中國爛尾樓
Gillian and David are bankers. They are discussing recent news.
吉蓮和大衛是銀行家。他們在討論最近的新聞。
banker(n.)銀行家discuss(v.)討論recent(adj.)最近的
Gillian: Have you seen the news about the mortgage crisis in China?
吉蓮：你有看到中國爛尾樓的新聞嗎？
David: I have. Chinese developers who are running short on funds have left construction projects in the lurch.
大衛：有啊，缺乏資金的中國建商丟下工程不管呢。
develop(v.)開發run short on or of=缺乏、短缺construction(n.)工程leave sth. (sb.) in the lurch=丟下(某事或人)不管
Gillian: The banking sector in China has been shaken by this current property crisis, and home buyers took mortgages for houses that have still not been completed.
吉蓮：中國銀行界因為這次爛尾樓問題受到衝擊。房子未完工，屋主卻要背負房貸。
sector(n.)行業shake(v.)搖動property(n.)房產、資產
David: The buyers are refusing to repay their mortgages. By the way, what fail-safe does your bank have in case someone cannot repay their mortgage?
大衛：屋主現在拒絕繳房貸。對了，萬一某人繳不出房貸，你的銀行有什麼失效保險機制嗎？
refuse to RV=拒絕做某事repay(v.)償還by the way=順帶一提in case=萬一
Gillian: We offer payment holidays. This allows customers to temporarily halt repayments without affecting their credit score.
吉蓮：我們提供免息還款方案，讓顧客能在不影響信用評分的情況下暫時緩繳房貸。
payment holiday=免息還款方案allow(v.)允許temporarily(adv.)臨時地、暫時地halt(v.)暫停affect(v.)影響
David: My bank also offers forbearance, a switch to a lower mortgage rate, or just changes to the mortgage term.
大衛：我們的銀行也提供寬限計劃，或者改為房貸金額較低的方案，不然就是直接更改房貸期限。
forbearance(n.)寬限計畫switch(v.)(n.)轉換、改換term(n.)期限
Gillian: That sounds reasonable. It’s not always the fault of the client if they cannot repay. For instance, if the breadwinner of a family passes away, the household’s income drops significantly.
吉蓮：聽起來很合理。繳不出房貸並不總是顧客的錯。比方家庭支柱去世了，家庭收入就會大幅減少。
reason(n.) 理由reasonable(adj.)合理的fault(n.)(過失的)責任、錯誤for instance=舉例來說、例如breadwinner(n.)負擔生計的人pass away=過世income(n.)收入significantly(adv.)顯著地