EU Leaders to Continue Search for Economic Answers

 　　European leaders may hold another crisis summit on the struggling eurozone as early as Friday. The euro currency area is experiencing another grim week - and America's own debt problems only add to the uncertainty¹.

　　More bleak² news for 17-nation eurozone. This week, Moody's ratings agency cutting Ireland's debt rating to junk status - echoing similar action targeting Portugal last week. It predicts both countries will need a second bailout - like fellow eurozone member Greece.

　　Speaking from Spain Tuesday, European Union president Herman Van Rompuy sought to calm jittery³ markets.

　　"I am fully⁴ aware of the current tensions in the debt markets. But let me be very clear that there is a very strong commitment at the highest level to do whatever is necessary to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area," said Rompuy. "Leaders have to [rise] above their domestic political agendas and they will."

　　But European finance ministers meeting in Brussels earlier this week failed to come up with a clear plan of action. That might be left up to EU leaders, if they hold emergency talks on Friday.

　　At issue - how much the private sector⁵ should contribute to another Greek bailout and whether to completely overhaul⁶ the bloc's bailout fund to make it more flexible.

　　Gilles Moec, London-based co-head of European Economics Research for Deutsche Bank, says private sector involvement is mainly a political issue. "The idea - especially in the core [eurozone] countries - is to say the taxpayer⁷ should not be the only actor in the system having to pay for the bailout," said Moec.

　　Results from so-called stress tests of European banks are due out this week -- and they should show banks' resilience in limiting the spreading crisis - and their ability to contribute to a bailout.

　　While unlikely, chances the United States could default on its massive debt is another concern. U.S. central bank chief Ben Bernanke has warned such a scenario⁸ could trigger a major world crisis.

　　"All these discussions about the debt ceiling in the U.S. are clearly not helping⁹ in the sense that it's adding another layer of anxiety in the situation, which is already complicated enough," said Again Deutsche Bank's Gilles Moec.

　　A more immediate¹⁰ worry, says Bruegel think tank researcher Benedicta Marzinoto, are fears larger European economies will be pulled into the eurozone debt crisis. Markets nosedived this week over fears about the health of the Italian and Spanish economies.

　　"Things have certainly deteriorated¹¹, because financial markets are attacking large markets like Italy and Spain. I'm more concerned about the two big countries than about the downgrading of Ireland - which in a sense was inevitable¹², if you think of a contagion¹³ from Greece," said Marzinoto.

　　Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed¹⁴ to swiftly push through a contentious¹⁵ austerity bill. The initial reaction by analysts¹⁶ has been positive. But they say the EU still must come up with a long-term strategy for the eurozone - and there are fears that tough decisions may be pushed back until the fall.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 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。

2 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

3 jittery   

adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的

参考例句：

• However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是，自从拉上这辆车，并没有出什么错儿，虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

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 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

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 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

13 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

14 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。

15 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。