VOA标准英语2010年-Indian Currency to Have New Symbol

A handout¹ picture released by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) shows the new symbol for the Indian rupee, 15 July 2010

As India's economy grows and its ambition to make a mark on the global scene rises, the country has decided² that its currency, the rupee, will have a new symbol. India hopes this will give the rupee an international face.

The search for a symbol for the Indian rupee began more than a year ago, when the government decided that the currency needed an identifiable symbol.   

After going through 3000 entries submitted in a national competition, a panel of bankers, officials and artists chose the new symbol. It is a mix of the Roman letter "R" and its Hindi equivalent in the ancient Devanagari script.

Information minister Ambika Soni said the decision to have a symbol for the rupee is significant.

"In the first place, it is a big statement on the Indian currency," Soni said. "You, with this symbol, are announcing the Indian currency has arrived on the international platform."

Only a handful of major currencies such as the dollar, the pound, the euro and the yen³ have their own symbol, which makes them easily recognized internationally. So far the Indian currency is referred to by the letters "Rs." or "INR", which stands for Indian rupee.

According to the Indian cabinet, the new symbol captures the Indian ethos and culture. It was designed by a newly appointed teacher at the prestigious⁴ Indian Institute of Technology.

Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia also use the rupee as their currency. Minister Ambika Soni says India's new symbol has an additional benefit.

"It would also distinguish our currency from other countries which also use the rupee or rupiah or something similar," she added.

While the symbol has been chosen, introducing it will take time. It is expected to be in use within six months in the country and up to two years internationally. It will not be printed on currency notes, but the government hopes to incorporate it on computer keyboards.

 

1 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

2 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。

3 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。