本期原文選自The Economist 2016-12-03的封面文章The mighty?dollar，釋義來自牛津高階七版关霸、元照英美法詞典、搜狗百科开镣、維基百科等資源欠啤。如果您也在學習The Economist荚藻，歡迎訂閱我的文集The Economist，一起學習交流洁段。

The mighty【1】 dollar

THE world’s most important currency is flexing its muscles【2】. In the three weeks following Donald Trump’s victory in America’s presidential elections, the dollar had one of its sharpest rises ever against a basket of rich-country peers. It is now 40% above its lows【3】 in 2011. It has strengthened relative to emerging-market currencies, too. The yuan has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since 2008; anxious Chinese officials are said to be pondering tighter restrictions on foreign takeovers by domestic firms to stem the downward pressure. India, which has troubles of its own making【4】 (see article), has seen its currency reach an all-time low【5】 against the greenback. Other Asian currencies have plunged to depths not seen since the financial crisis of 1997-98.

【1】mighty強而有力的应狱，堅挺的；strong強勁的

【2】flex sb's muscles展現(xiàn)實力祠丝；flex屈伸四肢或肌肉

【3】low 低位疾呻，低點，低水平

【4】of sb's own making 自己造成的

【5】all-time low 歷史最低點

The dollar has been gradually gaining strength for years. But the prompt for this latest surge is the prospect of【6】 a shift in the economic-policy mix in America. The weight of investors’ money has bet that Mr Trump will cut taxes and spend more public funds on fixing America’s crumbling【7】 infrastructure. A big fiscal boost would lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a faster rate to check inflation. America’s ten-year bond yield has risen to 2.3%, from almost 1.7% on election night. Higher yields are a magnet for【8】 capital flows (see article).

【6】prospect of sth/of doing sth 可能性纽疟；in prospect可望

【7】crumble 坍塌罐韩，破碎

【8】be a magnet for吸引

Zippier【9】 growth in the world’s largest economy sounds like something to welcome. A widely cited precedent is Ronald Reagan’s first term as president, a time of widening budget deficits and high interest rates, during which the dollar surged【10】. That episode caused trouble abroad and this time could be more complicated still. Although America’s economy makes up a smaller share of the world economy, global financial and credit markets have exploded【11】 in size. The greenback has become more pivotal【12】. That makes a stronger dollar more dangerous for the world and for America.

【9】Zippy迅速的

【10】surge猛漲；plunge猛跌

【11】explode爆炸式增長污朽；increase exponentially呈指數(shù)增長

【12】pivotal關鍵的散吵；pivot樞軸，支點

Novus ordo seclorum【13】

America’s relative clout【14】 as a trading power has been in steady decline【15】: the number of countries for which it is the biggest export market dropped from 44 in 1994 to 32 two decades later. But the dollar’s supremacy【16】 as a means of exchange and a store of value remains unchallenged. Some aspects of the greenback’s power are clear to see. By one estimate in 2014 a de facto【17】 dollar zone, comprising America and countries whose currencies move in line with the greenback, encompassed perhaps 60% of the world’s population and 60% of its GDP.

【13】Novus ordo seclorum“New order of the ages（時代新秩序）”的拉丁文蟆肆，1782年首次設計的美國國徽背面的文字矾睦，自1935年印刷在一美元鈔票的背面，代表美國脫離英國獨立之后的新秩序炎功。該文字是共濟會的口號枚冗，相信陰謀論的人們將其誤譯為“New World Order（世界新秩序）”。

【14】clout 影響力

【15】be in steady decline 逐漸減弱蛇损，穩(wěn)步下降

【16】supremacy (over sb/sth)霸權赁温，霸主地位坛怪；white supremacy白人至上；total supremacy絕對優(yōu)勢

【17】de facto 事實上的股囊，與「法律上的」〔de jure〕相對

Other elements are less visible. The amount of dollar financing that takes place beyond America’s shores has surged in recent years. As emerging markets grow richer and hungrier for finance, so does their demand for dollars. Since the financial crisis, low interest rates in America have led pension funds to look for decent yields elsewhere. They have rushed to buy dollar-denominated【18】 bonds issued in unlikely places, such as Mozambique and Zambia, as well as those issued by biggish emerging-market firms. These issuers were all too happy to borrow in dollars at lower rates than prevailed at home. By last year this kind of dollar debt amounted to almost $10trn, a third of it in emerging markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements【19】, a forum for central bankers.

