VOA标准英语2011--Monti Sworn in as New Italian PM

Monti Sworn in as New Italian PM

Economist¹ Mario Monti has been sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister, with a mandate² to restore stability to the country’s economy and respectability to its politics.

At European Union headquarters in early October he was an affable and popular Italian university president.

Little did anyone there know that a few weeks later he would be appointed to the Italian Senate, and almost immediately asked to be the country’s next prime minister.

Monti said that during “a moment of particular difficulty,” he wants to restore Italy’s economic strength, with a focus on growth.

That was the topic of the conference in Brussels, where said there must be more to Europe’s recovery plan than just austerity in the troubled economies.

“The whole apparatus³ that it was necessary to set up in order to ensure fiscal⁴ discipline maybe has not paid enough attention to some growth elements, like public investments," said Monti.

The French and German leaders, heading two of Europe’s strongest economies, are the most insistent⁵ advocates of austerity in Italy and the other troubled countries. Before he knew he’d be joining their ranks, Mr. Monti had this evaluation⁶ of European leaders’ performance during the crisis.

“They are on a good track, I must say, relative to the past," he said. "They need to do more in terms of, each of them, reasoning as a co-decision maker⁷ in Europe, and not just as a national leader.”

Monti’s stature⁸ and experience no doubt helped him in meetings to garner⁹ support for his new government.

He is a strong advocate of European economic integration¹⁰, and spent 10 years as a senior EU economics official. The 68-year-old economist is also a corporate¹¹ adviser¹² and a member of several top-level international groups of senior officials and business executives. But he has never before held office in Rome.

Italian-born political economist Leila Simona Talani of London’s King’s College says Mr. Monti is the right man for what she calls her home country’s “slightly desperate” situation.

“He is a personality that could give some credibility to the Italian economic policy making and reassure¹³ the markets and also implement¹⁴ policies that have meaning, meaningful policies, especially liberalization," said Talani.

That dose of credibility is needed after the long and tumultuous tenure¹⁵ of Silvio Berlusconi, who was forced to resign because of the economic crisis.

In the VOA interview, Mr. Monti indicated he wants to rebuild the relationships that have been damaged by the crisis.

“It’s of great importance not to allow the tensions associated with the euro zone crisis, and sometimes the bad feelings among various people and member states, lead to some fragmentation or backward movement in the single market," said Monti. "This would be devastating¹⁶ for Europe.”

Mr. Monti’s task will not be easy. Like their neighbors in Greece, some Italians have taken to the streets to express their anger at the austerity plan the new prime minister will have to implement. And investors¹⁷ will be watching closely to see whether his policies and his leadership are strong enough to ease their concerns about Italy’s financial future.

1 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。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

4 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。

5 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

6 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

8 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

9 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

10 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

14 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。

15 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

16 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会