VOA标准英语2015--希腊获得缓刑但困难远未结束

Greece Gets Reprieve¹ But Difficulties Far from Over 希腊获得缓刑但困难远未结束

Following marathon negotiations² over several days, European leaders announced a tentative agreement Monday to provide Greece with another bailout, its third in five years – and ensure the country remains³ in the 19-nation eurozone family, for now.  But despite sighs of relief in Europe and in financial markets -- experts say now the hard part begins.

Judging from the reaction in financial markets – it’s a done deal.  A third European bailout for Greece worth nearly 90 billion euros. But Greek lawmakers have yet to ratify⁴ the terms – which include more spending cuts, tax hikes and the privatization of government assets.

That’s the easy part, says Johns Hopkins international economics professor Cristino Arroyo⁵, who spoke⁶ with VOA on Skype.

“The really hard part is that they’re going to have to make, besides the required reforms, they will also have to find ways to get growth going and that is the real challenge,” he said.

Even if the Greek parliament ratifies⁷ the deal, it's an uphill climb for a country still trying to dig itself out of a deep recession.  Market analyst⁸ Mike Ingram at BGC

Partners says more spending cuts are unlikely to produce enough growth to reduce Greece's rapidly expanding debt.   

“We’re going to see further cuts in public sector⁹ expenditure," he said.  "Broadbrush – a lot more austerity, probably forever.”

Without a plan to grow Greece's cash-starved economy - economist¹⁰ Robert Kahn at the Council on Foreign Relations says the latest bailout is just a bandage.

"Even if we get a deal, my fear is that it will be really more an effort to kick the can down the road and buy some time, rather than really put in place policies that will return growth to Greece," he said.

Greece’s largest creditor¹¹ - Germany, which had been criticized for proposing more spending cuts in exchange for a bailout, says there may be room yet for compromise.

“The Eurogroup is ready if necessary to grant longer grace period and longer loan maturities¹² – we talked about it after the first successful review of the new Greek program,” said German Chancellor¹³ Angela Merkel.

While Greek banks remain closed this week - some finance ministers expressed relief that negotiations have averted¹⁴ a potentially destabilizing Greek exit for now.  Some say the bigger challenge in coming weeks is how to rebuild trust between Athens and the other 18 countries that make up the eurozone.

1 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 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。

4 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

5 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。

6 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。

7 ratifies   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• American Revolutionary War: The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England. 1784年的今天，美国独立战争：美国批准了一项与英国的和平条约。 来自互联网
• Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall ensure the effectiveapplication of its provis ions. 批准本公约的每一会员国应确保有效地实施本公约的规定。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

12 maturities   

n.成熟（maturity的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Maturities of commercial paper range from three days to nine months. 商业票据的期限从3天到9个月不等。 来自互联网
• German federal government bonds issued with maturities of up to 30 years. 指期限可长达30年的德国联邦政府债券。 来自互联网

13 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。

14 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。