VOA标准英语2009-Harsh Austerity Measures Implemented in Ethi

Ethiopia, already among the poorest countries, has suffered a series of recent economic setbacks, forcing officials to take drastic countermeasures to avoid a financial meltdown. Economic growth projections¹ have been slashed³ amid shortages of critical items, including foreign exchange, electricity and food.
　
Shitaye, 12, looks after her family's crop in southern Ethiopia, 10 Oct 2008

The roar of generators⁴ echoes through the streets of Addis Ababa's fashionable Bole district. It is another "power out" day, an energy saving scheme that leaves people without electricity for as much as 14 hours, three days a week.

But places like Bole that can afford generators comprise less than half of one percent of Ethiopians.

To shopkeepers without generators, like laundry operator Tewodros Haile, no electricity means little or no profit. He says if this keeps up, he'll soon be forced to close.

"Business has decreased by at least 50 percent almost," he said. "Whenever we don't have the power we have to put our staff, we have to pay overtime⁵. Our expense is increasing because of the overtime. We cannot continue like this."

The power outages have aggravated⁶ Ethiopia's critical foreign exchange crunch⁷. Exports of coffee, which last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country's $1.5 billion export earnings⁸, are down as much as 40 percent this year.

With hard currency reserves sagging⁹ to just enough to cover a few weeks imports earlier this year, the government had exempted¹⁰ major exporting industries from the power cuts. But conditions deteriorated¹¹ when the hoped-for rains failed, leaving the country's hydroelectric power plants without water. So the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation last month notified exporters they too would face cuts.

The grim outlook is forcing economic planners to dramatically scale back growth projections. Initially¹², they predicted an increase of as much as 20 percent in export revenues. But in a report to parliament last month, the Trade and Industry Ministry¹³ conceded revenues might miss the $2.5 billion target by more than $1 billion.

Tewodros Mekonnen of the Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute says that could mean zero export growth this year.

"Since we are a developing country, our exports grow a bit rapidly, so we have exports growing at 18 to 20 percent each year. this year comparing nine months exports ... comparing it to last year, the growth is almost zero percent, which is considered serious for us," said Mekonnen.
　
Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi (File)

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi earlier predicted Ethiopia's economy would grow more than 11 percent this year despite the global economic slowdown. The International Monetary¹⁴ Fund's projection² was a more modest six percent, at most.

Economist¹⁵ Tewodros Mekonnen says the IMF figures look more realistic.

"The economy has been growing 11 percent, and the government is maintaining that 11 percent will continue. but there are some people who say because of the crisis, 11 percent growth is considered a miracle," said Mekonnen.

For average Ethiopians, the falling growth figures and power outages are just more in a long succession of hardships that have kept their country at the bottom of the world's development index. For the educated young along Addis Ababa's Bole Road, like shop clerk Hayat Mohamed, it means scaling back dreams of taking part in the global IT (information technology) revolution.

"At first it was all about we want a faster Internet connection and I wish I could have this and that. But now it has come down to, I wish I could have electricity. We're just hoping for some improvement," he said.

In a country where a fewer than 20 percent of the people have electricity, the economic concerns of most Ethiopians are about simpler things, such as food.

The June 1 U.N. Humanitarian¹⁶ Bulletin for Ethiopia suggests food shortages and malnutrition¹⁷ rates may be as bad as last year, when officials clamped a lid on publicity¹⁸ about starving children after some news reports compared conditions to the famine of the mid-1980s.

The U.N World Food Program estimates the national relief program will fall nearly 178,000 metric tons short of assessed needs for the second quarter of the year.

1 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

2 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

3 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

6 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

10 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

11 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

12 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 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。

15 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。

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

18 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。