VOA标准英语2010年-Europe Talks Austerity

Austerity is on everyone's mind as European governments -- one after another -- introduce spending cuts to get deficits² under control and shore up the beleaguered³ Euro. Most experts agree belt-tightening is needed, but it's not always popular and comes at a cost, often to social benefits. 

Austerity is the order of the day and it's not always popular as deadly riots in Greece recently proved.

Still, parliaments across Europe are debating how to reduce deficits and where to cut.  And that includes Europe's economic giant.

The government of German Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel has agreed on budget cuts and new taxes to bring Germany's deficit¹ within the European Union limit of 3 percent of GDP.  "We have difficult times. We cannot afford everything  we wish for if we want to create the future," she said.

The aim is to save nearly $100 billion by 2014.  

Europe's tilt⁵ toward austerity is driven by the current financial crisis, says political analyst⁶ Cornelius Adebahr, of the German Council on Foreign Relations. "We've seen the example of Greece, where there was no more trust in the Greek government's ability to cut down the budget, to contain the debt or to keep it under control," he said.

The Greek government's near default on its loans triggered the financial crisis and also threatened the euro and countries using it.

Germany is a major part of the European Union bail-out plan for Greece. While its economy is in much better shape than that of Greece, many Germans seem to agree  austerity is needed. 

"We have to start and not postpone⁷ it again," one German said.  "I think everyone should do their part, including those who are better off financially," said another.

Germany has traditionally been fiscally⁸ conservative and Germans are viewed as prudent⁹ with their money. 

And with budget cuts on everyone's agenda, the question now is where will they come from and will they endanger the German social safety net.

Germany -- like most of Europe -- has a broad safety net: benefits for the poor and unemployed¹⁰, universal health care and good pensions.  

Many would not want to give them up.  But Adebahr says many young people do not believe they will get those same benefits.  "If you ask them whether they will receive a pension and what age, they say "I'm not sure whether I will be in the position of pensioners¹¹ of today," he said.

Jobless and health care benefits have already been reduced. Plus, the retirement¹² age has been raised.

But, many Germans say austerity must not cut too deep into their cherished welfare state.

Artur Fischer, head of the Berlin Stock Exchange, is one of them. "I want to live in a country where people have a minimum to live somewhat of a happy life. Therefore I am willing to give away, through taxes and through other means, part of my income as a person and a lot of other people think the same," he said.

In general, Germans want the social contract maintained and are willing to sacrifice to keep it - for themselves and future generations.

 

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

8 fiscally   

在国库方面，财政上，在国库岁入方面

参考例句：

• Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
• We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了，美女类小游戏，这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。

9 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

10 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

11 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。