雅思口语9分带你阅读《经济学人》： Why central banks a...
Vault face
翻译：金库大挪移
Why central banks are stockpiling gold
翻译：各国央行为何囤积黄金
The metal offers a hedge against inflation — and a way to circumvent sanctions
翻译：黄金提供了一种对冲通胀的手段—和一种规避制裁的方法
2022-12-7
段落1
IN 1968 THE London Bullion Market closed for two weeks. The world’s largest precious-metal market had run out of gold, drained by a five-month run on America’s stash by European central banks. The crisis marked the beginning of the end for the Bretton Woods standard that had kept the dollar pegged to gold, and currencies elsewhere to the dollar, since 1944.
翻译：1968年，伦敦黄金市场关闭了两周。世界上最大的贵金属市场已经耗尽了黄金，这是由于欧洲中央银行对美国储备的五个月的挤兑。这场危机标志着布雷顿森林体系终结的开始。自1944年以来，布雷顿森林体系一直将美元与黄金挂钩，并将其他国家的货币与美元挂钩。
The London bullion market is a wholesale over-the-counter market for the trading of gold and silver.伦敦黄金市场
Drain v. to reduce or cause something to reduce消耗；耗尽: The long war had drained the resources of both countries.
peg v. to make a price, currency, etc. stay at a particular level与…挂钩: The agreement works because member nations haven't tried to peg prices.
段落2
Now central banks are furiously buying gold again (see chart). In the third quarter alone 400 tonnes moved into their reserves. That has pushed the total from January to September to 670 tonnes, a pace unseen since the Bullion Market debacle. In May Turkey snapped up almost 20 tonnes in one go. India and Qatar are also ravenous. The metal now makes up two-thirds of Uzbekistan’s reserves, months after it planned to reduce gold to under half. Kazakhstan is also doubling down.
翻译：现在，各国央行又开始疯狂购买黄金。仅在第三季度，就有400吨进入了他们的储备。这使得1月至9月的黄金总量达到670吨，这是自黄金市场崩溃以来从未有过的速度。今年5月，土耳其一次就抢购了近20吨。印度和卡塔尔也是狼吞虎咽。在乌兹别克斯坦计划将黄金储备减少到一半以下的几个月后，黄金现在占该国储备的三分之二。哈萨克斯坦也在加倍下注。
Furiously adv. in a very angry way猛烈地；狂暴地: "Get out of here!" she shouted furiously.
Snap up to buy or get something quickly and enthusiastically because it is cheap or exactly what you want抢购；抢先弄到手: The tickets for the concert were snapped up within three hours of going on sale.
Ravenous adj. extremely hungry贪婪的；渴望的；狼吞虎咽: I'm ravenous - where's supper?
Double down strengthen one's commitment to a particular strategy or course of action, typically one that is potentially risky加倍下注: He decided to double down and escalate the war.
段落3
In part this is because gold, snubbed in good times because it generates no yield, recovers its shine in times of volatility and high inflation. In the long run, it is seen as a store of value and, not tied to any individual economy, seems immune to local political and financial turmoil. Central bankers may also think they are getting a bargain. Even though it has resisted better than most, the price of the metal has dropped 3% this year. Gold bugs expect a rebound.Like in the past, however, buying gold bars is also a way to ditch some dollars. Except this time it is not Europe but emerging markets who grumble about the greenback.
翻译：在某种程度上，这是因为黄金在繁荣时期因不产生收益而受到冷落，但在波动和高通胀时期却恢复了光芒。从长远来看，它被视为一种价值储存手段，与任何单个经济体都没有联系，似乎不受当地政治和金融动荡的影响。央行行长们可能也认为他们捡到了便宜。尽管它的抵抗能力比大多数资产都要强，但今年的金价已经下跌了3%。黄金投资者期待反弹。然而，和过去一样，购买金条也是抛售一些美元的一种方式。不过这一次，抱怨美元的不是欧洲，而是新兴市场。
Snub v. to treat someone rudely, esp. by ignoring that person冷落: They’re likely to snub people who aren’t just like them.
Grumble v. to complain about someone or something in an annoyed way抱怨: She spent the evening grumbling to me about her job.
段落4
They need dollars to pay for imports and external debts. But their reserves are mostly made of treasuries, not actual banknotes. And as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates, buoying yields, the value of government paper has dropped. Lesser central banks have taken this as a cue to swap them for precious metal rather than bet on the Fed taming inflation.
