VOA标准英语2015--马里酒店恐袭打击本已疲软的经济

Mali Hotel Attack Another Blow to an Already Struggling Economy 马里酒店恐袭打击本已疲软的经济

BAMAKO—

The terrorist attack on an upscale Bamako hotel killed 21 people. But there may be another victim as well -- the Mali economy. Heightened security risks could frighten off foreign investors¹ and tourists as Mali tries to restart its sputtering² economy after three years of conflict and political crisis.

In the busy streets of Mali's capital city, Bamako, the immediate³ impact of the November 20th terrorist attack is to be found inside hotel reservation books, said Sidy Keita, national deputy director of the Malian Office for Tourism and Hospitality.

"We haven't lost hope. We know that right now, there have been a lot of hotel booking cancellations and that a lot of public manifestations⁴ have been cancelled. But we hope that very soon we'll see a return of peace and of foreign tourists," said Keita.

Last June, a peace deal signed between Tuareg separatists and the Malian government raised hopes of finally seeing the end of the tunnel after three years of crisis for the West Africa nation, but its implementation⁵ has proven challenging.

The country remains⁶ also plagued with various jihadist groups committing acts of violence across the country. Two claimed to be behind the recent attacks in Bamako.

As for foreign tourists, they deserted⁷ Mali a long time ago, says arts and crafts maker⁸ Modibo Nimaga, whose shop is located in a once popular tourist market.

"Before, we would have about 80 customers per week. But nowadays, we can spend a month without seeing any white tourist," said Nimaga.

This latest attack, the second one of the year in Bamako, threatens to drive the few remaining foreign investors farther away from the country as well.

Moussa Isma?la Toure directs an agency in charge of promoting Mali to investors and said he is optimistic this attack will not affect investments.

"2014 was particularly slow. We had only a total of $65 million in investment intentions. But 2015 will be better, as we already are close to $160 million. That means that there is a recovery. Maybe these latest events will slow us down a bit, but we hope it won't last," said Toure.

In terms of economic growth, Mali is set to slow to 4.9 percent in 2015, according to the IMF, due to a weakened manufacturing output.

1 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

2 sputtering   

n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出

参考例句：

• A wick was sputtering feebly in a dish of oil. 瓦油灯上结了一个大灯花，使微弱的灯光变得更加阴暗。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• Jack ran up to the referee, sputtering protest. 贾克跑到裁判跟前，唾沫飞溅地提出抗议。 来自辞典例句

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

6 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。

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

8 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。