金融英语口语：西方的银行（1）

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　　西方的银行（一）
) s2 c9 R/ H3 I. h: E. ?( j3 n　　Situation 1
+ ~) I5 q, p" C( h% i　　情景 1
　　Jiro Ito is visiting with his friend ,Bob Jenson ,a banker in NewYork .
: t4 P8 M$ L" |7 v4 e" t　　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。
　　They are talking about the history of banking in the west .
; P6 {5 h7 ?, [( u& U; I2 f1 Q　　他们正在谈论有关西方银行的历史。
. f+ e6 R2 p$ V　　Ito:I’m curious about the history of banking in the west ,Bob.Can you tell me something about it ?
　　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？
" v; ^8 _4 _4 S1 i, S; Y　　Jensen:Well,Jiro,the earliest banks started in Babylon almost 4,000 years ago .
　　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。
) D* U5 I# s+ j8 m& v　　They were really temples which collected deposits and made loans .
6 B, g8 A7 E) R) G4 D2 m8 \. C9 B　　实际上，那些银行只是一种收集存款并进行放款的场所。
) _, e6 X7 ?+ U! j3 _$ T/ c　　I :That surprises me .I had always thought that banking started during the Renaissance in Europe .
　　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。
2 e( f& V2 u8 l5 M( I; s　　J:No ,it was much earlier than that.Actually ,private firms that handled deposits and loans ,
　　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。
& W: h; N- T0 h# U# U* `　　changed coins and even arranged for credit transactions existed as early as the 6th century B.C.
　　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。
1 r4 H! U8 X  w6 N/ M4 m  E' s　　I:Then ,there were banks in ancient Greece and Rome,too?
8 @& d* d% `9 d　　伊 滕：当时，古希腊和罗马也有银行吗？
　　J:Yes ,laws in Both Greece and Rome recognized banks and many bank functions .
% v  E7 h- z$ z. H# B7 b: m/ g　　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。
/ G5 n- B7 y; b　　It wasn’t until the breakup of the Roman Empire and the decline in trade and commercialtransactions that banking lost its previous importance .
5 t8 M0 O9 j6 e; k5 ]　　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。
　　I:What about the laws against usury during the Middle Ages?Didn’t such laws made it illegal tocharge interest on loans?
3 p" m* s/ 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？
　　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 .
0 m* T. s- ~8 f* u) Z, d7 a　　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。
　　I:I see .So we can really say that banking restarted during the Renaissance .
! |: c; A  A0 l2 j　　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。