翻译：不过，就像过去一样，购买金条也是抛售美元的一种方式。只不过这次抱怨美元的不是欧洲，而是新兴市场。它们需要美元来支付进口和外债。但它们的外汇储备大多是美国国债，不是真正的美元。随着美联储加息，债券收益率受提振，美国国债的价值已经下降。较小经济体的央行视之为一个信号，认为该把美元换成贵金属，而不是押注美联储能抑制通胀。
Buoy v. to prevent someone or something from sinking使浮起；支撑；鼓励: The very salty water buoyed her (up) as she swam
Cue n. a signal for someone to do something提示；暗示；线索: They started washing up, so that was our cue to leave the party.
Tame v. to control something dangerous or powerful驯养；制服: He'll need to tame his temper if he wants to succeed.
段落5
Shadier motives are also at play. Gold provides a way to circumvent Western sanctions on Russia, much of whose reserves have been frozen since March and whose banks have mostly been disconnected from the dollar-based international-payments system. Almost no central banks keep roubles as foreign-currency reserves. For those countries that traditionally do a fair bit of business with the Kremlin—from Turkey to Turkmenistan—gold offers an alternative, if clunky, means of exchange. This motley group of emerging markets have been among the biggest buyers of gold this time around.
翻译：更不上台面的动机也在起作用。黄金提供了一种规避西方对俄罗斯的制裁的方法。自今年3月以来，俄罗斯的大部分外汇储备已被冻结，该国的银行大多已被踢出以美元为基础的国际支付系统。几乎没有哪家央行将卢布作为外汇储备。对于从土耳其到土库曼斯坦等传统上与俄罗斯有不少生意往来的国家来说，黄金虽然很笨重，但毕竟提供了另一种交换手段。这些形形色色的新兴市场是这一次黄金热潮的最大买家。
Shady adj. dishonest or illegal阴暗的；名声不好的: They know some very shady characters.
Circumvent v. to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally设法克服或避免（某事物）；回避: Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulations.
Clunky adj. heavy and solid in an ugly way沉重的；影响不好的: The clunky handsets looked old-fashioned as soon as they were launched.
Motley adj. consisting of many different types that do not appear to go together混杂的；杂色的；五颜六色的: There's a motley assortment/collection of old furniture in the house we're renting now.
段落6
This is not something the West can do much about. Russian gold is banned on the London market, but no one can get at its gold reserves, which are mostly sourced from its own mines. And Russia’s central bank no longer reports how much gold it holds, making swaps impossible to track. Moving the physical metal is a logistical headache, but it keeps transactions under the West’s digital radar, which is useful for those playing both sides—like Qatar or Turkey. The World Gold Council, a trade body, says unknown buyers account for a big chunk of this year’s bonanza.
翻译：对此，西方国家能做的很有限。俄罗斯的黄金被禁止进入伦敦市场，但没人能对它的黄金储备下手，它们大多出自俄罗斯自己的矿山。此外，俄罗斯央行不再公布其黄金持有量，因此无法追踪掉期交易。运送实物黄金在物流上让人都疼，但能在西方的数字雷达下继续交易，对那些耍两面派的国家有用处，比如卡塔尔或土耳其。行业组织世界黄金协会表示，匿名买家占了今年囤金潮的很大一部分。
Logistical adj. relating to the careful organization of a complicated activity后勤的: logistical support/problems
Play both sides keep one's options open by supporting or favouring opposing sides.耍两面派
段落7
One consolation for the dollar is that no other currency is gaining ground. The portion of foreign reserves held in yuan globally has stalled this year. The euro, yen and pound are treading water too. Central banks may have gold fever but there is no regime change on the horizon.
翻译：能让美元感到安慰的是，还没有其他货币在扩大阵地。今年人民币在全球外汇储备中所占的比例停滞不前。欧元、日元和英镑也原地踏步。各国央行或许掀起了淘金热，但短期内美元的统治地并不受影响。
Stall v. If an engine stalls, or if you stall it, it stops working suddenly and without you intending it to happen（使）熄火；（使）停止转动: A car may stall due to the driver braking too suddenly.
Tread water to be active but without making progress or falling further behind停滞不前: Stock prices continued to tread water this week.
Regime change a complete change of government, especially one brought about by force政权更迭
