VOA标准英语2010-Debt Crisis Spreads Beyond Greece

From left: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the International Monetary¹ Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, following a meeting with German lawmakers in Berlin, 28 April 2010

U.S. stock market indexes were mixed in Wednesday's trading.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent (53 points) to end at 11,045.  The S&P 500 advanced nearly 0.7 percent (eight points) to finish at 1,191 but the NASDAQ was essentially² unchanged to close at 2,471. 

European stock markets were down at the close of trading as concerns grew about the debt crisis that affects Greece, Portugal and now Spain.  London's Financial Times 100 index lost 0.3 percent (17 points) to end at 5,587.  The CAC-40 in Paris fell 1.5 percent (58 points) to hit 3,787, and the DAX in Frankfurt was off 1.2 percent (75 points) to reach 6,084.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index plunged³ 2.6 percent (288 points) to finish at 10,925.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.5 percent (312 points) to finish the day's trading at 20,949.

European and global finance leaders are stepping up efforts to reach agreement on a bailout package for Greece.  The debt crisis in Athens has caused worries about a Greek financial meltdown that could suck in other European nations and affect all that use the euro as their common currency.

 

The heads of the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank were in Berlin Wednesday for talks with Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel and other senior officials. The aim: to get agreement on a bailout package for Greece.

Speaking to reporters, IMF chief Dominique Strauss Kahn said he remains⁵ confident a solution will be found.

"It asks from the Greek government very bold measures, but they're ready to take it," said Kahn.  "I'm confident from this side it will work very rapidly.  We also need to restore confidence in the solidarity⁶ of the European Union to provide - especially [to] the Eurozone - to provide the resources along with the IMF.  And if all this goes together rapidly, I'm really confident that the problem will be fixed⁷."

Greece has been in negotiations⁸ with EU member countries and the IMF to secure a bailout - money that would allow it to pay debts coming due in time to avoid having to default.  

In return Greece is under pressure to restructure its economy and implement⁹ austerity measures.

That has average Greeks worried, confused and angry, says reporter Anthee Carassava, who spoke¹⁰ with VOA from Athens.

"Greeks just simply do not know what the next day will spell for them, what this EU-IMF rescue package  is all about, what it will actually mean for their pockets," said Carassava.

Disgruntled public-sector workers went on strike in Greece Wednesday to protest against the cutbacks.  A daylong general strike has been called for next week.

Opinion polls show the majority of Greeks are against an IMF-EU bailout, seeing it as foreign interference.

Worries about the Greek economy's potential meltdown have sent jitters¹¹ through world markets.  And, says Dominique Strauss Kahn, help is imperative¹² because the Greek crisis could spread.

"We have to do this because it's a problem that is today in Greece, but if we don't fix it in Greece it may have a lot of consequences on the rest of the European Union," added Kahn.

Germany, as the biggest potential contributor, has shown reticence¹³ about a bailout.  There is little domestic public support for lending money to Greece.

A joint¹⁴ EU-IMF aid package for Greece is put at $60 billion, but some European officials said Wednesday the full cost could be much higher, reaching about $160 billion over three 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 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

5 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。

6 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 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。

11 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

12 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

13 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。