When economic times are tough it is generally thought that the pawnbroking industry booms--after all gold and cheap loans are tempting for credit crunchers.
经济不景气的时候，典当业却普遍被看好，因为它提供的金价和低息贷款在信贷紧缩的时候着实诱人。

Lynda Damario, regional director of Albemarle & Bond said: "There are increasing numbers of people from all walks of life who are finding themselves in a situation where the banks are unable to help so our business is growing,"Albemarle & Bond

典当公司的地区经理林达?达马里奥说：“越来越多的各行各业的人陷入困境，银行帮不了他们，于是我们的生意就好了很多。”
That reluctance by banks to lend has helped earn the UK's biggest pawnbroker a 47 per cent rise in profits.
正是银行的惜贷使得这个英国最大的典当公司的利润增长了47%。

At a time when the price of gold is rising in value it is probably unsurprising that sales of second hand jewellery accounted for 75pc of the firm's total sales.
如今黄金价格上扬，典当手里的珠宝不足为奇，这块占到了公司所有销售业务的75％。

Harvey & Thompson, one of Britain's biggest pawnbrokers has seen business increase by 11 per cent in recent months and said this is all due to gold--and people coming in to sell their jewellery--not from people simply pawning items.
另一家英国大型典当公司Harvey & Thompson也表示，近几个月生意量增加了11%。不是简单的物品典当，而是由于金价上涨，人们开始典当手里的珠宝。

A spokeswoman for H&T, said that consumers are more aware of the idea of selling their possessions because of the popularity of online auctions. "It's the eBay effect. People are more aware now that they can raise cash by selling things they don't need."
H&T的一名发言人说，由于网上拍卖的日益流行，典当被越来越多的人接受。“这就是‘eBay效应’。更多的人认同出售自己的闲置物品来获得现金。”

Pawnbrokers give customers money in return for an object which is held as security until the customer pays off the loan plus any interest charges. No credit checks are needed and, once the item is valued and a rate of interest agreed, the customer can leave with the money. Jewellery and watches are 'pledged' most often.
光顾当铺的人将物件作为抵押典当，当铺给出现金，直到典当人偿还本金和利息（偿还后可赎回抵押）。典当人不需经过信用检查，只需交易双方就典当品价值和利息达成一致，典当人既可换得现金。珠宝和手表是最常见的典当品。

According to the National Pawnbrokers Association, around 88 per cent of pledged goods are redeemed. But what if the worst happens and you are unable to pay for the item at the end of the loan period?
据英国全国典当协会统计，大约88%的典当品都被赎回。但是，如果最坏的情况发生，你在典当期内无力赎回抵押品该怎么办呢？

You can usually extend the length of time of borrowing. If you cannot do this, as a last resort, the pledge will get sold off, but it is generally not in the pawnbroker's interest to do so, particularly as many of them thrive on repeat customers.
通常你可以延长赎回期。若你还不能偿还，典当行最终将会出售抵押品。但是典当商这么做是不得已而为之的，因为他们特别依赖从回头客身上赚钱。

"The credit crunch isn't positive for any pawnbroker because we lend money and make money from people repaying their loans. If the credit crunch continues it won't be good for any business."
“信贷紧缩并非对所有的典当商都有利，因为典当行的利润来自于典当赎金和利息。如果信贷紧缩持续，最终对任何行业而言都是没有好处的。”