VOA慢速英语2020 美国面临硬币短缺

The United States is facing a coin shortage¹, yet another side effect of the coronavirus health crisis².

美国正面临硬币短缺问题，这是新冠病毒健康危机的又一项副作用。

Coins are in short supply because many businesses have been closed and many Americans have been going out less to buy things.

硬币之所以短缺，是因为许多企业一直关门，并且许多美国人降低了购物的频率。

America's central bank, the Federal Reserve System, announced in June that the supply system for metal money had been affected³. The U.S. Mint⁴ and Treasury⁵ Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Americans to use coins when making purchases or deposit⁶ the coins in to banks.

作为美国央行的美联储于6月宣布，金属货币的供应体系已经受到影响。美国铸币局和财政部长史蒂芬·姆努钦督促美国人用硬币购物或是将硬币存入银行。

As the economy recovers and businesses reopen, the coin supply is expected to return to normal.

随着经济的复苏和企业重新开放，硬币供应有望恢复正常。

Yet businesses have urged buyers to make purchases electronically or use exact change whenever possible. Some businesses will not give change.

然而，企业已经督促买家电子支付或是尽可能不用找零。一些企业不给找零。

Other businesses have offered products or services to customers in exchange for their coins.

还有企业已经向客户提供产品或服务以换取他们的硬币。

In exchange for $5 worth of coins, convenience store chain WaWa offered customers a free drink at some of its stores. If people brought in $50 or more in coins, they could get something to eat: a free sandwich.

WaWa连锁便利店的某些店铺向客户提供一杯免费饮料，以换取价值5美元的硬币。如果人们带来50美元或以上硬币，他们可以免费获得一个三明治。

In Wisconsin, Community State Bank offered $5 for every $100 worth of coins that people brought in. Bank officials had to suspend the program after a week because so many people were taking up the offer.

在威斯康星州，共同体国家银行给每存入100美元价值硬币的客户奖励5美元。银行官员不得不在一周后暂停该计划，因为许多人来存这个钱。

The coin shortage has hurt some businesses more than others.

硬币短缺给某些企业造成了相对更大的损失。

Brian Wallace is head of the Coin Laundry Association, a trade group that represents laundromats - businesses where people clean their clothes. Wallace described the coin shortage as "at the minimum an inconvenience...at worst... a business challenge."

布莱恩·华莱士是投币式洗衣店协会的会长，该协会是一家代表自助洗衣店的贸易组织。华莱士称货币短缺至少给人们带来了不便，最糟糕的是带来了业务挑战。

About 56% of laundromats take quarters as the only form of payment.

大约56%的自助洗衣店将25美分硬币作为唯一付款方式。

Laundromats often use coins, in part, because many of their customers are "unbanked" or "underbanked." These terms mean the customers mostly pay for goods and services in cash.

自助洗衣店通常使用硬币，部分原因是因为许多客户没有银行账户或是资金不足。这些术语意味着客户主要以现金购买商品和服务。

Daryl Johnson owns Giant Wash Laundry — a business operating 11 laundromats in the Minneapolis area. He says his company usually buys anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000 in quarters a week. The quarters are for change machines - machines that accept dollar bills and give back coins.

达里尔·约翰逊是巨人洗衣店的老板，该公司在明尼阿波利斯地区经营了11家自助洗衣店。约翰逊表示，他公司通常每周会换取4000到8000美元的25份硬币。这些硬币用于换零钱机器，它可以把纸币换成硬币。

Johnson got creative. He offered to buy change from friends and family on Facebook. He put up signs in stores asking customers to bring in their own coins. He also programmed his change machines to only accept smaller bills.

约翰逊想出了新招。他在Facebook上向亲朋好友求购硬币。他在店里张贴告示要求顾客自备硬币。他还对换零钱机器进行了编程，使其只接受小额钞票。

Johnson even drove more than 4 hours to Omaha, Nebraska, to buy $8,000 in quarters from another laundry operator.

约翰逊甚至驱车4个多小时到内布拉斯加州奥马哈市，从另一家自助洗衣店老板那买了价值8000美元的25美分硬币。

"It's that or my business close," he told The Associated Press recently.

约翰逊最近对美联社表示：“不这样做，我公司就只能关门大吉了。”

Since then, the coin shortage at his business has become less severe.

从那时起，他公司的货币短缺变得不那么严重了。

The coin shortage is even having an effect on some American traditions.

货币短缺甚至给某些美国传统造成了影响。

Jen Vicker, of Bollingbrook, Illinois has a 10-year old daughter. Her daughter recently woke up with something not feeling right: a loose tooth. She worried that the tooth fairy would not leave money for the tooth because of the coin shortage.

伊利诺伊州柏林布鲁克的珍·维克有个10岁的女儿。她女儿最近醒来时感觉不舒服：牙齿松动了。她担心由于硬币短缺，牙仙子不会给这颗牙齿留钱。

The tooth fairy is an imaginary person who is supposed to leave money for children while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out.

牙仙子是一个虚构人物，她应该会在孩子们睡觉时给他们留钱，以换取一颗掉了的牙齿。

So Vicker's daughter wrote a note. It reads: "Dear tooth fairy, you may already know this but there is a national coin shortage in America. You usually leave me dollar coins, but until this situation is resolved, I would like cash for my teeth. I apologize for the inconvenience."

所以维克的女儿写了张便条。上面写道：“亲爱的牙仙子，你可能已经知道了，但是美国存在全国性的硬币短缺。你通常会给我美元硬币，但是在这种情况解决之前，我想用牙齿换现金。对于给你造成的不便，我深表歉意。”

I'm John Russell.

我是约翰·罗素。

1 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 deposit   

n.定金，存款，矿藏；vt.使沉淀，寄存，储蓄

参考例句：

• There is too much deposit in a bottle of wine.酒瓶里有太多的沉淀物。
• The hotel requires a deposit for all advance bookings.旅馆规定凡预订房间都要先付订金。