VOA标准英语2014--Questions Surround Bitcoin Future 关于比特币未来的问题

 

Questions Surround Bitcoin Future 关于比特币未来的问题

There are troubling questions about the future of the digital currency known as Bitcoin.  The value of the virtual currency has fluctuated wildly in recent months - plummeting¹ from an all-time high of $1,100 last December to just under $600 today.  The latest worry comes after the sudden closure of one of the largest bitcoin exchanges this week.  

Is Bitcoin dead?  That’s a question many investors² are asking after the abrupt³ closure of Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, one of the largest bitcoin exchange sites.  

Currency trader Kolin Burges flew in from London to get answers, when he found himself locked out of his own account.

“I had 311 bitcoins in there, which at the time was worth around $300,000.  So it looks like that has disappeared," said Burges.

No one really knows why the bitcoin broker⁴ shut down.  But economics professor Arun Sundararajan says signs point to a security flaw.  

“It seems to have been a security breach⁵ more than anything else where a lot of the bitcoin was stolen by hackers⁶.  And as a consequence, Mt. Gox had to stop trading.  And of course this has sort of lowered the value of the bitcoin traded at Mt. Gox considerably," said Sundararajan.

Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles declined to answer questions.  He resigned earlier this month.  But Karpeles has never shied from talking about the risks involved.

Here’s what he told the Reuters news organization last year.

“Bitcoin would quite qualify as a high risk investment.  If you buy bitcoins you should buy keeping in mind that the value could be zero the day after," said Karpeles.

Although the recent cyber problems may have damaged public confidence, Bitcoin enthusiasts⁷ say that's because many still see virtual currency as a commodity.  Bitcoin miner Erick Watson spoke⁸ to VOA via Skype.

“I would encourage people not to speculate on Bitcoin as a store of value.  I would encourage them to look for opportunities to employ Bitcoin as means of transacting," said Watson.

Despite its slow adoption⁹ rate, Watson says Bitcoin is far from dead.  In fact, he sees a bright future ahead for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as consumers discover practical advantages for private transactions.  

“We’ll continue to creep along as businesses adapt Bitcoin rather slowly, and then we’ll hit some inflection point in the relatively¹⁰ near future, beyond which people will really begin to adopt it heavily," he said.

 

That may happen sooner not later.  On February 28th - the first bitcoin counter opens in Hong Kong allowing people to buy the virtual currency without going online.

1 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

2 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

3 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

4 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

5 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

6 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

7 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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。

10 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。