VOA慢速英语2014 新总统的上任会改善埃及的经济吗?

 

AS IT IS 2014-06-05 Can a New President Help Egypt's Economy? 新总统的上任会改善埃及的经济吗?

Egypt’s tourist sites are known throughout the world.  But these days, people are not lined up to see the Great Pyramids of Giza.  Foreign visitors are not filling bus after bus for a ride to the Great Sphinx.  Locals say the tourist industry, like others in Egypt, has been flat. 

Ahmed Alaa makes traditional boxes and games out of wood and other materials.  He says business has been bad since the 2011 revolution. 

“So actually before the revolution we were working very much.  And there were many tourists in Egypt.  But after the revolution we feel very, very bad because the economy in Egypt - it’s not only the tourist [industry] - everything is damaged and everything [has fallen] down.”  

President-elect Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s ideas to improve the economy were already in play before the votes were counted.  The government plans to cut aid programs and reduce the national deficit¹.  But economic experts warn that this plan could cause more unrest.

Mr. Sissi has called for sacrifices from the Egyptian people.  To help the economy recover, he suggested they eat less food, walk more and use less electricity.  The president-elect says that under his leadership, Egypt's economy will improve greatly within two years. 

But human rights workers watching the situation closely say two years is too long.  Some predict Egyptians may take to the streets in protest again.  

Mr. Sissi will be the country’s third president in three and a half years.  The other two were ousted² after popular protests.  Mr. Sissi has been leading Egypt since the army jailed former president Mohamed Morsi last July.  Thousands of people have been killed or arrested since then.  Most of those detained³ are accused of having ties with the Muslim Brotherhood⁴.

Even with years of social and political unrest, many Egyptians are willing to sacrifice for their country.  Ahmed is a craftsman⁵.  He earns less than $150 a month.  And he says he can live with some sacrifices.

“We need to work more, and we need to give Egypt more because we can change the life, different than now.”

He says that he hopes some tourists will return to his market now that a real president in power again.

1 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。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 detained   

留住( detain的过去式和过去分词 )； 耽搁； 拘留； 扣留

参考例句：

• One man has been detained for questioning. 一个男人被拘留审问。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

5 craftsman   

n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人

参考例句：

• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
• The craftsman is working up the mass of clay into a toy figure.艺人把一团泥捏成玩具形状。