2016年经济学人 纾困希腊?默克尔成压垮欧元的最后稻草

 

Germany’s obstinate¹ chancellor²

固执的德国总理

Angela Merkel, swimming instructor³

“游泳教练”安吉拉·默克尔

When it comes to the euro, the German chancellor prefers self-help to help—but she can be more flexible than she seems

德国总理在欧元问题上嘉勉自救胜过人救，不过她这个表面上的立场仍可通融。

When warnings sound that the end of the euro is nigh, all eyes turn to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. Germany must “assume its part” in saving the currency, says Spain’s economy minister, Luis de Guindos. If there is rescuing to be done, Germany is the obvious rescuer. Yet rather than toss out the lifebelt, Mrs Merkel offers swimming lessons.

欧元瓦解的警报就将拉响，所有人的目光都聚焦在德国总理安吉拉.默克尔的身上。西班牙财政部长金多斯(Luis de Guindos)说，德国必须在拯救欧元的行动中“承担相应的责任”。若真有国家亟待救援，德国显然是拯救者。然而，默克尔女士却选择站在岸边教游泳，而非抛出救生圈。

She would find this characterisation unfair. Time and again she has taken stands against bail-outs only to relent. She balked⁴ at bailing⁵ out Greece and at a permanent rescue fund, and she vetoed the use of bail-out money to buy government bonds in the secondary market. In each case she gave in (too late,say critics).

默克尔女士也许会认为此般描述有失公正。她一次又一次地反对纾困， 到头来却总是松口让步。她在救助希腊和永久性救援基金上踌躇不决，还否决了利用纾困资金在二级市场上购买国库券。以上事件她都做出了妥协（可惜为时已晚，批评家如是说）。

1 obstinate   

adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的

参考例句：

• She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。
• The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

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 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

4 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。