VOA常速英语2013--在2014年全球经济前景更强

 

Global Economic Outlook Is Stronger in 2014 在2014年全球经济前景更强

The global economy may be entering a new phase as the year draws to a close. New data suggest some of the uncertainty¹ that has characterized much of 2013 appears to be  lifting as a new year begins, though economists³ are cautious. Despite steady improvement, U.S. unemployment remains⁴ high, Europe’s debt crisis is far from over, and  China’s economy continues to slow.

2013年即将结束，全球经济可能会进入一个新阶段。新数据显示，2013年的主要特点是不稳定，这个特征似乎会在新年里消失。可是经济学家仍然持谨慎态度，尽管经济在稳步改善，可是美 国的失业率居高不下，欧洲债务危机远远没有结束，中国经济继续放缓。

As the year ends, more people are finding work in the United States, the economy is growing at the fastest pace in two years and Congress has a new budget that  effectively removes the threat of another costly⁵ government shutdown.

2013年即将结束，越来越多的美国人找到了工作，经济增长速度达到2年来最高水平，国会通过了新预算，有效地排除了又一次代价昂贵的政府关门的危险。

Barring another political standoff, small business advocate John Arensmeyer sees an improved business climate in 2014. “Could be a better year than 2013, particularly  if we don’t see the type of shenanigans we saw with the shutdown.”

小企业主约翰·阿伦斯迈尔说，排除了另一个政府僵局后，2014年的商业气候会有所改善。阿伦斯迈尔说：“明年会比2013年好，尤其是没有政府关门这类勾心斗角的事的话。”

China's strength

Across the Pacific, China's economy has slowed after decades of double-digit expansion.

在太平洋彼岸，中国经济在几十年来以两位数速度发展后开始放缓。

But even with a relatively⁶ modest outlook of seven percent growth, international economist² Uri Dadush said China continues to exert strong economic influence in the  region.

可是卡内基国际和平基金会国际经济学家尤里·达杜什说，即使放慢到7%的增长速度，中国仍然会对这个地区发挥强大的经济影响。

“It’s going to be somewhat slower going forward over the next year or two, but still sufficient to pull a large number of countries along,” said Dadush.

达杜什说：“今后一两年里，中国经济增长会稍微放慢一些，不过仍然可以带动很多国家。”

But while improving demand is likely to benefit countries from Cambodia to Japan, European economies remain weak.

虽然中国需求的增长可能会有利于柬埔寨和日本，可是欧洲经济将仍然疲软。

The European Commission says growth will slow in the 18 nations that use the euro - with unemployment likely to inch higher in the new year.

欧盟委员会说，使用欧元的18个国家增长会放慢，新的一年失业率可能会更高。

Europe's recovery

Despite recent banking⁷ reforms, Dadush said tough austerity measures in countries that received bailouts continue to weigh on Europe’s economy.

达杜什说，尽管最近进行了银行改革，可是那些得到援助的国家所采取的严厉紧缩措施仍然是欧洲经济的沉重负担。

“Italy’s in deep trouble, and it’s going to take some years even for the Spains and the Portugals and the Irish to come out of the mess,” said Dadush.

达杜什说：“意大利的问题严重，即使西班牙、葡萄牙和爱尔兰也需要很多年才能摆脱困境。”

Lingering questions also remain about the international impact of the U.S. central bank’s decision to scale back monetary⁸ stimulus⁹. With prices of raw materials  likely to fall next year, economists say commodity-dependent countries could see their revenues fall.

另外，美联储缩减货币刺激政策的决定会产生什么样的影响，仍然是一个悬而未决的疑问。经济学家说，明年原材料价格可能会下跌，依赖出口原材料的国家收入可能会降低。

“That includes Brazil, but it also includes Turkey, it includes Hungary, it may include Indonesia, that is also commodity-dependent by the way,” said Dadush.

达杜什说：“这不仅包括巴西，还有土耳其和匈牙利。顺便提一下，还可能包括依赖出口原材料的国家印度尼西亚。”

In the Middle East, some of the Arab Spring countries, which remain politically unstable¹⁰, are expected to experience economic difficulties in 2014.

中东的一些阿拉伯之春国家政局仍然不稳，预计在2014年会出现经济困难。

Pinfan Hong, chief of global economic monitoring at the United Nations, said, “Nevertheless, we believe some improvements are building the momentum¹¹ for next year. So  we expect the world economy to grow by about three percent for 2014.”

联合国全球监测中心主任洪平凡说：“不过，我们相信，某些改进会在明年形成势头，所以我们预计，2014年世界经济会增长大约3%。”

2014 also bodes¹² well for Africa. After expanding at an annual pace of 4.8 percent in 2013, the African Development Bank projects growth to accelerate to 5.3 percent,  bolstered by strong growth in the service sector¹³ and increased agricultural and mining activity.

预计非洲2014年的前景也不错。非洲2013年的年增长率为4.8%，非洲发展银行预计，非洲服务行业的强劲增长，以及农业和矿业的增长，会让明年的增长率加快到5.3%。

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

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 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

11 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

12 bodes   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• This bodes ill for the failure of the programme. 这是那项计划有凶兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This bodes him no good. 这对他是不祥之兆。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 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。