VOA标准英语2010年-Greek Police, Protesters Clash in Athe

A passenger is seen during a strike at the Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos in Spata, 11 Mar¹ 2010

Greek riot police clashed with demonstrators again on Thursday, as tens of thousands of striking workers marched to protest government austerity measures.  The one day general strike paralyzed government services - grinding air traffic to a virtual halt and closing down hospitals and schools. 

An estimated 30,000 people marched through Athens Thursday in a second wave of protests against civil service pay cuts and a freeze on pensions worth $6.5 billion.

Near Athens University, some of the clashes turned violent as protesters hurled² rocks and petrol bombs. 

Many vowed³ to continue the protests.

"The fight over these unpopular austerity measures must continue until we can overturn them," said one demonstrator.

Some police, Coast Guard members and firefighters joined labor⁴ unions on the streets demanding "real jobs and higher pay."  A Coast Guard lieutenant⁵ said the government's plan was driving the middle class into poverty.

"The reduction in our salaries has reached 30 percent," he said. "And if we figure into that the increase in taxes, every family of a Coast Guard, police officer and firefighter will see its income reduced to 8,000 euros annually⁶."

The salary and pension cuts, plus a two percent increase in sales tax are aimed at reducing the country's deficit⁷ by four percent this year.  Greek debt, now estimated at 13 percent of its gross domestic output, is more than four times higher than the limit imposed by the European Union.  The crisis threatens to destabilized the euro.

Carlo Padoan, chief economist⁸ at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, says Greece must act quickly to reduce its debt.

"The recommendations are very clear," said Carlo Padoan. "For a country like Greece, you need to act on the fiscal⁹ side, and therefore addressing very forcefully the root causes of your fiscal problems through spending cuts and increasing taxation¹⁰."

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is seeking support from world leaders.  At a White House event Tuesday to honor Greek independence, President Barack Obama pledged support for a close ally.

"The prime minister is leading Greece through challenging times, but as I told him during our meeting in the Oval Office today, whether in good times or in bad times, the people of Greece will always have a friend and a partner in the United States of America," said President Obama.

Outside the White House Mr. Papandreou told reporters Greece is not asking for money.

"We are not asking for a bailout," said Prime Minister Papandreou. "We are not asking for financial help from anyone.  What we are doing is first of all, revamping our economy.  We are taking measures to put our economy on the right track."

Greek protests over the unpopular measures have resulted in a virtual shut down of the nation's transportation network, along with most government services.
 
European Union leaders are expected to make an announcement soon on specific steps aimed at ending the crisis.
 

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

7 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。

8 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。

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 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。