VOA标准英语2009年-British Leader Prepares Country for Tough Year

（单词翻译）

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, (file photo)

If 2008 was financially difficult in Britain, 2009 may be even tougher. The economic challenges will be enormous with jobs ebbing³ away and businesses fighting to survive.

In his New Year message to a country already rocked by the credit crunch⁴, Prime Minister Gordon Brown candidly⁵ admitted Thursday there will be trouble ahead.

"This coming year will not be easy but I am determined⁶ that this government will be the rock of stability and fairness upon which the British people can depend," he said.
　

London Shoppers pass a High Street shop offering large discounts to encourage shoppers, 23 Dec 2008

In 2008, Brown's government was forced to nationalize two banks and take stakes in several others. A number of notable retail⁷ names have disappeared from the main streets here and others will follow in the New Year.

While the British economy is contracting at its sharpest level since the early 1990s, Brown remains⁸ determined to fight back with more government spending. He predicts when the global economy does eventually recover, the underlying⁹ financial landscape will be very different.

"And when the history books come to be written, 2008 will largely be remembered for the scale of the great economic and financial crisis. A year in which an old era of unbridled free market dogma was finally ushered¹⁰ out. And I want 2009 to be when the dawn of a new progressive era breaks across the world, purposeful and energetic governments giving real help to families and businesses when they need it the most," he said.

But Brown is a man not without his critics. The main opposition¹¹ Conservative party said the prime minister's spending plans are unsustainable and they will leave future generations with a mountain of debt.

While his message was somber¹², Brown did stress that the country will be well placed to move forward once the downturn is over with jobs for the digital age and new and improved transportation and communications infrastructure¹³.

He also said Britons have always risen to challenges in the past, and this economic crisis will prove to be no different.