NPR边听边练91:2012年四季度英国经济增长再次放慢脚步

 　　主餐一道：泛听练习

　　以下段落是摘自新闻里的一些重要信息,并不是一个段落的听写。空内信息可在本新闻中全部找到,大家可以根据这些信息复述新闻。

　　一、泛听建议：

　　1、完整听一遍，掌握大意。

　　2、继续听，特别注意关键信息。遇到相似的词，写下来。

　　3、复述新闻。

　　Economic growth in Britain _1_ again during the last three months of 2012. Larry Miller¹ reports there is now concern Britain faces a triple-dip recession.The British economy shrank by 0.3%, four out of the last five quarters have now had negative growth. The Office for National Statistics describes the economy as bumpy² and the trend is sluggish³. Treasury⁴ Chief George Osborne blames Britain’s high debt and the recession-plagued eurozone, that’s cut back on British exports.

　　在2012年的最后三个月时间里，英国的经济增长再次收缩。据拉里?米勒报道，目前并不确定英国会否面临三底衰退。英国经济收缩了0.3%，在过去五个季度中有四个季度的经济呈现负增长。英国国家统计局形容经济形势为“崎岖不平”，而经济走向也停滞不前。财政大臣乔治?奥斯本指责称，英国的高债务以及深受衰退困扰的欧元区削减了英国的出口。

　　"I am not making excuses; we are going to confront these problems. We can’t run away from them and the way you confront them is to get the British economy into a state where we _2_ more, where we _3_ the growing markets in the world, where our businesses are competitive and jobs go on being created."However, Britain unions and the political opposition⁵ blamed the government’s austerity strategy for the lack of growth, arguing spending cuts are too deep and too fast. For NPR News, I am Larry Miller in London.

　　“我不是在找借口；我们要面对这些问题。我们不能逃避它们，而面对问题的方法就是使英国的经济进入这样一个状态，我们要增加出口，与世界上不断增长的市场交流，我们的商业要具有竞争力，也要创造工作岗位。”但是，英国工会和政治反对派则将经济增长乏力的原因归咎于政府实行的紧缩战略，他们指责称，削减开支的力度太大，速度太快。NPR新闻，拉里?米勒伦敦报道。

　　Even though new home sales _4_ in December, it was still the best year the industry experienced since 2009. The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 7.3% last month to a seasonally⁶ adjusted annual rate of 369,000. Economist⁷ Mark Vitner says sales of new homes could _5_ again in 2013."Interest rates are lower. There is not as much competition from foreclosures and short sales and so home-builders are in much better shape."Vitner says the housing market began to recover in 2012, helped by steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates.A bill that would allow gay marriage in Rhode Island is now in the hands of State Senate. The measure received an overwhelming support in the House yesterday.This is NPR News.

　　虽然12月份的新房销售有所下降，但其仍是2009年以来房地产业销售额最好的一年。美国商业部表示，上个月新房销售下降了7.3%，经季节性调整后按年率计算为369,000套。经济学家马克?维特纳表示，2013年新房销售的表现将持续强劲。“利率更低了。丧失赎取权和卖空的竞争也没有那么大，所以目前住宅建造商的情况比之前要好得多。”维特纳表示，住房市场自2012年开始复苏，这要得益于稳定的就业形势以及达到历史最低点的抵押贷款利率。罗德岛允许同性婚姻的法案目前正在等待州参议院的表态。昨天，该法案在众议院得到了压倒性的支持。这里是NPR新闻。

　　词汇解析：

　　1. austerity：紧缩；朴素；苦行；严厉

　　eg:...the years of austerity which followed the war.

　　…战后的经济紧缩年代。

　　eg: But that something should not be austerity at any price.

　　但这些措施不是不计代价搞紧缩。

　　2、blame somebody for something 责备某人；因……怪罪，责怪（某人）

　　eg. Given that he has tried his best, you shouldn't blame him for the failure.

　　鉴于他已尽了最大努力，你就不应该责备他的失败了。

　　eg. So we feel sorry for the people of the world, not really hate them, not really blame them for what they are. Just that they re very unlucky.

　　所以我们为世人感到难过，并不是真的恨他们，不是真的怪罪他们的所做所为，就是他们很不幸而已。

　　eg. The government is to blame for this very serious wustage of talent among the young.

　　青年人才的浪费现象十分严重，对此政府应负责任。

　　3. in the hands of 在…掌握中；交托给；由…处理[负责]；被…控制

　　eg. Unless I receive a satisfactory response from you within a month, I shall put this matter in the hands of.

　　除非我能在一个月内从你那儿得到满意的答复，否则我就把这件事交由我的律师来处理。

　　eg. The town is still in the hands of the enemy.

　　这个城镇仍在敌人控制之下。

　　eg. The stupid fellow never realized that he was a mere⁸ cat's paw in the hands of his enemy.

　　这个笨蛋根本不知道他只不过是敌人手中一个被利用的工具。

　　参考答案：

　　1、contracted 2、are exporting 3、are connected with

　　4、slipped 5、be strong

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

3 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

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 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。