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史密斯跪在路易旁边说：“晚安，明天见。”他看着小男孩沿路走远，消失在视线中。

Henceforth, Luis ate with Smith all of the time. The other soldiers didn't mind; in fact, the boy helped ease their homesickness. Luis giggled when Smith carried him aloft on his shoulders and soon began riding along in the jeep down to the beach, where Smith supervised the unloading of freight from the ships and took inventory. When Smith oversaw construction projects in the camp, Luis tagged along. If Smith left the radius of the camp to rebuild a road or to repair a bridge, Luis waited in the vicinity for his return.

从此以后，路易就整天和史密斯一起吃饭了。其他士兵也并不介意，事实上，这个小男孩儿可以帮助减轻他们的思乡之苦。当史密斯把他高举在自己的肩上时，路易就咯咯地笑，接着，他又跟史密斯一道坐着吉普车来到海滩，史密斯在这里监督货物从船上卸下来并清点货物。当史密斯视察营地的建设工程时，路易就寸步不离。如果史密斯离开营地去重建道路或是重修桥梁时，路易就在附近等他回来。

As the summer of 1994passed, Smith's French improved, and Luis learned to say hello, goodbye, jeep, ship, and ice cream, even though their conversations stayed pretty concise. 1994年的夏天过去了，史密斯的法语水平有所提高，而路易也学会了用英语说“你好”，“再见”，“吉普车”，“轮船”和“冰淇淋”，尽管他们的谈话内容仍然很简练。

In mid-October, when Smith received orders to leave France, he drove to the local authorities to make some inquiries. He ascertained that Luis had been abandoned at birth and had no living relatives. But when he petitioned to adopt him and become his legal guardian, the answer was straightforward and firm: no.

十月中旬，史密斯接到了命令要离开法国，他开车到地方当局做了一些咨询。他查明了路易在出生时就被遗弃了，没有亲人在世。但当他申请收养路易，成为他的法定监护人时，得到的答案直接而明确：不行。

Notwithstanding the regulations, Smith enclosed Luis in a hug and promised to return for him later. The two had grown so close amongst the trials of war, and Smith knew he would never forget the boy. What Smith could never have imagined was that he would never see Luis again.

虽然有规定，史密斯还是紧紧地把路易抱在怀里，答应以后一定会回来找他。在战争的磨难中两人变得愈发亲近，史密斯知道自己是永远不会忘记这个男孩的，但是史密斯绝对没有想到的是他再也见不到路易了。

After the war ended, Smith took a multitude of trips returning to France looking for Luis. But try as he might, the familiar landmarks were gone. France was a country torn apart by the bombs of the war and then pieced back together again. Each day Smith would grieve. Yet, he remained dogged in his search for Luis. Smith knew in his heart that Luis was still alive and waiting, but he simply could not find any remnant of the boy he had come to love like a son. He combed through phone books and even hired a private investigator. His repeated failures haunted him as he repeatedly asked himself punishing questions: Why have I failed Luis? What could I have done differently?

战争结束后，史密斯曾多次返回法国寻找路易。尽管他竭尽全力，熟悉的标志却都消失了。法国被战争的炮火撕碎，然后又被重新拼凑起来。史密斯每天都十分悲痛。然而，他仍坚持不懈地在寻找路易。史密斯心里坚信路易还活着，还在等他，但是他就是找不到这个他曾经当亲生儿子对待的男孩的一点点踪迹。他翻遍了电话簿，甚至雇了一个私家侦探。他一次次地失败，他不停地问一直在折磨着自己的问题：为什么我会让路易失望呢？我当时如果做了不同的选择又会怎样？

As he grew older, Smith's pain increased. Finally, old age forced him to stop traveling, but 精品文档

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Smith dwelled more and more on his one broken promise and lifelong regret.

随着史密斯的老去，他的痛苦在逐渐加重。最终，他因为年龄太大无法再长途旅行了，但是他越来越纠结于自己这个无法实现的诺言和终生的遗憾。

In his final will, Smith instructed his children to continue where he had left off, pleading with them to find Luis.

