2023年经济学人 欧洲暖冬带来的好运（1）

 

 

    Europe's astonishing run of luck.

    欧洲惊人的一连串好运。

    Visitors to warsaw at this time of year do not usually bask¹ in temperatures nearing 20°C.

    每年这个时候来到华沙的游客通常不会体验到接近20摄氏度的“高温”。

    Bilbao tends to be frosty, not tropical, in January.

    毕尔巴鄂的1月往往十分寒冷，而不会十分炎热。

    But this winter is a strange one.

    但今年的冬天很奇怪。

    Temperature records are being broken across Europe and energy prices are plummeting²: the price of natural gas at the continent's main hub has fallen to levels last seen before the war in Ukraine.

    整个欧洲的气温都打破了往年的纪录，能源价格正在暴跌：欧洲大陆主要天然气枢纽的天然气价格已跌至乌克兰战争之前的水平。

    A warm autumn postponed³ the heating season, allowing gas-storage facilities to be filled to the brim.

    秋天的温暖气温导致取暖季延迟，储气设施里装满了无法输送出去的天然气。

    The present warmth has enabled them to be topped up again - a startling turn in the middle of winter.

    由于目前的温暖天气，储气设施再次得到补充——相比往年的隆冬时节，这是个令人震惊的转变。

    All told, Europe has sucked out half as much gas from storage facilities as at this point in the past two winters.

    总体而言，欧洲目前使用的储气设施中的天然气，仅为过去两年同期的一半。

    And forecasts suggest a mild end to the season.

    预报显示，冬季将温和地结束。

    The good weather is not the only reason for cheer.

    并不是只有好天气值得庆祝。

    Gas supply is growing as new liquefied-natural-gas terminals begin work.

    随着新的液化天然气接收站开工建设，天然气供应正在增加。

    A wet autumn and windy winter have helped propel hydro and wind generators⁴.

    潮湿的秋季和多风的冬季推动了水力和风力发电的进一步发展。

    French nuclear plants, turned off for maintenance, are slowly returning to the grid⁵.

    因维修而关闭的法国核电站正在慢慢恢复。

    "The stressors that caused the energy crisis of 2022 are all relaxing at the same time," notes Lion Hirth of the Hertie School in Berlin.

    柏林赫蒂商学院的利昂·赫斯指出：“导致2022年能源危机的压力源在同时放松。”

    Power prices in Europe have fallen back to levels last seen before the summer.

    欧洲的电价已经回落到夏季之前的水平。

    This is providing the continent with an economic boost.

    这提振了欧洲大陆的经济。

    Indicators⁶ of sentiment have risen for two months in a row.

    情绪指标已连续两个月上升。

    Defying gloomy predictions, German industrial production continues to hold up.

    与悲观的预测不同，德国的工业生产依旧保持稳定。

    Unemployment remains⁷ at rock-bottom across Europe, and firms plan to hire more, rather than make job cuts.

    整个欧洲的失业率仍处于最低点，公司计划增加招聘岗位，而不是裁员。

    Forecasters are lifting their growth projections⁸.

    预测者正在上调他们对于增长的预期。

    Goldman Sachs, a bank, no longer sees the euro zone slipping into recession in 2023.

    高盛银行改变了2023年欧元区将陷入衰退的想法。

    In a flashback to medieval times, a change in weather is changing Europe's economic fortunes.

    这让人回想起中世纪，像那时一样，天气的变化正在改变欧洲的经济命运。

1 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

2 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

6 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

7 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。

8 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。