VOA常速英语2019--中美贸易战走向不确定

US markets remain volatile¹ one day after suffering their deepest plunge² of the year, the drop came amid unwelcome news from China including a devaluation of its currency, the yuan.

美国市场依然起伏不定，而就在一天前，美国市场还遭遇了今年最严重的一次下滑。此次下滑正值从中国传来的不利消息，包括人民币贬值的消息。

Tuesday, White House economic adviser³ Larry Kudlow told reporters that President Trump⁴ still wants a trade deal with China.

周二，白宫经济顾问拉里·库德洛在接受记者采访时表示，特朗普总统依然希望能与中国签订贸易协议。

The president’s view has always been that we have negotiated in good faith, we want to continue to negotiate in good faith with the Chinese, disappointment about the lack of egg purchases.

特朗普的观点一直都是：我们已经带着诚意谈判了，我们希望继续带着诚意跟中国谈判，但我们很失望，因为中国买入的鸡蛋还不够。

He’s here to protect America’s economy. He’s here to defend America’s economy.

他这里是想保护并捍卫美国经济的。

Earlier, China’s Commerce Ministry⁵ announced domestic companies have stopped buying US agricultural products.

此前，中国商务部宣布国内公司要停止购买美国的农产品。

The move came in response to the Trump administration’s announcement last week of new American tariffs⁶ on 300-billion-dollars worth of Chinese goods.

此举是为了回应特朗普政府上周宣布美国对3000亿美元的中国商品施加新的关税。

It’s a tough year for agriculture in the United States.

今年对于美国农业来说日子不好过。

I think the effect of prolonged Chinese tariffs on US agricultural exports and the I think beyond the tariffs, the signal that the Chinese government is giving the domestic buyers that they should look elsewhere.

我认为，中国延长对美国农产品的施加期会产生影响，我认为，在关税之外，中国政府向国内买家发出了一个信号——他们可以往别处看看。

The White House created a 16-billion-dollar aid package for farmers hurt by the US-China trade war.

白宫创设了价值160亿美元的援助项目，对象是因中美贸易战而受到损害的农民。

The president announced on Twitter he would commit even more taxpayer⁷ dollars to help farmers next year if necessary.

特朗普总统在推特上宣布他会用更多纳税人交的钱来帮助农民，明年如果有需要的时候，他会这样做。

Monday, the US Treasury⁸ labeled China a currency manipulator and threatened to involve the International Monetary⁹ Fund.

周一，美国财政部给中国贴了一个标签——汇率操纵国，美国还威胁说要让国际货币基金组织参与进来。

The week’s events have been a tangible¹⁰ escalation¹¹ of the US-China trade conflict but they haven’t really been a surprise.

这周的事情是中美贸易冲突一次明显的升级，但这并不令人意外。

Both the Chinese and US governments had set themselves up in recent months for further stalemate or even escalation of this conflict.

中国政府和美国政府最近几个月的表现是——已为僵局进一步停滞或者贸易战升级做好了准备。

Both governments seem to be waiting for the other to make concessions¹².

两国政府似乎都在等待另一方做出让步。

Aside from weighing on financial markets, the US-China trade war is harming economic growth prospects¹³ in the world’s two largest economies and many other nations around the globe.

除了权衡各金融市场之外，中美贸易战也这两个世界最大经济体乃至世界上许多其他国家的经济发展前景。

A delegation¹⁴ from Beijing is scheduled to meet with US policymakers next month.

来自中国的代表团预计下个月与美国政策制定者们会晤。

1 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

2 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 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。

6 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

7 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 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。

10 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

11 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

12 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。