VOA常速英语2014--Growth Forecast Prompts Hope for End to Euro Crisis 增长预测暗示了欧元危机终结的希望

 

Growth Forecast Prompts Hope for End to Euro Crisis 增长预测暗示了欧元危机终结的希望

LONDON — The European Union has revised upward its forecasts for economic growth. The news comes as Greece aims to secure another slice of its bailout money after posting a budget surplus. And in Italy, the new government has pledged to turn around the stagnant¹ economy.

伦敦——欧盟已经修订提高了其对经济增长的预期。这条消息恰逢希腊政府打算在发布预算盈余之后确保另一部分救市资金的安全。与此同时在意大利，新一届政府承诺扭转经济颓势。

So is this the beginning of the end of the euro crisis? Many analysts³ think not.

如此想来，这是欧元危机结束的开端吗？许多分析人士并不这么认为。

The welcome was hostile in Athens as bailout inspectors⁴ from the so-called troika of international lenders - the European Union, the International Monetary⁵ Fund and the European Central Bank - arrived for talks at Greece’s Finance Ministry⁶.

在雅典，当欧盟、国际货币基金组织、欧洲中央银行，即被称作“三套车的国际债权人”派遣的救助巡视组来到希腊财政部进行谈判，受到了不友好的欢迎。

Greece desperately⁷ needs its next tranche of bailout money to fund debt payments in May that will total $12.8 billion. Talks have stalled for months over claims that Greece is dragging its feet over labor⁸ reforms.

希腊极度需要国际货币基金组织下一部分的救市资金的款项，以偿还将在5月到期的总计128亿美元的债务。谈判已经停滞数月，声称希腊在劳动改革上步履维艰。

Protesters shouted at the inspectors: “We are talking about human lives, you are talking about profits and losses.”

反对派对巡视组大叫道：“我们考虑的是生存，你们谈论的缺失收益和损失。”

Since 2008, Greece’s economy has shrunk by nearly a quarter; unemployment is at 28 percent.

自从2008年，希腊经济已经缩水了近四分之一，失业率高达28%。

The country has just posted a budget surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP - good news after years of brutal⁹ austerity.  But there’s a long way to go, says analyst² Simon Tilford with the London-based Center for European Reform.

政府日前公布的预算盈余占GDP的1.5%——这是多年来严酷的紧缩政策后的好消息。但是总部位于伦敦的欧洲改革中心的分析人士西蒙·迪尔福德（SimonTilford）认为，希腊的这条路依旧还很漫长。

“Certainly no developed or even second-world country has ever pulled off a fiscal¹⁰ adjustment of the scale that the Greeks have managed.  But they don’t just need a surplus; they need a huge surplus in order to service their debt burden," said Tilford.

迪尔福德讲到，“当然，没有一个发达国家或者甚至是第二世界国家已经完成希腊正设法面对的这种规模化的财政调整。但是他们（指希腊政府）不单单是需要这个盈余，他们更需要一个充足的盈余从而来处理他们的债务负担。”

The EU issued revised growth forecasts this week - suggesting the eurozone will grow by 1.2 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2015.

本周欧盟修订了增长预期——暗示欧元将在今年增长1.2%，并且在2015年达到1.8%。

Olli Rehn is EU commissioner¹¹ for economic and monetary affairs.

奥利·雷恩（Olli Rehn）是欧盟经济和货币事务专员。

“Recovery in the European Union is gaining ground and spreading across countries, although it remains¹² still modest. It is good news that economic activity has also started to strengthen in the vulnerable countries," said Rehn.

雷恩说道，“欧盟的复苏已经取得了长足的进展，并扩展到周边国家，尽管这种（复苏）势头保持的依旧很谨慎。经济活跃是一个好消息，这也开始在形势脆弱的国家里得到巩固。”

Italy is seen as one such vulnerable eurozone member. The former mayor of Florence, 39-year-old Matteo Renzi, became the country’s youngest-ever prime minister this week after ousting¹³ his party rival. In a speech to the lower house, he pledged to slash¹⁴ spending and taxes and "revolutionize" Italy’s economy.

意大利一直被视为这种经济形势脆弱的欧元区成员国。弗洛伦萨前任市长，39岁的马泰奥·伦齐（Matteo Renzi）这周在取代他的党内竞争对手后，成为该国历任中最年轻的总理。在下议院的演讲中，他承诺削减开支和税收同时彻底改革意大利经济。

“Outside of this parliament, nobody believes any longer that politicians can get things done,” Renzi said. “Therefore, at great risk, we have pledged to accelerate a process to implement¹⁵ reforms within precise deadlines.”

伦齐谈到，这个议会的外面，没有人再相信政客能把这件事做完，因此，冒着极大的风险，本届政府已经承诺在精确的最后期限内，加速实施改革的进程。

With political change in Italy - and green shoots of recovery in the eurozone - some EU politicians believe this is the beginning of the end of the euro crisis, says the Center for European Reform's Simon Tilford.

欧洲改革中心的分析人士西蒙·迪尔福德说道，“意大利在政治形势变化的同时欧元区出现复苏的绿芽，一些欧盟政客相信这是欧元危机结束的开始。”

 “I think there is a risk of complacency that a return to growth and relative calm on the financial markets is encouraging European policymakers to believe that they can get away without any significant institutional reforms of the Eurozone - i.e., without any pooling of risk or any fiscal mutualization," he said.

他说，“我认为这是一种自满的危险表现，这种回到增长模式的同时金融市场相对平静的现状正鼓舞着欧洲政策制定者去相信他们能摆脱困境，在欧元区内没有任何重大制度改革的条件下，也就是说，没有任何风险的分摊或是财政的交互作用。”

 

Without those changes, many analysts fear Europe will fail to solve the inherent problems at the core of the eurozone. But news that even the weaker economies are showing signs of life has been warmly welcomed after seven years of austerity and stagnation¹⁶.

没有这些变革，许多分析人士担心欧洲将会在解决欧元区核心的内部问题上失败。但是消息显示，即使是较为虚弱的经济体仍一直表现出生命的迹象并在7年的紧缩政策和不景气之后正受到热烈的欢迎。

1 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

2 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。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

10 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。

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

12 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。

13 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

14 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

15 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。

16 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。