VOA常速英语2007年-Rising Commodity Prices, Weak US Dollar Cause C

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
19 November 2007

Senior finance officials from the world's 20 major economies say they share responsibility for stabilizing¹ rising commodity prices and are calling on countries with large foreign currency reserves to adopt more flexible exchange rates. The remarks came at the end of a two-day meeting in South Africa. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Johannesburg.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the world's 20 leading economies Sunday ended a meeting in Cape² Town saying they expect world economic growth to slow because of rising commodity prices and the weak U.S. dollar.

In a final communique, the forum³ known as the G-20, said it expects the downturn to be modest although it could not predict its extent and duration.

The head of the International Monetary⁴ Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, told reporters that the global community must work together to address the imbalances.

"It's certainly no time for complacency for the industrialized world. And we have to work a lot to correct what is not going perfectly⁵. And again it's no time for complacency for the emerging world itself [either]," he said.

The G-20 groups the world's most developed countries and one dozen emerging nations which together represent two-thirds of the world's population and 90 percent of its gross domestic product.

The G-20 urged countries with large foreign currency reserves to allow their currencies to float more freely on exchange markets.

The statement was seen as aimed at ** which despite large trade surpluses and foreign reserves continues to peg⁶ its currency to the US dollar. This is causing pressure on free-floating currencies such as those of Brazil, Canada and the European Union. However, officials said no country was singled out during the meeting.

The communique also urged the United States to boost national savings⁷ and the European Union to accelerate growth enhancing reforms. And it urged emerging Asian economies to lower their dependence⁸ on exports by boosting domestic demand.

South African President Thabo Mbeki voiced a concern of emerging nations by calling for a greater voice for them in the decisions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"We do need this new model of engagement which actively⁹ seeks to break deadlocks¹⁰, some of which are age-old, which frustrate¹¹ global economic and social development and the eradication¹² of poverty," said Mbeki.

The recently appointed heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, both attending for the first time, agreed that emerging nations should be given greater quotas¹³ and more votes in these institutions.

1 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

2 cape   

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。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 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。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

8 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

9 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

10 deadlocks   

僵局( deadlock的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They deluge Washington with proposals to break deadlocks. 他们使华盛顿淹没在试图打开僵局的各种各样的建议里。
• Pennsylvania produced the first of the game's two deadlocks at 5:00 of the second quarter. 这次比赛出现两次平局，在第二个四分之一场的第五分钟宾夕法尼亚州队第一次将比分拉平。

11 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

12 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

13 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。