英伦广角 2011-04-04 葡萄牙寻求欧元救市

The Eruozone’s debt crisis had gone quiet, but not any longer. This is the heart of European Union and workers are fighting with police. They’re angry about looming¹ cuts and redundancies. But Belgium’s problems are a sideshow for leaders arriving for the EU summit. Top of the agenda is Portugal. Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned when he failed to get through another round of austerity measures. The country would almost certainly now have to reach for the bailout panic button.

 

"Portugal’s finances are in a very tricky² position. They will now have to refinance an amount, which is equivalent to about 25% of its national wealth. Its borrowing costs are unsustainably high. It’s just can’t go like this."

The European Union has pledged its supports, but pressure was building on the Portuguese³ to take a bailout, like Ireland and Greece.

The problems in Portugal are now reverberating⁴ around the rest of the European Union. Most countries are having to force through austerity measures. And here in Belgium, workers have taken to the streets once again. Now the problem for Europe’s leaders who are meeting down the road is how can they stop this crisis spreading to other countries.

The unwanted attention is already on Spain, the Eurozone’s fourth largest economy. With unemployment at 20%, it may also have to join the queue of Europe’s sick economies, who are seeking financial help.

"The thing that’s noteworthy here is the way the Portugal ended up getting to the point where it needs a bailout. Inside Portugal, there was a popular revolt against the austerity measures that the EU said were needed. And that is fairly unpredictable and if that sort of thing happens in Spain or indeed even in the countries that have already been bailed⁵ out in Greece or Ireland. The EU could find itself having to write more checks to repair countries."

At this summit, the European Union is hoping to approve a permanent bailout mechanism⁶, worth 700 billion Euros. But many here are asking the question: how long will people be prepared to keep paying for the Euro.

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 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。

4 reverberating   

回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• The words are still ringing [reverberating] in one's ears. 言犹在耳。
• I heard a voice reverberating: "Crawl out! I give you liberty!" 我听到一个声音在回荡：“爬出来吧，我给你自由！”

5 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。