委内瑞拉总统因经济恶化宣布全国进入紧急状态

AS IT IS 2016-05-17 Venezuela’s President Declares State of Emergency as Economy Worsens 委内瑞拉总统因经济恶化宣布全国进入紧急状态

After declaring a state of emergency, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro threatened to seize closed factories and arrest their owners.

At a rally over the weekend, Maduro told supporters that owners of closed factories are “trying to sabotage¹ the country.” And he accused the United States of trying to destabilize Venezuela.

The state of emergency gives Maduro increased powers for 60 days.

Venezuela’s economy has been severely² affected³ by low oil prices. Venezuela is a member of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum⁴ Exporting Countries and a major oil producer. Yet, the lack of trade in oil means the country is having a hard time paying for imported materials it needs.

Polar workers who fear losing their jobs protest outside company headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 22, 2016. Polar, the largest producer of beer in the country, said Thursday the lack of imported raw materials.

Last month, the country's largest food and drink distributor, Polar, shut down its last beer plant. The company said it is unable to get hard currency to buy raw materials.

The political opposition⁵ in Venezuela now says an effort to recall the Venezuelan leader is gaining traction⁶. Anti-government activists⁷ say they have collected 1.8 million of the 4 million signatures required to force a recall vote of the president.

On Saturday, thousands of protestors appeared in the streets of Caracas in support of a recall referendum. However, if the Venezuelan president is removed, his vice⁸ president would take the top office.

Latin American analyst⁹ Mark Jones of Rice University recently spoke¹⁰ to VOA about the economic situation Venezuela. He said the South American country, once a thriving oil producer, is collapsing¹¹ economically:

“Inflation is approaching 1000 percent annually¹². The economy is going to shrink by probably around 10 percent this year. It’s a country that is economically destitute¹³.”

Jones added that political tensions in the country are very high. The analyst noted¹⁴ that Maduro, and Hugo Chavez before him, mismanaged Venezuela’s economy. The current situation, he suggested, would not be too different if oil prices were high.

“Now they might be able to be riding out this storm a little easier if oil was at $100 a barrel. But even back when oil was at $100 a barrel the country was experiencing shortages.”

Words in This Story

destabilize –v. to cause to not work in the desired way, to make unstable¹⁵

distributor –n. a company that supplies stores or businesses with needed goods

hard currency –n. money from a country with a strong economy that is widely used and is not likely to lose value sharply

traction –n. support or interest needed to cause something to happen

thriving –adj. to do well

destitute –adj. very poor

1 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

12 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

13 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。