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。 (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： 1．I thought of money all the time．I dreamed about money．I was picking dimes, nickels and pennies off the sidewalk．(John Cheever，Falconer) 2. He reached into his pocket—his hands were shaking—and took out a quarter．(John Cheever．The Country Husband) 3. Its a nice shirt．It cost sixteen，eighteen bucks． (Saul Bellow．Seize the Day) 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’． 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) 5．He wished he had paid back the five and kept himself the one-buck bill．(Bernard Malamud，The Assistant) 6．His wallet contained a five-dollar bill．(Ibid)他钱包里有一张五美元的钞票。 7．Wilhelm in the narrow booth broke into a heavy sweat．He 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。 8．After I got all packed．I sort of counted my dough。I dont remember exactly how much I had，but l was pretty loaded．My grandmotherd just sent me a wad about a week before．I had this grandmother thats pretty lavish with her dough．．．shes old as hell—and she keeps sending me money for my birthday about f