Sun clocks worked, of course, only on clear days; water clocks misbehaved when the temperature fell toward freezing, to say nothing of long-run drift as the result of sedimentation and clogging.
When it became clear that the wealth being created on paper was out of line with the real value of the homes themselves, the pyramid fell under its own weight.
当纸面的财富价值明显不符合住房实际价值时,金字塔被自己的重量压垮。
3
And that collateral could be increased if the securities fell in price, which they duly did as the scale of the American housing crisis became clear.