Most people do not seem to see the cost of a house in the same way that they see other prices. House prices are simply viewed through the lens of monthly repayments that either can or cannot be afforded. We spend time and money insuring ourselves against some losses, such as a malfunctioning washing-machine; yet the value of the house we own (or the cost of the house we might someday want to buy) fluctuates by far more, perhaps on a daily basis. Nobody cares, nobody hedges the value of their homes - although it is not hard to do so - and nobody seems to compare the price to any meaningful alternative, such as retiring 15 years early.
多 數人看待房屋價格的方式，似乎不同於他們看待其他物品價格的方式。人們只是從月供的角度來審視房價，看自己能否支付得起。我們會花費時間和金錢讓自己免於 一些損失，例如，不要買下一台有故障的洗衣機。然而，我們所擁有的房產價值（或是我們某天想要購買的房屋的價格）波動更大，也許這種波動在一天之內就會發 生。但沒有人會在意，沒有人會將住宅的價值進行對沖（儘管這樣做並不難），也沒有人會將房產價格與其他任何有意義的選項進行比較：例如，提前15年退休。
練習 請依下述界說修正以上FT的翻譯:
insure
ɪnˈʃɔː,ɪnˈʃʊə/
verb
gerund or present participle: insuring
1.
arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for regular payments to a company or to the state.
"the table should be insured for £2,500"
2.
secure or protect someone against (a possible contingency).
"by appeasing Celia they might insure themselves against further misfortune"
insure against sthphrasal verb to do something in order to prevent something unpleasant from happening or from affecting you: We thought we'd insure against rain by putting a tent up where people could take shelter.hedge(PROTECTION) noun[C] a way of protecting, controlling or limiting something: She'd made some overseas investments as a hedge against rising inflation in this country.
hedge verb 1[T+ adverb or preposition; usually passive]to limit something severely: We've got permission, but it's hedged about/around with strict conditions.
2[I]to try to avoid giving an answer or taking any action: Stop hedging and tell me what you really think.
Hedge your bets
Meaning To avoid committing oneself; to leave a means of retreat open. Origin Hedge has been used as a verb in English since at least the 16th century, with the meaning of 'equivocate; avoid commitment'. An example of this comes in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, 1598:
"I, I, I myself sometimes, leaving the fear of God on the left hand and hiding mine honour in my necessity, am fain to shuffle, to hedge and to lurch ."
It began to be used in relation to financial transactions, in which a loan was secured by including it in a larger loan, in the early 17th century. Initially, the phrase associated with this form of hedging was 'hedging one's debts', for example, John Donne's Letters to Sir Henry Goodyere, circa 1620:
"You think that you have Hedged in that Debt by a greater, by your Letter in Verse."
'Hedging one's bets' was coined later in that century. It referred to the laying off of a bet by taking out smaller bets with other lenders. The purpose of this was to avoid being unable to pay out on the original larger bet. The phrase was first used by George Villiers, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, in his satirical play The Rehearsal, 1672:
"Now, Criticks, do your worst, that here are met; For, like a Rook, I have hedg'd in my Bet."
The verb 'to hedge' derives from the noun hedge, i.e. a fence made from a row of bushes or trees. These hedges were normally made from the spiny Hawthorn, which makes an impenetrable hedge when laid. To hedge a piece of land was to limit it in terms of size and that this gave rise to the 'secure, limited risk' meaning. Hedge funds, much in the news nowadays, take their name from their method of limiting, i.e. hedging, their risk. Curiously, the original examples of another financial device currently newsworthy i.e. stocks, were literally made from material that was taken from hedges. In the 17th century, the tally that recorded a payment to the English Exchequer was a rough stick of about an inch in diameter, split along its length. One half, the stock, was given as a receipt to the person making the payment; the other half, the counterfoil, was kept by the Exchequer. Ownership of payments that were made jointly by a group were shared among the members of so-called joint stock companies, hence stocks and shares.
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