2022年经济学人 英国火车司机罢工导致铁路网瘫痪5天

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The world this week--Business

本周国际要闻--商业

Britain’s annual inflation rate hit 9.1% in May.

英国5月份的年通货膨胀率达到9.1%。

Food prices accounted for much of that, but road-fuel prices were up by 32.8%, year on year, the biggest such increase in that category since the data were first compiled in 1989.

其中食品价格占了很大一部分，但道路燃料价格同比上涨了32.8%，这是自1989年首次编制该数据以来此类价格涨幅最大的一次。

Britain already has the highest inflation rate among G7 countries.

在七国集团中，英国的通货膨胀率已经是最高的。

The Bank of England recently increased its main interest rate for the fifth consecutive¹ time, to 1.25%.

英格兰银行最近连续第五次上调其主要利率, 至1.25%。

The squeeze on household costs is pushing up wage demands.

对家庭开支的挤压推高了对工资的要求。

Train drivers went on strike this week, crippling the rail network for five days.

本周，火车司机罢工，导致铁路网瘫痪了5天。

Nurses and teachers are also considering action over pay in a “summer of strife”.

护士和教师也在考虑在“斗争之夏”中就工资问题采取行动。

More than 1,300 pilots for Southwest Airlines held a protest outside Dallas Love Field airport to complain about their overstretched working arrangements.

美国西南航空公司的1300多名飞行员在达拉斯洛夫菲尔德机场外举行抗议，抱怨他们超负荷的工作安排。

Southwest, like other big carriers, has been caught out by the strength of the travel revival².

与其他大型航空公司一样，美国西南航空也被旅游业复苏的强劲势头搞得措手不及。

A lack of staff at airports in America and Europe is also causing turbulence³, leading to regular flight delays.

美国和欧洲机场缺乏工作人员也造成了混乱，导致航班经常延误。

The situation will probably get worse as big airports, such as Heathrow, have increased their forecasts for passenger numbers.

随着希思罗机场等大型机场对乘客数量的预测增加了，情况可能会变得更糟。

Following the example of workers at Amazon and Starbucks, staff at an Apple store near Baltimore voted to join a union, the first time employees at the tech giant have opted⁴ for unionisation.

继亚马逊和星巴克员工之后，巴尔的摩附近一家苹果门店的员工投票加入工会，这是这家科技巨头公司的员工首次选择加入工会。

The crusading store staff are Apple’s CORE: the Coalition⁵ of Organised Retail⁶ Employees.

参加该运动的门店员工是苹果CORE(the Coalition of Organised Retail Employees)工会的人。

Sales of homes in America fell again in May, according to the National Association of Realtors (the tally⁷ excludes newly built properties).

根据全美房地产经纪人协会的数据，5月份美国房屋销量再次下滑(该数据不包括新建房产)。

The decline was the fourth in a row, after sharp rises in the worst of the pandemic, and sales are back to where they were in 2019.

这是继疫情最严重的时期大幅上升后，销量连续第四次下降，销量已恢复到2019年的水平。

However, the median price of a home rose for the 123rd month running, to $407,600, up by 15% year on year.

然而，住房中间价连续上涨了123个月，达到407,600美元，同比增长15%。

A shift in expectations about inflation and tighter monetary⁸ policy are pushing up mortgage rates in America, according to Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored mortgage backer.

根据房地美(一家美国政府资助的抵押贷款机构)的说法，对通货膨胀预期的转变和紧缩的货币政策正在推高美国的抵押贷款利率。

The rate for an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has doubled over the past year.

过去一年，30年期固定利率抵押贷款的平均利率翻了一番。

The Russian rouble hit a seven-year high against the dollar.

俄罗斯卢布兑美元汇率创下7年来的新高。

It has gained the most of any currency against the greenback this year, despite the loosening of capital controls and a reduction in interest rates.

尽管俄罗斯放松了资本管制，降低了利率，但今年卢布兑美元的涨幅仍是所有货币中最大的。

A strong rouble undermines Russia’s exports and public finances, a headache for the government, which is mooting⁹ whether to set an “optimal” exchange rate.

强势的卢布削弱了俄罗斯的出口和公共财政，这对俄罗斯政府来说是一个头疼的问题，该政府正在讨论是否设定一个“最优”汇率。

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen¹⁰ fell to a new 24-year low against the dollar.

与此同时，日元兑美元汇率跌至24年来的新低。

This follows the Bank of Japan’s commitment to stick to a monetary-easing policy that targets a short-term interest rate of -0.1%, just as America’s Federal Reserve steps up an aggressive round of monetary tightening¹¹.

在此之前，日本央行承诺将坚持货币宽松政策，将短期利率目标定在-0.1%，而与此同时，美联储开始了一轮激进的货币紧缩政策。

1 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。

2 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

3 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

4 opted   

v.选择，挑选( opt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was co-opted onto the board. 她获增选为董事会成员。
• After graduating she opted for a career in music. 毕业后她选择了从事音乐工作。

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 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。

7 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

8 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。

9 mooting   

v.提出…供讨论( moot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

10 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

11 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。