美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-10-11

 The polls are closed, the votes are counted, and we know who will be the next president of Venezuela. Same person who's held that title since 1999, his name is Hugo Chavez. Chavez was reelected over the weekend, he'll serve another 6-year-term as the leader of the Venezuela. He became the youngest president in that country's history when he was first elected back in 1998. This election was the closest for Chavez since he first came into power. There was a huge turnout, election officials in Venezuela say more than 80% of voters went to the polls. Chavez is considered controversial, for example, Venezuela's biggest trading partner is the United States, which Chavez speaks out against the U.S a lot and criticizes American policies. His own policies, especially his economy ones, have raised some questions of their own. Chavez is a firm believer in socialism, that's when the government controls its country's businesses. He wants to use the money that his country makes from oil to pay for social programs. Venezuela is one of the world's biggest oil producers, but 35% of the country's population lives in poverty as Paula Newton shows us things could get worse.

 

"It doesn't look like the kind of place, that's about to go broke. Venezuela is the biggest producer of crude in the western hemisphere, people here rolled up and filled up for literally¹ pennies a gallon. And as the price of a barrel has increased in the last decade, even poor Venezuelans have shared the wealth. Buying up, moving up, and logging on. Some economists² warn this is a country hanging on by a physical threat."

 

"It really reached the point where the current situation can't continue."

 

"The problem, the socialist³ government of Hugo Chavez has been spending and borrowing money at record amounts on everything from building new homes like these behind me, even things like new refrigerator, cheap gas, microwaves, all to give to the poor in the needed of this country."

 

"But the spending binge using petrol profits and foreign loans could leave Venenuelans worse off in the long run. Inflation is rampant⁴, and the mighty⁵ bolivar may have to be brought down to size, in other words, devalued again. And for a country that relies heavily on imports, that would likely fuel more inflation already running at 30%. On the street, they know that means struggling more to buy less. 

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 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》

3 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

4 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。