VOA慢速英语2016 俄罗斯面临着油价下跌带来的痛楚（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-01-16 Russia Faces Pain Over Falling Oil Prices, Sanctions 俄罗斯面临着油价下跌带来的痛楚

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

美国之音经济报道。

Russia’s economy is struggling at the beginning of 2016. Low oil prices and Western sanctions against Russia continue to affect the country’s economy.  

2016年初，俄罗斯的经济仍在挣扎中，低油价和西方国家的制裁继续影响这个国家的经济.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev thinks the economy is looking better than one year ago. But he told a conference this week that Russia must prepare for the worst-case scenario. In such a case, conditions would worsen, not improve.

总理梅德韦杰夫认为经济现状比一年前好些了，但本周在一次会议上他说，俄罗斯必须为最坏的情况做准备，那样情况将继续恶化而不是好转。

Medvedev spoke in Moscow at the yearly Gaidar Forum on economics. He noted that 2015 was probably the most difficult year for Russia economically in the past 10 years. The level of economic activity shrank 3.8 percent last year.

梅德韦杰夫在年度盖达尔经济论坛讲话，他指出，2015年可能是过去10年来俄罗斯经济最困难的一年，去年的经济活动缩减了3.8%。

Two main reasons for this were the sharp drop in the price of oil and Western economic sanctions. Oil is Russia’s main export. Its price has dropped about 70 percent to $30 a barrel over the past 12 months.

造成这一情况的两大原因是油价大跌和西方的经济制裁，石油是俄罗斯的主要出口商品，过去12个月里油价下跌了大约70%，为每桶30美元。

Western countries placed sanctions on Russia because of its 2014 takeover of Crimea. Russia also has continued its military support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. The western measures have cut off Russian banks from international credit. The value of the ruble has dropped from 30 to the U.S. dollar to about 75.

西方国家制裁俄罗斯是因为2014年俄罗斯接管了克里米亚，而且还继续对乌克兰东部叛军提供军事支持，西方的制裁措施切断了俄罗斯银行与国际信贷的联系，卢比兑美元的汇率从30:1跌到75:1。

Inflation was a major concern for Russians last year. On average, prices increased at a rate of 15 percent in 2015. Yet consumer food prices increased between 20 and 30 percent. High inflation for staple products has hurt Russia’s poor. The number of Russians below subsistence poverty rose to more than 20 million last year from 18 million a year earlier.  

通胀是俄罗斯人去年主要担忧的问题，2015年物价平均上涨了15%，然而消费者食品价格涨了20%到30%。主食价格暴涨影响到俄罗斯的穷人，去年低于生存贫困标准的俄罗斯人数量从一年前的1800万增加到2000万以上。

Prime Minister Medvedev said the result of inflation was a fall in real incomes. “Many people have become poorer,” he said. “And, the middle class has suffered. And, this is probably one of the most painful aftereffects of the last years.”

总理梅德韦杰夫称通胀导致实际收入的下降，“很多人更穷了，中产阶级也受到影响，这可能是过去几年最严重的影响。”

Government officials have said they expect the economy to improve this year. They predict that inflation will drop below 10 percent in February. 

政府官员称希望今年经济能有所改善，他们预期2月份通胀将跌到10%以下。

Medvedev praised his government’s plan for reducing shocks from overseas. He added that the economy was not in tatters. 

梅德韦杰夫称政府计划减少海外股份，他说本国经济并未破碎。

“Russia is in (the) top 10 countries with the lowest public debt and greatest foreign exchange reserves. And, that really provides for the resilience of our financial system,” he said.  

“俄罗斯名列公共债务最低和外汇储备最高的10个国家之列，这就使得我们的金融体系具备恢复能力。” 梅德韦杰夫承认联邦政府可能面临预算削减，俄罗斯大约一半的预算依赖于石油出口收入。

Russia’s 2016 budget was made in October, when oil was selling for $50 a barrel. Many observers say the more likely price is between $30 and $40, and could even drop below $20.  

俄罗斯2016年度的预算是10月份制订的，当时石油价格50美元一桶，很多观察家称价格很可能会落在30到40美元之间，甚至会降到20美元以下。

Words in This Story

scenario – n. a description of what could possibly happen

sanctions – n. actions taken to force a country or group to obey international rules usually by limiting trade with that country

consumer – n. a person who buys goods or services

subsistence – adj. describing the smallest amount of things like food and water that are needed to stay alive

tatters – n. a state of ruin