国际货币基金组织春季会议

 　　WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary¹ Fund (IMF) wrapped up its annual spring meetings Saturday amid an improving but uneven² global economic recovery.

　　"The global economy is faring better. (But) it's uneven, it's too slow, it's too fragile," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters at a press conference Saturday.

　　The Fund said earlier this week that the global recovery will gain strength this year, but cut its growth forecast somewhat on a slowdown in emerging markets.

　　While advanced economies have gained steam, recovery worldwide continues to be uneven and subpar, the IMF said, adding that risks include low inflation and uncertainty³ in countries undergoing political turmoil⁴.

　　IMF spring meetings conclude amid improving but uneven global economic recovery

　　Still, a slowly strengthening U.S. economy will help the world economy grow 3.6 percent in 2014, up sharply from 3 percent last year but down slightly from earlier projections⁶ of 3.7 percent, according to IMF figures released this week.

　　Growth has turned positive in the Eurozone, and Japan's economic activity is expected to get a boost from private investment and exports. But overall economic activity in Japan is projected to slow moderately in response to a tightening⁷ fiscal⁸ policy stance in 2014-2015, the IMF said.

　　While growth is moving in the right general direction, investment remains⁹ weak across all regions, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, chairman of IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee, told reporters during the same press conference.

　　"Investment is still weak relatively¹⁰ to where it should be in this stage of the recovery. Everywhere. In the emerging world as well as the advanced world, including the United States," he said.

　　ASIA SEES MOST DYNAMIC GROWTH

　　Asia was by far the biggest success story for this year's IMF spring meetings, although growth varies from country to country.

　　"We believe the Asia Pacific Region will continue to remain the most dynamic in the global world, although the growth rate in 2014 will not be as stellar as it was a few years ago," Changyong Rhee, the director of the Asia and Pacific Department with the IMF, told reporters Friday. "But the region is well-positioned to capitalize on the recovery of advanced economies, and the growth momentum¹¹ will continue."

　　"(The) main driver of this growth is definitely an improvement of external demand due to the recovery of the advanced economies," he said.

　　Asian economies will grow 5.4 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year, edging slightly upwards¹² from 5.2 percent in 2013.

　　China is expected to grow at around 7.5 percent in 2014, lower than last year's 7.7 percent, but "(that) should be regarded as a desirable adjustment to a more sustainable growth path," Rhee said.

　　With the Asian giant's current transformation¹³ from an export- based economy to one with more consumer spending, American Enterprise Institute resident fellow Desmond Lachman told Xinhua believed that a more balanced Chinese economy would make the country's impressive growth performance more sustainable.

　　If present trends continue, the world's second largest economy could surpass the U.S. economy in size by around 2020, Lachman told Xinhua.

　　"However, since China's consumption is less than 50 percent of GDP while the U.S. ratio is 70 percent, it would probably only be by around 2025 that China's consumption could be more important than that in the U.S.," he said. Barry Bosworth, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua that China will eventually replace the U.S. as the world's biggest consumer economy, but that will take a couple of decades. Much depends on whether China can successfully promote the growth of a middle class and the consumption that goes with it, he said.

　　Japan will see 1.4 percent growth this year, and India will lead South Asia with a growth rate increase to 5.4 percent. Economic growth in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations will reach 5 percent in 2014, according to the IMF projections.

　　There are some risks, Rhee said, including the impact that sharper-than-expected quantitative¹⁵ easing tapering¹⁶ can have on Asian economies. While there can be positive impacts, a " disorderly and unexpectedly tightening of monetary policy may have a negative impact in Asia through the capital outflows from the region and increased borrowing costs," Rhee said.

　　Frontier economies such as Myanmar and Cambodia will continue to catch up, and their growth rates will be 7.8 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, Rhee said.

　　U.S. GROWTH TO PICK UP

　　The U.S. economy is picking up, and is expected to grow 2.8 percent this year, the IMF said, although economists¹⁸ outside the IMF note the growth ratio is not enough to get millions of jobless Americans back to work.

　　"For the most part, the brakes are gone" in the U.S., IMF chief economist¹⁷ Olivier Blanchard said. "The U.S. recovery is the strongest among advanced economies and therefore in a way it's pulling the world."

　　The Fund expects good news for the U.S. in 2015, with a growth projection⁵ of 3.9 percent, the IMF announced earlier this week.

　　Lachman said underlying¹⁹ growth conditions in the U.S. seem to be favorable, especially in the energy and housing sectors²⁰ of the economy. Unlike in 2013, the U.S. economy in 2014 and 2015 will not be facing very strong headwinds.

　　However, Lachman said it is unlikely that the U.S. will grow on a sustained basis by more than 3 percent a year. As such, the rest of the world will not be able to rely on the old role of the U.S. as the locomotive for the world's economic growth.

　　"It would seem that each of the major economic blocs²¹ would need to generate their own growth,"he said.

　　Moreover, it remains unclear whether U.S. growth will translate into jobs growth, as recent economic gains have not put a significant dent¹⁴ in the U.S. jobless rate.

　　Millions of Americans remain unemployed²², and the long-term unemployed -- the number of those jobless for 27 weeks or more -- stands at a staggering 3.7 million, accounting²³ for 35.8 percent of the total number of unemployed individuals, according to the U.S. Labor²⁴ Department.

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 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

6 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

7 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

13 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

14 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

15 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

16 tapering   

adj.尖端细的

参考例句：

• Interest in the scandal seems to be tapering off. 人们对那件丑闻的兴趣似乎越来越小了。
• Nonproductive expenditures keep tapering down. 非生产性开支一直在下降。

17 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。

18 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

22 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

23 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

24 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。