VOA标准英语2008年-ADB Predicts Slowdown in Growth, Sharp Rise in

The Asian Development Bank predicts that developing economies in Asia will see slower growth and rising inflation in the coming year. The bank says high oil and food prices and a prolonged slowdown in industrial countries are casting a shadow on the economic outlook. Claudia Blume reports from Hong Kong.

The Asian Development Bank says risks to Asian economies are much higher today than it had predicted in its annual outlook in April. Ifzal Ali, the ADB's chief economist¹, says one of the biggest risks arises from uncertainties² about how long the financial crisis in the United States will last.

Speaking in Hong Kong on Tuesday, he said the turmoil³ on Wall Street in the past two days has added to the uncertainty⁴.

"And higher levels of uncertainty means greater volatility⁵ and this will of course impact on levels of both business confidence and consumer confidence," said Ali.

Stock markets around the world have tumbled since the news late Sunday that the U.S. investment company Lehman Brothers would file for bankruptcy⁶ and that other financial firms faced massive problems.

The ADB says growth across developing Asia will slow to 7.5 percent this year and 7.2 percent next year - down from a record nine percent rate in 2007. Inflation is predicted to reach 7.8 percent in the region this year.

The outlook is clouded by persistently⁷ high oil and food prices. The non-profit lender forecasts that the recent drop in oil prices will be short lived and that prices generally will remain above $100 a barrel until at least 2020. And even though prices of food staples⁸ such as rice have fallen to more sustainable levels in recent months, the ADB says the problem is far from over as demand grows and supplies remain tight.

The situation is made worse by economic downturns in the United States and Europe, the main buyers of Asian goods. Most exports from the region are doing badly - be it garments, toys or computers.

For years, many international investors⁹ bet that robust¹⁰ growth in Asian economies would shelter them from weakness in the U.S. and Europe. Ali says that gamble has not paid off.

"What happens in New York and London spills over into Asia within hours," he said. "One point that I would like to make loud and clear: the myth of decoupling has been exploded in the last eight months!"

Ali says there are a number of short-term policies governments in the region need to implement¹¹ to ride out the storm. They include bringing inflation to heel and phasing out unsustainable subsidies¹² for fuel, fertilizer and food. He says developing countries in Asia need to sacrifice growth now to avoid entrenched¹³ inflation.

1 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。

2 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

7 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

8 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

9 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

10 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。