在他的遗愿中，史密斯让他的孩子们继续他没完成的事情，恳求他们找到路易。

Unit 7 Economy: Power behind everyday life 课文A

Surviving an economic crisis

经济危机中求生存

The economic slump so many people suffered through originated in the United States, with a regulatory failure of mortgages rated less risky than they turned out to be. As large numbers of homeowners proved unable to repay their loans, the companies that had the oversight and those that owned the loans (as well as their subsidiaries and their shareholders) lost sizable amounts of money. The effects of these drastic losses soon spiraled into the US job market as layoffs and terminations. The rebound was slow in coming. Many people experienced long months of struggles just like the character in this story.

许许多多的人正经历的这场经济萧条发端于美国。对抵押贷款监管不力，致使当时的风险评估远低于现在的最终结果。由于大量的房产所有人无法偿还贷款，负责监管的公司、放贷的公司（以及其子公司及股份持有者）都损失了大笔的金钱。这些巨额亏损的后果很快就影响到美国就业市场，造成下岗或解雇。经济复兴迟迟不来。许多人几个月来都是苦苦挣扎，正如下面故事中的主人公那样。

Facing tenant eviction after several months of unpaid rent, Sue Johnson packed up whatever she could fit into her two-door automobile and drove out of town.

苏?约翰逊有好几个月都未付房租了，面临着被逐出的境地，她把能塞进她的那辆双门轿车的东西都打包收拾好，离城而去。

She wound up at a motel, putting down the $26she had managed to scrape together from friends and from selling her living room set. It was all the money Sue had left after her unemployment benefits had expired. She faced life as a migrant, a previously unimaginable situation for a woman who, not that long before, had held a corporate job in a large metropolitan city and was enrolled in a graduate business school.

她最后在一家汽车旅馆落脚，交付了260美元的定金，这还是她设法从朋友那儿以及卖掉家具后凑齐的，是苏在失业救济金被终止后所有的余钱。她面临流浪生活，这在以前是难以想象的，而她不久以前都还在大都市里一家公司供职，并就读于商学院研究生班。

Sue knew that in all likelihood, she would end up living in her car. She was part of a hard-luck group of jobless people who called themselves \the maximum 9weeks of unemployment insurance benefits that they could claim.

苏明白自己最终很可能以车为家。她如今已成为倒霉的失业群体中的一份子，他们自称“99周人”，因为他们已经领完至多 9周的失业保险救济金。

Long-term unemployment was at record levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Modest payments of unemployment benefits were a lifeline that enabled people who were out-of-work to maintain at least an appearance of normalcy, keeping a roof over their heads, 精品文档

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putting gas in their cars, paying electric and phone bills.

根据劳动统计局的数据，长期失业率已达到创纪录的水平。些许的失业救济金对那些失去工作的人来说可是救命钱，这使他们不至于形貌落魄，无立锥之地；不至于无钱加油，缴不起电费话费。

Without the checks, people like Sue, who once was a director of client services at a technology company, began to tumble over the economic cliff. The last aspects of their former working-class or middle-class lives were gone, and all of them faced unsure futures.

一旦收不到失业救济支票，哪怕是像苏这样曾经贵为技术公司客服经理的人，也会日益跌入经济窘迫的深渊；原有工薪阶层或中产阶级的最后一抹荣光也已消逝不在，所有人都前途未卜。

When Sue received her last unemployment check, she felt a wave of profound grief. With no income to deposit, Sue's checking account deteriorated into negative balances. Her car was on the verge of being repossessed. And, the constant harassment of the financing company for her car loan added to her daily stress. Each day, like a ping pong ball, Sue went back and forth between resolve and despair.

当苏收到最后一笔失业救济支票时，阵阵悲凉涌上心头。由于没有收入进账，苏的活期账户余额转为负值。汽车行将被收回！而且信贷公司不断骚扰，催还车贷，让她成天压力倍增。每天，苏就像乒乓球一样在信心和绝望之间起落不定。

It was a sickening plunge considering that only a short year and a half before, Sue was earning $56,00a year at her old job, enjoyed vacationing in places like Mexico and the Caribbean, and had started business school at an excellent university.