【18】dollar-denominated以美元計價的（denominated in US dollars）袜匿；denominate以（某種貨幣）為單位；denomination 面額稚疹，面值

【19】Bank for International Settlements 國際清算銀行

When the dollar rises, so does the cost of servicing【20】 those debts. But the pain caused by a stronger greenback stretches well beyond its direct effect on dollar borrowers. That is because cheap offshore borrowing has in many cases caused an increased supply of local credit. Capital inflows push up local asset prices, encouraging further borrowing. Not every dollar borrowed by emerging-market firms has been used to invest; some of the money ended up in bank accounts (where it can be lent out again) or financed other firms.

【20】service支付利息居灯；service debts支付債務利息

A strengthening dollar sends this cycle into reverse. As the greenback rises, borrowers husband【21】 cash to service the increasing cost of their own debts. As capital flows out, asset prices fall. The upshot【22】 is that credit conditions in lots of places outside America are bound ever more tightly to the fortunes of the dollar. It is no coincidence that【23】 some of the biggest losers against the dollar recently have been currencies in countries, such as Brazil, Chile and Turkey, with lots of dollar debts.

【21】husband節(jié)約使用

【22】upshot一系列事件后的最后結果，結局

【23】It is no coincidence that絕非偶然

The eye of providence【24】

There are lurking dangers【25】 in a stronger dollar for America, too. The trade deficit will widen as a strong currency squeezes exports and sucks in imports. In the Reagan era a soaring deficit stoked【26】 protectionism. This time America starts with a big deficit and one that has already been politicised, not least by Mr Trump, who sees it as evidence that the rules of international commerce are rigged in other countries’ favour. A bigger deficit raises the chances that he act on his threats to impose steep tariffs on imports from China and Mexico in an attempt to bring trade into balance. If Mr Trump succumbs【27】 to his protectionist instincts, the consequences would be disastrous for all.

【24】The eye of providence上帝之眼（英語：Eye of Providence内狗，音譯普羅維登斯之眼怪嫌、普洛維頓斯之眼），又稱全視之眼（All-seeing Eye）柳沙，代表“上帝”監(jiān)視人類的法眼岩灭，常見的形式為一顆被三角形及萬丈光芒所環(huán)繞的眼睛，以出現(xiàn)在美國國徽及一美元紙幣的背面而廣為人知偎行。（來自維基百科）

【25】lurking danger潛在的危險

【26】stoke sth (up) 激起川背，煽動贰拿；stoke給……加燃料

【27】succumb (to sth)屈從

Much naturally depends on where the dollar goes from here. Many investors are sanguine【28】. The greenback is starting to look dear against its peers. The Fed has a record of backing away from【29】 rate rises if there is trouble in emerging markets. Yet currencies often move far away from fundamental values for long periods. Nor is it obvious where investors fleeing America’s currency might run to. The euro and the yuan, the two pretenders【30】 to the dollar’s crown, have deep-seated【31】 problems of their own. The Fed, whose next rate-setting meeting comes this month, may find it harder than before to avoid tightening in an economy that is heating up.

【28】sanguine (about sth)樂觀的蛤袒，充滿信心的

【29】back away (from sb/sth) 躲避，避免

【30】pretender覬覦者膨更，冒充者妙真；covet覬覦

【31】deep-seated/deep-rooted根深蒂固的，強烈的

If the dollar stays strong, might protectionist pressure be defused【32】 by co-ordinated international action? Nascent talk of a new pact to rival the Plaza Accord【33】, an agreement in 1985 between America, Japan, Britain, France and West Germany to push the dollar down again, looks misplaced【34】. Japan and Europe are battling low inflation and are none too keen on stronger currencies, let alone on the tighter monetary policies that would be needed to secure them (see article).

【32】defuse緩和荚守，平息

【33】Plaza Accord《廣場協(xié)議》是美國珍德、日本、英國矗漾、法國及西德等5個工業(yè)發(fā)達國家財政部長和央行行長于美國紐約的廣場飯店秘密會晤后锈候，在1985年9月22日簽署的協(xié)議。其目的在聯(lián)合干預外匯市場敞贡，使美元對日元及馬克等主要貨幣有秩序性地下調泵琳，以解決美國巨額貿(mào)易赤字，從而導致日元大幅升值誊役。（來自搜狗百科）

【34】misplaced不合時宜获列，不適宜的

Stock markets in America have rallied【35】 on the prospect of stronger growth. They are being too cavalier【36】. The global economy is weak and the dollar’s muscle will enfeeble【37】 it further.

【35】rally恢復元氣，振作精神蛔垢，貨幣或股票價格回升

【36】cavalier漫不經(jīng)心的击孩，目空一切的

【37】enfeeble使虛弱，使衰弱無力鹏漆；feeble衰弱的巩梢，無力的

小結就不寫了创泄，可以參考商論的官方譯文。

*注：本文僅供學習交流之用括蝠，不代表作者觀點验烧。