VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-22 World Bank: Developed Economies Gain Strength in 2014 世界银行称2014年全球经济增长将有所改善

 

AS IT IS 2014-01-22 World Bank: Developed Economies Gain Strength in 2014 世界银行称2014年全球经济增长将有所改善

Welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Mario Ritter.

The World Bank has released its report on the world economy and the news is largely good.

“For the first time in five years, high income countries are accelerating.” 

The bank expects high-income countries to grow at a faster pace than they did in the years of recession that followed the world financial crisis.

Also, Taiwan is trying to increase exports through trade agreements in the extremely competitive East Asia-Pacific area.

Predictions for the World Economy in 2014 and Taiwan’s efforts to stay competitive are next on As It Is.

In 2014, Global Economic Growth Expected to Improve

The World Bank expects economic conditions around the world to improve this year.  The developing world has fueled much of the economic growth in recent years.  Now, the World Bank say growth in 2014 is likely to result largely because of economic expansion in high-income countries.  June Simms has more in this report from Mil Arcega.

The World Bank says the world economy has reached a turning point.  After years of slow growth, the bank expects developed economies to show solid improvement in 2014.  Andrew Burns is an economist¹ with the development agency. He says wealthy countries, once struggling with debt, are starting to grow.

“For the first time in five years, high income countries are accelerating. They’re going to be contributing to global growth in a way that they haven’t for some time.  That’s going to be good for developing countries.”

The World Bank says the world economy will grow at a rate of 3.2 percent this year, and it should continue rising over each of the next two years.

The World Bank predicts the American economy will grow at a yearly rate of 2.8 percent in 2014.  That would be up from 1.8 percent last year.

Kaushik Basu is the Chief Economist of the bank.  He believes the European economy will also show improvement this year.  It was not until last year that the recession in Eurozone countries ended.

North Africa and the Middle East remain areas of concern because of political unrest.  Another question is how actions by the US central bank will affect other countries.  The Federal Reserve has said it plans to begin reducing the amount of money it puts into the American economy.  Kaushik Basu says the effects are likely to be mild.  That is because many countries started feeling the effects of higher interest rates after the Federal Reserve announced its plans in the middle of 2013.

“We saw that in South Africa, in Indonesia, in India, where the exchange rate was crashing around.  So I feel actually, at one level, a lot of the adjustment has already taken place.”

 

The World Bank predicts that during 2014, economic growth will be strongest in East Asia and the Pacific. The bank expects the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, to expand at a rate of 7.7 percent, about the same as last year.  Central Asia is expected to show stronger development, led by higher income countries.

The managing director of the International Monetary² Fund spoke³ about the world economy last week. Christine Lagarde told reporters in Washington that growth remains⁴, in her words, “too low, too fragile and too uneven⁵.”  She added that the gains in economic activity would not be enough to create jobs for the 200 million workers around the world who need them.

I’m June Simms.

Taiwan Seeks to Strengthen Trade Ties

Trade ties are important to increase demand for a nation’s exports.  That is the subject of our next story.

?Taiwan is starting a campaign to join two important Asia-Pacific trade groups.  The island wants a place in the U.S.- led Trans-Pacific Partnership⁶ and Asia’s 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. But China is likely to block membership in both.  Steve Ember has Ralph Jennings report from Taipei.

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has said he will push for membership in the two regional trade groups to open major markets for Taiwanese companies.

Taiwan wants to improve trade relations so its exporters can enjoy lower import taxes, or tariffs⁷, in other countries.  Such has been the case for South Korea and Southeast Asian nations.

Raymond Wu is a political risk expert in Taipei.  He says President Ma is building support to increase economic links between the Island and nations in the area.

Taiwan has signed trade agreements with China, New Zealand, Singapore and five small diplomatic allies.  But that is far fewer than Taiwan’s export competitors.  Some countries have deals throughout Asia, in Europe and with the United States.  China usually uses its economic power to stop other countries from signing agreements with Taiwan.  It has also kept Taiwan from joining international bodies that require members to be states.

China also insists that other governments avoid formal relations with the government in Taipei. Ties between China and Taiwan have improved since 2008.  But Taiwan has avoided the discussion of political issues that could lead the two sides toward reunification, which has been an important goal for China. 

Jeffrey Wilson teaches politics at Murdoch University in Australia.  He says other countries may be willing to let Taiwan join a regional trade group.  But, he says, they do not want to risk upsetting China.

This is especially true in the case of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.  The group has asked China to join, but the country has stayed out because it fears too much influence by the United States and its allies.  China is supporting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership instead.

Taiwan has taken its campaign to heads of state around the Pacific Rim⁸.  At a regional economic conference in October, Taiwan informed the other parties of its hopes of joining the TPP.  Foreign Ministry⁹ spokeswoman Anna Kao says Taiwan has been heard.

She says Taiwan already has made contact with TPP members at many different events.  Taiwan is a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group, as are many parties to the TPP.

I’m Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 tariffs   

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。

8 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。