VOA慢速英语2021 中国2020年全年经济增长2.3% 可能是唯一取得增长的主要经济体（在线收听）

China's economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter of 2020 to end the year with a growth rate of 2.3 percent.

2020年第4季度中国经济重拾增长速度，最终全年增长了2.3%。

The growth could make China the only major economic power to expand following worldwide business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus crisis.

这一增长可能使得中国成为新冠病毒危机导致全球业务关闭之后唯一保持经济扩张的主要经济体。

Growth in the three months ending in December rose to 6.5 percent over a year earlier, official data released this week showed. The growth was driven in large part by the Chinese public returning to stores, restaurants and movie theaters.

本周公布的官方数据显示，去年第4季度中国经济较去年同期增长了6.5%。取得这一增长的主要原因是中国民众重返商店、饭店和电影院。

In the first quarter, economy activity fell 6.8 percent, as the ruling Party decided to shut down most of its economy to fight the coronavirus. In the second quarter, China became the first major economy to expand. It reported 3.2 percent growth during that period. That rate came after officials declared victory over the virus in March and permitted factories, stores and offices to reopen.

在去年首季度，由于执政党决定关闭其大部分经济以对抗新冠病毒，中国的经济活动下降了6.8%。第二季度，中国成为首个扩张的主要经济体。中国报告在此期间经济增长了3.2%。这一增长是在有关官员3月份宣布战胜新冠病毒并允许工厂、商店和办公室重新开放之后取得的。

Today, restaurants are filling up with people again. So are movie theaters and some major stores. Crowds are still thin at large shopping malls, however, where guards take the temperature of visitors to identify possible coronavirus cases.

如今，餐馆再次挤满了人。电影院和一些大型商店也是如此。然而大型购物商场人群依然稀疏，这里的保安给顾客测量体温，以找出可能的新冠病毒病例。

Tourism within China has also started to come back. However, some Chinese cities are reporting a rise in new infections. Because of this, China's government has urged the public to stay home during the Lunar New Year holiday in February. The Lunar New Year holiday is normally the busiest part of China's travel season.

中国国内旅游业也开始复苏。然而，一些中国城市报告了新感染病例的增长。因为这个原因，中国政府督促民众在2月春节假期期间呆在家里。春节通常是中国旅游最为繁忙的季节。

China moved quickly to put public restrictions in place across the country when the virus appeared. Experts say the action permitted China to largely contain the virus much more quickly than most countries.

中国在病毒爆发后迅速采取行动，在全国各地实施了公共限制措施。专家表示，这一举动使得中国在很大程度上比大多数国家都要更快遏制住该病毒。

Another driver of the country's latest economic growth was a boost in exports linked to the demand for Chinese-made face masks and other medical goods during the pandemic.

中国最近经济增长的另一个原因是大流行期间对中国制造的口罩和其它医疗产品出口需求的增长。

Rajiv Biswas is with the market research company IHS Markit. He said in a report that China's 2020 growth showed clear gains in consumer activity and strong export performance. Biswas added that China is likely to be the only major economy to have growth in 2020. Developed nations and most major developing markets experienced a recession.

拉吉夫·比斯瓦斯在市场研究公司IHS Markit工作。他在一份报告中表示，中国2020年的经济增长表明了消费者活动的增长以及出口表现强劲。比斯瓦斯还说，中国很可能是2020年唯一取得增长的主要经济体。发达国家和大多数主要发展中国家都经历了衰退。

China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement that the economy had "recovered steadily." It added that the ruling party's development goals had progressed "better than expectations."

中国国家统计局在一份声明中称，中国经济已经稳步复苏。它还称执政党的发展目标取得了超出预期的增长。

Even with the fourth quarter rise, China's overall 2.3 percent rate marked the country's weakest economic expansion in many years.

即使第4季度经济增长率抬头，中国2.3%的总体增长率仍然是该国多年来最弱的经济扩张。

Iris Pang is an economist in China with financial services company ING. She wrote in a report that it is too early to tell whether the Chinese growth results represent "a full recovery." She said experts are watching "external demand" for exports, which has not yet fully recovered.

彭蔼娆是金融服务公司荷兰国际集团驻中国经济学家。她在一份报告中写道，现在判断中国的增长结果是否代表“全面复苏”尚为时过早。她说，专家们正在观察出口的“外部需求，”这一部分需求尚未完全恢复。

The International Monetary Fund and private industry experts have predicted China's economic growth will rise more in 2021, to above 8 percent.

国际货币基金组织和私营行业专家预测，2020年中国经济增长将会进一步提升，达到8%以上。