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Spreading the Risk 分散风险

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

We’re surrounded by risk. There’s the risk of tripping down the stairs, and the risk of forgetting your umbrella somewhere. Some risks are trivial, but some, like loss of income due to the injury or death of a family’s breadwinner, are very significant. Insurance is mechanism by which we can transfer some of that risk, thus protecting ourselves against unforeseen events that would harm our financial future.

我们生活周遭充满各种风险。有可能从楼梯跌下去，也有可能把伞忘了放在哪儿。有的风险小，有的风险大，大的譬如像是一家之主受伤或死亡，断绝了全家的经济来源。保险是一种机制，我们可以藉由它分散风险，以保障我们对抗各种未知事件的伤害，不致使未来经济受到影响。

Insurance companies are of two general kinds: (1) life insurance companies, and (2) general insurance companies. The principal distinction is that life insurance is an extremely long-term business, whereas other types of insurance cover shorter periods. Consequently, most countries have different laws and regulations for each kind of insurance.

保险公司有两种：(1)寿险公司(2)一般保险公司。两者主要的差别是寿险公司都做长期业务，而另一种保险公司则囊括其他短期产品。因此大多数国家都有不同的法律规定来规范各种保险业务。

Your insurance contract, or policy, covers specific kinds of risks or perils, such as property damage, ill health, even terrorism. Insurance companies pool the risks of a group of people in order to make individual costs predictable. Individual risk is determined by actuaries, also known as “bean counters,” who use statistical analysis to fix policy payments.

你的保险合约包含各种特定的风险或危险，像是房屋损坏、健康不佳、甚至恐怖行动。保险公司集结一群人的风险以精算出每个人需负担的成本为何。个人风险是由保险公司的精算师算出的，精算师也被称为「数豆子的人」，他们运用统计分析来订定保险的付款标准。

These payments or premiums are put into a pool which can be drawn from when someone files a claim. In this way, many payments compensate a few losses. This, hopefully, provide everyone with peace of mind.

这些保费被集中在一处，当有人申请出险案件时就从中提取款项。机制如此运作，多数人的保费就足以弥补少数人的损失。这样，希望能够让每个人都安心。

Vocabulary

单词发音

trip [trɪp] v. 绊，绊倒

trivial [ˋtrɪvɪəl] adj. 琐细的；不重要的

breadwinner [ˋbrɛd͵wɪnɚ] n. 负担生计的人

unforeseen [͵ʌnforˋsin] adj. 未预见到的；预料之外的

policy [ˋpɑləsɪ] n. 保险单；保险

peril [ˋpɛrəl] n.（严重的）危险

pool [pul] v. 合伙[集中]使用﹐共享

actuary [ˋæktʃʊ͵ɛrɪ] n.（保险）精算师；（保险公司）会计

statistical [stəˋtɪstɪk!] adj. 统计的；统计学的

premium [ˋprimɪəm] n. 保险费

claim [klem] n.（对保险公司的）索赔

compensate [ˋkɑmpən͵set] v. 补偿，赔偿

Sentence of the Day

Insurance premiums are like money put aside for a rainy day.

缴保险像是为未来急用而预留一笔钱。

put aside  放到一边; 储存

课文讲解

Larry sees Susan standing by her car:  赖利看到苏珊站在她的车子旁边：

L: Hey, Sue. Looks like you’ve been in a little fender bender. Are you OK?

嘿，小苏，看来妳似乎出了个小车祸。妳还好吗？

S: Yeah, it was just a little mishap in the parking lot. I’m just wondering whether or not to file a claim.

是还好，只是在停车场有点小意外。我在考虑要不要办理赔。

L: From what I can see, there’s not much damage. It’s probably not worth your while to claim this.

我看车子没什么大损伤。或许妳办理赔并不值得。

S: Exactly. My broker told me that the deductible is going to be more than the cost of repairs. But it doesn’t seem fair because I’ve been faithfully paying my premiums for years without making a single claim.

正是。我的经纪人告诉我理赔门坎比修理车子的费用还高。不过我认为对我似乎不太公平，因为我已经忠实缴了好几年的保费，但是一次理赔都没办过。

L: Well, that’s a common misconception about insurance. Except for some life insurance policies, premiums don’t accumulate for you to draw upon when you need to.

这是一般对保险的错误看法。除了某些类寿险外，保费一般不会累积到值得让妳办理赔的。

S: Really? I just thought it was because insurance wasn’t intended to cover all mishaps and inconveniences.

真的吗？我以为保险本来就没有被设计去保障全部的意外。

L: That’s true too. If everyone files a claim every time they lost their cell phone, then insurance companies wouldn’t have anything left in the pool to pay for major accidents like house fires.

那也是真的。如果每回每个人遗失手机都办理赔，那么保险公司就没有余钱来支付像是房屋失火这类重大意外了。

S: That makes sense. So insurance really pays for itself only when there’s a major loss.

听起来很合理。所以保险只在遭逢重大损失时是真正值回票价。

L: Right, but let’s hope that never happens.

是的，不过让我们希望这种事绝不要发生。

S: True enough, knock on wood!

的确是，老天保佑！

－by Howie Phung

Vocabulary

单词发音

fender bender【美】【口】小车祸；擦撞

mishap [ˋmɪs͵hæp] n. 小事故; 小错误

worth one’s while 值得某人花时间(或精力)的

deductible [dɪˈdʌktəb!] n.（保险）扣除条款; 免赔额；自负额

misconception [͵mɪskənˋsɛpʃən] n. 错误想法﹐误解; 错误印象

draw upon 利用，使用，采用

knock on wood 等于把霉运敲掉; 老天保佑  Said as a wish for good luck. Usually a phrase attached to another statement. Sometime said while knocking or rapping on real wood

Sentence of the Day

She just received a crash course in the workings of insurance.

她刚接受完保险业的密集训练课程。

crash course  速成课