其实荷兰既不是第 一个种植郁金香的，也不是zui先爱上它的国度：“The Dutch were not the first to go gaga over the tulip”。既然如此，那这种tulip mania又为何会出现在荷兰呢？
大概是天时地利人和的综合结果吧。
一是有钱。
17世纪的荷兰正处于它的黄金时代，与西班牙一战后，这个国家终于通过船只前往世界各地进行商业贸易。在东印度群岛的贸易中，一次航行便能获取百分之四百的惊人利益。这个货真价实的“海上马车夫”迅速搜刮到了庞大的真金白银。
Holland in the early 17th century was embarking on its Golden Age. Resources that had just a few years earlier gone toward fighting for independence from Spain now flowed into commerce. Amsterdam merchants were at the center of the lucrative East Indies trade, where a single voyage could yield profits of 400%.
第二，需求大。
“富贵不归故乡，如锦衣夜行”，乍富的荷兰人也不例外。这些富人迫切地要用鲜花豪宅来摆阔，还有比时髦且易逝的“郁金香”更好的奢 侈品吗？更何况这样“奢 侈品”当时正在欧洲公认的时尚中心巴黎风头正劲。这就让郁金香开始供不应求起来。
而且，彼时的郁金香患有一种非常神奇的病毒（tulipa virus），也被叫做“郁金香碎色病毒”，它可以让郁金香颜色断裂，形成条纹，斑点，甚至是极其精美的火焰图案。而这一切都是不可控的，每一朵郁金香都好像是开盲盒。拜托，这可是盲盒啊！今天的世界人民，至少中国人，都还在为盲盒疯狂买单呢！
三是供应量没法提升。
But if the supply of tulip buyers grew quickly, the supply of bulbs did not. The tulip was a conspirator(阴谋者) in the supply squeeze(压榨):It takes seven years to grow one from seed. And while bulbs can produce two or three clones, or "offsets," annually, the mother bulb only lasts a few years.
采摘下的郁金香仅仅能维持一周左右，但它的生长周期却极其的漫长，从种子成长起来，要7年时间，而且也仅仅只能长出2-3个新球，而母球呢？也只能存活几年时间而已。虽然供求量迅速变大，但供给量却很难快速提升。
Bulb prices rose steadily throughout the 1630s, as ever more speculators (投机者) wedged(楔入)into the market.
这一切都造就了惊人的利润，而惊人的利润又引来了所有投机者的疯狂涌入。
Weavers and farmers mortgaged whatever they could to raise cash to begin trading.
织布工和农民抵押了他们能抵押的一切来筹集现金开始交易。
By 1636 any tulip--even bulbs recently considered garbage--could be sold off often for hundreds of guilders.
到1636年，即使是被视作垃圾的球茎，都可以以数百荷兰盾的价格出售。
一个稀有球茎，不仅仅能买一套房，甚至能买一整个农场。历史上也确实记载了有人用一个球茎就交易到了一个农场。
Tulip mania reached its peak during the winter of 1636-37, when some bulbs were changing hands ten times in a day.
在1636年至1637年的冬天，郁金香狂热达到了顶峰，一些球茎在一天内能够被易手十次。
One, a rare Violetten Admirael van Enkhuizen bulb that was about to split in two, sold for 5,200 guilders, the all-time record. All told, the flowers brought in nearly 53,000 guilders.
就在这个冬天，其中一个稀有球茎，卖出了5200荷兰盾的惊人高价。
接着，就像一切的庞氏骗局一样，突然之间，泡沫破碎，如烈火烹油的郁金香市场突然崩盘。Soon after, the tulip market crashed utterly, spectacularly.
It began in Haarlem, at a routine bulb auction when, for the first time, the greater fool refused to show up and pay.
一切开始于一个平常的例行的球茎拍卖会，有人喊价后，无人应答。所有人都沉默了。在那一刻，显然，对于市场的信心轰然粉碎。
Within days, the panic had spread across the country. Despite the efforts of traders to prop up demand, the market for tulips evaporated. Flowers that had commanded 5,000 guilders a few weeks before now fetched one-hundredth that amount.
仅仅几天，恐慌席卷全国，市场蒸发，原先价值5000荷兰盾一个的球茎，一天之后，50个荷兰盾就能买到，而几个月之后，这仅仅只值几个荷兰币。要知道，在当时，二十个荷兰币等于一个荷兰盾。
自此以后，这场泡沫破得彻彻底底。
好了，这就是雅思考场上的关于郁金香的故事，祝福大家在这个春日，在公园里有美花可赏，但在考场上并不会遇见这朵“癫狂的花”。
如若遇见，现在的你已经了解了整个故事的来龙去脉，又有何惧呢？
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