脸书宣布推出自己的数字货币，这是对全球金融服务业一次全新的重大推动。
The new currency will be a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin. A cryptocurrency is a kind of money that does not exist in the form of bills or coins. Governments and banks do not oversee the money. Instead, it is exchanged digitally between buyers and sellers using secret codes for security.
这种新货币是一种类似于比特币的加密货币。加密货币是不以票据或硬币形式存在的货币，政府和银行不监管这笔钱，相反，它使用安全密码在买卖双方之间进行数字化交换。
A network of computers records cryptocurrency activity between users. The activity is included in a "ledger," or list, known as the blockchain. The blockchain permits the activity records to be checked and stored securely. People keep their cryptocurrency in digital wallets that operate in a way similar to online banks.
一个计算机网络会记录加密货币在用户之间的活动，这些活动包含在被称为区块链的“分类账”或列表中。区块链允许安全地审查和存储活动记录，人们将加密货币存在数字钱包中，其操作方式与网上银行类似。
Facebook is calling its cryptocurrency Libra. It expects to launch the service publicly in the first half of next year.
脸书称这种加密货币为Libra，该公司预计将在明年上半年公开推出该服务。
The U.S.-based social media service says Libra will be available to anyone with a smartphone and internet connection. "Moving money around the world should be as easy and cheap as sending a text message," Facebook says on its website. "No matter where you live, what you do, or how much you earn."
这家总部位于美国的社交媒体公司表示，用智能手机上网的人士都可以使用Libra。脸书在其网站上表示：“无论你住在哪里，干什么工作，收入有多少，在世界范围内转移资金会像发送短信一样容易和便宜。”
The company says it especially wants to reach an estimated 1.7 billion "unbanked" people across the world who currently do not use a bank. Costs to use Libra will be lower than what other companies currently charge for the service, Facebook said. It has not yet released pricing information, however.
该公司表示，它尤为希望覆盖全球目前没有银行账户的17亿人口。脸书表示，使用Libra的费用将会低于目前其它公司对这项服务收取的费用。然而，该公司尚未公布定价信息。
Facebook says its digital currency will differ in several ways from bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies in use today. Unlike the others, the company says, Libra's value will be tied to real money backed by banks and government securities in major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, yen and others.
脸书称其数字货币跟比特币以及目前使用的其它常见加密货币在多个方面存在不同。该公司表示，跟其它加密货币不同的是，LIbra的价值将会跟银行支持的现金以及以美元、欧元、日元等主要货币计价的政府有价证券挂钩。
The Libra system will also be supported by several traditional financial companies, including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard and eBay. Facebook set up the Switzerland-based not-for-profit Libra Association to govern the activities of the digital currency.
Libra系统还将得到几家传统金融公司的支持，包括贝宝、维萨、万事达和易贝。脸书在瑞士设立了非营利性的Libra协会来管理这种数字货币的活动。
The company says these changes are aimed at improving trust and preventing major valuation changes of the Libra. Investors in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of sharp price drops and computer attacks.
该公司表示，这些改革旨在提高信任度，防止Libra估值的大起大落。由于价格大幅下跌和计算机攻击，比特币和其它加密货币的投资者已经损失了数亿美元。
Facebook created a separate company, called Calibra, to operate the Calibra wallet system. The wallet is used to store, send and receive Libras. Calibra will be available as an app on smartphones or directly from Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp products.
脸书创建了一家名为Calibra的独立公司来运营Calibra钱包系统。该钱包用于存储、发送和接收Libras。Calibra将会作为智能手机应用程序提供，或者直接通过脸书的Messenger和WhatsApps产品来提供。
Facebook said it had taken major steps to create a system that is private and secure. People using Calibra will first have to go through a process to confirm their identities.
脸书表示已经采取了重大举措来创建一个私密且安全的系统。Calibra的用户必须首先通过一个流程来确认他们的身份。
The company says Calibra will only share user information with parent company Facebook and third parties when it receives user permission to do so. User information might also be shared in some other "limited cases," such as when law enforcement requests information, Facebook said in a statement.
该公司表示，Calibar只会跟母公司Facebook共享数据，或是在得到用户允许下跟第三方共享。脸书在声明中表示，用户信息也可能在其它一些“有限的案例中”被共享，例如在执法部门要求提供信息时。
Facebook has promised not to use any Calibra data to improve targeting of its advertising. Businesses will see the same information about users who pay with Libra as they do about users paying with credit cards, the company said.
脸书承诺不会使用任何Calibra数据来改善其广告定位。该公司表示，对于使用Libra的支付用户，各企业将会看到相同的用户信息，就跟用户使用信用卡时他们所能看到的信息一样。
Even with such statements and promises, Facebook is likely to face serious questions about its new cryptocurrency system from lawmakers in the United States and other countries. Some American lawmakers have already proposed that Facebook face new rules or penalties – or possibly even be forcibly broken up - for major incidents involving the misuse of private user data.
即使有这样的声明和承诺，脸书也可能面临来自美国和其它国家的议员对其新加密货币系统的严重质疑。一些美国议员已经提出，因为卷入滥用用户隐私数据的重大事件，脸书面临新的规则或处罚，甚至可能会被强制分拆。
I'm Bryan Lynn.
我是布莱恩·林恩。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)