VOA慢速英语2021 特斯拉公司宣称将接受比特币购买汽车（在线收听）

American carmaker Tesla said on Monday that it had invested around $1.5 billion in bitcoin, an internet-based form of money.

美国汽车制造商特斯拉公司周一称其在比特币上已经投资了大约15亿美元，比特币是一种基于互联网的货币。

The company is expected to begin accepting the digital currency as payment for its cars and other products in the near future. The announcement from one of the best-known American car companies sent the price of bitcoin up more than 10 percent.

预计该公司将在不久的将来开始接受数字货币购买其汽车和其它产品。这家美国最著名汽车厂商的公告使得比特币价格上涨了10%以上。

Tesla chief Elon Musk is a supporter of the digital currency. In recent weeks, Musk used the social media website Twitter to praise bitcoin. Musk said a week ago that bitcoin was “on the verge” of being more widely accepted by investors. Last December, he asked if it was possible to do large business deals in the currency.

特斯拉公司总裁埃隆·马斯克是数字货币的支持者。最近几周，马斯克通过社交媒体网站推特网赞扬了比特币。马斯克在一周前表示，比特币即将被投资者广泛接受。去年12月，他询问是否有可能使用该货币进行大型交易。

Eric Turner is a vice president of market intelligence at the research company Messari. He says more companies will use bitcoin now since “Tesla has made the first move.”

埃里克·特纳是梅萨里研究公司的市场情报副总裁。他说，自从特斯拉迈出第一步以来，现在有更多公司将使用比特币。

He told Reuters, “One of the largest companies in the world now owns Bitcoin and by extension, every investor that owns Tesla (or even just an S&P 500 fund) has exposure to it as well.”

他对路透社表示：“世界上的一家大型公司（指特斯拉）现在持有比特币，由此可以推论，持有特斯拉公司股票，甚至只是持有标普500指数基金的每位投资者也都沾上了比特币。”

The value of a Bitcoin has reached record highs in recent months. The currency has also gained support from major financial companies this year. The financial services company Blackrock recently permitted some of its funds to invest in the currency. However, government-run central banks around the world do not support the digital currency.

近几个月来，比特币的价值达到了历史新高。这种货币今年也获得了主要金融公司的支持。金融服务公司黑石集团最近允许旗下部分基金投资比特币。但是，世界各地政府运营的央行不支持这种数字货币。

The price of bitcoin has gone up and down wildly since it was created in 2009 by a mysterious developer or group going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2017, for example, the price went from $975 on March 25 to more than $20,000 on December 17. A year later, it was worth less than $4,000.

自从2009年一位神秘开发者或组织以中本聪的名义创造比特币以来，其价格一直在疯狂上涨和下跌。例如，2017年，比特币价格从3月25日的975美元涨到了12月17日的2万美元以上。一年之后，它的价值还不到4000美元。

During the pandemic, bitcoin was trading at less than $11,000 in October of 2020. The price increased to more than $40,000 on January 8, 2021 and dropped to $30,000 three days later. Bitcoin was valued at more than $43,000 after Tesla’s announcement Monday.

在大流行期间，比特币在2020年10月的交易价格不到1.1万美元。2021年1月8日价格涨到了超过4万美元，并在3天后跌到了3万美元。特斯拉周一发出公告之后，比特币价格超过了4.3万美元。

Tesla said in a document sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) early Monday that its $1.5 billion investment in digital currency and other “alternative” holdings may grow.

特斯拉周一早些时候在发给美国证券交易委员会的一份文件中表示，该公司在数字货币或其它替代资产方面的15亿美元投资可能会增长。

Neil Wilson is a market expert for Markets.com. He said of Tesla’s Elon Musk, “He’s now putting his money (shareholders’) where his mouth is.” He warned, “But given his recent comments – and adding #Bitcoin to his Twitter bio on January 29th – it also raises a real question about possible market manipulation.”

尼尔·威尔逊是Markets.com的市场专家。他谈到特斯拉公司的马斯克时表示：“他现在把自己以及股东的钱挂在嘴里。”他警告说：“但鉴于他最近的言论，以及他1月29日在推特网简介中添加了比特币的标签，这也引发了可能存在市场操纵的疑问。”

In 2018, Musk was fined $20 million by the SEC for charges of wrongdoing related to his use of social media. Recently, Musk was involved in driving up the share prices of U.S. video game seller GameStop.

2018年，马斯克因为使用社交媒体不当被美国证券交易委员会罚款2000万美元。最近，马斯克卷入了抬高美国视频游戏销售商GameStop公司股价的活动。

While more companies have used the technology behind bitcoin, known as blockchain, the actual uses of bitcoin have not changed very much. Some businesses, such as Overstock.com, have accepted payments in bitcoin. Still, its popularity is low compared with normal currencies.

尽管越来越多公司采用了比特币背后的区块链技术，但是比特币的实际用途并没有太大变化。Overstock.com之类的一些公司已经接受了比特币支付。不过与普通货币相比，其受欢迎程度较低。

Many individuals and businesses will not accept bitcoins for payments. But that could change if others follow Tesla and begin accepting the digital currency.

许多个人和企业不接受比特币支付。但是，如果其它人追随特斯拉公司开始接受数字货币，这种情况就可能会发生改变。