美元的通称和俗称.doc

随着社会不断发展，美国货币已经历了第一代现金(cash)、第二代一支票(cheque)而进入了第三代电子货币，也就是，开始时的信用卡(credit card)以及目前的资产卡(asset card)或借方卡(debit card)。目前，大多数人日常使用的是支票和信用卡，而不是现金。尽管如此，中国读者对于美国现金及其通称、俗称还是要有所了解。 美国现金分硬币(coin)和纸币(note或bill)。硬币有面值为一美分、二美分、五美分、十美分、二十五美分、五十美分以及一美元等六种。其中，五十美分和一美元为含银纪念硬币。纸币有面值为一美元、二美元、五美元、十美元、二十五美元、五十美元、一百美元、二百美元、五百美元等九种。众所周知，美元的基本单位通称为dollar。a dollar为一美元；a cent是一美分：一百美分折合一美元。但是，对于美元的俗称，中国读者可能不太熟悉。然而，它们在文学作品、电视电影和日常生活中经常出现。例如： 1I thought of money all the timeI dreamed about moneyI was picking dimes, nickels and pennies off the sidewalk(John Cheever，Falconer) 2. He reached into his pockethis hands were shakingand took out a quarter(John CheeverThe Country Husband) 3. Its a nice shirtIt cost sixteen，eighteen bucks (Saul BellowSeize the Day) 例1、2、3中dime，nickel，penny，quarter，buck均为美元俗称。它们各自的含义是什么? A dollar is 100 cents and is often called a buck A cent is a penny A 5-cent piece is a nickel A 10-cent piece is a dime A 25-cent piece is a quarter A 50-cent piece is a half dollar or half buck 对美元俗称有了初步了解之后，翻译起来就顺手多了。请看： 4. He watched her open the reticule；he watched her count onto the desk twenty-five dollars in frayed bills and coins ranging down to nickels and dimes and pennies(William Faulkner。Go Down, Moses) 他瞅着她找开手提包、数钱、将破旧不堪的二十五美元纸币和一大堆从十美分、五美分到一美分的硬币搁在桌上。 5He wished he had paid back the five and kept himself the one-buck bill(Bernard Malamud，The Assistant) 他巴不得把那张面值五美元的票子还回去，而留下这张面值一美元的票子。 6His wallet contained a five-dollar bill(Ibid)他钱包里有一张五美元的钞票。 7Wilhelm in the narrow booth broke into a heavy sweatHe dropped his head and shrugged while with his fingers he arranged nickels，dimes and quarters in rows威尔汉姆站在狭小的公用电话亭里，出了一身大汗。他低着头，弓着肩，用手指拨弄那些五美分的、十美分的、廿五美分的硬币，把它们排成了好几行。 8After I got all packedI sort of counted my dough(生面团, 钱, 金钱)。I dont remember exactly how much I had，but l was pretty loadedMy grandmotherd just sent me a wad(卷) about a week beforeI had this grandmother thats pretty lavish with her doughshes old as helland she keeps sending me money for my birthday about four times a year(JPSalinger，The Catcher in the Rye) 所有行李打完之后，我算了算自己总共有多少钱。我记不准有多少了，反正，不老少。大概是一个星期以前，外婆给了我一大叠钱。我的那个外婆给钱可大方罗她老了，老爱犯糊涂，一年里约摸给了我四次钱祝贺我的生日。 9All I had was three singles*and five quarters and a nickel leftboy，I spent a fortune since I left Pencey(lbid) 我总共剩下三张一元钱一张的票子、五个廿五分、一个一分的钢蹦儿唉，离开潘西之后，我把一大笔钱统统花光了。 *dough意为money。single为$1 note。英语十一种“钱”的表达方法初学英语的人，常用expense来表示一切“费用”。其实expense主要是“花费”、“开支”之意，如current expenses“日常开支”，selling expenses“销售费用”，travelling expenses“旅费”等等。在现实生活中，各种“费用”有各种不同的表达法:admission 指入场费。如admission by ticket only凭票入场charge “原价、要价”。常用复数，主要用於一次性劳务所收取的费用，如服务费、行李超重费、旅馆费等等。如What are the charges in the hotel? (这家旅馆收费多少？)cost 本义为“成本”、“原价”。常常用来表示对已取得的货物或劳务所支付的费用。如The cost of seeing a movie is seven dollars. (看一场电影要花七美元。)fare 指旅客乘公共汽车、出租车、火车、轮船、飞机等所支付的费用。如All fares, please. (公共汽车售票员用语)请买票。fee 医生、律师或其它专门职业的佣金及会费、手续费、停车费等。如My lawyers hourly fee is 130 dollars. (我的律师的佣金是每小时130美元。)freight 运费，指海运、空运、陆运的费用。如Who will pay the freight on this order? (谁支付这批定货的运费？)postage 指邮费。如How much postage do I need to send this package? (寄这个包裹须付多少钱？)rent 土地、建筑物、房舍、机器等定期的租费。如The student owed three months rent for my house. (那学生欠我三个月的房租。)tip 小费。如I gave my barber a fat tip. (