Greek Anti-austerity Protests Turn Violent

 Greek Anti-austerity Protests Turn Violent

Anti-austerity protests turned violent in Athens on Thursday, with hundreds of youths hurling¹ gasoline bombs and rocks at riot police.

Tens of thousands of Greek workers struck and marched to protest demands by the country's international lenders that Athens impose more austerity measures before they will agree to hand Greece another segment of a bailout to keep the government afloat.

Most of the protest was peaceful, but police fired tear gas and stun² grenades at the youths after their assault. One man in his mid-60s died of a heart attack during the demonstration³.

The country's second general strike in a month was timed as a protest against European Union leaders as they gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit, to discuss new ways to resolve the three-year debt crisis in the 17-nation euro currency bloc⁴.   

Greek union leader Kostas Tsikrikas said his countrymen cannot withstand more austerity measures.

"We are sending a strong message to Europe, to the council summit, that  the people cannot take any more of this harsh and one-sided austerity," he said. "We will coordinate⁵ our efforts with all the unions of Europe in order to change this policy on a national and European level."

Greece and its outside lenders have been negotiating for weeks over terms of a $17 billion austerity plan, but have yet to reach agreement. Greece says it will run out of money next month and not be able to meet its financial obligations.

EU leaders are faced with resolving funding for Greece even as Spain decides whether to seek a bailout, or a line of credit, to solve its debt woes⁶. The eurozone nations are looking to tighten⁷ spending and banking⁸ controls by the end of the year, but are unlikely to decide major issues at this week's summit.

1 hurling   

n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• The boat rocked wildly, hurling him into the water. 这艘船剧烈地晃动，把他甩到水中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Fancy hurling away a good chance like that, the silly girl! 想想她竟然把这样一个好机会白白丢掉了，真是个傻姑娘！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

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 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

6 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

7 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。