西方的银行(一)
+ s' h0 U/ g m; u Situation 1
: A2 u7 h8 J0 ?& n- e1 ` 情景 18 y% |) E G, a, h: G1 y9 p6 ]
Jiro Ito is visiting with his friend ,Bob Jenson ,a banker in NewYork ./ y9 B( n v* c! K/ g* o
伊滕次郎正与他的朋友鲍勃·詹森闲谈。鲍勃是纽约的一位银行职员。 O0 b7 }, [" {' G9 @( M, q
They are talking about the history of banking in the west .
0 ]% c. s2 [3 X# ` 他们正在谈论有关西方银行的历史。9 [( j9 Z* w z, h
Ito:I’m curious about the history of banking in the west ,Bob.Can you tell me something about it ?
4 |: l1 L6 {9 ~5 W: i 伊 滕:我很想知道有关西方银行史的一些情况。鲍勃,您能给我讲一讲吗?2 X+ v+ ?/ \6 o/ M ~
Jensen:Well,Jiro,the earliest banks started in Babylon almost 4,000 years ago .
( @4 R6 W J3 b" M# G 詹 森:好的,次郎。最早的银行大约是4,000年前在巴比伦建立的。
& m# f. A0 t) P% ]$ d& W8 f5 T They were really temples which collected deposits and made loans .; W9 V+ n' X. `; G4 f ?
实际上,那些银行只是一种收集存款并进行放款的场所。
! q/ S5 P2 f3 l; @ I :That surprises me .I had always thought that banking started during the Renaissance in Europe .6 c8 B6 G2 F5 h8 s# W3 E
伊 滕:这可真是出乎我的意料之外,我原来一直以为银行业务始于欧洲文艺复兴时期呢。9 Q; J/ c" P: n- [
J:No ,it was much earlier than that.Actually ,private firms that handled deposits and loans ,4 ?3 W: b. ?+ I; M8 I9 t: }
詹 森:不,比那个时期要早多了。实际上,早在公元前6世纪就有了私营的商行。; O6 I s; R9 _& L
changed coins and even arranged for credit transactions existed as early as the 6th century B.C.9 { Q" q% I1 I% p+ W Y8 z
这些商行从事储蓄存款和贷款,兑换硬币以至安排信贷交易。
7 O7 I2 d2 x4 t- b9 ^ I:Then ,there were banks in ancient Greece and Rome,too?- V# y" f. X8 C5 C% a+ @+ n7 Y
伊 滕:当时,古希腊和罗马也有银行吗?
9 _/ W# a; i4 O W1 D# _ J:Yes ,laws in Both Greece and Rome recognized banks and many bank functions .
$ K% L5 Z F0 ^4 p1 ] 詹 森:是的,希腊和罗马都在法律上承认了银行和银行的许多作用。, a, {9 Y$ O8 ^
It wasn’t until the breakup of the Roman Empire and the decline in trade and commercialtransactions that banking lost its previous importance .9 V: q1 N$ @2 J
直到罗马帝国崩溃,商贸业务衰落,银行业才失去了它以往的重要性。
" `* h/ \7 p* _% C* K5 B: z I:What about the laws against usury during the Middle Ages?Didn’t such laws made it illegal tocharge interest on loans?7 B, A% p) H1 O+ U' Y& k
伊 滕:中世纪时,法律禁止放高利贷是怎么回事?这些法律没有规定贷款收取利息是非法的吗?8 u" B/ }; ~, v+ o& E
J:Yes,they did ,but these laws were gradually changed during the 14th and 15th centuries,andbanking functions started appearing again in Italy and Belgium and later in France ,Germany andEngland .
4 u. x% l) \/ d( Z! V, z6 K 詹 森:规定了,但是这些法律在14,15世纪时逐步地改变了,银行的作用又在意大利和比利时开始出现,后来又显现在法国、德国和英国。& d2 |" o: S6 k
I:I see .So we can really say that banking restarted during the Renaissance .% }- ^& v n/ c6 m
伊 滕:我明白了。实际上我们可以说,银行业在文艺复兴时期又重新开始了。 |