VOA标准英语--Rising Gold Prices Spark Demand

Rising Gold Prices Spark Demand

Every new piece of bad economic news and every plunge¹ on Wall Street sparks fears that the worst is yet to come. As a result, many people are turning to one investment they feel they can trust.
Gold chains, gold bangles and gold coins - all increasingly expensive.
Still, customers stream into a Vienna, Virginia, jewelry² store, outside of Washington.
“I wanted to get a little pendant and a little chain,” customer Dia Majumdar explains.
At a time when many Americans are selling their gold for cash, Indian-born Majumdar is among the many Asian-Americans looking to buy - for herself and for something to pass on to her daughter and grandchildren. “And those of us who have bought the gold jewelry know that they have an asset to fall back on," she added. "I still have a lot of my gold wedding jewelry left and I know in the back of my mind that it’s there.”
May Jewelers caters³ especially to the Asian community. Vice⁴ president Vincent Nguyen says Mujamdar is not alone. “We have people who save up for months and just come in here and buy a one-ounce coin for investment,” he stated.
It is a big investment. A gold chain that cost $300 a few years ago now sells for $900 or more.
“A lot of our clientele believes in gold," Nguyen notes. "If there is a special occasion - it could be an anniversary, a wedding occasion - people buy gold.”
For lots of Asian-Americans, gold is a safe investment, a hedge against uncertain economic times. For others, the value is much greater.
“It’s psychological, isn’t it?" says Larry Shinagawa, director of the Asian-American studies program at the University of Maryland. "More than anything else, you have the sense of having something of lasting⁵ value in a world that is so transient and so much in turmoil⁶.”
But Shinagawa says that cultural comfort is only part of the reason many Asian-Americans are snapping up gold and other precious metals.
“There has been about a 60 to 68 percent drop in the amount of wealth among Asian-Americans in a very short time period of only four years. Much of it is real estate,” he says.
It is not just Asian-Americans looking to gold to preserve their wealth.
Demand for gold has been rising worldwide, India and China leading the way.
And for many people, says Professor Anil Gupta with the University of Maryland Smith School of Business, gold remains⁷ less risky⁸ than many alternatives.
“If I look ahead at least over the next two, three, four, five years, the likelihood of volatility⁹ in world economies, in the stock market, it’s likely to remain high," Gupta says. "And in times of volatility gold is likely to be seen as a relatively¹⁰ safe haven¹¹.”
For now, that means brisk business for jewelry shops, like this one, where some customers are even passing on luxury items - like flat screen TVs - to get a little more gold.

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

3 caters   

提供饮食及服务( cater的第三人称单数 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• That shop caters exclusively to the weaker sex. 那家商店专供妇女需要的商品。
• The boutique caters for a rather select clientele. 这家精品店为特定的顾客群服务。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

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。

11 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。