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VOA标准英语2009年-Egyptian Economists Worry About Falling Suez Ca

时间:2009-03-07 06:57:07

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(单词翻译)

Egyptian economists1 are fretting2, as the global economic crisis bites, hitting vital sources of government revenue, like tariffs3 from Suez Canal traffic. The canal authority reported that traffic for January was off by 22 percent, and that revenue was down by nearly 20 percent.
 
Cargo5 ships navigate6 Suez Canal about 100 kms northeast of Cairo, 24 Nov 2008

A cargo ship blows its horn, as it prepares to enter the Suez Canal at Port Said for the 14-hour trip south to the Gulf7 of Suez and then to the Red Sea. The canal, which was completed by French engineers in 1869, avoids the lengthy8 trip around Africa, and provides the Egyptian government with an important source of revenue.

Ted4 Seel, a Cairo-based security expert, explains that the fee structure for the Suez Canal depends on the size, or more specifically the weight, in gross tons, of a ship.

"The Suez Canal Authority has a fee schedule based on gross displaced tonnage, so a pleasure yacht might pay as little as $15,000 to go through the canal, whereas an aircraft carrier might pay more than $600,000," Seel said. "Certain classes of ship, and warships9 fall into the hazardous10 material category, they pay an automatic surcharge, in addition to the normal passage fee, and the surcharge can be as high as 35 percent."

Gouda Abdel Khaleq, Professor of Economics at Cairo University, argues that revenue from the canal is a vital element of the Egyptian economy and that its fortunes affect the country in several ways.

"The importance of the Suez Canal for Egypt, from an economic point of view, makes itself felt in two ways: one, as a source of foreign exchange to the country, and two, as revenue for the government, and hence it does have clear fiscal11 implications," he said. "So, against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, we're witnessing slowing down of international trade flows, and as a result, there is bound to be a reduction in the revenue generated by the Suez Canal."

The Suez Canal Authority reports that traffic in January hit its lowest level in five years, due to the global financial crisis, and the vexing12 issue of piracy13 off the Somali Coast.

Slightly over 1,300 ships went through the canal in January, as compared to nearly 1,700 a year earlier. The 22 percent drop in traffic represents a nearly 20 percent loss in revenues for Egypt, from $414 million in 2008 to $332 million in 2009.

Cargo volume transiting14 the canal also dropped to 57 million tons in January from 74 million tons in January of 2008.

Some shipping15 companies are reportedly going the long way around Africa, via the Cape16 of Good Hope, to avoid piracy in the Gulf of Aden, near Somalia.

Abdel Moneim Said, Director of the Al Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, however, thinks that issue of piracy is overblown, and is no longer a key factor affecting traffic through the Suez Canal.
 
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (file)

"The piracy is zero. I mean, because the piracy is now handled by a number of forces, and the international trade, when it was going up last year and the year before was not affected17 by that factor. The major factor is slowdown of world trade, so people are not trading, so they are not passing through the Suez Canal," he said.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak noted18, at the beginning of the year, that the global economic crisis was a major threat to Egypt, but that he was confident of surviving it.

He says that Egypt is facing new threats, especially that posed by the current world economic crisis, but stressed that he was confident in Egypt's ability to overcome them, as Egypt has overcome many other threats in the past.

Abdel Moneim Said believes that Egypt, like many other countries, is focusing on stimulating19 internal markets, in order to fend20 off the external crisis.

"Anything related to the world is going down, and the number one implication is that the Egyptian government and all world governments are trying to handle that through a number of steps, most important of which is to deepen the internal markets, so there is a stimulus21 plan in which there is 15 billion Egyptian pounds will be spent," he said.

The big question which Egyptian and international economists are posing, is exactly when the international economy will start improving, as Gouda Abdel Khaleq explains.

"Everybody is asking this question, because the question doesn't concern Egypt only, it concerns the entire world, as we know, because this is a global crisis, and the question is being posed even in Europe and the United States, and nobody seems to have a clue," he said.

Abdel Khaleq, for his part, echoes IMF Managing Director Dominque Strauss-Kahn, who indicated recently that he doesn't see the world economy improving until the very end of 2009, or some time in 2010.

"We have a way to go before the turning point," Khaleq said.


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1 economists 2ba0a36f92d9c37ef31cc751bca1a748     
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》
2 fretting fretting     
n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的
参考例句:
  • Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
  • The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。
3 tariffs a7eb9a3f31e3d6290c240675a80156ec     
关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准
参考例句:
  • British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
  • The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。
4 ted 9gazhs     
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
参考例句:
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
5 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
6 navigate 4Gyxu     
v.航行,飞行;导航,领航
参考例句:
  • He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
  • Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。
7 gulf 1e0xp     
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
参考例句:
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
8 lengthy f36yA     
adj.漫长的,冗长的
参考例句:
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
  • The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。
9 warships 9d82ffe40b694c1e8a0fdc6d39c11ad8     
军舰,战舰( warship的名词复数 ); 舰只
参考例句:
  • The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后,敌舰退出了海战。
  • The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。
10 hazardous Iddxz     
adj.(有)危险的,冒险的;碰运气的
参考例句:
  • These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
  • Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。
11 fiscal agbzf     
adj.财政的,会计的,国库的,国库岁入的
参考例句:
  • The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
  • The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。
12 vexing 9331d950e0681c1f12e634b03fd3428b     
adj.使人烦恼的,使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
参考例句:
  • It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题,而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句
13 piracy 9N3xO     
n.海盗行为,剽窃,著作权侵害
参考例句:
  • The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
  • They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。
14 transiting 0d2b64f42b39f00330eeb628166d7138     
通过(transit的现在分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The effect of the transiting mechanic required reserve system vehicle is low. 准备金制度的传导机制的作用是很低的。
  • I was busy transiting to the telescope. 我正忙着旋转望远镜。
15 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
16 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
17 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
18 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
19 stimulating ShBz7A     
adj.有启发性的,能激发人思考的
参考例句:
  • shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
  • This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。
20 fend N78yA     
v.照料(自己),(自己)谋生,挡开,避开
参考例句:
  • I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
  • He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。
21 stimulus 3huyO     
n.刺激,刺激物,促进因素,引起兴奋的事物
参考例句:
  • Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
  • Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

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