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Covering Your Assets: Buying Insurance 购买保险为求保障

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Everywhere you look these days, there’s somebody pitching an insurance policy. With so many alternatives available, it’s not easy to find the right one for you. The key is finding the right coverage at the right price. To do so, you must choose a reliable provider, then ask some pertinent questions.

近来不管在哪里都会看到有人在推销保险。保险有很多种可供选择，但要选一种适合自己的并非易事，关键在于找到价格适当而又涵盖适当保险项目的标的物。想达到这个目的，你必须找一家可靠的保险公司，然后问些相关问题。

Despite the many channels of advertising, there are only four channels through which insurance is sold. Insurance brokers serve the interests of several firms, and provide a variety of policy choices. An insurance agent, on the other hand, represents the products of just one insurance company. Direct sellers are similar to agents, but sell exclusively over the phone. The final alternative is to purchase your policy through a group plan offered through work or a professional association. Prices are generally comparable, so it’s most important to find a provider that you can trust.

虽然广告的管道很多，但是卖保险的管道只有四种。保险经纪人替多家保险公司服务，提供各式各样的保单给客户选择。另一方面，保险代理人只代理一家保险公司的产品。直销商和保险代理人有些类似，但只用电话推销。最后一种选择是团保，团保是职业公会或是工作场所以团体名义购买的保险类型。价钱通常可以比较，所以最重要的是要找一家你能信任的保险公司。

To ensure the coverage is right for you, ask about a policy’s exclusion. Exclusions are what a policy doesn’t cover – and every policy has them. For life insurance, ask about premiums and interest rates, and whether they change during the life of the policy.

为了确保你买的保险涵盖适当的保险范围，务必要问清楚排除条款的部分。排除条款是指保险不涵盖的范围──每份保险都有。以寿险而言，一定要问保费和利率是多少，而且要问清它们在承保期间会不会变动。

Doing your homework before you make a commitment will ensure there are fewer complications down the road.

决定好要买保险前先做功课，才能确保往后不会滋生更多麻烦。

Vocabulary

单词发音

pitch [pɪtʃ] v.【美】【俚】竭力推销 Informal to attempt to promote or sell, often in a high-pressure manner

policy [ˋpɑləsɪ] n. 保险单；保险

pertinent [ˋpɝtnənt] adj.【书】有关的，相干的

broker [ˋbrokɚ] n. 经纪人，掮客，代理人

exclusively [ɪkˋsklusɪvlɪ] adv. 专门地；专有地

comparable [ˋkɑmpərəb!] adj. 可比较的

coverage [ˋkʌvərɪdʒ] n. 保险项目（或范围）

exclusion [ɪkˋskluʒən] n. 被排除在外的事物

premium [ˋprimɪəm] n. 保险费

Sentence of the Day

Make a point of checking your insurance policy carefully.

务必要仔细检查你的保单。

make a point of  重视，强调; 坚持要…, 决心做…

课文讲解

Michelle is on the computer while her husband Sam watches TV:  米雪在用计算机，她先生山姆在看电视：

M: Hey, Sam, check out this pop-up. This company claims they can offer us the same coverage we have on our house, but at half the price.

嘿，山姆，你看这网页上的弹出式广告。这家公司说他们能给我们的房子提供相同的保险保障，但是只要半价。

S: I doubt that. With insurance, you pretty much get what you pay for. If someone is offering a policy for substantially less, you’ll get substantially less.

我怀疑它是否是真的。保险这东西，其实是一分钱一分货。如果有人提供很低价的保险，那么得到的保障也会很少。

M: Yeah, cut-rate companies are probably not the ones you want to deal with during a crisis. And besides, we just renewed our policy last month. If we switch providers now, they’ll slap us with a stiff penalty.

是啊，在紧要关头你大概也不会想和这种杀价竞争的公司打交道。更何况我们上个月才重新续约。倘若现在换保险公司，他们一定会罚我们一笔很重的违约金。

S: That’s not the only reason I wouldn’t consider switching insurers. Insurance is very much about trust. If we switch providers too often, insurance companies may not give us the benefit of the doubt when we actually file a claim.

这不是我不考虑换保险公司的唯一理由。保险是非常重视诚信的。如果我们动不动就换保险公司，当我们真正申请理赔时，保险公司或许会怀疑我们理赔的动机，而不利于我们获得理赔。

M: Also, our insurance provider offers a discount if we maintain a clean record for ten years.

而且，如果我们10年都没有理赔纪录的话，我们保的这家保险公司会给我们折扣优惠。

S: Hmm ….. that’s a long time to go without filing a claim.

嗯…10年没有理赔纪录，时间满长的。

M: Which means you’ll have to get off that couch and install the new security system and deadbolt lock we talked about. In insurance lingo, that’s called risk management.

如此说来，意思是你要从沙发上起来，把我们讨论过的保全系统和门栓装好。以保险的行话来说，这叫风险管理。

S: No, that’s called tricking me into doing work on the weekend!

不是，这叫骗我在周末做苦工。

－by Howie Phung

Vocabulary

单词发音

pop-up 网页弹出式的广告

substantially less 非常少的

substantially [səbˋstænʃəlɪ] adv. 相当多地，大大地

cut-rate [ˋkʌt͵ret] adj. 减价销售的

renew [rɪˋnju] v. 换新

slap [slæp] v.【口】课征（税，罚金等）; 【口】对……起诉；提出

stiff [stɪf] adj. 昂贵的

penalty [ˋpɛn!tɪ] n. 罚款

give someone the benefit of the doubt 因证据不足而承认某人无罪(或无过失等) to believe something good about someone, rather than something bad, when you have the possibility of doing either

claim [klem] n.（对保险公司的）索赔

get off 离开

install [ɪnˋstɔl] v. 安装，设置

deadbolt [ˋdɛd͵bolt] n. 门栓（需用锁匙开启者）

lingo [ˋlɪŋgo] n. 行话

trick someone into doing …   哄骗某人做..

Sentence of the Day

Every insurance claim is a black mark on one’s record when insurance companies calculate premiums.

每一回的申请理赔案件，都会成为保险公司替你计算下次保费而涨价的一个理由(污点事证)。

black mark 污点; 缺点