IMF Head Says Growth No Longer Enough

    Even as countries around the world are posting better economic growth rates two years after a global recession, officials from the International Monetary¹ Fund say that is not enough to improve the livelihood² of most people.

    Global finance chiefs at the so-called spring IMF-World Bank meetings have raised concerns about unsustainable public debts and harmful currency exchange rigidities, as well as the economic effects of recent natural disasters in Japan and uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.

    IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn put the emphasis on persistently³ high worldwide unemployment. "Growth is not enough because the old paradigm⁴ from which if you had growth then the rest will follow does not work anymore. So we need absolutely, not only to take into account the problem of growth, which is our mandate⁵, we also have to have some ideas in the way growth will become, transform or produce jobs," he said.

    The IMF head said this situation contributed to the uprisings in countries like Egypt or Tunisia, where the economies were growing fast and getting good reviews from economic experts, but unemployment and discontent remained high.

    Strauss-Kahn said he was also worried about higher fuel and food prices in developing countries.  He said while economies around the world are back on the upswing in terms of macro-economic numbers, most people are not getting any benefits. "Most people in the streets do not feel that their own life has improved. To feel this gap is not really the job of this institution but we cannot be blind.  So the fact that when ministers meet, they need to take this into account is absolutely obvious, and I think it has been acknowledged by everybody during these meetings," he said.

    During Saturday’s press briefing, IMF officials stressed the importance of cooperation and multilateralism for finance ministers to help reverse economic difficulties.

    They called on all economic actors, including themselves, to take actions early and manage global risks pro-actively to reduce the prospect⁶ of another economic downturn.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

3 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

4 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。