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词数:444 words
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小贴士:
今天这篇文章强度拉满,但是内容很好,从另一个角度剖析所谓的泡沫,角度新颖,内容充实,大家可以根据文章内容自行查阅一些相关知识,做好经济金融类背景知识的储备~
——大橙子留
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上期划线句答案
While studying how these sugars heal the wounds of mice when applied topically, scientists at the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University in Pakistan noticed that the fur around the lesions was growing back faster than in untreated mice.
在研究这些糖类如何外用于小鼠以促进伤口愈合时,谢菲联大学和巴基斯坦通讯卫星大学的科学家发现,伤口周围的毛发比未处理的小鼠生长得更快。
topically:A topical medication is a medication that is applied to body surfaces such as the skin to treat ailments via a large range of classes including but not limited to creams, foams, gels, lotions, and ointments. 外用药物
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本期内容
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双语阅读
Para.1
If our age is defined by stagnation and stasis, which results from a generalized form of risk intolerance that permeates all of society, how can we break free and reach escape velocity for accelerated technological and scientific progress? In a word: bubbles. This might seem counterintuitive at first, since bubbles have funded all kinds of gadgets, fads, and technologies that faded into irrelevance after they burst. But bubbles are among the most powerful mechanisms we have to boost risk tolerance. They foster precisely the kinds of futuristic and optimistic visions we need in order to arrest and reverse stasis and decline. Under the right conditions, they are ideal exit ramps from the Great Stagnation.
Para.2
Historically, bubbles are recurrent phenomena. From tulips to Bitcoin, they’ve formed in a multitude of markets. Yet this familiarity has gained them little favor. Bubbles, and their subsequent busts, are often described as destabilizing, inefficient, and socially destructive. And it’s easy to see why. Almost $6 trillion evaporated after the dot-com collapse in the early 2000s, and the global economic system crashed when the housing bubble burst in 2008.
Para.3
The standard view in economics and finance holds that speculative financial bubbles form when unrealistic expectations about future cash flows decouple prices temporarily from fundamental valuations. In this view, popularized by a 19th-century study on crowd psychology, bubbles are the result of “popular delusions,” the “madness of crowds,” or “irrational exuberance.” Fueled by self-reinforcing feedback loops of imitation and herding behavior, prices rise until a crash drives them back to the underlying fundamentals.
Para.4
Yet not all bubbles destroy wealth and value. Some can be understood as important catalysts for techno-scientific progress. Most novel technology doesn’t just appear ex nihilo, entering the world fully formed and all at once. Rather, it builds on previous false starts, failures, iterations, and historical path dependencies. Bubbles create opportunities to deploy the capital necessary to fund and speed up such large-scale experimentation—which includes lots of trial and error done in parallel—thereby accelerating the rate of potentially disruptive technologies and breakthroughs.
Para.5
By generating positive feedback cycles of enthusiasm and investment, bubbles can be net beneficial. Optimism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Speculation provides the massive financing needed to fund highly risky and exploratory projects; what appears in the short term to be excessive enthusiasm or just bad investing turns out to be essential for bootstrapping social and technological innovations. If we examine how progress has unfolded over the course of the past century, we find that in both hardware and software, from the Apollo program to Bitcoin, some of our greatest technological achievements are the product of bubbles.
本文节选自:BigThink
发布时间:2024.12.12
作者:Tobias Huber
原文标题:The key to techno-scientific progress? “Bubbles”
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写作句总结
原句:By generating positive feedback cycles of enthusiasm and investment, bubbles can be net beneficial.
结构:By generating X, Y can be net beneficial.
例句:By cultivating habits of persistence and self-discipline, an individual's overall character can be net beneficial.
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阅读理解题
According to the provided sources, which of the following best describes the potential impact of speculative bubbles on technological advancement?
A. Speculative bubbles are primarily destructive forces that hinder long-term technological progress due to market instability and financial losses.
B. Speculative bubbles can be beneficial as they provide the necessary funding and risk tolerance to fuel experimentation and accelerate technological breakthroughs, despite the risk of crashes.
C. Speculative bubbles have no significant impact on technological advancement.
D. Speculative bubbles only lead to temporary advancements in technology,.
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全文概括
The text argues that while speculative bubbles are often viewed negatively due to their potential for collapse and economic disruption, they can also be powerful catalysts for technological advancement. Bubbles foster risk tolerance and provide substantial funding for risky, large-scale projects, accelerating innovation and potentially leading to breakthroughs. The author counters the traditional view of bubbles as solely driven by irrational exuberance, suggesting that their role in driving progress in fields like space exploration and cryptocurrency should be acknowledged. This perspective reframes bubbles not as purely destructive, but as potentially beneficial drivers of technological progress despite inherent risks. Ultimately, the text proposes a nuanced view of speculative bubbles, challenging conventional economic wisdom.
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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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