英文原文783個單詞，閱讀時間約3分鐘；全文共個3160字，閱讀時間約10分鐘。
- 今天和大家分享的外刊依舊是BBC商業板塊的一篇文章，名為《英國財政部考慮為小微企業貸款提供100%擔保》。我會從文章中挑選一些我個人覺得可能對部分同學理解有難度的語言點作一些解析，不是完全講解哈。希望今天的分享對大家有幫助，也希望大家能通過學習商業方面的外文提升自己的實用英語能力。
Treasury considers 100% guarantee on 'micro-firm' loans
- 標題Treasury指的是“財政部”，這篇文章中特指英國的財政部，動詞consider這裡用的consider+n的形式，consider也可以+ing的形式，這個標題也可以改成
Treasury considers offering 100% guarantee on 'micro-firm' loans
- 但是英文標題講究簡潔表達，如果能少一個詞，但是表達的也是同一個意思，那麼用詞節省一點又何樂而不為？
The Treasury is considering offering 100% guarantees on loans up to £25,000 for the UK's tiniest firms.
- See? 這裡就出現了consider+ing的形式，也證明了名詞和動名詞在很多時候是可以轉換通用的。
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in March that UK-based small and medium-sized business could apply for interest-free loans to help them with Covid-19 related difficulties.
However, companies say they are still finding it difficult to get credit.
- credit這裡和上文的loan是同一個意思，英文裡常用近義詞等多種表達避免重複。
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has questioned whether the system is "too complicated".
News of the Treasury's possible change of heart was first reported by the Financial Times.
According to BBC business editor Simon Jack, eligibility for loans has not yet been decided - namely, how small does a business have to be to qualify for a loan for which the lender gets a 100% guarantee.Our business editor says an announcement is expected next week, if not earlier.
- eligibility可能對於很多初階或中階英語學習者來說屬於生僻詞，這裡其實不用查字典也可以推斷出這個詞的意思。因為破折號後對這個詞進行了解釋，eligibility for loans的意思也就是指to qualify for a loan（獲得貸款的資格或資質）。
- 如果你實在想通過字典驗證一下這個單詞的意思，這裡推薦給大家一個非常好用的詞典網站Freedic，可以免費查找金融、法律、醫學等各個領域的詞和短語，而且用法非常全面。 Freedic中對eligibility的釋義如下：
The quality or state of being eligible
- 由此，我們可以看出解決eligibility的詞義必須解決其形容詞形式eligible的詞義。Freedic對它的釋義為qualified or entitled，我們可以將其譯為“合格的，有資質的”，那麼名詞形式 eligibility的意思即“合格，有資質”。
As many as one million of the UK's smallest businesses, employing no more than 10 workers, could benefit from the new rules, analysts say.
These include shops and pubs, which have been forced to close under coronavirus lockdown measures.
- 這兩段提到了英國百萬小微企業中哪些貸款對象才能受益於（benefit from+n結構，非常有用的表達，敲黑板咯）新規呢？答案是員工人數不超過10人。
Debt fears
Loans to larger businesses under the coronavirus business interruption loans scheme (CBILS) will continue to get 80% backing.
- 這裡介詞under的用法也值得大家記下來哦。它作名詞larger businesses的後置定語，說明是貸款針對的是什麼樣的大中型企業（注意原文用的是比較級larger，是相較於上文提到的micro/small/tiny businesses小微企業，而不是特指larger businesses，是指比小微企業更大的企業。），因此整個主語部分可以處理為“冠狀病毒商業中斷貸款計劃針對大中型企業的貸款”，get 80% backing這個表達可能又難住一部分童鞋了，彆著急，大家還記得上文反覆出現的100% guarantee嗎？沒錯backing這裡也屬於guarantee的同意表達。因此，這裡整句話可以翻譯為“
- 冠狀病毒商業中斷貸款計劃針對大中型企業的貸款將繼續獲得（英國政府）80%的擔保。”
The CBILS provide loans of up to £5m for companies with a turnover of less than £45m.
