European Economy, African Food Security to Top G8 Summit

 　　WHITE HOUSE - Europe’s economic crisis is expected to dominate the discussions when the Group of Eight nations hold their economic summit near Washington on Friday and Saturday.  Food security in Africa will also be high on the agenda.

　　The meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat will be the first G8 summit to include France’s new president, Francois Hollande.

　　The French leader was elected on a promise to help move Europe toward a pro-growth economic plan, and away from the austerity policy of his predecessor¹, Nicolas Sarkozy.  Mr. Hollande will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Friday, before leaving for Camp David.

　　U.S. National Security Adviser² Tom Donilon said Thursday that the Obama administration favors an approach in which Europe balances economic stimulus³ with austerity.

　　“The United States welcomes the evolving discussion and debate in Europe about the imperative⁴ for jobs and growth," said Donilon.

　　The European Union is America’s largest trading partner, and Donilon said the United States has an “extraordinarily significant stake in the outcome” of Europe’s economic discussions.  President Obama says he is confident that Europe can resolve its economic crisis without significant help from Washington.

　　At Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, Europe analyst⁵ Heather Conley says that Mr. Obama is more closely aligned⁶ with Mr. Hollande’s views than with those of German Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel, who strongly supports austerity measures.

　　“Clearly, I think President Obama will want to send a reaffirming message that better [national budget] balancing is required for Europe, so it can quickly return to economic health," said Conley.

　　CSIS political economist⁸ Matthew Goodman says Mr. Obama hopes the summit will help Europe move toward solutions.

　　“I think the White House does not want to have a sterile⁹ debate about growth versus¹⁰ austerity," said Goodman. "But inevitably¹¹, that is going to be a theme in the conversation.”

　　The other main topic of the summit will be efforts to boost Africa’s food security and agricultural productivity.  President Obama has invited the leaders of Benin, Ghana, Tanzania and Ethiopia to attend the summit.

　　Analyst Matthew Goodman says those four countries have made progress in improving their food situation.

　　“They were chosen based on the sort of underlying¹² policy efforts that they had made to promote innovative¹³ approaches to increasing agricultural productivity and increasing investment and so forth," he said.

　　Goodman says he does not expect any major new commitments of money from the G8 to the African food effort.

　　Other issues expected to be discussed at the summit are post-war economic support for Afghanistan, tightened¹⁴ sanctions on Iran, and the ongoing¹⁵ violence in Syria.

　　White House officials say the G8 Summit will be the largest gathering¹⁶ of world leaders in Camp David’s seven-decade history.

1 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

4 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

12 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

13 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

14 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。