美国国家公共电台 NPR--Some European countries see prices rise a lot faster than others in the bloc

Some European countries see prices rise a lot faster than others in the bloc¹

Transcript²

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, COVID-induced supply chain issues and supplier price gouging³, inflation is rising in Europe. Consumer price inflation in the Euro zone hit a record high last month.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Inflation isn't just a problem here in the U.S. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, COVID-induced supply chain issues and supplier price gouging are creating headaches in Europe, too. Rebecca Rosman has more.

REBECCA ROSMAN, BYLINE⁴: Let's start at the pump. Twenty-five-year-old Martin Brew⁵ (ph) says he has been bringing his Porsche, a gift from his dad, to this petrol station in southern Paris ever since he was a teenager. Just six months ago, he says gas costs him around a euro 50 a liter.

MARTIN BREW: And now it's 2.43, as you can see.

ROSMAN: By the time he fills up the tank, he'll have paid 141 euros, or about $150. So needless to say, he's had to make some adjustments to his daily routine.

BREW: I'm cycling to work now. And in Paris, we're kind of lucky you can take the bike.

ROSMAN: That's not the only reason he's lucky to live in Paris. While France's inflation rate hit a record 5.8% in May, that's still more than two points below the inflation rate for the Eurozone as a whole. Ana Boata is the head of economic research at the global insurance broker⁶ Allianz Trade.

ANA BOATA: Inflation is quite, quite high in all the eurozone countries. So France is clearly one of the exceptions.

ROSMAN: She explains that while rising energy prices have been a key driver of inflation, prices are still lower in France for two main reasons. One, France is less reliant on foreign energy imports, i.e., Russian oil, because of its nuclear power capabilities⁷. And two, unlike many countries in the Eurozone, Boata says the French government has capped electricity price increases at 4%.

BOATA: Instead of 50%, which has been the norm this year. So we have clearly some mechanism⁸ that are operating and that keep inflation in check in some countries rather than the others.

ROSMAN: Others being countries like Germany, where energy prices have soared by 38%, and the overall inflation rate hit 8.7% last month. And worst of all, Estonia, which reached an astonishing 20.1% inflation rate. In fact, all the Baltic states have found themselves reaching double-digit inflation because they're more dependent on imports from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The European Central Bank says it expects inflation across the eurozone to persist well into 2023.

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ROSMAN: Even if France's inflation rate is lower than other EU countries, prices at this Paris supermarket are going up. PE teacher Aayan Sefilar (ph) says his monthly shopping used to cost him around 250 euros.

AAYAN SEFILAR: Now if I want to do my grocery shopping, it's, like, more like 300 or 350 euro, like, for my grocery. So a big increase.

ROSMAN: But most Europeans seem to be willing to pay the price. A Eurobarometer survey released Wednesday found that 59% of Europeans believe defending common EU values outweighs⁹ the cost-of-living issues, at least for now. For NPR News, I'm Rebecca Rosman in Paris.

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1 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

6 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

7 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句