生活境遇真是令人痛心地一落千丈！想想仅在短短的一年半之前，苏在原有工作岗位上可挣到 56，00美元的年薪，可在像墨西哥、加勒比那样的地方度假，还就读于名校商学院。

Initially, Sue had tried to finish her university certification remotely, but finally dropped out because of the stress from her sinking finances. She applied for every possible job in the employment spectrum, from minimum-wage retail jobs to director positions.

最初，苏还试图通过远程教育完成学业，但是由于自己经济状况每况愈下，最后只好辍学。她通过各种就业渠道求职，不管是起薪干起的零售活儿还是部门经理。

Sue should have been evicted from her two-bedroom apartment for non-payment several months before she was, but, thankfully, the process was delayed by paperwork and bureaucracy. Eventually, the bureaucracy caught up with her and a municipal council gave her days to leave her apartment for good. She had no choice but to comply.

由于未付房租，苏早在几个月前就应被逐出她那两居室的公寓。不过，谢天谢地，这一过程因为繁琐的文件手续和官僚主义作风而拖延至今。最终政府机构还是找上了她，市政委员会限定她十天内彻底走人。除了遵从，她别无选择。

That last day of her old life, Sue wept as she drove away. She wondered if she would ever again be able to reclaim that life of comfort and respect. Sue even considered turning the steering wheel of her car into a tree and ending her life story right there.

就在告别昔日生活的最后一天，苏流着泪驾车离去。她不知道自己还能否重温那舒适而又受人尊敬的生活。苏甚至想过打转方向盘一头撞向大树，就此了结一生。

Friends came to her aid. One friend wired her $200 while she was driving away from her old apartment, enabling her to find refuge in a motel along the way. But Sue worried there wouldn't be any more charity for the money and gas she desperately needed.

朋友们及时施以援手。就在她驾车离开公寓的路上，一位朋友给她电汇来 200美元，精品文档

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使得她能够在沿途的一家汽车旅馆觅得栖身之所。但是她担心不会再有人来援助自己急需的钱和汽油了。

Helped by gas cards donated by a church, Sue decided to return to her hometown. She figured the health-care safety net there was better, as well as the job market. She contacted a local shelter but learned there was a waiting list. Welfare was not an option, because she didn't have young children. And, Sue knew that none of her three adult sons were in a position to help her.

有了教堂赠送的加油卡，苏打算返回家乡。她想那儿的医疗保障体系会好一些，找工作也容易些。她联系了当地的收容所，但是得到的回答是先得排队等着。领取福利救济没有她的份，因为她没有未成年的孩子。苏知道她的三个已成年的儿子也帮不了她。

\I have to take care of myself. I really, really need to get work. I need a job. I don't want to be seen as a parasite,

“我知道，只有自己才能帮自己，”苏说。“我告诉自己：我得养活自己。我确实得干活，我要找份工作，我可不想被人看成寄生虫。”

Sue's motel room was depressing. Lining the shelves underneath the television were her food supplies: rice and noodles that she mixed with water in the motel's ice bucket and heated up in a microwave; peanut butter and jelly; a loaf of white bread -the subsistence of a desperate person. Sue's days were spent surfing Internet job indexes, applying for jobs where the silent \

苏在汽车旅馆的房间极其窘迫。电视下面的壁橱里存放着几样食物：大米和面条，这两样她可在旅馆的冰镇桶里与水和在一起，然后在微波炉里加热；另外还有花生酱、果冻和一条白面包——这些食物也就供一个走投无路的人勉强度日而已。苏连日来都在上网查找各种工作指南，四处求职；但一次次无声的拒绝让她陷于无助。

Sue had all new struggles and obstacles to deal with too, like what to do for an address for job applications. She worried about what would happen when her cell phone was cut off for non-payment, and calls to her number would disappear into an invisible world she could not reach.

苏还有新的烦心事要应付：比如求职信的通信地址该如何填写。她还担心要是手机因为欠费停机了怎么办？别人拨打她的号码，就如石沉大海，她无法接听。

Finally, an old friend sent Sue a ray of hope, a small miracle: $300cash - just enough for another brutal week of struggle.

