美語情景對話 第728期:Personal Finance 個人財務

Todd: Anita, I thought we would talk about money and investments.

託德：安妮塔，我們來談談錢和投資吧。

Anita: OK.

安妮塔：好。

Todd: So, you're pretty young.

託德：你很年輕。

Anita: Yes.

安妮塔：對。

Todd: And how old are you?

託德：你多大了？

Anita: I am 23.

安妮塔：我23歲。

Todd: 23, so that's very young. So as a young person, do you think about your future and saving and retirement?

託德：23歲，是很年輕。作爲一個年輕人，你有考慮過未來、存款和退休嗎？

Anita: I think about my immediate future. I'm not too worried about my retirement just yet, simply because I think you never know : will you retire? will you not retire? I mean, sometimes people get so caught up planning for retirement and saving money for retirement and they don't get to enjoy their life.

安妮塔：我有考慮過不久的將來。我現在並不是太擔心退休問題，因爲我不知道：會退休嗎？還是不會退休？我的意思是，有時人們會被退休計劃困住，只考慮爲退休存錢而無法享受生活。

Todd: Right. But I think, like, I'm getting older. I'm 37 right, so...

託德：沒錯。不過我認爲，你看我的年紀越來越大，我今年已經37歲了，所以……

Anita: That's still young.

安妮塔：你仍然年輕。

Todd: It's still fairly young, but I think everybody that's my age wishes we had started saving when we were your age.

託德：還算年輕，但是我認爲在我這個年紀的人們會希望在你那麼大時就開始存錢。

Anita: I agree. I agree. I'm not thinking about retirement but I'm definitely thinking about my immediate future. What will I do after university? Because right now, I'm a graduate student. When I was an undergraduate, I never thought about saving. I just was worried about paying monthly bills, paying my rent, things like that, so I was worried about having enough money to pay the current expenses. I wasn't worried about savings, but now that I'm a graduate student and I'm about to finish my education, I have to think about what will I do after university. Where will I go? If I look for a job, maybe I will have to travel somewhere. Maybe there will be a period of time when I will not have a job, so that, yes, I am worried about, so right now I'm thinking about savings for that part of my life.

安妮塔：我同意，我同意這個觀點。我沒有考慮過退休問題，不過我有考慮過不遠的將來。比如我大學畢業後要做什麼？現在我是名研究生。我是本科生的時候，從來沒有考慮過存錢。我只是擔心每個月要付的賬單和租金，擔心是否有足夠的錢支付當前的開支。我並沒有爲存錢煩惱，可是現在我是研究生，我馬上就要完成學業，我要考慮畢業以後做什麼。我要去哪裏？如果找工作，我可能要去其他的地方。也許會有一段時間我找不到工作，我現在在擔心這些，所以現在我在考慮爲我的生活存錢。

Todd: Now, Anita, you're married, correct?

託德：安妮塔，你結婚了，對嗎？

Anita: Yes.

安妮塔：對。

Todd: So is finances something that you normally talk with your husband or is it something that you still are used to doing separately and independently?

託德：那你是經常和丈夫商量財政問題還是你更習慣經濟獨立？

Anita: No, no, no. We have joint accounts. Any financial things we discuss.

安妮塔：不，不是，不是這樣的。我們有共同帳戶。任何財政問題我們都會一起商量。

Todd: Right, yeah, cause I think especially with marriage, that's probably always one of the main things is money.

託德：好，我認爲婚姻關係中，最主要的一個問題可能就是錢。

Anita: You see, for me personally, I don't think how I could... I cannot imagine that I would be married to somebody and have two separate bank accounts: one for him and one for me. I don't think that would work for me personally.

安妮塔：就我個人來說，我並不認爲我……我無法想象我結婚後還和丈夫用兩個帳戶：他一個，我一個。就我個人而言我認爲這不可行。

Todd: Yeah, it does actually sound strange.

託德：對，聽起來是有些奇怪。

Anita: Because then, think about it, if you go for dinner with your husband, who pays?

安妮塔：你想想看，如果你和丈夫一起吃晚餐，那誰付錢？

Todd: Right.

託德：對。

Anita: And if it's him paying all the time, well that's not fair towards him, so I think once you're in the marriage together, once you're doing everything together, you might as well be saving and spending together as well.

安妮塔：如果總是他買單，對他來說並不公平，所以我認爲兩個人結婚以後，一起生活以後，最好還是一起存錢一起承擔開支。

Todd: You're right. That makes perfect sense, but I think in the U.S. nowadays it's common now for couples to have separate checking accounts.

託德：你說的對。這很有道理，不過現在在美國，夫妻有獨立帳戶的情況很普遍。

Anita: It is and, even my parents had that for awhile. I personally don't like it because to me it seems like a back door. If somebody had two accounts and they're married to me it's a way of saying, "I love you and I'm married to you, but just in case something happens to us, I've got my own account to depend on.

安妮塔：的確是，我父母有一段時間就是這樣。不過我個人不喜歡這樣，對我來說，這就像留了後路一樣。如果有人有兩個帳戶，他和我結婚就好像在說：我愛你，所以我和你結婚，但是以防我們之間會出現問題，我要留下我的個人帳戶。

Todd: Great point.

託德：這個觀點很好。

Anita: And to me, personally, I will do my upmost best for my relationship not to get to that point, so because I am not even taking that into consideration, I'm not acting that way right now.

安妮塔：就我個人來說，我會盡最大努力使我的婚姻不會走到那一步，因爲我甚至都沒有考慮過這個問題，我也並沒有那樣做。

Todd: Well said.

託德：說的好。

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重點講解：
1. be about to do sth. 即將（做…）的；快要（發生…）的；
例句：Iwas about togo out when he called on me.
當他來訪時，我正要外出。
2. be used to doing sth. 習慣於；
例句：Iwas used tohim messing up the kitchen.
我對他把廚房弄髒已經習慣了。
3. all the time 一直；始終；
例句：Ray was very giggly and jokingall the time.
蕾特別喜歡咯咯地笑，而且總是愛開玩笑。
4. might as well 只好（做）；（做…）也無妨；
例句：Business is terrible Imight as wellpack up.
生意很不好做——我還是關門算了。
5. make sense 可以理解；講得通；
例句：Grandmother's advice alwaysmade sense.
祖母的勸告永遠言之有理。
6. just in case 以備；以防；免得；
例句：Extra boiling water should be kept at handjust in caseit is needed.
身邊應多準備一些開水，以備不時之需。
7. happen to （尤指不愉快的事）發生（在…身上）；（某人）遭到；遇到；
例句：'d hate anything tohappen tohim.
但願他平安無事。
8. take into consideration 考慮到；顧及；
例句：Time factor is what we must firsttake into consideration.
時間因素是我們必須首先考慮的。