VOA常速英语2016--英国脱欧英镑重贬，“马麦酱”大战上演

Plunging British Pound Triggers ‘Marmite Wars’ as Brexit Bites 英国脱欧英镑重贬，“马麦酱”大战上演

LONDON — 

The British pound has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, and is now at record lows against the U.S. dollar, losing around 20 percent of its value since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Analysts say the realization that Britain could be headed for a so-called ‘hard Brexit’ – likely to involve leaving the European Union’s Single Market – has triggered a major sell-off. But the fall in value provides opportunities for foreign visitors.

For a short time this week, a thick black spread called Marmite – a British breakfast-time favorite - became the unlikely first victim of the plunging pound.

在本周很短的时间内，英国人早餐时间的最爱---一种叫做马麦酱的浓稠黑色面包酱，出乎人们意料地成为英镑严重贬值的第一个受害者。其制造商，跨国公司巨头联合利华称，英镑贬值导致商品进口成本上涨，并表示其有意把这部分成本转嫁到零售商身上。

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, refused.So Marmite and several other Unilever products began disappearing from its shelves.The dispute was resolved, but analysts say it shows the impact Brexit is beginning to have.

但是英国第三大零售超市特易购拒绝接受。因此，包括马麦酱在内的其他几种联合利华的商品开始从特易购的货架上消失。此次争议得到了解决，但是分析家们认为这表明英国脱欧的影响初步显现。

“Yes, Marmite might be packaged in the UK or put together in the UK, but all of the individual ingredients, even things like the glass, where the label comes from,that’s all from abroad so they’re having to pay in foreign currency for that, yet they can only sell it in pounds”.

“确实，马麦酱有可能是在英国进行包装或者批量生产，但是具体到各种原料，甚至包括玻璃、标签的产地，都来自国外，进口这些东西时厂商须用外汇支付，而在销售时，顾客使用的则是英镑”。

Ultimately, it’s consumers who will likely pay for a plunging currency.“It’s becoming clear that the market does not think that the outcome of Brexit and the impact of Brexit is going to be good news for the economy.And a shrinking UK economy means a weaker pound.This is going to erode standards of living here in the UK, because these are consumer goods”.

最终，货币贬值这笔账还是会算在消费者身上。“显而易见，市场并不认为英国脱欧会给经济带来积极影响，英国经济萧条也就意味着英镑疲软。这将会损害英国民众的生活水平，因为这些东西是日常消费品”。

But some industries are benefiting.Tourism is booming as foreign visitors find themselves with more pounds in their pockets.“Now you come over here knowing it’s so much better in our favor that you feel like you can shop a little bit more”.

但是，有些行业会从中受益。英国旅游业蓬勃发展，这是因为外国游客发现进行货币兑换后，自己口袋里能有更多的英镑。“人们来这儿旅游，知道现在的外汇汇率对自己极为有利，这样的话，人们就会觉得自己可以多逛逛，多买些东西”。

The former head of the Bank of England claims Brexit is achieving what policymakers couldn’t.“During the referendum campaign, someone said‘you know the real danger of Brexit is that we’ll end up with higher interest rates, lower house prices, and a lower exchange rate, I thought’dream on.’ Because that’s what we’ve been trying to achieve for the past three years.And now we have a chance of getting there”.

前英格兰银行行长称，英国脱欧实现了决策者们之前没有做到的事。“公投期间，有人说‘脱欧给英国可能带来的真正风险就是：高利率，低房价和低汇率’，我当时想说‘别做梦了’， 因为那是我们过去三年里一直努力想要实现的东西，而现在，我们有可能实现以上几点”。

But the falling pound means pain at the checkout.Most analysts say the pound has further to fall – and expect inflation to rise rapidly.

但是，英镑贬值意味着人们在收银台付款时，内心可能感到隐隐作痛。大多数分析家们表示，英镑会持续贬值，人们将面临更为严重的通货膨胀现象。