VOA常速英语2013--马里: 新政府必须发展经济

 

Malians: New Government Must Jumpstart Economy 马里新政府必须发展经济

BAMAKO, MALI — Ibrahim Boubacar Keita became Mali's president-elect after his rival conceded defeat in the August 11 run-off. The successful vote means that billions of dollars of pledged international aid should soon be on their way to help rebuild the country. In 2012, the economy hit its first slump¹ in two decades after a military coup² and Islamist takeover of the north plunged³ the country into crisis.

Business owners in capital city Bamako say the new government can not get to work fast enough.

The Kone family imports and sells cement. It's a family business: father and son, husband and wife. The son, Souleymane Kone, said the March 2012 military coup cut business in half almost immediately.

这是个家族企业：父亲和儿子，丈夫和妻子。儿子Souleymane Kone说，2012年3月的军事政变使得生意一下子减少了近一半。

"The investors⁴ pulled out. So all the big construction jobs were halted," he said. "And on the local level, those with money are not spending it."

“投资者走了，所有的大型建设就停止了。在当地，有钱的人根本没把钱花出去。”

His father, Abdoul Kader, said things are looking up.

父亲Abdoul Kader说事情在好转。

"Work is going to start again and things will get better," he said. "I am so happy that despite the crisis, the election went well and the candidates kept the tension down."

Mali's economy had been on a slow but steady ascent⁵ since the 1990s. It declined for the first time in 2012 - a contraction⁶ of 1.2 percent.

“生意又开始了，情况在好转。我很高兴即使在危机中，选举还是顺利进行，候选人使得紧张局面缓和了下去。”自20世纪90年代以来，马里的经济虽缓慢却稳步发展，2012年出现首次下滑，放缓了1.2%。

That wasn't as bad as it could have been. The gold and cotton sectors⁷ in the south were relatively⁸ untouched, but tourism took a major hit. And the occupation of the north hurt trade and agriculture, heightening chronic⁹ food shortages. Farming, fishing and forestry¹⁰ are nearly half of Mali's gross domestic product.

情况本来可以更糟，南部的金、棉花行业相对没有受到影响，但旅游业遭受重创。北部被占领使得贸易和农业受损，导致长期的粮食短缺。农业、渔业和森林业占马里国内生产总值的近一半。

Economist¹¹ Younoussa Maiga said an influx¹² of foreign aid will help, but this new government also must attract investors. And to do that, it must tackle pervasive¹³ corruption¹⁴.

经济学家Younoussa Maiga说外国援助的流入能起到作用，但新政府必须吸引投资者。为此，新政府必须解决普遍存在的腐败问题。

"This corruption, it's government agents embezzling¹⁵ state resources. It's small-time - you've got traffic police taking a few dollars from drivers all day long. It's people being forced to pay for free public services.  There's large-scale organized corruption when it comes to awarding government contracts and the whole process of spending state funds," Maiga said. "All of this forces business owners to pay when they shouldn't have to."

“腐败问题，政府人员侵吞国有资源。交警每天从司机那里收取几美元，这些是小规模的，人们被迫为免费的公共服务支付费用。还有大规模的有组织腐败，从政府合同和政府资金开支中获得利益。所有这些迫使企业主支付原不该支付的费用。”

For now, shopowners around Bamako, like Adama Mariko, say they are just trying to hang on.

目前，巴马科像Adama Mariko这样的店主们都说必须再坚持下去。

"I'm here the whole day and I sell nothing," Mariko said.

“一整天了什么都没卖出去。”

Still, the shelves of the electronics shop are mostly empty.

电器商店的货架上几乎还是空的。

"No one outside the country would give credit to Malian merchants because with the war and the rebellion, nobody knew we'd be there to repay. And you can't do business without credit," said Mariko.

“因为战争和叛乱，国外没人给马里商人提供信贷，没人知道我们需要偿还债务。没有信贷就没办法做生意。”

Job creation is a major priority. Work is scarce for the 300,000 young people who hit the job market every year. Economists¹⁶ say presidents don't create jobs, though, investment and economic growth do. 

创造就业是个重要问题，每年有30万年轻人进入就业市场，但岗位稀少。经济学家说虽然总统不能创造就业，但投资和经济发展却可以。

 

1 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 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

5 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

6 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

7 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

11 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。

12 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

13 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网

16 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》