andrew Left, prides himself on never having been successfully sued for defamation²⁴. A few hedge funds like to kick up a similar stink—most notably²⁵ Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, which is out to prove that Herbalife, a nutritional-supplements firm, is a pyramid scheme.Their lineage can be traced back to the successful shorting of Enron in 2001 by James Chanos, another hedge-fund manager.

同种类的另外一家机构Citron Research，其领导人为安德鲁·莱福特，他有一点十分自豪，那就是别人从未成功地因诽谤而将他告上法庭。一些对冲基金也想加入到他们的队伍当中——其中最瞩目的莫过于比尔·阿克曼的潘兴广场，它将对营养补充品公司康宝莱进行调查，指控后者为金字塔式非法传销公司。这些基金公司的财务调查史可以追溯到2001年另一位对冲基金经理詹姆斯·查诺斯对安然公司造假案的成功揭露。

Gotham spent eight months studying Gowex, amassing²⁶ far better information than investment-bank analysts²⁷, most of whom were still recommending the shares when it buckled²⁸. Gotham spotted²⁹ that Gowex used a little-known auditor³¹ (a classic red flag: see the Bernard Madoff case), whose fees were unusually low, as if they were based on revenue far smaller than Gowex's books stated. Often, the sleuths comb the books for ratios that are hard to manipulate. Gotham also noted³², for instance, that Gowex's revenue per employee was implausible compared with rivals'—while the revenue could be inflated³³, it was harder to fake the headcount.

Gotham耗费了8个月的时间来调查Gowex公司，收集了远比其他投行分析师更庞大的数据。事实上，大部分投行分析师在Gowex公司崩溃时，仍在推荐该公司的股票。Gotham发现了Gowex公司聘请了不太知名的审计师，审计费用也异常地低廉，就像是Gowex公司是在一个远比账面价值低的利润基础上经营。通常情况下，侦探们都会在账本里梳理出不容易操控的财务比率。例如，Gotham也发现了Gowex公司里每位员工的平均利润与竞争对手相比呈现不合理的情况—虽然利润容易被拉高，但职工总数是很难造假的。

Legwork also helps. Muddy Waters' analysts visit target companies, their suppliers and clients to verify claims about production, staff levels and so on, sometimes posing as prospective³⁴ business partners. Chinese firms with advance warning of visits by analysts have been known to rent workers and stock to deceive them.

四处奔走调查也是一个好方法。浑水公司的分析师们会对一些公司进行拜访，其中包括目标公司的供应商和客户，以辨别该公司的产品反馈、员工水平之类的数据，有些时候还会冒充成潜在商业合作伙伴以进行探访调查。中国公司在得到事先预警的情况下，会在调查人员来临之时租借工人和存货，从而达到欺骗的目的。

Courageous³⁵ crusaders勇猛的征战者Gotham's declaration after Gowex's downfall—“May truth, justice, restoration and redemption prevail”—was somewhat bombastic³⁶. But a bit of bravado³⁷ is justified³⁸: taking a big short position requires courage, especially in a rising stockmarket. Since shares have a floor but no ceiling, the upside for short-sellers is more limited than the downside.

在Gowex公司破产后，Gotham发布了如下宣言—“愿真相、正义、恢复与救赎恒久于人间”，而这听起来挺浮夸的。但这种小小的虚张声势确实是合理的：做空头寸需要勇气，尤其是在这样一个行情看涨的股票市场里。由于股票有下限而没有上限，对于做空投资者来说，坏的一面会压过好的一面。

There have been cases of short-sellers seeking to profit by spreading false alarms, but they probably detect real fraud more often than auditors³⁹, regulators and bankers combined. In catching⁴⁰ fiddlers while they are still tiddlers, Gotham and its kind are sparing investors Enron-sized nightmares. Nevertheless, market regulators often eye them with suspicion: Spain's at first reacted to Gotham's report by investigating its publisher, not Gowex. China has cracked down on shorts, even imprisoning⁴¹ the writer of one negative report.

虽然许多案子当中，都是做空投资者在对市场散播虚假警报以期获得利润，但他们也很有可能调查到真实存在的假账，且其数目要比审计师、监管者和银行家加起来所查出的总数都要多。在这场抓假账的游戏里，Gotham和同类的公司是小鱼，但他们确实免除了投资者要去面对像安然公司如此庞大造假噩梦的疑虑。尽管如此，监管者也在用怀疑的眼光密切留意着这些财务侦探们的动向：西班牙当局对近期Gotham报告的回应并不是着手调查Gowex公司，而是率先找出这篇报告的出版者。中国政府目前正全面封杀唱空者，甚至会把任何书写消极报告的作家扔进监狱里。

Even so, China will remain fertile territory. Muddy Waters' latest quarry⁴² there is NQ Mobile, the head of whose audit³⁰ committee resigned abruptly⁴³ on July 4th. Mr Block is also said to be sniffing⁴⁴ around in Africa, where investors are chucking money at little-known firms. Citron's Mr Left reckons corporate⁴⁵ fraudsters “can't bullshit [investors] the way they used to,” because “there's so much more accessible information online, in public records, and so on,” with which to disprove their claims. True, but the temptation to give it a try, faced with so many naive⁴⁶ punters hungry for fat returns, seems undiminished.

