VOA标准英语2010年-India Raises Interest Rates to Control

India's Central bank has raised interest rates in a bid to battle high inflation. The economy is growing at a brisk pace, but rising prices remain a key concern.

The latest interest rate hikes announced by the Central Bank are higher than expected. The rate at which it lends to banks is up by a quarter percentage point to six per cent, while the rate at which it borrows from banks has been raised by half a percentage point to five per cent.

A statement by the Central Bank said inflation remains¹ the dominant² concern.

India's Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee supports the measure. He says, "I think it is in the right direction... Still the inflationary pressure is there in the system."

It is the fifth time this year that interest rates have been raised. Interest rates began rising as the government started winding³ down stimulus⁴ measures put in place in 2008 to cope with the global financial slowdown. At that time interest rates had been slashed⁵ to encourage more spending by consumers.

Now India's economy is growing briskly once again. But at the same time, prices have been spiraling. Even though inflation has dipped marginally in recent weeks, it is still around eight and a half percent.???

The rising prices are a huge worry for the government because they adversely⁶ affect poor people, who make up nearly forty per cent of the billion plus population. Opposition⁷ parties have accused it of not doing enough to rein⁸ in prices.

The government hopes that raising interest rates will help bring down inflation.

The government is also banking⁹ on ample monsoon¹⁰ rains this year to boost crop yields, and bring down the prices of food, which hit the poor particularly hard.

The government's chief economic policy, Kaushik Basu says he expects inflation to taper¹¹ off by March next year.

"But we were expecting it to be distinctly lower by the end of this fiscal¹² year and I stay by that," Basu said.

India's economy is expected to grow by nearly nine per cent this year – the world's second fastest-growing major economy after China.
 

1 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。

2 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 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。

5 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

9 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。

10 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

11 taper   

n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小

参考例句：

• You'd better taper off the amount of time given to rest.你最好逐渐地减少休息时间。
• Pulmonary arteries taper towards periphery.肺动脉向周围逐渐变细。

12 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。