正文
What are NFTs?
NFTs 是什么？
I know NFT stands for nonfungible token. But what does it actually mean?
我知道 NFT 表示“非同质化代币”，但它到底是什么意思？
Let's start with the words themselves. In economics, "fungible" is a term used for things that can be exchanged for other things of exactly the same kind. The U.S. dollar is fungible. But most objects in the physical world, such as cars and houses, are nonfungible, meaning they have unique qualities.
让我们从单词本身出发吧。在经济学中，fungible 是一个术语，用来表示那些可以替换成其他同类事物的东西，美元就是可替换的。但是现实世界中的大多数物体，例如车子和房子，都是不可替换的，这意味着它们有着独特的属性。
Tokens are units of value stored on a blockchain. Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ether and dogecoin are tokens, but not all tokens are meant to be used as money.
“代币”是储存在区块链中的价值单位。像比太币、以太币和狗狗币这样的加密货币都属于代币，但并非所有的代币都作为货币来使用。
So nonfungible tokens are sort of like cryptocurrencies, except they have unique qualities and they aren't necessarily used as money. Why is that important?
所以，“非同质化代币”和加密货币有几分相似，只是它们有一些独特属性，并且不一定作为货币来使用。为什么这很重要呢？
Well, until pretty recently, nonfungible goods didn't really exist on the internet. The internet essentially works like a giant copy machine — any digital file can be duplicated an infinite number of times, and every copy is exactly the same as the original.
那么，直到最近，不可替换的商品在互联网上并不存在。从根本上来说，互联网像一台巨大的复印机在运转，所有电子的文档都可以被复制无数次，而且每一份副本都和原件一模一样。
You can think of NFTs as like the certificate of authenticity you might get if you bought an expensive sculpture. The sculpture could be copied or forged, but because you have the certificate of authenticity, you can prove that you are the owner of the original.
你可以这样去看待 NFT：假如你买了一件贵重的雕塑，NFT 就像你可能得到的一份鉴定真伪的证书。这个雕塑可能会被模仿或仿造，但因为你有正品的认证书，你就可以证明自己才是拥有正品的人。
I can see why NFTs are an interesting technology. But why would someone pay millions of dollars for one?
我可以理解为什么 NFTs 是一种有趣的技术。但为什么有人会花费数百万美元来购买一个 NFT 呢？
NFTs aren't unique in their uselessness. People spend money on objects of no practical value all the time — maybe to feel good, maybe to show off to their friends, maybe to signal membership in a group. Even if all that NFTs represented was a new class of luxury digital goods, they would still be worth taking seriously as an emerging industry.***
NFTs 并不是唯一无用的东西。人们总是会花钱购买那些没有实际用途的物品，也许是为了心情愉悦，也许是向朋友们炫耀，也许是在一个圈子表明身份。即使 NFT 代表的全部意义仅仅是一类新的数字奢侈品，它们仍然值得被作为一个新兴产业来认真对待。
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主编：桃子、Leah
品控：桃子
审核：Lucky
重点词汇
stand for
表示，是......的缩写
例句：AI stands for artificial intelligence.
physical
/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/
adj. 物质的，有形的；身体的
反义词：mental（adj. 心理的）
搭配短语：mental and physical health（身心健康）
英文释义：relating to real objects that you can touch, see, or feel
搭配短语：the physical world（物质世界）
搭配短语：physical assets such as houses or cars（房子、汽车等实物资产）
token
/ˈtoʊ.kən/
n. 代币；礼券，代金券
搭配短语：£10 book tokens（10 英镑的购书券）
近义词：coupon（n. 代金券）
cryptocurrency
/ˈkrɪp.toʊˌkɝː.ən.si/
n. 加密电子货币
词根词缀：crypto-（表示“秘密的，隐藏的”）
搭配短语：a crypto-Communist（一个地下党员）
相关词汇：currency（n. 货币）
be meant to do sth.
旨在做某事
近义短语：to be intended to do sth.
例句：A diagram is meant to / intended to explain how something works.
necessarily
/ˌnesəˈserəli//ˈnes.ə.ser.ɪl.i/
adv. 一定地，必然地
搭配短语：not necessarily（不一定，未必）
例句：The more expensive things are not necessarily better.
essentially
/ɪˈsen.ʃəl.i/
adv. 本质上，根本上
近义词：basically, fundamentally
例句：Essentially, The internet works like a giant copy machine. = The internet essentially works like a giant copy machine.
duplicate
/ˈduː.plə.keɪt/
v. 复制，复印
词义辨析：duplicate, copy
duplicate 和 copy 都可以作动词，表示“复制，重复”。区别在于，copy 的含义很广泛，可以指“复制粘贴”（copy and paste）；也可以宽泛地指“抄写，誊写”，例如“抄录了几首诗歌”（to copy out several poems）；甚至可以表示“抄袭，作弊”。
但是，duplicate 表示“复制”，含义比较单一，强调一模一样地复制或复印。比如复制录像带（to duplicate video tapes）。
authenticity
/ˌɑː.θenˈtɪs.ə.t̬i/
n. 真实性，可靠性
相关词汇：authentic（adj. 口味地道的；原作的）
搭配短语：authentic Italian food（原汁原味的意大利美食）
搭配短语：an authentic work by Picasso（毕加索的真迹）
搭配短语：a document of doubtful authenticity（文件的真实性存疑）
forge
/fɔːrdʒ/
v. 伪造，假冒
英文释义：to make an illegal copy of something in order to deceive
搭配短语：to forge a passport（伪造一本护照）
搭配短语：a forged passport（假护照）
signal
/ˈsɪɡ.nəl/
v. 表明，表示，预示
词性拓展：signal（n. 信号）
搭配短语：traffic signals（交通信号灯）
例句：Both sides have signaled their willingness to start negotiations.
represent
/ˌrep.rɪˈzent/
v. 代表，表示
英文释义：to be a sign or symbol of something
例句：To many people, the White House represents the identity of the United States.
take sth. / sb. seriously
认真对待某事 / 某人
例句：He takes himself too seriously.（他太把自己当回事了。）
例句：Every citizen should take seriously both the PCR testing and antigen self-testing.（每一个居民都应该认真对待核酸检测和抗原检测。）
emerging
/ɪˈmɝː.dʒɪŋ/
adj. 新兴的，发展初期的
相关词汇：emerge（v. 出现）
例句：The sun emerged from behind the clouds.
搭配短语：emerging technologies