40 George Soros—the financial crocodile

George Soros -- the financial crocodile

George Soros wants to be the Bono of the financial world. The speculator whose assault on sterling¹ ejected Britain from the European exchange rate mechanism² that September of 10 years ago has a mission－－to use his esti－mated ￡5 bn fortune and his fame to help tackle what he sees as the failures of globalisation. The idea that a man who made billions betting on the financial markets sides with the anti－globalisation movement might strike some as ironic³. Soros is clearly genuinely appalled⁴ at the damage wrought⁵ on vulnerable economies by the vast sums of money which flow across national borders every day.

乔治·索罗斯想成为金融界的博诺（U２乐队主唱）。这位在10年前的那个９月份攻击英镑迫使英国退出欧洲汇率机制的投机商有一项使命---利用他大约50亿英镑的财产和他的声名来帮助解决他所认为的全球化失败问题。一个靠在全球金融市场上的投机赚了几十亿的人会支持反全球化运动，这对许多人来说是具有讽刺意义的。很明显，对于每天在各国之间流动的大量资金给经济脆弱国家造成的伤害，索罗斯从心底感到震惊。

"The US governs the international system to protect its own economy. It is not in charge of protecting other economies, "he says. "So when America goes into recession, you have anti－recessionary policies. When other countries are in recession, they don't have the ability to engage in anti－recessionary policies because they can't have a permissive monetary⁶ policy, because money would flee. "In person, he has the air of a philosophy professor rather than a gimlet－eyed financier. In a soft voice which bears the traces of his native Hungary, he argues that it is time to rewrite the so－called Washington consensus－－the cocktail⁷ of liberalisation, privatisation and fiscal⁸ rectitude which the IMF has been preaching for 15 years. Developing countries no longer have the freedom to run their own economies, he argues, even when they follow perfectly⁹ sound policies. He cites Brazil, which although it has a floating currency and manageable public debt was paying ten times over the odds¹⁰ to borrow from capital markets.

　 索罗斯说："美国管理国际经济体系是为了保护本国利益，它并不负责保护其它国家的经济。因此，当美国陷入衰退后，美国会出台反衰退政策。而其他国家陷入衰退时，却无力这样做，因为这些国家不能实行自由开放的金融政策，否则资金就会外流?"索罗斯本人并不像一个目光敏锐的金融家，他更具有哲学教授的气质。带着匈牙利母语口音，他轻声地说，现在是修改所谓的"华盛顿共识"的时侯了。他指的是国际货币基金组织15年来宣扬的自由化、私有化和财政透明的综合体制。他说，发展中国家即使执行非常合理的政策，也不能再自由地控制本国经济。他援引巴西的例子说，尽管巴西实行了浮动汇率制和可控国债，但它向资本市场借款还是付出了比正常条件下高出１０倍的成本。

　Soros, who at one stage after the fall of the Berlin Wall was providing more assistance to Russia than the US government, believes in practising what he preaches.His Open Society Institute has been pivotal in helping¹¹ eastern European countries develop democratic societies and market economies. Soros has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the workings of global capitalism¹², so his criticism is particularly pointed¹³. Last year, the Soros foundation's network spent nearly half a billion dollars on projects in education, public health and promoting democracy, making it one of the world's largest private donors¹⁴.

　 索罗斯在柏林墙倒塌后一段时间内向俄罗斯提供的援助曾一度超过美国政府的援助。他坚定地实施自己宣扬的观点。他的"开放社会研究所"在帮助东欧国家发展民主社会和市场经济方面发挥了重要作用。索罗斯具有业内人士的优势，了解全球资本主义的运行，因此他的批评会受到特别关注。去年索罗斯基金网络在教育、公共卫生、促进民主项目上花费了近５亿美元，使索罗斯基金成为世界上最大的私人捐助集团之一。

　Soros credits the anti－globalisation movement for having made companies more sensitive to their wider responsibilities."I think [the protesters] have made an important contribution by making people aware of the flaws of the system, "he says."People on the street had an impact on public opinion and corporations which sell to the public responded to that."Because the IMF has abandoned billion dollar bailouts for troubled economies, he thinks a repeat of the Asian crisis is unlikely.The fund's new"tough love"policy－－for which Argentina is the guinea pig －－ has other consequences. The bailouts were a welfare system for Wall Street, with western taxpayers¹⁵ rescuing the banks from the consequences of unwise lending to emerging economies. Now the IMF has drawn¹⁶ a line in the sand, credit to poor countries is drying up."It has created a new problem－－the inadequacy¹⁷ of the flow of capital from centre to the periphery¹⁸, " he says.

索罗斯赞扬反全球化运动使各公司更加认识到自己更广泛的责任。他说："我认为（反对者们）作出了重要贡献，使大众意识到这个体系的缺陷。大街上的人们对舆论会有所影响，而向公众推销商品的公司也会对舆论作出反应?"由于国际货币基金组织已经拒绝向经济困难的国家提供数十亿美元的救济，索罗斯认为亚洲经济危机不会重演。国际货币基金组织"既爱又严"的新政策---阿根廷是该政策的试验品---带来了其他后果。西方纳税人挽救了银行因不理智地向新兴国家提供贷款造成的恶果，而国际货币基金组织的那些救济金则成了华尔街的福利制度。现在国际货币基金组织对贫困国家的贷款正在枯竭。索罗斯说："这就产生了一个新问题---资金从中心向周边流动不足。"

The one economy Soros is not losing any sleep about is the US."I am much more positive about the underlying¹⁹ economy than I am about the market, because we are waging war not only terrorism but also on recession, "he says."Although we don't admit it, we are actually applying Keynesian remedies, and I am a confirmed Keynesian. I have not yet seen an economy in recession when you are gearing up for war."He worries that the world's largest economic power is not living up to its responsibilities."I would like the United States to live up to the responsibilities of its hegemonic power because it is not going to give up its hegemonic power, "he says."The only thing that is realistic is for the United States to become aware that it is in its enlightened self－interest to ensure that the rest of the world benefits from their role."

索罗斯最不担心的就是美国经济。他说："我对美国的经济潜力比对现在的市场更有信心，因为我们正在进行的战争不仅是对付恐怖主义，而且也是在向经济衰退开战。尽管我们不承认，但我们实际是在奉行凯恩斯主义药方，我是一个坚定的凯恩斯主义者。我从来没见过哪个国家在准备战事时还会陷入经济衰退。"他担心这个世界上最大的经济大国不能承担起自己的责任。他说："我希望美国能够承担起作为霸权国家的职责，因为美国不会放弃自己的霸权地位。惟一现实的是，美国应意识到，保证世界上其他国家能从他们自己所承担的角色中受益，显然是符合美国自身利益的。"By Charlotte Denny

1 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

2 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。

3 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

4 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

6 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。

7 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

8 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。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

18 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

19 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。