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词数：549 words
难度：★★★★☆
小贴士：
关于美联储降息的内容，不大可能会考，不过大家可以了解一下经济金融类背景知识，这篇文章也有很多值得积累的专业词汇。
——大橙子留
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上期划线句答案
Both high dietary added sugar and high or variable blood sugar have been linked to worse brain outcomes by way of processes like insulin resistance (which may make it harder for our brains to access glucose) as well as inflammation, which over time has been linked to higher risk for conditions like depression as well as dementia.
添加糖摄入量高的饮食、高血糖或血糖波动与较差的大脑健康结果相关，主要会受到胰岛素抵抗等过程（这可能使大脑更难获取葡萄糖）以及炎症影响，随着时间的推移，炎症与抑郁症和老年痴呆等疾病的风险增加有关。
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本期内容
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双语阅读
Para.1
It’s easy to assume that lower interest rates are a panacea. Almost everyone, after all, is affected to some degree by the cost of borrowing. When the Federal Reserve cuts its benchmark rates — as it is expected to do this week for the first time since the pandemic — that makes credit less expensive for consumers and corporations alike. The cheaper debt means companies can spend more to expand, just as consumers might be able to afford bigger homes with lower mortgage rates. But there is a complicated and somewhat unpredictable interplay between interest rates and the business world. Lower rates bolster the economy, but for companies and their investors, lower rates do not always carry unalloyed positive effects.
Para.2
All else equal, lower rates are good for the stock market. When investors gauge the value of a stock, they tend to come up with a higher figure when interest rates fall because of a common valuation principle known as discounting, in which a company’s future cash flows and costs become more attractive under low-rate conditions. If the economy is faltering, forcing the Fed to lower rates quickly, that can be a headwind to the stock market. A gentle return to a more normal level of rates — at least in the context of the past few decades — is less likely to crimp corporate profits in the way that an economic downturn could.
Para.3
There are few businesses more sensitive to interest rates than banks. That’s because lenders generally make money off the difference between what they pay depositors and what they charge to borrowers, such as home buyers in need of mortgages and trading firms who want leverage to supercharge their bets. That difference is known as a spread, and higher rates allow banks to collect a larger spread. No wonder, then, that the biggest bank stocks dropped last week when executives from major institutions such as JPMorgan Chase warned that analysts were being too optimistic about how lenders would fare if rates drop and spreads shrink.
Para.4
On the flip side, large investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as well as some corporate law firms have been hankering for the fees they can collect for advising on mergers and acquisitions, when one company buys another. Lower rates make it cheaper for those companies — or the private equity firms that back them — to take out loans to support those purchases and increase the likelihood of deals coming together.
Para.5
If companies can borrow more cheaply, the savings should mean they can spend more on hiring, for acquisitions, or to reward their shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends. That spending is one way lower rates would flow through the global economy. But if lower rates are accompanied by rising macroeconomic worries, lenders could be hesitant about extending credit to indebted, struggling companies. In that case, the interest rates on offer might not change all that much. For now, those worries remain on the back burner, and the prospect of lower rates has already revitalized appetite for lending from bond investors trying to lock in higher rates — and higher returns — before the Fed begins to cut. That has been welcomed by corporate America, especially by companies whose bonds are due in the near future or borrowers with weaker credit ratings.
本文节选自：The New York Times（纽约时报）
发布时间：2024.9.17
作者：The New York Times
原文标题：Will Lower Rates Unleash a Business Boom? It’s Complicated.
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写作句总结
原句：For now, those worries remain on the back burner, and the prospect of lower rates has already revitalized appetite for lending from bond investors trying to lock in higher rates — and higher returns — before the Fed begins to cut.
结构：For now, X remains on the back burner, and the prospect of Y has already been.
例句：For now, environmental concerns remain on the back burner, and the prospect of green technology innovations has already been attracting significant investment.
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阅读理解题
What is the main idea of the passage?
A) Lower interest rates are beneficial for everyone in the economy.
B) The relationship between interest rates and the economy is complex and multifaceted.
C) Banks are the only businesses affected by changes in interest rates.
D) Lower interest rates guarantee increased spending by corporations and consumers.
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打卡作业
翻译文章中的划线句，文末留言打卡，下期推送会在文章开头处公布参考翻译答案，大家一起来学习英语吧~
翻译 | 大橙子
校对 | 李柚子
词汇词组 | 西西弗
划线句讲解 | 流木
写作句总结 | 沅沅
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