VOA标准英语2010年-Africans Dealing With Harsh Realities

The global financial crisis is said to be the worst since the Great Depression.  It has contributed to the failure of key businesses and declines in consumer wealth in Africa and other parts of the developing world.  In sub-Saharan Africa, there has been significant drop in economic activity, with the export sector¹ suffering major losses in revenue.

The causes of the crisis had nothing to do with Africa, says Dr. Shantayanan Devarajan, the chief economist² of the World Bank's Africa Region.

But the continent was soon feeling its effects.

Initial concerns in Africa were directed at the increase in oil prices.  Governments were not too concerned about the effect it could have on local financial institutions, since many of them are not fully³ integrated into the global financial structure. 

But as the crisis worsened, that theory was proven wrong.  African banking⁴ institutions have working relationships with major financial firms, and Devarajan says declining investor⁵ confidence in the West led to reductions in credit available to African banks.

Most important, he says, was the decline in commodity prices.  As an example, oil exporters like Nigeria and Angola saw a sharp decline in revenues when the price fell from 140 to 40 dollars a barrel.

Africa also suffered a loss in tourist revenues.  Many African countries depend on earnings⁶ from tourism.  For some, it accounts for most of their foreign exchange earnings.  When Western consumers starting feeling the effects of the financial crisis, tourist traffic to Africa began to drop.

The export sector experienced financial losses as well.  In some countries, Devarajan says, exports make up almost 70 percent of GDP, “so when the export sectors⁷ declines, all the other sectors of the economy are affected⁸.”

The World Bank says while the global economy is showing signs of recovery, many developing countries are still suffering, highlighting the need to increase support to the poorest countries dealing⁹ with economic volatility¹⁰.

Because of the crisis, says the Bank, 89 million more people will be living in extreme poverty, on less than $1.25 a day, by the end of 2010.  It says the recession put at risk $11.6 billion of spending in areas like education, health, infrastructure¹¹ and other important sectors.

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 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。

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。