新奇事件簿 英国经济遭遇严重下滑

The UK economy has suffered its worst economic performance since a mini ice age over 300 years ago when the River Thames froze. The UK's Office for National Statistics reported that the economy was around 25 per cent smaller in April than it was in February. The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, acknowledged there was a 20.4 per cent drop in GDP in April alone. He called this "a dramatic and big number". He was positive about the future and said there were "signs of the economy now beginning to come back to life". Much of the UK economy shut down in a bid to curb¹ the spread of the coronavirus. The UK has seen the biggest economic collapse² among the world's developed economies.

The United Kingdom's economy has seen nearly 20 years' worth of growth wiped out because of the coronavirus lockdown measures. This week, people are being encouraged to go shopping again as many stores have reopened. Many shoppers remain wary³ about venturing out to shops or commuting⁴, as the number of daily deaths is still around 200. Talking about the economic collapse, Mr Bailey said: "It's not surprising. The economy clearly closed out substantially at the end of March into April. The big question is what happens next." The UK's 'Guardian⁵' newspaper was pessimistic about a recovery. It wrote: "Britain's economy has fallen off a cliff. It will be a long climb back."

英国经济遭遇自300多年前泰晤士河结冰的迷你冰河期以来最糟糕的经济实绩。英国国家统计局报告称，四月份经济规模与二月份的相比缩小了约25%。英格兰银行行长安德鲁·贝利承认，仅在四月，英国GDP就下降了20.4%。他称这是“一个戏剧性的大数字”。他对未来经济很乐观，并称“有迹象表明现在经济开始复苏”。为了遏制冠状病毒的传播，英国部分经济停滞。在世界各个发达国家之中，英国遭遇了最严重的经济崩溃。

由于冠状病毒封锁措施，英国近20年的经济增长付之东流。本周，随着很多商店重新开业，政府鼓励大家再次前去购物。由于每天死亡人数仍在200人左右，许多购物者仍然对外出购物或上下班持谨慎态度。谈到经济崩溃，贝利先生表示：“这并不奇怪。经济在三月底，四月初明显处于停滞状态。最大的问题是接下来会发生什么。”英国《卫报》对经济复苏持悲观态度。其写道：“英国经济已经急转直下。这将会一个漫长的恢复过程。”

1 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

4 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

5 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。