终于，一位老朋友送来一缕希望，一个小小的惊喜：300美元的现金——勉强够她再苦撑一周。 课文B

Economic bubbles: Causes and conditions

经济泡沫：成因与条件

Economic bubbles occur when, for any number of reasons, excessive investment in commodities (such as oil), securities (such as stocks and bonds), real estate, or collectibles drives up prices well beyond the item's intrinsic value. The inevitable result of this boom in price is a crash or bust. The price falls sharply once it becomes clear that it has grown far beyond the purchasing power of potential customers.

不管因为何种原因，一旦人们对于商品（如石油）、证券（如股票、债券）、房地产或收精品文档

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藏品过度投资从而推高其价格，使其远远超过商品的内在价值，经济泡沫就会产生。而这种价格暴涨不可避免的结果就是经济的崩溃或破灭。一旦价格大大超过潜在消费者购买力的趋势明了，价格就会急剧下跌。

Speculators risk money in such investments because they hope that the price of an asset they purchased will quickly increase. Since most speculators are nervous about where they invest their money, bubbles are by no means the norm. After all, every investment entails the risk that it is overpriced. They also know that rising prices will encourage either greater production of a commodity or greater willingness of current owners to sell. Either of these conditions can serve as a \feedback\mechanism that adjusts prices downward. As an analogy, think of negative economic feedback like your eyes. As the light gets brighter, your pupils get smaller and let in less light. But what if, instead, your eyes worked as a \sunlight, your pupils would open wide and damage your eyes.

投机者们因为希望购买的资产价格能够急剧上涨才进行这样的风险投资。由于大多数的投机者对资金的投向都有所顾虑，因此泡沫的产生绝非常态。毕竟每笔投资都包含估价过高的风险。他们也知道价格上涨要么会推动商品产量的进一步扩大，要么促使现有的持有者更愿意卖出。不管哪种情况都会有助于形成促使价格下行的“负面反馈”机制。打个比方，把负面经济反馈比作人的眼睛，光线越强，瞳孔越小，摄入的光亮就会越少。但要是人的眼睛发挥的是“正面反馈”机制作用，结果会怎样呢？在太阳光下，瞳孔就会张大，从而对眼睛造成伤害。

Economic bubbles occur when prices trending sharply upward spur positive, rather than negative, feedback. For whatever reason (fear of shortages, greed, an excessively optimistic attitude toward the future, or flaws in the analysis of an asset's underlying value), buyers believe that the value of the asset will continue to rise. If the price rises, overly enthusiastic speculators buy more, or those who missed out on the lower price flock to buy before the price rises any higher. The foremost explanation is the \assuring themselves they will find \greater fool\who will pay even more. Buyer enthusiasm infects other buyers, amplifying the effect even further. Under the right conditions, prices can reach dizzying heights before falling. One famous example is the tulip-buying bubble which happened in Amsterdam in the 1630s when a single tulip bulb could cost a year's salary.

如果价格急剧上行引起的是正面而非负面反馈，就会产生经济泡沫。因为担心供应不足，因为贪心，或是对其未来过分乐观，或是因为对资产的内在价值的分析存在疏漏——不管何种原因，购买者相信其价值会持续上行。如果价格上涨，狂热的投机者就会买入更多，或者那些错过低价买入的人就会在价格进一步攀升之前蜂拥入市。对此现象的解释莫过于“博傻理论”：买入方深信自己能找到下一个甘愿出更高价格的冤大头，从而认为自己的买卖是合理的。抢购热会相互感染，从而会进一步放大此种效应。在合适的条件下，价格会一路飙升至令人目眩的高位，然后下跌。人尽皆知的例子就是 17 世纪 30 年代发生在阿姆斯特丹的郁金香抢购泡沫，当时，一株郁金香球茎的价格相当于一年的工资。

Most bubbles are easily assimilated or averted by an elastic market. Provided the bubble is small enough, the losers earn wisdom in retrospect, and the winners earn a lot of money. But the effects of a bubble might become cumulative if many owners of an overpriced asset feel rich and spend foolishly, especially in a period of deregulation. Imagine this: You buy a house for $200,000, for which you borrowed $160,000 beforehand. You have $40,000 in equity in the house. Over the next five years, the market appraisal rises to $500,000. Now you have $340,000 in equity ($500,000-$160,000), so you borrow another $240,000 from a bank using this equity to secure 精品文档