G7 Nations Pledge $38 Billion to Arab Nations

 　　International financial institutions have promised $38 billion more to four Arab countries trying to transition to democracy, nearly doubling a previous pledge.

　　French Finance Minister Francois Baroin announced the pledge Saturday at the second day of talks involving finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations, plus Russia, in Marseille, France.

　　He said the $38 billion will be made available to Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan from 2011 to 2013.

　　The pledge compares with $20 billion announced at a meeting of G7 nations, plus Russia, in May.

　　Separately, the International Monetary¹ Fund said it will recognize the Transitional National Council in Libya as the country's official government.  IMF chief Christine Lagarde told reporters of the decision Saturday in Marseille, paving the way for the council to benefit from IMF aid.

　　In other news in Marseille, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he wants his deputy, Joerg Asmussen, to replace Juergen Stark² on the executive board of the European Central Bank.  Stark, who has been critical of the bank's bond purchases, resigned on Friday.

　　Officials from Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia are explaining to G8 nations how they plan to launch their economies and hear what help they can expect from the world's major economic powers.

　　The Marseille discussions began one day after U.S. President Barack Obama addressed a joint³ session of Congress in Washington and proposed a $447-billion plan to ease U.S. unemployment, which stands at around 9 percent, and revive the economy.  Since Mr. Obama took office in 2009, Republicans in Congress have rejected almost all of his economic proposals, objecting to increased spending and deficits⁴.

　　Elsewhere, there are reports that Greece is about to default on its sovereign debt.  Greek officials have denied them as speculation⁵ intended to hurt the euro.  Last year, Greece received a $159-billion bailout from the IMF and European Union.

1 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。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

5 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。