【英语多益通】电影《大卖空》教你一次看懂金融海啸
文／罗伊伶Janet Lo
2008年金融海啸是怎么发生的？次级房贷对金融市场的冲击又是什么？由畅销小说改编而成的电影《大卖空》，诉说着利用钱滚钱、操弄金钱杠杆而致富的情节，主角们玩着自杀性的金融游戏，赌上房市崩盘、金融海啸的发生，全美经济的毁灭反而促使他们暴富的矛盾故事。让我们从主角们如何淘空华尔街，学多益测验常考的金融单字。
1. 从Michael Burry的致富秘诀学「房贷」mortgage
电影中Michael Burry是对金融投资有高度热忱、性格古怪的医生，他发现当时房贷市场有许多不良债权的问题存在，在普罗大众都看好且积极参与房市投资时，他坚决笃定次级房贷（subprime mortgage）绝对会让房市泡沫化（housing bubble burst）。而在此时他找了六间保险公司客制保单，透过「信用违约互换交易」（Credit Default Swaps）来赚取房贷泡沫化后保险公司必须赔偿他的巨额保费而因此致富。
Michael’s study on residential real estate convinced him that subprime mortgages and the bonds based on these mortgages would start losing value when the original rates reset, which could happen within two years after commencement.（Michael对住宅不动产的研究让他确信次级房贷和相关债券将会在原利率重新设定后失去其价值，预计在两年内就会发生。）说明了有亚斯伯格症的Michael在众人皆醉我独醒的状态下，具有独到的见解和神准预测。
mortgage一字在多益测验中的不动产情境中经常出现，请参考以下例句：The young couple had seen the house they wanted to purchase, but they still had to speak to their bank manager to arrange the mortgage.（这对年轻夫妇已经看过他们想买的这间房子，但他们仍必须与他们的银行经理讨论房贷的事项。）
多益单字补充：*abstruse (adj.) 深奥的、艰深的*purchase (v.) 购买; 采购
2. 从Jared Vannett的债券卖空提案学「资产」asset
在德意志银行担任的交易员Jared用叠叠乐来说明房贷债券（mortgage backed securities）的运作方式及其风险，他提到房贷债务能转变为债券（bonds）贩卖，若是购买到评级较低的债券，赚取的利润虽然高，但风险也相对提高，尤其是当时对于借贷条件的限制过低，以及浮动利率（adjustable rate）的变化，造成众多人房贷无法偿还引发毁灭性的崩盘局面。
One man’s liability has always been another man’s asset, but now more and more of the liabilities could be turned into bits of paper that you can sell to anyone.（一个人的债务一直都是另一人的资产，但现在债务能够转变为一张纸，让你能够转卖给任何一个人。）
asset这个单字在多益阅读测验的财务情境也很常见，请参考以下例句：Committed exclusively to socially responsible investing, we are happy to handle your asset management.（专门处理社会责任投资的我们非常乐意替您管理您的资产。）
多益单字补充：*liability (n.) 债务*commit (v.) 委任*exclusively (adv.) 专门地；独家地
3. 从Mark Baum的田野调查学「市场崩盘」market collapse
Mark Baum领导的团队成员，为了确保信用违约互换交易（Credit Default Swaps）的可行性，实地采访房仲业、脱衣舞娘、租贷房屋的居民，还参加了大型金融会议与银行界重量级人物访谈，才发现政府、国会与金融机构为了这高获利的交易形成了几近诈骗的共犯结构，让原本应为公正的信评机构和借贷条件形同虚设，造成根本不符合借贷资格的民众无止尽地借贷买房，促使次级房贷崩盘，引发严重的金融风暴，但最后也因此让Mark和Jared获得了暴利。
Mark and Jared discover that the impending market collapse is being further perpetuated by the sale of collateralized debt obligations(CDOs), groups of poor loans that are packaged together and incorrectly given AAA ratings due to the conflicts of interest and dishonesty of the rating agencies.（Mark和Jared发现即将崩盘的市场更是被债权担保凭证的贩售给恶化，此为一种呆帐的套装组合，由不诚实的信评机构为了自身利益而给予其不实的AAA信用评级。）
market collapse市场崩盘也常有另一个说法market crash，collapse和crash皆是崩坏的意思，请参考以下例句：Several noted economists and distinguished investors are warning of a stock market collapse/crash.（几位知名的经济学家与著名的投资人皆在警告可能会有股市崩盘的情况。）
多益单字补充：*impending (adj.) 即将发生的*loan (n.) 贷款*noted (adj.) 有名的*economist (n.) 经济学者*distinguished (adj.) 卓越的；知名的 *investor (n.) 投资人
看完文章后，是否对电影《大卖空》和多益金融情境字汇都更加了解了呢？来阅读以下多益阅读试题，测试一下你的阅读实力吧！
＊多益模拟试题1. The delinquent mortgage payments to SP Bank were caused by an accounting error which was not my fault. The payments due have been cleared as of January 15, 2016 which you can confirm in the enclosed statement from SP Bank. I am requesting that this item be deleted immediately from my record.
What is the purpose of this message?A) Explaining the late payment was caused by himB) Confirming the deadline of the paymentC) Requesting to remove the delayed payment recordD) Complaining about the accounting error from the bank
2. Studies have shown that the key to successful investing is to ______________ your wealth among different asset classes. A) divergeB) expandC) range D) spread
3. The law textbook, _______________ after the market collapse has been re-written.A) developingB) developedC) developsD) develop
＊多益模拟试题－正解与解析1. The delinquent mortgage payments to SP Bank were caused by an accounting error which was not my fault. The payments due have been cleared as of January 15, 2016 which you can confirm in the enclosed statement from SP Bank. I am requesting that this item be deleted immediately from my record.（这迟缴给SP银行的费用是因为会计上的问题，并不是我的过失，这个款项已经在2016年一月十五日就付清了，您可以参考SP银行附加的说明。我希望能请您能即刻将此笔项目从我的纪录中删除。）
What is the purpose of this message?此讯息的主要目的为何？A) Explaining the late payment was caused by him（解释这个迟缴款项是他自己造成的）B) Confirming the deadline of the payment（确认付款的截止日）C) Requesting to remove the delayed payment record（提出删除迟缴纪录的需求）D) Complaining about the accounting error from the bank（抱怨银行的会计失误）
正解(C)。如文中第一句提到，是因会计上的失误造成迟缴，并非他的过失，答案非(A)。关于截止日的部分，笔者是告知银行他是于哪一天付款的，并不是在向银行确认，答案非(B)。此讯息仅是说明迟缴原因，并不是在抱怨，因此答案非(D)。
2. Studies have shown that the key to successful investing is to ______________ your wealth among different asset classes. （研究显示成功投资的关键就是将你的财产分散于不同的资产类别中。）A) diverge（开岔）B) expand（拓展）C) range（排列）D) spread（分散）
正解(D)。在此句中是要表示财产分散于不同的资产类别中，仅(D)spread的字义符合句思，故(D)为正解。
3. The law textbook, _______________ after the market collapse has been re-written.（在市场崩盘后研发的法律课本已被重新改写。）A) developing（进行式）B) developed（被动式）C) develops（第三人称单数）D) develop（原形动词）