欧元区已经走出经济衰退

 　　LONDON — The eurozone has finally emerged from 18 months of recession - posting positive growth after unexpectedly strong consumer spending in the currency bloc¹’s core economies. Analysts² are warning, however, that this is not the end of the euro crisis.

　　After six consecutive³ quarters of negative growth, the eurozone is finally recovering. The growth figure of 0.3 percent in the second quarter hardly signals a boom - but it is a milestone⁴, said Daragh Maher, foreign exchange strategist at HSBC in London.

　　“The very fact that we can talk about growth, politicians can talk about growth, markets can talk about growth again - it’s a significant psychological development,” said Maher.

　　Portugal posted the strongest growth of the quarter - expanding its economy by 1.1 percent. Good news for a country that had been forced to take a $102 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary⁵ Fund.

　　But it was the eurozone’s powerhouse economies of Germany and France that hauled the currency bloc out of recession.

　　Germany grew 0.7 percent and France by 0.5 percent - both driven by higher consumer spending and industrial output. The figures surpassed many economists’ forecasts, said Maher.

　　“That’s encouraging because, in a way, if the core is at least driving things forward and recovering, they’re in a better position politically and economically to provide the support that the peripherals perhaps still require,” said Maher.

　　The problem for the eurozone remains⁶ its indebted southern periphery⁷.

　　Spain’s economy contracted by 0.1 percent. In Italy, also struggling with debt and unemployment, the economy contracted by two-tenths of a percent.

　　And in Greece - ground zero of Europe’s crisis over the past four years - the economy shrank by 4.6 percent. That’s a slight improvement on the previous three months, but indicative of the euro’s ongoing⁸ problems, said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, a London-based financial services firm.

　　"Germany is booming, France is doing okay, but you've got to look at southern Europe, and they are in real dire⁹ straits. So you've got this two-tier Europe, and Germany really controlling the austerity while it's booming. So I think it's not the eurozone problems being solved," said Rundle.

　　That appears to be recognized in Brussels. Chantal Hughes, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said, “This slightly more positive data is welcome, but there is no room for any complacency. Self-congratulatory statements suggesting that the crisis is over are definitely not for today. There are still substantial obstacles to overcome. The growth figures remain low, and the tentative signs of growth are still fragile.”

　　The EU is holding back on the celebrations. After one and a half years of painful contraction¹⁰, though, analysts say the growth figure is welcome news as Europe’s politicians prepare to return from summer vacation.

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 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。

3 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

4 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。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 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。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

10 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。