VOA标准英语 IMF Steering Committee Boosts Lending Agency's Resou

The 24 nations that comprise the International Monetary¹ Fund's policy-making committee agreed Saturday to an immediate² $250 billion increase in the lending agency's resources. The decision is in line with the recommendation made by world leaders at their G20 summit in London earlier this month.

The decision was announced after a day-long meeting at IMF headquarters in Washington. Finance ministers of the 24 advanced and developing economies said the funding increase takes effect immediately with the money coming from the agency's 185 member nations. The new money will bolster³ the IMF, enabling it to quickly respond to the financing needs of member countries in financial distress⁴.
　
Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, right, who serves as chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, responds to a question at IMF headquarters in Washington

The meeting chairman, Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, says participants are cautiously optimistic that the worst of the global recession may be over. "We have serious problems. We are taking very serious measures. But things are beginning to look up. Carefully, cautiously, we can say that there is a break in the clouds," he said.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said participants are satisfied with the fiscal⁵ stimulus⁶ measures taken by several countries to prevent further declines in economic output. He said more needs to be done to clean up the banking⁷ system. Strauss-Kahn was not that optimistic about the outlook for the world economy. "What is important in the new set of economic forecasts is not that much the level of the forecast, but the fact that we see a deterioration⁸ since the last set of forecasts last October," said the director.

The IMF is predicting negative growth for the world economy this year, its worst performance in over 60 years. Strauss-Kahn said the pace of global recovery depends significantly on the effectiveness of measures to dispose of bad loans currently on the books of major banks.

The $250 billion increase is part of a plan to triple IMF resources over the next few years.

1 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。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 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。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。