VOA常速英语2015--美元硬币联盟希望硬币取代纸币节省开支

美元硬币联盟希望硬币取代纸币节省开支

American likes paper dollars,but Jim Kolbe, co-chairman of the Dollar Coin Alliance, thinks switching to the coin is worth it.

大多数美国人对纸币情有独钟，而唯独“美元硬币联盟”的联合主席吉姆·柯尔比认为换用硬币是值得的。

“The coin does cost more to produce, roughly on the neighborhood of 17 cents versus¹ the 5 or 6 cents that a paper dollar costs to produce.However, the coin lasts 35 years, and it's made of mostly recycled metals, and the paper has to be produced from new materials, and we shred² 3 billion of those every year because they wear out.”

“硬币的铸造成本确实要高一些，相比5至6美分纸币的成本，大约需要17美分。但是，这样的硬币可以使用35年，而且主要是用可回收的金属制成。但纸币却需要新材料才能制造，而且因为纸币损耗我们每年要废掉30亿美元。”

For years, the former Arizona congressman³ has been pushing legislation that would prop⁴ up the dollar coin by phasing out the greenback — a move that has met resistance from both politicians and the public. But today, he said, the climate has changed, and a recent poll indicates 61 percent of Americans like the idea.

这位前亚利桑那州国会众议员多年来一直推行用硬币逐步取代纸币的立法遭到政界人士和公众反对。但现如今柯尔比表示情形已截然不同。最近的一次民调显示61%的美国人赞同这个想法。

“When they learn of the savings⁵ that can be involved with this,will support the idea of substituting the coin for the paper dollar.”

“当他们了解到这样可以节省很多钱时就会支持硬币取代纸币的提议。”

Kolbe points to a study by the Government Accountability Office, which investigates how the government spends taxpayer⁶ dollars. The GAO estimates taxpayers⁷ would save more than 4 billion over 30 years, and that figure could be much higher.That appeals to taxpayer Christy Thompson, “Actually,I'd probably say, yes, we need to do it.”

柯尔比提到了主要对政府花费纳税人钱进行调查的美国政府问责办公室的一项研究。该办公室估计30年间纳税人会节省40亿美元，而且这个数字可能还会更大。这对纳税人克里斯蒂·汤普森来说很有吸引力。“实际上我可能会说，是的，我们应该这样做。”

But plenty of people aren't convinced, including Kim Doering of Alexandria, Virginia.

但很多人仍然心存疑虑。弗吉尼亚州亚历山大的金姆·多林就是其中之一。

“It's easier to carry the paper bill than a bunch of coins. They're louder; they're heavier in your pocket.”

“带张纸币肯定比带一摞硬币要方便的多，而且它们太响了，放在口袋里太沉。”

Washington, D.C. restaurant owner Sue Fouladi doesn't like the idea of having more dollar coins in her cash register.

而华盛顿这家餐馆的老板苏·弗拉迪不喜欢自己的收银台里满是硬币的这个点子。

"It's very inconvenient⁸.If I don't have a choice, then I'll do it, but I'll be a very unhappy person.”

“太不方便了。如果我别无选择，我会用的，但是我会非常不开心。”

Adding to the problem is that the gold-and silver-colored metal coins are about the same size as the 25-cent quarter. Robert Blecker, an economics professor at American University in Washington, says the dollar coins need to be different.

而且该问题更令人头痛的是这种金色和银色的金属硬币和25美分硬币的大小差不多。华盛顿美国大学经济学教授罗伯特·布莱克尔表示硬币应该在大小上下功夫。

“And if we can design a dollar coin that's not so big and bulky, probably Americans would like it better.”

“如果我们可以设计出不那么大，也不是很笨重的硬币，也许会很讨喜。

But that doesn't bother college student Emily Sturgill.

但大学生艾米莉·斯特吉尔认为现在的硬币没什么不好。

“Sometimes they fit into your pocket easily and you don't have to worry about them slipping out, like a dollar would if you brought your keys or your phone out.”

“有时候，很容易就将它们放进口袋，而且掏钥匙或拿手机的时候，也不用担心硬币像纸币那样被带出来。

Both Kolbe and Blecker agree that widespread usage won't happen easily.

柯尔比和布莱克尔都认为硬币不会很快广泛普及。

"We will never give up the bill until it's abolished and we have no choice but to use the coins."

“我们绝不会放弃纸币，除非不造纸币了。那样，我们没别的选择只能选择硬币。”

That's what happened in other countries, like Canada, Blecker said, where the public now takes one-and two-dollar coins for granted. He thinks the American public would get used to the U.S. dollar coin.

加拿大等其他国家也是这样的情况，布莱克尔表示那些地方的人民认为现在花1,2元硬币是理所当然的。而且他认为美国民众最终会习惯使用美元硬币。

"I guess I would, but I wouldn't like it at first," said Doering. Thompson is more optimistic: “If we were just circulating the dollar coins, you would get used to it.”

“我想我会接受的，但一开始我不会喜欢。”克里斯蒂·汤普森却更加乐观：“如果我们这里只流通硬币，你会习惯的。”

 

But stacks of the coins are piled in government vaults⁹, instead of in American pockets.

不过，现在的情况却是成堆的硬币躺在政府国库，而非美国人的口袋里。

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

7 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

8 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

9 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》