Steve找到同事Bob, 向他请教投资的问题，Bob觉得股市风险太大，那房地产呢？
Bob: Buying property is definitely something to consider. But just because prices have been going up for a long time doesn’t mean they will always go up. Lots of countries have experienced what’s called a “real estate bubble” that eventually pops.
Steve: That’s true. How about gold then? My brother-in-law says we should just buy a couple of gold bricks and store them in a vault somewhere.
B: Every time the economy begins to sour, people turn to gold. The price of gold then goes up because people see it as a safe haven.
Bob觉得，投资房地产固然可以考虑，但是房产价格不会永远攀升，很多国家都经历过 real estate bubble 房地产泡沫，最后都以泡沫破灭而告终。除了股市和房市以外，还可以买黄金。Bob 也认为，黄金是很好的避险投资，people see it as a safe haven. safe haven 是避难所，意思是投资黄金比较安全，不会赔钱。Every time the economy begins to sour, people turn to gold. 每次经济走下坡路，大家都把投资转向黄金。
B: But there are two problems with gold. One, there’s no guarantee that prices will stay high, and two, while it might be safe, it’s not really earning you anything in the same way that a smart investment could.
S: That makes sense. You know, the more I think about this, the more complicated it becomes.
B: One of the safer bets might be government bonds. You give the government your money for say 20 years, and at the end of that period, they return it with a relatively high rate of interest.
S: That’s kind of appealing because it means you can’t touch the money during that period of time and it removes any temptation to go and buy a new car, for example.
除了黄金以外，另外一种安全投资是政府债券，safe bet, 安全的赌注，这里指万无一失的投资模式。Steve觉得，购买政府债券确实不错 that’s kind of appealing. appealing is spelled a-p-p-e-a-l-i-n-g, appealing 意思是有吸引力的，因为在债券到期之前，这些钱是不能动的，所以也就不会胡乱花掉。
B: Yeah, the money just sits there safely until you’re ready to retire. Many banks offer similar long-term investment deals that also pay pretty good interest rates.
S: Thanks a lot, Bob. I’m going to look into government bonds, and I’m going to have a conversation with my bank’s investment department.
B: I’d say that’s probably the smartest way to go. Good luck.
Bob说，很多银行也提供类似的长期投资产品，而且利息不错。Steve向 Bob表示感谢，说 I’m going to look into government bonds. look into something 是仔细研究的意思。看来，Steve 还是准备稳妥起见，进行长期、风险小的投资。