尽管如此，中国依旧是一片充满“机遇”的土地。浑水公司最新的调查对象是秦网手机，后者的审计委员会主席在7月4号突然请辞。当市场投资者们对各类小知名度的企业掷下重金之时，布洛克先生在非洲观望着经济态势发展。Citron的莱福特先生认识到，企业行骗者已经不能像从前那样行事了，因为现在人们有更多的手段可以查到网络资讯以及公共记录等等的数据。上述资料都能用以揭穿投资者们的各种声明。诚然，但同时也充斥着太多天真的赌徒，总在期盼着天上能掉下来几块馅饼，而他们总会不厌其烦地想要给予风险家们一次机会。

Gerard Zack, the author of “Financial Statement Fraud”, a textbook, reckons that perhaps two-thirds of cases involve improper⁴⁷ revenue recognition. New global accounting rules announced in May seek to curb⁴⁸ one common ruse⁴⁹, booking sales prematurely⁵⁰, for instance on long-term contracts. But sometimes the revenues are simply invented, often by getting a related party to pose as a customer. Sometimes very closely related: Gotham said in its report on Gowex that it had evidence the firm's biggest customer “was really itself.”

据财务教材《Financial Statement Fraud》的作家Gerard Zack估计，或许在三分之二的财务造假案当中，都涉及到不恰当的利润确认的问题。五月，新颁布的国际会计准则设法限制一个常用的造假伎俩—提前确认的账面销售额，例如在长期合同里销售额。但一些时候利润也就是简单地凭空创造出来，比如公司往往会令关联企业伪装成自己的客户来增加销售额。还有些时候，则直接“关联”到自己身上去了：Gotham在报告里表示自己拥有证据，证明Gowex公司最大的客户其实就是“Gowex自己”。

Such tricks can be used in any industry: think of the massive fake sales at Parmalat, an Italian dairy firm. But verifying that accounts match reality is often harder in technology businesses, making them “easier candidates for fraud”, says Michael Jones, editor of another book on “creative accounting”. In fast-growing tech industries there is a temptation to exaggerate revenues, to persuade the world that you are the “next big thing” and create enough momentum⁵¹ for truth to catch up with the hype. If this turned out to be the motive⁵² with Gowex, it would be no surprise.

这样的把戏在各行各业中都能找得出：大家可以联想到意大利乳制品公司Parmalat的巨额虚假销售案。另一本“创意会计”方面的书籍编辑Michael Jones提到，在辨别出科技企业业务当中的会计猫腻要比别的行业困难得多，这也导致了科技企业更容易陷入“假账候选人名录”当中。在快速成长的科技领域，各家企业都在充满着夸大利润诱因的环境中经营，希望令世界相信自己的公司才是那“一下代巨人”，同时也为了创造出足够的社会信任度，与自己铺天盖地的宣传相得益彰。如果这真的是Gowex公司造假因由的话，想必也不会引起多大的震撼。

1 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

2 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 clam   

n.蛤，蛤肉

参考例句：

• Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
• The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

8 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 opaque   

adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的

参考例句：

• The windows are of opaque glass.这些窗户装着不透明玻璃。
• Their intentions remained opaque.他们的意图仍然令人费解。

11 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

12 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

13 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

14 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

15 fiddling   

微小的

参考例句：

• He was fiddling with his keys while he talked to me. 和我谈话时他不停地摆弄钥匙。
• All you're going to see is a lot of fiddling around. 你今天要看到的只是大量的胡摆乱弄。 来自英汉文学 - 廊桥遗梦

16 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

19 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

20 unearthing   

发掘或挖出某物( unearth的现在分词 )； 搜寻到某事物，发现并披露

参考例句：

• And unearthing the past often means literally and studying the evidence. 通常，探寻往事在字面上即意味着——刨根究底。
• The unearthing of "Peking Man" was a remarkable discovery. “北京人”的出土是个非凡的发现。

21 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

22 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

23 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

24 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

25 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

26 amassing   

v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of taxonomy must necessarily involve the amassing of an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. 分类学研究一定要积累广博的植物知识。 来自辞典例句
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

27 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

28 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

29 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

30 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

31 auditor   

n.审计员，旁听着

参考例句：

• The auditor was required to produce his working papers.那个审计员被要求提供其工作底稿。
• The auditor examines the accounts of all county officers and departments.审计员查对所有县官员及各部门的帐目。

32 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

33 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

35 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

36 bombastic   

adj.夸夸其谈的，言过其实的

参考例句：

• The candidate spoke in a bombastic way of all that he would do if elected.候选人大肆吹嘘，一旦他当选将要如何如何。
• The orator spoke in a bombastic manner.这位演说家的讲话言过其实。

37 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

38 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

39 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

40 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

41 imprisoning   

v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Afwerki may disgust his compatriots by torturing and imprisoning his critics. Afwerki总统拷打和监禁他的反对者已经使的国人生厌。 来自互联网
• Proud and intelligent, it takes great pleasure and imprisoning enemies through psionic exploitation. 它骄傲并狡猾，非常喜欢囚禁敌人并剥夺他们的智力。 来自互联网

42 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

43 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

44 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

45 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

46 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

47 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

48 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

49 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

50 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

51 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

52 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。