Dealing with Inflation
    應付通貨膨脹
    Robert Albert ,president of Albert Electronics ,is talking about inflation and general financial conditions with his banker ,Wilson Hall.
    艾伯特電子公司總裁羅伯特·艾伯特正和他的銀行職員威爾遜·霍爾在談論通貨膨脹和金融狀況。
    Albert:I'm really concerned about the general financial situation ,Mr.Hall.
    艾伯特：霍爾先生，我對于目前金融價總的狀況甚為關切。
    We've been living with constantly rising prices for too long .
    我們長期在物價不斷上漲的情況下生活著，
    You would think that the tight money policies that the government has been following would start having some effect .
    你大概認為政府所實施的銀根緊縮政策已經開始產生一些效果。
    Hall:I think they're starting to work ,Mr.Albert .Interest rates have gone up substantially recently ,
    霍 爾：我認為這些政策已經開始生效，艾伯特先生。近來利率已大幅度提高，
    and the availability of credit has been sharply curtailed .
    信貸的使用已大大削減。
    Unfortunately ,however demand-pull inflation is not our only problem .
    不幸的是，由需求而促成的通貨膨脹并不是我們的問題。
    A:Yes ,the new problem seems to be cost-push inflation ,or what the economists sometimes call sellers'inflation .
    艾伯特：是的，新的問題似乎是成本促成的通貨膨脹，就是經濟學家們有時稱之為賣方通貨膨脹。
    H:Exactly .For example ,the rising costs of commodities and energy supplies over which we have no real control .
    霍 爾：的確如此，譬如說，商品和能源的成本一直不斷增加，對此我們沒有得到真正的控制。
    Fiscal and monetary policies can't do much to help us deal with this kind of inflation .
    財政和貨幣政策對于我們解決這類性質的通貨膨脹也是愛莫能助。
    A:It must be very difficult for you as a banker to try to satisfy your customers during periods like this .
    艾伯特：處于這樣的時期，你作為一個銀行家，要想盡力去滿足你的顧客們的要求肯定是很困難的。
    H:Indeed it is.Tight money policies make it necessary for us to turn down loan requests from many clients or to increase the downpayment requirements on mortgage and installment loans .
    霍 爾：確實如此。銀根緊縮政策使得我們必須拒絕許多客戶的貸款要求，或者增加抵押貨款和分期貸款的定金。
    A:Well,let's hope we see an improvement soon.People on fixed incomes,particularly retired people,
    艾伯特：我們指望著不久將看到情況有所好轉。眼下，那些靠固定收入的人們，特別是那些退休的人，
    must be having a terrible time making ends meet.
    為維持生計一定會碰到不少困難。