美国国家公共电台 NPR--Inflation-strapped Filipinos criticize the president's many foreign trips

Inflation-strapped Filipinos criticize the president's many foreign trips

Transcript¹

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has frequently left his country for overseas visits. Filipinos facing steep inflation and food shortages at home wonder how that jet-setting benefits them.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The World Economic Forum² wrapped up in Davos, Switzerland, this morning. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was there to pitch his country as a destination for investors³. It was his eighth trip abroad since taking office last summer. But as NPR's Julie McCarthy reports, inflation-strapped Filipinos are wondering what all the globetrotting has accomplished⁴.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE⁵: As the only Southeast Asian leader to attend this year's Swiss alpine⁶ confab, President Marcos Jr. trumpeted⁷ the Philippines in a one-on-one with World Economic Forum President Borge Brende. Marcos boasted his was the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia and has the youngest workforce⁸ in Asia.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS JR: You might be surprised to learn that the average age of a Filipino worker is 23 1/2 years old, so that is a huge demographic dividend⁹.

MCCARTHY: Overlooked was a World Bank report that found 9 in 10 Filipino schoolchildren aged¹⁰ 10 struggle to read simple text. But Marcos spoke¹¹ with ease about the great power rivalry¹² between the U.S. and China and how tensions in the South China Sea kept him up at night. Manila-based analyst¹³ Richard Heydarian says Marcos is positioning himself as an internationalist and that the extensive foreign travel in recent months provides the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos the opportunity to rebrand the Marcos family on an international level.

RICHARD HEYDARIAN: So there's definitely a lot of, let's just call it, family diplomacy¹⁴ going on here. But clearly, in fairness to Marcos Jr., I think there's also a lot of damage control and airbrushing of the populist catastrophe¹⁵ that was the previous administration, namely President Duterte.

MCCARTHY: However, Heydarian says Marcos has embarked¹⁶ on so many foreign trips in his young presidency¹⁷ that he's nicknamed Ferdinand Magellan Jr. for the legendary¹⁸ Portuguese¹⁹ explorer.

HEYDARIAN: The implication there is the president just trying to escape the problems at home and hope that things will autopilot themselves into solutions. So this is really the issue.

MCCARTHY: That's the issue for Karen Villamor.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOD SIZZLING)

MCCARTHY: She cooks up fish bowls at her food stand near Manila City Hall. Villamor earns $12 a day and wants to know exactly how much tax money the Marcos administration spent on travels abroad.

KAREN VILLAMOR: (Speaking Filipino).

MCCARTHY: She says, "when you travel, it's very expensive. So just use the internet to hold meetings and save money. Our internet has wide coverage²⁰." "You don't need to travel to other countries," she says. Around the corner, retiree Joseph Ravanzo sits with his wife on a park bench and laments²¹ that people are suffering while the government seems rudderless.

JOSEPH RAVANZO: (Speaking Filipino).

MCCARTHY: "Farmers complain about expensive seeds and fertilizer. Bakeries complain about the high cost of eggs, sugar and oil," he says. Forty-two percent of Filipinos told pollsters last fall they disapproved²² of the Marcos administration's handling of inflation. Thirty-one percent approved. And Ravanzo says Marcos belongs at his desk finding solutions. Richard Heydarian says the danger for Marcos is appearing to indulge in lavish²³ travel while the country is in pain. That, he says, could unravel²⁴ the huge mandate²⁵ that put Marcos in power.

Julie McCarthy, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SWEEPS' "NARDIS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 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

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

7 trumpeted   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soldiers trumpeted and bugled. 士兵们吹喇叭鸣号角。
• The radio trumpeted the presidential campaign across the country. 电台在全国范围大力宣传总统竞选运动。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

13 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。

14 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

15 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

16 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

17 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

18 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

19 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

20 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

21 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

22 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

24 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

25 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。