Bear had put many of its eggs in one basket-mortgage-backed securities-and these were fast turning rotten, and impossible to sell, as house prices tumbled.

因为贝尔的做法就象是将很多鸡蛋放进了一个篮子里，即放入抵押支持的证券里，当房价跌落时，这些鸡蛋快速地腐烂，不可能出售。

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As house prices tumbled, more than a million people were left servicing mortgages greater than their houses were worth.

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As banks, house prices and stockmarkets all tumbled in mid-September, news that Britain's government had brokered a rescue of its biggest mortgage lender, troubled HBOS, by the relatively sturdy Lloyds TSB revived spirits no end.

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