英伦广角 2009-02-01 温总理正式会晤英国首相

Could these women help save us all from the financial crisis? China has transformed itself from drab Communism to the world's third biggest economy with 1.3 billion consumers hungry for the decade of fruits of capitalism¹. And they might be the ones who give the kiss of life to the world's economy.

 

While people in Britain and America have been taking on too much debt, the Chinese have spent the last two decades carefully saving their money. In fact, this country has one of the highest national savings² rates in the world. If the Chinese can now be coaxed³ into spending their money, economists⁴ say that will be key to a global recovery.

 

The Chinese Premier⁵ Wen Jiabao was in Davos this week, talking up how China can revive the world's fortunes. Gordon Brown wants to do business with Mr. Wen, and more trade and investment will be top of their agenda when they meet.

 

But there are others who blame China for the financial crisis. China's become the workshop of the world, exporting far more than it imports. China used those export earnings⁶ to buy American debt, which helped fuel the mortgage bubble. And some say the credit crunch⁷.

 

Timothy Geithner was sworn in this week as America's new Treasury⁸ Secretary. He's accused China of currency manipulation that created trade imbalances, leading to the financial crisis, though most experts disagree.

                                                                                                              

"It's much better to believe there's some conspiracy⁹ in Beijing to artificially overvalue the Chinese currency so as to make Chinese manufacturers and exporters wildly and unfairly competitive and to put American worker out of business, all that is economic gobbledygook."  

But if China is not to blame, how much help can it give Britain? The country has its own money problems, rural poverty, slowing growth and laid-off workers. In this global crisis, many Chinese consumers would be lucky to keep themselves afloat, never mind the world economy.

Holly¹⁰ Williams, Sky News, Beijing.

 give somebody the kiss of life  (British & Australian): to help someone who has stopped breathing to breathe again by blowing into their mouth and pressing their chest

 
 

1 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

2 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

3 coaxed   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱

参考例句：

• She coaxed the horse into coming a little closer. 她哄着那匹马让它再靠近了一点。
• I coaxed my sister into taking me to the theatre. 我用好话哄姐姐带我去看戏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 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。

9 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

10 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。