VOA慢速英语2010年-2010 Marked by Debt Problems in Europe

Here are some of the top economic stories of two thousand ten. The world continued to struggle with a slow recovery from the financial crisis two years earlier. Greece admitted to bigger-than-expected budget deficits¹. Investors² punished Greece with much higher borrowing costs. The sixteen countries that use the euro joined the International Monetary³ Fund in offering loans of about one hundred forty billion dollars in May.

But, Greece had to agree to deeply cut government spending. Some demonstrations⁴ against the measures turned violent.

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And debt problems extended beyond Greece. Ireland asked euro-area members and the IMF for help last month. Its rescue was even bigger, considering the size of the Irish economy.

Euro-area nations have set up a bailout fund of about one trillion dollars. But the IMF worries that may not be enough. Portugal, Spain and Italy could soon require emergency loans. And the euro has declined, making imports more costly⁵ for the area’s struggling economies.

Riot police in Athens clash with protestors opposing severe cuts in government spending earlier in December

China’s exports of important industrial metals also made news this year. China temporarily cut off rare earth metals meant for Japan after a territorial⁶ dispute in September. China controls nearly all of the rare earth metals market. These metals are used in everything from smart bombs to batteries. China recently announced lower export limits for rare earths for next year.

In the United States, the central bank took steps to speed recovery. The Federal Reserve announced a plan to add six hundred billion dollars to the economy. The goal is to keep long-term interest rates low and make investment--and hiring--easier. Unemployment remained above nine percent all year.

On Wall Street, a sudden drop in a big stock index shocked investors on May sixth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about nine percent in less than an hour before mostly recovering. A five-month federal investigation⁷ of the so-called flash crash suggested a single big trade may have been the cause.

Rare earth mining in Jiangxi, China.

Rich nations continued to hurt economically this year. But World Bank economist⁸ Hans Timmer says not all countries are reporting problems.

HANS TIMMER: “By far the most, the biggest story is the very strong performance of the emerging economies.”

The so-called BRIC nations, Brazil, Russia, India and China, are expected to report notable economic growth this year.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report written by Mario Ritter. Happy New Year, everyone. I’m Steve Ember.

1 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

2 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。