美国国家公共电台 NPR--Argentina's peso continues its slide to lows not seen for decades

Argentina's peso continues its slide to lows not seen for decades

Transcript¹

Argentina is experiencing its worst economic crisis in years, with inflation at record highs, turning household budgets on their head.

The Central Bank stands in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, April 21, 2023. The Central Bank raised interest rates on April 20 in an effort to encourage people to save in local currency.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

People worried about inflation in the United States should be careful about complaining to anybody from Argentina. The U.S. dollar has lost some of its value in the past year or two, of course. But the Argentine peso has collapsed². And you can see that in its relative value to the dollar. One year ago, by official rates, you needed around 100 pesos to buy one U.S. dollar, now it's over 200. And if you trade for dollars on the black market, as people often have to do, you would need 500 pesos for a dollar. NPR's Carrie Kahn is in Buenos Aires, where the currency loses value by the hour.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE³: Downtown, pedestrians⁴ weave among sidewalk vendors⁶ and chalkboard stands outside stores. These days, with prices changing by the hour, it's easier to erase⁷ than reprint menus and signs. Some vendors say they're changing prices three times a day just to keep up with the plunging⁸ peso.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Dollar changers try to lure⁹ tourists with crisp 100 bills. Argentines come here, too, many straight from nearby banks on payday to ditch their pesos into safe dollars.

JUAN LUIS BOUR: We do not trust in our currency like other countries do.

KAHN: Economist¹⁰ Juan Luis Bour says confidence has hit rock bottom. The peso has lost 20% of its value just since the first of the year. The black market price is more than double the government's fixed¹¹ rate. And inflation has soared past 100%.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Hawking¹² fresh bread from his metal shopping cart, a man zigzags¹³ down the potholed streets of one of Buenos Aires' largest slums, known as Villa¹⁴ 21-24, on the outskirts¹⁵ of the capital. It's a juggling¹⁶ act to survive here, says Ana Vasquez (ph), waiting for church to start.

ANA VASQUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "You barely make it to the end of the month - always juggling, paying back a loan here, working this job there, selling this or that," she says.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in Spanish).

VASQUEZ: (Singing in Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing in Spanish).

VASQUEZ: (Singing in Spanish).

KAHN: Poverty is on the rise. Forty percent of Argentines are now poor. Priest Lorenzo De Vedia (ph), known by everyone as Padre Toto (ph), says he's had to open more and more soup kitchens.

PADRE TOTO: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "It used to be helping¹⁷ people make it to the end of the month. Now it's just from day to day," he says. Critics say the government refuses to deal with the crisis and must cut runaway¹⁸ government spending by the leftists in power. Current President Alberto Fernandez says he won't sacrifice people's welfare. He says he was handed a country buried in debt four years ago. And he blames the recent plunge¹⁹ in the peso on the right.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT ALBERTO FERNANDEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "This is what they do. They start off in the morning spreading rumors²⁰, keep them going all day and make money off manipulating the dollar," he said this week. Fernandez just announced he won't be running for reelection. Presidential elections are slated²¹ for October. And it's unlikely the government will devalue the peso before then. But dollar reserves are dropping. And many economists²² predict they might not be able to hold off much longer.

(SOUNDBITE OF BROOM SWEEPING)

KAHN: A vendor⁵ sweeps up after a farmer's market in Buenos Aires' well-to-do Palermo neighborhood. Thirty-four-year-old Micaiella (ph) waits to take whatever isn't sold. She would only give her first name, fearful of police retribution. She sleeps in the park with her kids, who help her pick up recycling.

MICAIELLA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: She says she just feels like everything these days is going backward, and no one has a plan to move Argentina forward.

Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Buenos Aires.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOTAN PROJECT SONG, "ARRABAL")

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 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 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。

4 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

6 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

8 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

10 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。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。

13 zigzags   

n.锯齿形的线条、小径等( zigzag的名词复数 )v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。
• History moves in zigzags and by roundabout ways. 历史的发展是曲折的，迂回的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

15 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

16 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

19 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

20 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

22 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》