英语听力精选进阶版 15527

 

Bitcoin: 21 Dec 2013

Sat, 21 Dec 13

Bye-bye to Bitcoin?; Gender-blender insurance; World's most expensive moneybox Bitcoin is the oldest and best known of these virtual payment systems that are outside the banking¹ system and free from state control or backing. That leaves the currency open to wild market fluctuations² rising like a rocket then falling like a stick. So is virtuality the future of currency? Or is Bitcoin about to bite the dust? A year ago insurers were banned from using sex (or, as they prefer to call it, 'gender') when fixing insurance rates despite the fact that men and women differ in many insurable traits - including road accidents.. Filling in your self-assessment tax return and paying your tax may not be fun but at least the online process itself is free. So how can firms get away with charging people from ￡100 to ￡1000 for letting them do it? A moneybox can be anything from a house to a pig to a complex mechanical device.So Money Box looks at moneyboxes.

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。