【英语语言学习】新加坡是怎么变富有的

 RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Despite heavy rains, tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Singapore today to say goodbye to the country's founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew¹. Lee was one of the most influential² leaders of the last 100 years. He was also an autocrat³ who used his country's libel laws to silence dissent⁴. His opponents were jailed without trial for years. That said, he transformed the city-state from a malaria-infested swamp into a shiny metropolis⁵. Under Lee's rule Singapore became one of the least corrupt⁶ and the richest places on earth and a model for the rest of Asia. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁷: Singapore has been called the 20th century's most successful development story. Linda Lim is an economist⁸ who teaches at the University of Michigan.

LINDA LIM: I don't think any other economy, even other Asian tigers, have that good a statistical⁹ record of rapid growth, full employment with very good social indicators¹⁰ - life expectancy¹¹, education, housing, et. cetera - in the first 20 years.

ZARROLI: Singapore had little land and no natural resources. But after its independence in 1965, the former British trading port was transformed into a major manufacturing and financial center. The late conservative economist Milton Friedman said on PBS that Singapore showed how to do development right.

MILTON FRIEDMAN: If you compare the conditions of people in a place like Singapore with the conditions of people in a place like Red China or, for that matter, in Indonesia, you will see that the economic freedom is a very important component¹² of total freedom.

ZARROLI: Conservatives saw Singapore as a free-market success story with low taxes, few capital restrictions¹³ and liberal immigration policies that made it one of the most cosmopolitan¹⁴ places on earth.

JOSH KURLANTZICK: They have very, very free trade, very low tariffs¹⁵, very few nontariff barriers. So in that way, it's a very open economy. And they'll boast about how you can start up you own company in Singapore in, like, three hours or something like that.

ZARROLI: That's Josh Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations. But, like Deng Xiaoping's China, which emulated¹⁶ many of Singapore's policies, Lee's government played a big role in the economy.

KURLANTZICK: Some of the biggest sectors¹⁷ domestically - shipbuilding, electronics, banking¹⁸, and now they're very involved in private banking - got their start because Lee Kuan Yew and the government specifically directed State Farm into those areas.

ZARROLI: The government also provided social services such as housing and health care in a way a liberal economists¹⁹ applaud it. Linda Lim, who grew up in Singapore, says this brought a certain amount of social peace. She says these policies were designed by Lee's cabinet, but Lee provided the leadership that made them possible.

LIM: He understood the politics of this very diverse place and put together the laws, including the labor²⁰ laws, that created a stable, peaceful place that multinationals²¹ were looking for.

ZARROLI: Lee himself believes Singapore's growth was tied to the shared values of its different ethnic²² and religious groups.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER LEE KUAN YEW: We have had, since 1965, an undivided society, solidly behind a meritocratic system, pushing for higher standards of education, higher standards of performance and meritocratic at every level.

ZARROLI: Singapore today is a mature economy that, like Japan, has seen its growth slow. It's had to compete with other low-wage countries that sometimes emulated its economic policies. Kurlantzick says today it struggles with a problem familiar to the West.

KURLANTZICK: People live well but the per capita GDP conceals²³ a high level of inequality. So that is definitely a major issue in Singapore today and one of the things that the current Prime Minister has focused on.

ZARROLI: But Singapore remains²⁴ a big financial center with a high standard of living. And Lee Kuan Yew is remembered as the man who made its prosperity possible. Jim Zarroli, NPR News.

1 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 autocrat   

n.独裁者；专横的人

参考例句：

• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。
• The nobles tried to limit the powers of the autocrat without success.贵族企图限制专制君主的权力,但没有成功。

4 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

5 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 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。

9 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

10 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。

11 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

12 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

15 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

16 emulated   

v.与…竞争( emulate的过去式和过去分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The havoc that months had previously wrought was now emulated by the inroads of hours. 前几个月已经使他垮下来，如今更是一小时一小时地在恶化。 来自辞典例句
• The key technology emulated by CAD and the circuit is showed. 对关键技术进行了仿真，给出了电路实现形式。 来自互联网

17 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

19 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》

20 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

21 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

22 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

23 conceals   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He conceals his worries behind a mask of nonchalance. 他装作若无其事，借以掩饰内心的不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Drunkenness reveals what soberness conceals. 酒醉吐真言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 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。