- 這一句點出了冠狀病毒商業中斷貸款計劃具體針對什麼樣的大中型企業貸款：
companies with a turnover of less than £45m
- 這裡用介詞with+名詞短語的結構作companies的後置定語，說明貸款公司的性質，即營業額不少於4500萬英鎊的公司。單詞turnover是商業領域的一個專業名詞，表示“營業額”。
- 至此，貸款已經出現了兩條標準。給小微企業的貸款要求企業僱傭人數不超過10人；給大中型企業企業的貸款要求企業營業額不少於4500萬英鎊。
However, many firms have complained that loans are coming through too slowly and that some banks have imposed tough criteria on granting credit.
- 別以為企業就可以順順當當拿到貸款哦！
loans are coming through too slowly
- come through是一個非及物動詞表達，它沒有被動語態，在這裡表示
- “make it or pass”，也就是說“成功拿到貸款是非常緩慢的一個過程”。
- 這裡就提到了銀行貸款的標準，短語impose ... on表示“制定.../實施...”,一般隱含政府強制的意味。解決了這個表達難點後，這一句話就可以順利翻譯為“但是很多公司抱怨貸款成功拿到貸款是非常緩慢的一個過程，有些銀行還對企業獲得貸款制定了諸多嚴苛的標準。
Alison Rose, chief executive of Natwest Group (formerly known as RBS), said it had so far processed 7,000 loans and that "help was getting through".
- 大家注意到沒，頭銜的前面一般都沒有加定冠詞the，比如
Alison Rose, chief executive of Natwest Group
- 大家也可以注意一下其它地方表示頭銜的表達是不是這樣。
- 此外，這一句中的get through的用法和上面提到的come through的用法很接近，也是非及物動詞短語，沒有被動語態，表示”起作用/成功“。因此整句話可以處理為”國民威斯敏斯特銀行首席執行官艾莉森·羅斯稱，迄今該銀行已經處理/辦理了7000份貸款，這些貸款也開始起作用了。
“She said the stumbling block for many firms was "taking on additional debt when the future is very uncertain".
- 這裡提到了未來非常不確定之時許多公司面臨的絆腳石the stumbling block，這裡應用了隱喻（metaphor）的修辭手法，在處理時可以保留隱喻的外殼形式，將其翻譯為”絆腳石“，也可以直接翻譯出difficulty（困難）的意思。那麼絆腳石是什麼呢？
- "Some businesses can't take on additional debt. It's important not to load debt on to a firm which isn't able to pay that back," she told the BBC's Today programme.
- take on這個短語指的是”successfully get“（成功獲得）的意思，因此上一句話可以翻譯為”她說，當未來非常不確定，許多公司面臨的絆腳石/難題是再次成功獲得貸款“。當然，我們可以按照中文這種語言特有的表達習慣，將其處理為隱含邏輯關係的多個小句，使其不太生硬，表達更為靈動，如
她說，未來非常的不確定，許多公司面臨著再次貸款難的問題。
- 貸款除了用上文已經出現的動詞loan，還可以用什麼？以上第二段給出了答案，load debt on to a firm。這裡也出現了loan作名詞時的另一個同義名詞debt，因此loan/credit/debt都可以表示“貸款”。
However, Anne Boden, chief executive of digital challenger Starling Bank, told the programme that the scheme's underlying technology was delaying approval of loans.
"It's based on a very old-fashioned scheme that requires lots of admin and lots of process and it's still being implemented and it's not working very well in all cases," she said.
- 這一段就寫到了為什麼貸款難的原因：貸款計劃採用的技術故意拖延批准貸款，如貸款牽涉的管理員和程序眾多等。
Laura Hurlocker, who runs a power generation company with her husband, has been turned down for a bank loan to keep the business going amid the virus.
- be turned down"be refused"(被拒絕)的同意表達。
Ms Hurlocker's Luton-based firm, Fourth Generation, supplies power generation equipment to live events, powering concerts hosted by Coldplay, Beyonce and Robbie Williams.She applied for a CBIL loan from her bank Barclays, with whom she has been a customer for 16 years.
