Greece's Financial Plight Eases Slightly

 　　Greece's financial plight¹ is easing a bit, with the government receiving the first segment of its new bailout and at the same time attracting investors² for a bond offering.

　　Greek officials said Tuesday the Athens government has received $10 billion from its European neighbors and the International Monetary³ Fund. The payment kept Greece from defaulting, with most of the money going to repay bonds held by the central banks in the 17-nation euro currency bloc⁴.

　　Meanwhile, Greece sold its first bonds since reaching an agreement for its new $171 billion bailout, the country's second in two years, and elimination⁵ of $141 billion in debt the country owed its private creditors⁶. The country raised $1.7 billion on the three-month loans and will pay less in interest than it did on similar bonds before securing the debt relief.

　　In Washington, U.S. Treasury⁷ Secretary Timothy Geithner told a congressional committee that Europe has "made very significant progress" in resolving the continent's two-year governmental debt crisis that centered on Greece's massive financial problems.

　　But Geithner warned that the eurozone is only in the initial stages of carrying out new tighter controls on spending and that "economic growth is likely to be weak for some time." Europe is predicting its economy will shrink slightly this year.

1 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 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。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

6 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。