CCTV9英语新闻：Ireland to mark end of three-year bailout

Ireland’s government will mark the end of its three-year bailout Friday. The bailout, funded by the IMF, EU Commission, and European Central Bank will formally expire Sunday evening. It makes Ireland the first eurozone country to exit a stringent¹ bailout program. The three bodies, known as the Troika, have conducted a total of 12 review missions, all declaring that Ireland’s implementation² of the program is on track.

Last month, Ireland decided³ to exit the bailout on December the 15th, without the need to prearrange a new precautionary credit line from EU and IMF partners. Ireland has picked a consortium led by Britain’s Centrica for a 1.5 billion US dollar acquisition of the retail⁴ unit of its gas utility Bord Gais, seen as a major milestone⁵ as it prepares to complete the bailout.

1 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

2 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。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。