- with whom這裡用到了介詞+關係代詞作定語從句的表達，這個定語從句另起一句也就是可以理解為
she has been a customer with Barclays for 16 years.
- 注意，表示”……的員工/客戶“，更地道的用法使用介詞with而非of。
- She applied for a CBIL loan from her bank Barclays, with whom she has been a customer for 16 years.
But her bank turned her down, partly because the business had other loans.
The business has some debts because she and her husband have invested £350,000 in equipment for the firm in the last three years.
- 此處用發電設備供應商Hurlocker的例子舉例說明再次貸款難，”公司已經欠下了一些貸款，因為過去三年她和她的丈夫投資35萬英鎊買了設備。“
"We feel we are being penalised," she told the BBC. "To be told because you have an existing loan, you are deemed by us to be unaffordable. It was a kick in the teeth."
- penalise較常用的意思是”punish“（懲罰），但是這裡是舊詞新意，指的是”to cause someone a disadvantage“(使處於不利地位)，因此這裡用了被動語態。
- deemed這裡也是用的被動語態，它的意思和thought同意，表示”被認為“，其後的by us並沒有實際的含義，這裡是說”被告知因為你已經貸過款了，因此而認定你無法償付貸款。“
- 接下來有一個不得不牆裂推薦的地道表達，形容以上經歷帶給Hurlocker的感受。
It was a kick in the teeth.
- 俚語a kick in the teeth指的是”person treats you badly and unfairly,
- especially at a time when you need their support.”（使人深受打擊）
Natwest's chief executive says that extending the guarantee to 100% on loans of up to £25,000 "would not make much difference" to the number of loans the UK's biggest lender to business would advance. She said the main challenge facing firms of all sizes was whether they wanted to take on additional debt at a time of great uncertainty.
- 這裡第一句出現了較為複雜的定語從句，可以轉換為兩個擁有共同部分the number of loans的簡單句，即
Natwest's chief executive says that extending the guarantee to 100% on loans of up to £25,000 "would not make much
difference" to the number of loans
- 什麼樣的貸款數目呢？省略關係代詞的定語從句給瞭解釋：
(the number of loans) the UK's biggest lender to business
would advance the number of loans
- 這樣理解起來是不是就簡單多了，“國民威斯敏斯特銀行首席執行官稱，將數額達到2.5萬英鎊的貸款擔保額度提高至100%並不會使這家英國最大的貸款機構提高對企業的貸款數額。”
- see？這裡短語make a difference to並沒有被生硬地處理為“對……產生影響”，而是靈活地處理為"使……"
While it is true that the guarantee is to the lender, not the borrower, many businesses have complained that banks have put them through an onerous loan approval process and have looked for ways to say no, given they could still lose 20% of sums advanced. However, privately, banks have told the BBC that a 100% guarantee would speed up the lending process.
It's not yet clear how the Treasury will define what it calls "micro-businesses" - whether it's judged on turnover or number of employees - but an announcement on that is expected early next week. So far, the government's loan guarantee scheme has seen a total of £2.8bn approved - a small fraction of the total £330bn available.
- onerous意為"troublesome"(繁瑣的，麻煩的)
- 這一段提到了銀行繁瑣的批貸程序，就算只提供80%的貸款擔保，銀行還是會另尋他法拒絕貸款。
Although the pace of approval is picking up, business groups including the CBI have expressed frustration at the amount of financial help getting through and have called on the government to extend the 100% guarantee to businesses with a turnover of up to £45m.
- “加速”除了說the pace is speeding up還可以用pick up的表達。
The Treasury insists that the whole package of support should be seen in the round - including direct grants, a £30bn three-month VAT deferral, a business rates postponement and a furlough scheme that will see the government pay 80% of employees' wages, up to a cap of £2,500.
- in the round該短語意為“from all aspects”，這一段講的是英國財政部對整套援助計劃的看法，認為應該從全方位考量整套援助計劃，如直接援助，推遲繳納總額達300億英鎊的增值稅三個月，推遲繳納營業房產稅和由政府支付員工80%月薪（上限2500英鎊）的的停工計劃等多個方面。
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