【经济学人】新一英镑硬币被称为迄今为止最安全的硬币丨2017.3.23丨总第850期

BEST known for his musings on gravity, Isaac Newton also spent several years as warden of the Royal Mint, charged with upholding the integrity of the nation’s coinage . He performed the role with great—some might say excessive—enthusiasm: he is said to have bribed and leant on William Chaloner’s associates and mistresses to secure the conviction of the counterfeiting kingpin . The mint of today eschews such tactics, but takes currency security no less seriously.

艾萨克·牛顿以他对重力的冥想而最为著名，他也曾当过几年皇家造币厂的监督员，负责维护国家货币制度完整。他以种极大的—有人可能会说是过度的—热情扮演这个角色：据说，他曾贿赂并依靠威廉·查洛纳的下属和情妇来确保让造假头目定罪。今天皇家造币厂摈弃了这种策略，但是对货币安全更严格了。

• eschew v. 躲开;躲避
  

• musing n.沉思;冥想;

• warden n.监督员;管理员

• coinage n.货币制度

• kingpin n.（组织中的）主要人物，领袖

• mint n.铸币厂

A new £1 coin will appear in shops and banks from March 28th. An initial batch of 1.5bn will be shipped from a production site in Llantrisant, Wales, and consumers will have until October to spend or exchange their old coins. The makeover is deemed necessary because the version in pockets today, introduced in 1983, is no longer fit for purpose. As counterfeiters have got better at producing copies, the number of fakes has grown to one in 30 coins in circulation, the mint reckons. One manager thinks it might be closer to one in ten.

新一英镑硬币将从3月28日起出现在超市和银行。第一批15亿硬币将从兰特里桑特，威尔士的生产地运输，截至到十月份，消费者不得不花费或者兑换他们的旧硬币。这次改版很有必要，因为今天人们口袋里的1983年出的版本 已经不再适合其目的了。 “期待您的翻译，将您的理解留言在文章下方留言处，第二天将会有长难句解析哟~。”

• makeover改版，革新
  

• batch 一批；一组；一群

The new coin’s first lines of defence are its bimetallic composition (a gold-coloured nickel-brass outer ring and silver-coloured nickel-plated-alloy middle), its 12-sided edge, evoking the threepenny bit, and tiny lettering cut into the inside rim. It also boasts a hologram-like “latent image” that changes from a pound symbol to a “1” when the coin is tilted.

新硬币第一层防护线是双金属复合物（金色镍黄铜合金外圈和银色镀镍合金内圈），12边形，使人想起（英国）三便士银币，微小的刻字切入内边缘。它还具有类似全像型的“潜像”，使得当硬币倾斜时会从英镑的符号变成“1”

• hologram-like adj.类似全息图的，全像型的
  

• bimetallic adj.双金属的

• nickel-brass n.镍黄铜合金

• nickel-plated-alloy n.镀镍合金

Then there is what the mint calls “covert” security: a layer embedded in the coin which is understood to respond to signals of different frequencies (the mint is understandably saying little about it). Authenticity can be verified by scanners at banks and in vending machines . To take advantage of this new feature, Britain’s half a million or so vending machines are being refitted with electromagnetic-signature detectors . Supermarkets have been replacing coin slots in trolleys.

这也就是皇家造币厂所称的“隐蔽”安全：新硬币嵌有一层被人理解是为回应不同频率信号（皇家造币厂不谈论它，这可以理解）。在银行和自动售货机里，假币能够被扫描仪检测出来。为利用新功能的优势，应该约50万自动售货机重新装置电磁特征探测器。大超市已经替换了手推车里的投币口。

• slot n.(机器或容器上的)狭缝，狭孔
  

• authenticity adj.真的; （仿制品）能够以假乱真的，

• vending machines自动售货机

• electromagnetic-signature 电磁特征

Adam Lawrence, the mint’s chief executive, claims the new coin is the most secure ever. As well as foiling fakers, its state-of-the-art features might also stoke foreign demand. The Treasury-owned coin-striker not only provides domestic currency but competes in tenders for overseas contracts, too. In a typical year, three-quarters of its coins are sent abroad. Its customers include Bosnia, Costa Rica and Hong Kong.

皇家造币厂的首席执行官亚当·劳伦斯称新硬币是有史以来最安全的硬币。使用最先进技术的特点可能既挫败造假者，也激起外国需求。财政部拥有的硬币标本不仅提供本国货币，而且还为海外合同参加投标。通常情况下,硬币的四分之三被送往国外。其消费者包括波斯尼亚，哥斯达黎加和香港。

• tender n. 投标，参与竞标
  

• state-of-the-art使用最先进技术的;体现最高水平的

• stoke煽起;鼓动;激起

With all the talk of cash becoming ever more digital, some might wonder whether it is worth investing so much time and money in making physical coins harder to copy and more durable. They should take a look at the statistics, says Mr Lawrence: both the value and volume of the notes and coins that are circulating in Britain is still going up each year.

随着现金变得更加数字化的热论，一些人可能会猜想在制造更难复制和更耐用的硬币上投资这么多时间和金钱是否值得。亚当·劳伦斯说，他们应该仔细看看数据，在英国，纸币与硬币的价值和数量仍然每年都在上涨。

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