Z:Good afternoon!: ` } C" p: u* F P: ~6 l. J% Q
张:下午好!1 c, ]* \& ~9 D
A:Good afternoon!
- Q- r/ m+ J# r0 D' D4 @8 C+ |- C/ y 全体:下午好!
4 H0 ?' ]3 k* F+ `- {1 B Z:Today I'll introduce something about the history of banking in the west.6 k% k0 y3 q, g3 _" a% W N9 w+ H
张:今天我要讲点西方银行史。
( X5 t2 R7 W4 `9 y: b& H2 | Well, that's very interesting, the earliest banks started in Babylon almost 4 000 years ago." ^+ ^0 ^! X( e9 T% p- k/ c
这是很有意思的,最早的银行大约是四千年前在巴比伦建立的。
% r) q% _9 N$ J+ b7 a They were really temples which collected deposits and made loans.
' e7 o% ~* W0 s6 a 实际上,那些银行只是一种收集存款并进行的放款的场所。 D& {& V; K# k ]
S1:I see, but I had always thought that banking started during the Renaissance in Europe.5 R8 b1 @( z* l/ D# V' e
学1:我明白了,但我原来一直以为银行业务始于欧洲文艺复兴时期。
/ j* @% F+ o% X) f4 v N:No, it was much earlier than that. Then, there were banks in ancient Greece and Rome, too.+ W: b. n# M! \$ ~: \6 k$ x) b" {
周:不,比那个时期早多了。古希腊和罗马都有许多银行,+ B8 i! _& t0 `* |; A, A7 O% Z( X6 y
It wasn't until the breakup of the Roman Empire and the decline in trade and commercial transactions that banking lost its previous importance.
2 ^) e4 y( p' T, ~; @ 直到罗马帝崩溃和商贸业务的衰落,银行业才失去了它以往的重要性。
* \% U4 F. ]% S: u' I5 w S2:What about the laws against usury during the Middle Ages?) C! m( k4 B# |. U, @2 v: C
学2:中世纪时,放禁止放高利贷是怎么回事?1 D2 b2 h0 k3 l0 a( i# l& x% I
Didn't such laws make it illegal to charge interest on loans?$ P/ a1 K1 o6 T4 h p7 _
这些法律没有规定贷款收取利息是非法的吗?
; m u' J$ W0 N' D5 O Z:Yes, they did, but these laws were gradually changed during the 14th and 15th centuries and banking functions started appearing again in Italy and Belgium and later in France,
& m) L9 C$ \- x7 z" k; \' K* H 周:是的,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,后来又在法国,
$ J3 @7 d0 c' n. } Germany and England.
1 a d, N( {( q j8 ~ 德国和英国。6 J9 _+ w# |4 V; J I
S3:So we can really say that banking restarted during the Renaissance.) C' q, p+ Y. I3 c. }
学3:所以实际上我们可以说,银行业在文艺复兴时期又重新开始了。 ~/ B0 H5 ]" ~# n2 F; g
Z:You are right. We can easily see the need for the development of the banks during that period.. N* T# Z/ {9 G% k7 t+ D9 p
张:对的。显而易见,银行的发展正是出于那个时期的需要。当欧洲从中世纪封建制度的禁锢中挣脱出来时,
% x5 W8 N \+ l Commercial and financial transactions had once again started to become more complex as Europe emerged from the feudal system of the Middle Ages.
; ?- C' q$ I! {; n$ a: C" F- v 商业和金融交易再一次开始变得复杂起来了。
1 H* ?8 x5 G) `5 M7 {6 C9 S) l S4:Could you tell us more in detail?
* x% G0 f9 Z% `* c& a {" n 学4:您能说得再具体些吗?
6 C: p/ D9 D& [; q8 e# z0 | Z:Yeah. For one thing, many banks started that way, especially in France and England,( L" B. c% C, Z: a5 b: C
周:是的。一方面很多银行就是这样兴起的,特别是在法国和英国。
0 L7 z& |) m9 E; U% F5 s+ T but they gradually expanded their activities to handling deposits and loans,; F D# _2 q b$ B
可是他们逐渐地扩展他们的经营活动,发展到从事储蓄,贷款,9 W6 h) D5 Y g% W& j4 ~- w7 B
issuing and trading bills of exchange and even issuing their own notes;! A+ { L& k3 k! p4 R% g
发行和买卖汇票,甚至发行他们自己的货币。
$ q2 K( Z$ o$ z% f for another thing, they started the fractional reserve system which is the central feature of modern banks./ {/ y- E: Z, r) G3 p+ q# y
另一方面他们开始建立起部分储备制度,而这一点正是现代银行的主要特征。& l2 w& t+ z% K9 h: y
S5:When did the idea of central banks get started?
/ F* t8 x/ F' P/ B% g 学5:建立中央银行的想法是什么时候开始的?
: `5 b+ M+ s; n. d5 B6 e# j Z:Well, the first bank that was partially owned and controlled by a state government was established in Venice in 1587.2 @% X; N7 Q$ ^+ w: y1 s
张:哦,第一个由国家政府部分拥有和控制的银行是1587年在威尼斯建立起来的。. e) ~, w- i3 {! b
Then, the bank of England appeared. We could call them semi-public. r, {( v) m3 s% r2 m9 s
后来英格兰银行出现。我们称这种银行为半公立银行。! m, M! H! J& J: I
As a matter of fact, the central banks with specific regulatory functions were created in the middle of 19th century. OK, we call it a day.
% } K/ c6 i2 N2 O5 H1 j 事实上在19世纪中叶具有明确常规作用的中央银行已建立起来。好吧!下课。7 X) z$ E e Y3 O
A:Good-bye!0 J2 _2 Y |, w# s3 O
全:再见 |