VOA标准英语2013--德国的默克尔竞选第三任期

 

Germany’s Merkel Bids for 3rd Term as Tough EU Decisions Loom¹ 德国的默克尔竞选第三任期

LONDON — Germany will hold parliamentary elections Sunday, with current Chancellor² Angela Merkel’s party riding high in the polls. Optimism over the economy appears to be working in her favor - with few other issues featuring on the campaign trail.

On the campaign trail, Angela Merkel’s supporters hold up banners saying simply "Angie." Having ridden out Europe’s debt crisis, the German chancellor has built a loyal following - and she wants a third term in office.

伦敦——德国周日将举行议会选举,当前总理默克尔的党派在民调中居高不下。对经济的乐观情绪似乎是工作在她的忙——很少有其他问题在竞选活动中展示。

在竞选活动中,默克尔的支持者举着横幅只是说“安琪。“她带领德国走出欧洲债务危机,德国总理已经建立了一个忠实的追随者,她想要第三个任期。

We have had four good years, Chancellor Merkel told supporters, and we want a further four years so that we can say in 2017 that more people are doing well than they are today.

Her economic record should deliver a third term, says Simon Tilford of the London-based Center for European Reform.

“Lots of Germans who are quite critical of the eurozone’s handling of the crisis will, at the same time, give Merkel credit for limiting the damage to Germany," said Tilford.

Polls show Merkel’s Christian³ Democrats⁴ falling short of an absolute majority. Their current coalition⁵ partners, the Free Democrats, look set to lose seats.

So the Social Democrats - currently running second - could join Chancellor Merkel in a grand coalition of right and left. Or, if they win enough seats, the Social Democrats could join a coalition with the Greens - and force Angela Merkel out of office.

Whatever government emerges, Germany’s policy towards Europe’s debt crisis is unlikely to change, says Simon Tilford.

“There are no political parties in Germany advocating the kinds of solutions to the eurozone crisis that the governments of southern Europe would like to see, or the governments of the U.S. and the UK, for that matter, would like to see. None of the German parties support, say, a fiscal⁶ union," he said.

In southern Europe - and especially Greece - Germany continues to be vilified⁷ as the country that has forced austerity on the EU. Many Greeks single out Angela Merkel.

Unemployed⁸ Stratos Franzis says: "As far as the Greeks are concerned, her polices are negative and unbearable," he said.

Lawyer Hera Arhountaki agrees. "They will look after Germany's interests either way, not ours,” she said.

The EU has put off making many tough decisions until after the German elections, says Professor Michael Wohlgemuth, director of Berlin-based think tank Open Europe.

"It's not just Greece; there's also the banking⁹ union, where we need some decisions rather soon, you know, the single supervisory mechanism… and how to also do a restructuring of the many zombie banks that are most likely still around both in the periphery¹⁰ and in Germany and France," said Wohlgemuth.

While EU partners Britain and France have been at the forefront of Western diplomacy¹¹ on Syria, foreign policy issues have barely played a role in the German election, says Simon Tilford.

“If anything, Germany’s pacifism and its reluctance¹² to engage internationally, its reluctance to think strategically about foreign policy questions, is actually gathering¹³ strength," he said.

Many analysts¹⁴ say optimism over the economy is at the root of Germans’ apparent willingness to stick with the status quo. 

1 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

2 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。

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 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。

7 vilified   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was vilified in newspapers. 他在报纸上受到了诽谤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was vilified by the press for her controversial views. 因她持有异议，新闻界对她横加挞伐。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

10 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。

11 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

12 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。