全新版大学英语(第二版)综合教程2课文及翻译(7)

kids help me calculate their interest -- a useful lesson in averaging and percentages. (3) I give them unlimited access to their funds, no questions asked, and I provide printed statements on demand. 戴夫银行经营了4年，一下子就把我的两个孩子变成了热心的储蓄者。至今我儿子在车里找到零钱仍会来找我说， “今天就把这个上账。”两个孩子的存款增长很快，两年之后，我不得不将月利率降至3厘。我宣布调低利率时两个孩子反对，可当我解释说供求法则同样适用于货币供应后，两人严肃地点头赞同。两个孩子帮我一起计算他们的利息——这可是学习计算平均值与百分比的颇为有用的一课。他们使用自己的资金我不加任何限制，不作任何询问，我还根据要求随时提供打印的账单。

6 The high rate of interest is not the only attractive feature of the Bank of Dave. Equally important from the kids' point of view is that their accounts belong to them. When they save, they harvest the benefit; when they want to spend, they don't need permission. Children who have no control over their own funds have no incentive not to beg for money and then spend every dollar that comes into their hands.

高利率并非戴夫银行惟一诱人之处。在孩子看来同样重要的是，他们的存款属于他们自己。他们存钱便会获利；他们想花钱也用不着获得许可。孩子对自己的钱没有自主权，就没有什么东西激励他们不去伸手要钱，不把到手的钱花个光。

7 The way to help children become rational consumers is to give them more control, not less. Before we go on vacation, I'll usually give my kids an extra twenty bucks or so, which I deposit in their accounts. I tell them that they can spend the extra money on a T-shirt, save it, spend it before we leave, or do anything else they want with it -- but that while we are on vacation, they won't receive any additional pocket money from me (except in the form of communal purchases considered by custom to be vacation entitlements, such as candy, ice cream, movie tickets, and so on). Because any money they spend starts out as theirs, not mine, they think twice before throwing it away. In a souvenir store on Martha's Vineyard a couple of summers ago my son quietly studied the unpromising merchandise while a friend of his loudly cajoled his parents into paying five dollars for a toy gun, which fell apart almost before we got back to the car. My son ended up spending thirty-three cents for an unopened geode, which he later cracked open by hitting it with a hammer -- a good value, it seemed to me. If he had been spending my money instead of his, he undoubtedly would have wanted a toy gun instead.

帮助孩子们成为理性消费者的方法是，交给他们更多的，而不是更少的自主权。我们去度假前，我通常额外多给孩子们20块钱左右存在他们账户上。我告诉他们，他们可以在我们出发前用这笔额外的钱买T恤衫、存起来，或者花掉，或随便他们派什么别的用场——但在度假期间，他们就不会从我这儿再拿到任何额外的零用钱了（根据惯例被认为是度假享受的共同消费除外，如糖果、冰淇淋、电影票等）。由于他们花费的任何一笔钱都是他们自己的而不是我的，他们出手时就很谨慎。两年前的一个夏天，在玛莎葡萄园的一家纪念品商店，我儿子一声不响地仔细察看那些不起眼的商品，他的一个朋友则吵着让父母花5美金买了一把玩具枪，可几乎还没等我们回到车上，枪就坏了。我儿子最后花了33