VOA慢速英语2011--E. Coli Outbreak A Top Economic Worry Fo

Economics Report - E. Coli Outbreak A Top Economic Worry For Europe

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
European agriculture ministers met in Luxembourg this week to discuss the spread of E. coli bacteria. E. coli infections have killed at least thirty people since late May. Nearly three thousand others were sickened. Most of the victims were in Germany.
European officials have not been able to find the cause of the infections. At first, German officials suggested that cucumbers from Spain were to blame. Russia and other countries quickly banned vegetable imports from Spain and other European countries.
The Spanish agriculture minister, Rosa Aguilar, demanded that Germany pay for her country's losses.
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John Dalli of Malta is the European Union’s Commissioner¹ for Health and Consumer Policy. He spoke² this week about the risk of passing judgment³ too soon.
JOHN DALLI: "It is crucial that national authorities do not rush to give information on source of infection which is not proven by bacteriological analysis, as this spreads unjustified fears in the population all over Europe, and creates problems for our food producers selling products in the EU and outside of the EU."
Russia has refused to end its ban on European vegetables. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said his country will not lift the ban until the EU provides details about the source of the infections. Some critics say Russia is using the issue to gain entry to the World Trade Organization. Russia is the largest economy without WTO membership.
Earlier this week, EU Farm Commissioner Dacian Ciolos proposed farm aid of two hundred twenty million dollars. The goal was to help European farmers recover at least fifty percent of their losses. By Wednesday, Mr. Ciolos had raised the amount to over three hundred million dollars. EU officials estimate the bacterial⁴ outbreak has cost farmers millions of dollars.
But that is not the only issue troubling Europe. European governments and the International Monetary⁵ Fund are considering as much as sixty-five billion dollars in new loans to Greece. Greek debt continues to drop in value as some officials now admit that earlier rescue loans were not enough.
This week, the Greek cabinet approved measures to cut budget deficits⁶. But thousands of government workers protested the planned cuts on Thursday.
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Separately, French Finance Minster Christine Lagarde is continuing her campaign to become the next head of the IMF. She visited China this week after traveling to India. Mexican Central Bank Chief Agustin Carstens also wants the job. He is seeking to become the first non-European to lead the international lender.And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report. I’m Mario Ritter.
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Contributing: Lauren Frayer

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

5 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。

6 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