https://udn.com/news/story/7340/5585922?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7340_pulldownmenu_v2

有客人朋友開始準備九月送小朋友嚟開學，亦有客人check緊屋㗎。問點解愛爾蘭啲屋沒有跌價，酒店都冇乜Offer在疫情下。原因好簡單，因為大家都睇好愛爾蘭經濟。工作機會多，希望搜集更多不同工種，推介給大家。

還有一星期學期完了，然後多啲同大家分享最近愛爾蘭嘅情況。今日天氣都幾特別很多龍眼雪（小小冰粒），出下太陽。大家記住要有帽嘅風褸啊🥰，喺愛爾蘭擔遮個作用唔大嘅。

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/celtic-tiger-poised-to-reawaken-irish-housing-market-predicted-to-outstrip-global-trends-1.4556006?mode=amp&fbclid=IwAR2nYCNqTfjsUTjwerq9TSiRz1OsJVCgPVYlTqHo8JTXUUr3WnnO3UJQ4Gc

［時事英文］金價創新高!
　
嗯……黃金聖鬥士的盔甲現在應該值蠻多💰💰💰
　
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《華爾街日報》：
　
💰 Gold has piqued the interest of Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B -0.60% has bought shares in Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corp. The move brings the spotlight back on the precious metal, which notched new records this month, soaring above $2,000 a troy ounce for the first time in New York trading. The price of gold has jumped 30% in 2020—outstripping the rally in the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index—in a bull run that began in late 2018 and has gathered momentum during the coronavirus pandemic.
　
1. piqued the interest of 激起；刺激…的興趣
2. share (n.) 股票；股份
3. a mining company 礦業公司
4. precious metal 貴金屬
5. notch (v.) 贏得 ; notch something ↔ up phrasal verb
to achieve something, especially a victory or a particular total or score: https://bit.ly/2YmZbpX
6. soar (v.) above 猛增；暴漲高於
7. troy ounce 金衡盎司（31.1048公克）；金衡啢
8. outstrip （在數量、程度或成就上）超過，勝過
9. Nasdaq Composite Index 納斯達克綜合指數
10. a bull market 牛市
11. the coronavirus pandemic 新冠病毒全球大流行疫情
　
黃金已經激起巴菲特的興趣，他的波克夏公司買進了加拿大礦業公司巴里克黃金公司的股票。此舉讓人重新聚焦黃金。金價本月創下紀錄新高，在紐約市場交易中首次飆升至每金衡盎司２千美元以上。黃金這波牛市始自２０１８年末，並在新冠疫情期間積聚了動能，金價２０２０年迄今已上漲３０％，超過以科技股為主的納斯達克綜合指數的同期漲幅。
　
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💰Why are gold prices soaring?

The main reason is this year’s precipitous drop in yields on U.S. Treasurys to levels below the expected pace of inflation. Unlike bonds or bank deposits, gold doesn’t pay any income. As a result, owning gold means missing out on yields from other assets when interest rates are high. When real yields are negative, gold’s lack of yield becomes a strength.
　
12. a precipitous drop (n) 大幅下跌
13. yield (n.) 收益 ; (v.) 產生；出產；得出
14. inflation 通貨膨脹
15. bonds 債券；公債
16. deposit（尤指銀行帳戶的）存款
　
💰金價為何飆漲

主要原因是今年以來美國國債收益率大幅下跌，跌至低於預期通膨率的水平。與債券或銀行存款不同，黃金並非孳息資產。因此，當利率居於高位之際，持有黃金就意味著錯失其他資產的收益。當實際收益率為負時，黃金不支付利息就成為一種優勢。
　
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💰Will gold prices keep rising?

Gold prices tend to overshoot, according to Fergal O’Connor, an economist at University College Cork who has studied the market’s history. Still, he expects them to fall back to a higher level than they were before the pandemic because institutional investors are adding to their gold holdings, removing a chunk of available supply. The return of jewelry demand in China and India could also boost prices.
　
17. tend to 傾向；易於；往往會
18. overshoot (v.) 超過；超越
19. economist 經濟學家
20. fall back to 後退；撤退到
21. institutional investor 機構的投資者
22. a chunk of ……的很大一部分
23. boost 推動；促進

💰 金價還會繼續上漲嗎？

科克大學研究黃金市場歷史的經濟學家康納表示，金價往往會過度上漲。不過，他預計，即便金價出現回落，也將高於新冠疫情暴發前的水平，因為機構投資者正在增持黃金，從而吸收了市面上很大一部分可用供應。此外，中國和印度對黃金飾品的需求回暖，可能也會提振價格。
　
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💰Is gold a commodity or a currency?

Both. Gold is a commodity in that it derives its value, in part, from its use in products like jewelry. Gold is also a currency. For millennia, the metal has functioned as a store of value, unit of account and medium of exchange. Bullion played a foundational role in the monetary system from 1717, when Isaac Newton, master of England’s Mint, established a price ratio between gold and silver, to 1971, when President Nixon ended the convertibility of dollars into the precious metal. Though gold stopped underpinning exchange rates after the “Nixon Shock,” the metal still plays a part in currency markets.
　
24. commodity 商品；日用品
25. currency 貨幣
26. millennia 一千年；千周年
27. a medium of exchange 交易的媒介
28. bullion 金銀條；金銀塊
29. play an important role/part in 在……中起重要的作用 ; 在……扮演重要的角色
30. monetary system 貨幣體系；貨幣制度
31. mint (n.) 鑄幣廠 ; (v.) 鑄造（硬幣）
32. a price ratio 價格比
33. convertibility 可兌性
34. underpin (v.) 支撐；加強；鞏固；構成（基礎）
　
💰黃金是商品還是貨幣？

兩者皆是。黃金是一種商品，因其價值部分來自在珠寶等產品中的使用。

黃金也是一種通貨。在數千年的時間裡，黃金一直起著價值儲存、記帳單位和交換媒介的作用。１７１７年英國鑄幣局局長牛頓確定了金銀的價格比後，黃金一直在貨幣系統中起到基礎作用，直到１９７１年美國總統尼克森讓美元與黃金脫鉤。雖然經歷尼克森震撼後，黃金不再支撐匯率，但仍在貨幣市場中扮演重要角色。
　
《華爾街日報》完整內容：https://on.wsj.com/3gdTvol
　
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📰 華爾街日報訂閱方案: https://bit.ly/39ULVh1

🎓 華爾街日報獎助學金計畫 (A20): https://bit.ly/2C2tUAI

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時事英文講義：https://bit.ly/2XmRYXc