2018年经济学人 金融危机:重温过去的经验教训(1)

 

Although dangerous financial vulnerabilities in America will take time to build up again, the present financial peace is likely to be far shorter than the 75 years that separated the Depression and the Great Recession.

尽管危险的金融脆弱性在美国要花一定的时间去再次累计，但是，当前的金融和平有可能远远短于间隔了大萧条和大衰退的75年。

That would be less troubling had the world made itself more robust¹ to future crises after the last one.

要是世界各国在上次危机后使自己在面对未来危机时更加强健，这种情况就会不那么令人揪心了。

In the years after the Depression, sweeping² banking³ and financial reforms created new regulatory institutions and placed tight constraints⁴ on financial behaviour, which made finance a very boring industry for most of the next half-century.

在大萧条之后的数年间，全面的银行业和金融改革造就了各种全新的监管制度，并对金融行为施加了严格的限制，这一度使得金融在接下来的50年中成为一种非常枯燥的行业。

From the 1980s to the 2000s, those restrictions⁵ were largely undone⁶: banks were given freer rein⁷ over the activities they could engage in and products they could create.

在上世纪80年代到本世纪头十年间，这些限制打都被废除了：银行被赋予了对其可能从事的行为以及可能创造出来的产品的更自由的掌控。

The financial crisis could not have occurred without this liberalisation.

这场金融危机要是没有这种自由化是不可能爆发的。

Yet in its wake, the financial sector⁸ has been treated relatively⁹ gently.

然而，在其爆发之后，金融部分却受到了相对温柔的对待。

Oversight¹⁰ and disclosure have been improved and capital-adequacy rules toughened.

监督和披露得到了改善，资本充足性规则得到了强化。

But some of these rules are now being relaxed, at least in America, and the financial industry's weight in the world economy has scarcely changed.

但是，其中的一些规则如今，至少是在美国，正在得到松绑。同时，金融行业在世界经济中反而分量几乎没有变。

As a share of American GDP it has actually increased somewhat since 2007.

作为美国GDP的一项占比，自2007年以来，它实际上是增加了。

The stabilisation policies used in the Great Recession were vastly superior to those of the Depression.

较之大萧条期间，用于大衰退中的各种稳定政策高明了许多。

But today's governments have done a worse job of learning from experience than did their forebears.

但是，较之他们的前辈，今天的各国政府在从经验中吸取教训这个方面就做得差的远了。

Franklin Roosevelt did not simply seek to restore growth.

富兰克林·罗斯福没有简单地寻求恢复增长。

Rather he promised reflation in order to make up the ground lost during the downturn.

相反，他承诺了通胀，以便收回衰退中的失地。

1 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

4 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

7 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 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。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。