VOA慢速英语2011--Italy Considers Budget Cuts, Rising Borrowing Costs

Economics Report - Italy Considers Budget Cuts, Rising Borrowing Costs

 

经济报道 - 意大利削减预算导致借贷成本上升

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。

The economic situation in Italy is worrying investors¹ and may have cost its prime minister his job. Like Greece, Italy is facing pressure to make unpopular cuts in government spending. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been seeking to enact² measures meant to satisfy his country’s creditors³. The interest rate Italy can expect to pay for borrowing money is increasing and recently passed seven percent.

意大利的经济形势让投资者担忧，也可能让其总理丢掉工作。像希腊一样，意大利正面临着做出不受公众欢迎的削减政府开支的压力。总理贝卢斯科尼（Silvio Berlusconi）一直在寻求制定相应措施来满足意大利债权人的要求。意大利可能要支付的借贷利率不断攀升，最近更超过了7%。

This week, Mister Berlusconi won a budget vote in Italy’s lower house of parliament.

本周，贝卢斯科尼在意大利下议院赢得了预算投票。

(SOUND)

TRANSLATOR: Three-hundred-nine attending, three-hundred-eight in favor, one boycotted⁴, no vote against the chamber⁵ approves…”

翻译：“309人出席，308票支持，一票反对，无人反对，表决通过...”

But the prime minister lost something else. A majority of lawmakers in the lower house refused to vote. It appeared Mister Berlusconi had lost their support. He announced on Tuesday that he would resign after parliament passes budget cutting measures.

但总理也有所损失，大多数下议院议员拒绝投票，这显示出贝卢斯科尼已经失去了他们的支持。贝卢斯科尼周二宣布，他将在议会通过预算削减措施后辞职。

Italian Premier6 Silvio Berlusconi, center, attends a meeting of parliament Tuesday. Mister Berlusconi's side won the vote, but he lost his majority.

Italian government debt is about one hundred twenty percent the size of the country’s economy. That is second only to Greece in Europe. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all required rescue loans to help them pay creditors. But unlike those nations, Italy has the third largest economy using the euro. And it is among the ten largest economies in the world.

意大利政府债务大约是其经济规模的120%，这在欧洲仅次于希腊。希腊、爱尔兰、葡萄牙已经全部申请救援贷款用来帮助他们偿付债权人。但和这些国家不同，意大利是使用欧元的第三大经济体，同时位居全球十大经济体之列。

On Monday, European finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the deepening debt crisis among nations using the euro. European Union Economic and Monetary⁷ Affairs Commissioner⁸ Olli Rehn said Italy needs to enact reforms.

周一，欧洲各国财长在布鲁塞尔举行会议讨论欧元区国家不断深化的债务危机。欧洲经济和货币事物专员奥利·雷恩（Olli Rehn）表示，意大利必须推行改革。

OLLI REHN: "[It is] essential now that Italy will stick to its fiscal⁹ targets, ensure their implementation¹⁰ and intensify¹¹ the structural¹² reforms that can boost growth and job creation."

雷恩：“意大利现在必须坚持其财政目标，确保落实，深化能够促进经济增长和创造就业的结构改革。”

Unlike Greece, Italy’s budget deficit¹³ is not out of control. Of greatest concern, however, is Italy’s lack of growth and job creation.

和希腊不同，意大利的财政赤字并未失控。然而最令人担忧的是意大利缺乏经济增长和新就业机会。

Financial officials and market watchers are also concerned that Italy’s debt problems may be too big to solve for the seventeen nations using the euro. European leaders have yet to agree on the size and conditions of a rescue fund, or plan.

财政官员和市场也担心，对欧元区17国来说，意大利债务问题可能过于庞大而无法解决。

In Brussels, Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said the rescue fund needed to be bigger. But he said budget reform of euro nations was important, too.

在布鲁塞尔，荷兰财政大臣扬·凯斯·德亚赫（Jan Kees de Jager）表示，必须扩大欧洲救助基金规模。但他表示，欧元区国家的预算改革也非常重要。

JAN KEES DE JAGER: "We have to increase the capacity of the emergency fund, that's very important, but it's not the only thing. Economic reforms and budget cuts in countries currently under attack of the financial markets are at least as important than more money in the emergency fund.''

德亚赫：“我们必须扩大紧急基金的规模，这是非常重要的，但这不是唯一要做的。正面临金融市场攻击的国家经济改革和预算削减措施和增加紧急基金规模同等重要。”

On Wednesday, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano named former European commissioner Mario Monti a Senator for life. Mister Monti is now considered a leading candidate to replace Mister Berlusconi.

周三，意大利总统纳波利塔诺（Giorgio Napolitano）任命前欧盟委员会委员马里奥·蒙蒂（Mario Monti）为终生终身参议员。蒙蒂目前被认为是取代贝卢斯科尼的最佳人选。

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 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。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

12 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

13 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。