VOA常速英语2013--欧盟领导人们敦促迅速行动来降低青年失业率

 

EU Leaders Urge Action to Reduce Youth Unemployment 欧盟领导人们敦促迅速行动来降低青年失业率

WASHINGTON — European Union leaders have called for swift action to reduce youth unemployment, a growing problem in the 28-nation grouping. Almost one quarter of young people aged¹ 15 to 24 are unemployed², which is more than twice the unemployment rate among adults.

French President Francois Hollande hosted a Youth Unemployment Summit in Paris on Tuesday, following a July summit initiated³ by German Chancellor⁴ Angela Merkel.

紧接着德国总理默克尔7月发起的峰会，法国总统奥朗德周二在巴黎举行了一场青年失业率峰会。

"The future of a generation is at stake, a generation that has been hit by unemployment for years now, and with the economic crisis, this generation feels even more uncertain about its future, almost hopeless," said Hollande.

“未来的一代岌岌可危,这一代人多年来一直受到失业打击,并遭受经济危机伤害,他们对自己的未来感到更不确定,几乎无望,“奥朗德说道。

President Hollande said 6 million young people are currently unemployed in Europe.

总统奥朗德称在欧洲600万名年轻人目前处于失业状态。

His own popularity is at record lows, partly because he has failed to lower France's 11 percent unemployment rate.

他自己国家的人数也跌破了纪录新低,部分原因是他未能降低法国11%的失业率。

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said economic growth is a prerequisite⁵ for creating new jobs.

与此同时,德国总理默克尔表示经济增长是创造新工作机会的一个先决条件。

"We are obviously doing everything we can for the preconditions, for growth to become ever better, because without growth there will not be any new job created, and those who will suffer that will particularly be the young people," said Merkel.

“我们显然需要对经济增长的前提条件尽一切可能,为了更好的增长,因为没有增长就不会创造任何新的工作,尤其是年轻人将深受其害,”默克尔说道。

Ahead of the July summit Chancellor Merkel hosted in Berlin, she said youth unemployment could be the bloc's biggest problem.

在之前德国总理默克尔柏林主持7月峰会上，她表示青年失业率可能是欧盟最大的问题。

That summit ended with a pledge to spend $8 billion over the next two years to improve youth unemployment rates, but youth organizations say that figure is not nearly enough.

而默克尔的峰会最终以承诺未来两年投入80亿美元改善青年失业率结束,但青年组织表示那个数字明显不够。

"The six billion euros is not enough.

“60亿欧元塞牙缝都不够。

To establish something credible⁶, we need at least 21 billion euros.

光是建立一些可信的事情我们就至少需要210亿欧元。

We are demanding more investment at a European level," said Giuseppe Porcaro, general secretary of the European Youth Forum⁷ in Brussels.

我们正要求针对欧洲的状况更多的投资,” 布鲁塞尔欧洲青年论坛秘书长朱塞佩·普卡罗说道。

Many organizations say that youth unemployment is not just an economic problem.

许多组织表示青年失业不仅是经济问题。

Thiebaut Weber, president of the Trade Union Confederation, which is also based in Belgium, feels it presents a social issue as well.

总部同样位于比利时的贸易联盟主席提巴特·韦伯感觉它也反应出社会问题。

"We are calling for a more social Europe that takes responsibility for social matters and employment - not just the budget," said Weber.

“我们呼吁更多的欧洲社会对社会事务和就业负起应有的责任—不单单是预算,”韦伯说道。

Youth unemployment in the European Union reflects the economic disparity found throughout the eurozone, the 17 countries that use Europe's common currency.

在欧盟的青年失业率反映出整个欧元区17个使用欧洲共同货币国家的经济不一性。

In Spain, more than half of people under the age of 25 are out of work.

在西班牙, 25岁以下超过一半的人没有工作。

In Greece, the figure is close to 60 percent.

而在希腊,这个数字接近60%。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

3 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

4 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

5 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

6 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。