VOA慢速英语2021 2020年印度经济陷入严重衰退

The year 2020 brought India its most serious economic and security issues in many years. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the country into a recession.

2020年让印度面临了多年来最严重的经济和安全问题。新冠肺炎大流行使得该国进入衰退。

India ordered one of the world's most severe lockdowns in March, when it had just a few hundred coronavirus cases. But when the country started opening up, the virus began to spread quickly. By the end of the year, India was the second-worst hit nation, with nearly 10 million COVID-19 cases.

印度在3月份出台了全球最严厉的封锁令之一，当时该国只有几百例新冠病毒病例。但是当该国重新开放时，新冠病毒迅速传播。到今年年底，印度有近1千万例新冠肺炎病例，成为新冠病毒疫情第二严重的国家。

Millions of people lost jobs and hundreds of small businesses closed. But experts warned that the economic problems went deeper than the health crisis.

印度有数百万人失业，数百家小企业倒闭。但是专家警告说，印度的经济问题比健康危机更严重。

The first evidence of this came in April when India witnessed a never-before-seen exodus¹ of migrant laborers². Having lost jobs in cities, millions walked hundreds of kilometers to their villages when all transport was halted.

最早的证据出现在4月份，当时印度见证了前所未有的外来务工人员回流。由于在城市失业，成千上万人在所有交通中断后徒步数百公里回到他们的村庄。

India has been the worst hit among large economies because nearly 90 percent of its workers survive on its informal sector³. The economy is expected to fall by nine percent this year, its worst recession in 40 years.

印度是大型经济体中受疫情影响最为严重的国家，因为该国近90%的务工人员依靠非正式工作生存。预计今年该国经济将会萎缩近9%，这是40年以来最为严重的衰退。

The Center for Monitoring Indian Economy estimated that about 120 million jobs were lost from April to June. Many jobs came back as the government began easing lockdowns to help. But millions of people are still struggling to find work.

印度经济监测中心估计，从4月到6月，印度约有1.2亿个工作机会流失。随着政府开始放宽封锁以提供帮助，许多工作岗位又回来了。但是还有数百万人在努力寻找工作。

Among the jobless are tens of thousands of street sellers whose businesses were destroyed by the pandemic.

失业者中有数万名街头小贩，他们的生意被大流行摧毁了。

Ranga Shalivan restarted his two small roadside food stands in July in the city of Hyderabad. For months, few people bought his food. But he has seen some improvement in recent weeks.

兰加·沙利文于7月份在海得拉巴市重新启动了他的两个小型路边小吃摊。几个月来，很少有人来买他的食物。但是最近几周他看到了一些进步。

It's a little better now, "but I am still making only about half the money that I used to. It has been very hard," he said.

他说：“现在情况略有好转，但是我的收入仍然只有以前的一半左右。这太难了。”

The government has announced two stimulus⁴ bills. But Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told industry leaders it would not be enough to deal with the crisis caused by the pandemic.

政府宣布了两项刺激法案。但是财政部长尼尔玛拉·西塔拉曼对行业领袖表示，这可能不足以应对大流行引发的危机。

Now at the end of the year, there is hope that the worst may be over as India gets control of the health crisis. Numbers of new COVID-19 infections are lessening⁵. And a new vaccine⁶ is expected to come within weeks.

现在到了年底，人们希望随着印度控制住这次健康危机，最坏的情况可以过去。新冠肺炎感染人数开始下降。预计一种新疫苗将在数周内上市。

Economist⁷ Arun Kumar, however, has warned that real progress will be a long-term process for the world's second most populous⁸ country.

然而经济学家阿伦·库马尔警告说，对于印度这个世界第二大人口的国家来说，取得实际进展将是一个长期的过程。

During the past year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also faced some of his biggest challenges since taking power six years ago. There was widespread protest over a new citizenship⁹ law that critics say discriminates¹⁰ against Muslims. In the Indian capital in February, communal¹¹ riots killed more than 50 people. Then in December, tens of thousands of farmers camped on the edges of New Delhi, angered by new farming laws. They worry the laws will open them to corporate¹² abuse.

在过去一年里，印度总理莫迪也面临上台6年以来的一些最大挑战。人们大规模抗议新的公民法，批评者称其歧视穆斯林。2月份在印度首都，社区暴动导致50多人丧命。然后在12月，数万名农民被新农业法激怒，在新德里郊外扎营抗议。他们担心该法将会让他们容易受到公司欺凌。

Experts say while the pandemic tested nations worldwide, India's challenges could make the road to recovery longer and harder.

专家表示，尽管全球都在经历大流行的考验，印度所面临的挑战可能会使得复苏之路变得更长、更艰难。

1 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

2 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 stimulus   

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。

5 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 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。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

9 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

10 discriminates   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的第三人称单数 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• The new law discriminates against lower-paid workers. 这条新法律歧视低工资的工人。
• One test governs state legislation that discriminates against interstate commerce. 一个检验约束歧视州际商业的州立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。