2018年经济学人 自由兑换:欧元区的经常账户盈余(2)

 

Current-account imbalances are not always a cause for concern.

经常账户失衡并不总是一件令人担忧的事。

As a matter of arithmetic, they measure the gap between domestic savings¹ and investment.

基于数理逻辑，他们对国内储蓄和投资之间的差距进行测量。

The euro area is an economy with an ageing population: it should save more than it invests. As a result, it should have a current-account surplus.

欧元区经济还存在人口老龄化问题：这样节省下来的钱应该比投资的钱更多。因此，欧元区应该存在经常账户盈余。

America's deficit² partly reflects the more attractive investment opportunities available there than elsewhere in the world.

美国的赤字部分反映出美国有着比世界其他国家更具吸引力的投资机遇。

Imbalances become more worrying, however, if they are larger than economic fundamentals might suggest or financed by short-term inflows.

如果这些不平衡比基本经济因素所暗示的更加巨大，或是由短期现金流入资助，那么不平衡会变得更加令人担心。

The crises in the periphery³ of the euro zone were reflected in deficits⁴ caused by a surfeit⁵ of unproductive spending.

在欧元区外围的危机被反映在赤字中，而这些赤字是由非生产性支出过度所导致的。

But excess surpluses, too, can have drawbacks.

但是过量的盈余也有缺陷。

The IMF reckons that the euro area's aggregate⁶ current-account surplus

IMF估算现在欧元区的经常账户总计盈余

is now stronger than would be justified⁷ by structural⁸ factors and the business cycle alone.

比结构因素以及商业周期所出具的合理范围还有强劲。

Growth in the zone relies too much on that of its largest trading partners, including America;

欧元区内的增长过多的依赖于其最大的一些贸易伙伴，比如美国；

worthy⁹ investment projects at home—in German infrastructure¹⁰, say—go unfulfilled.

国内有价值的投资项目—比如，德国基础设施建设—都无法实现。

Surpluses also have political consequences outside the bloc¹¹.

盈余在欧元区外部也产生了政治后果。

President Donald Trump¹² sees Europe as a "foe¹³" because of its bilateral¹⁴ trade surplus with America.

由于欧洲与美国的双边贸易盈余，唐纳德·特朗普总统将欧洲看做是一个“敌人”。

He has slapped tariffs¹⁵ on European steel and aluminium¹⁶, and threatened them on cars; the European Union has retaliated¹⁷.

他对欧洲钢铁和铝征收关税，并威胁要对汽车征税；欧盟以牙还牙。

The two sides are negotiating, but trade tensions are likely to keep simmering.

双方正在谈判，但是贸易紧张似乎一触即发。

1 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

4 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

5 surfeit   

v.使饮食过度；n.(食物)过量，过度

参考例句：

• The voters are pretty sick of such a surfeit of primary sloganeering.选民们对于初选时没完没了地空喊口号的现象感到发腻了。
• A surfeit of food makes one sick.饮食过量使人生病。

6 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

7 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 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。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

14 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

15 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

16 aluminium   

n.铝 (=aluminum)

参考例句：

• Aluminium looks heavy but actually it is very light.铝看起来很重，实际上却很轻。
• If necessary, we can use aluminium instead of steel.如果必要，我们可用铝代钢。

17 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句