礼节美语 Business Etiquette 187 Ponzi Scheme (2)

　　Ken¹早上在饮水器旁见到同事Dan和April，谈起公司首席财务官Jason Smith参与庞式骗局被抓起来的事情。Dan问罪名严不严重。
D: So how serious are these charges?
A: He could end up serving a very long prison term. These days judges are pretty tough on white collar crimes.
D: I actually met Jason at a cocktail² party about a year ago. He seemed very charming and bright. I remember we had an interesting conversation and he was quite knowledgeable³ about Asian affairs.
A: Yeah, that sounds about right. Most of these kinds of tricksters are very charming...otherwise, how would they be able to convince so many people to part with their money?
April说，搞不好，Jason会坐很长时间的牢，因为现在法官对白领犯罪下手很重，白领犯罪在英文里叫 white collar crime. Dan 在一次 cocktail party 鸡尾酒会上见过Jason，对他印象不错，April觉得这很正常，因为这些人要是没有两下子，怎么能说服别人把自己的钱拿出来呢? to part with one's money 是把钱交出来的意思。
K: If someone told me I could get a 200% return on my investments, I'd smell a rat. I bet some of these people had a pretty good idea they were dealing⁴ with a Ponzi scheme.
A: Good point, but it's going to be hard to find evidence they knew about it beforehand.
D: So what happens to white collar criminals in America? Is there a special jail for them?
K: In the past many of them got sent to low or medium security prisons. People used to joke about how easy it was for them.
Ken怀疑参与庞式骗局的一些投资者其实是知情的，因为如果告诉他说有投资机会，百分之二百的回报，I'd smell a rat. 我一定会觉得可疑。Ken说，白领罪犯以前都是被送到 low or medium security prisons 安全级别中低水平的监狱，所以日子比较好过。
A: But more recently, the government has decided⁵ to make an example and has been getting much tougher.
K: If he is convicted, Jason will probably end up in a federal prison with hardcore offenders⁶. He could be there for well over 10 years.
D: Wow...that's harsh.
K: Jason Smith says he is innocent, so we'll have to wait and see what the final verdict is. I'm just glad I didn't invest any of my money with him.
D: Me too!
A: Me three!
April解释说，但是近来，政府决定对白领犯罪加强处罚， to make an example of someone有杀一儆百的意思。Ken说，如果法庭判处 Jason 有罪的话，Jason 就可能会坐十年以上的大牢，而且是跟 hardcore offenders恶性犯罪分子关在一起。三个人都表示，幸好没有把自己的钱拿出来让 Jason 去投资。

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

3 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。