经济学人:自由兑换:欧元区的经常账户盈余(1)

 　　Greece's third bail-out programme came to an end on August 20th. 希腊第三次救市计划于8月20日结束。

　　A look at the causes of the country's near-decade of crisis illustrates¹ how external imbalances can reflect underlying² troubles. 希腊近十年危机产生的起因体现了外部失衡如何反应潜在问题。

　　Gaps in public finances, as well as investments in property, were financed by borrowing from Germany and other northern European countries. 公共财政的差距以及资产投资都是通过向德国以及其他欧洲北部国家借资进行。

　　Wages and costs were pushed up, making exports less competitive—within the euro zone, there can be no currency devaluation— 工资和成本增加使得出口缺乏竞争力—在欧元区内，不存在货币贬值—

　　and further widening Greece's current-account deficit³. 这进一步扩大了希腊的经常账户盈余。

　　When foreign lending seized up, the government needed bailing⁴ out and the banks crumbled⁵. 当国外贷款中止，政府需要帮助摆脱困境，银行崩溃。

　　Portugal (chiefly because of its public finances), Spain and Ireland (blame private-sector⁶ housing bubbles) have similar tales to tell. 葡萄牙（主要是由于其公共财政）、西班牙和爱尔兰（归咎于私营部门房地产泡沫）也有着相似的故事。

　　As those four countries have stabilised or recovered, they have wholly or partly reversed their current-account deficits⁷. 那四个国家已经稳定或已恢复过来了，他们已经完全或部分地扭转了他们的经常账户盈余。

　　But if the periphery⁸ has adjusted, the same is not true of the euro area's creditor⁹ countries. 但是如果外围出现调整，那么上述情况则并不适用于欧元区的债权国。

　　Surpluses in Germany and the Netherlands have grown. As a consequence, the euro zone in total has a substantial current-account surplus. 德国和荷兰的盈余已经增长。因此，欧元区整体出现大量的经常账户盈余。

　　In the year to June it was 3.6% of GDP (the same as the record for a calendar year, set in 2016). Growth is likely to have been hurt. 到六月为止，盈余占GDP的3.6%（2016年一历年的记录也是如此）。增长似乎受到了不良影响。

　　In 2017, according to the IMF's External Sector Report, published last month, 2017年，根据国际货币基金组织（IMF）涉外部门上个月发布的报告，

　　the euro area had the world's biggest absolute current-account surplus, $442bn. Germany has the largest of any single country. 欧元区有着世界上最大的绝对经常账户盈余—4420亿美元。德国所占比例比任何单一国家都多。

　　China's once-vast surplus has narrowed: in the first half of this year, indeed, China reported a deficit. 中国曾经巨额的盈余已经缩减：确实，今年上半年中国发布赤字报告。

　　America's deficit remains¹⁰ the world's biggest, $466bn last year. 美国的赤字仍是世界最大，去年为4660亿美元。

　　Corporate-tax cuts, interest-rate rises and the associated dollar appreciation¹¹ could widen it further. 公司税下降、利率上涨以及美元升值都可能会进一步扩大赤字。

1 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

2 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。

3 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。

4 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

5 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 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

8 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。

9 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

10 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。

11 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。