Europeans Brace for Hard Times, Economic Woes

 　　As economic crises intensify¹ in Europe, governments are cutting budgets and ordinary people are tightening² their belts.  Even richer countries, like the Netherlands, are bracing³ for hard times to come.

　　Amsterdam's residents took full advantage of the past week's unusual warm and sunny days, setting out chairs alongside the city's many canals to drink and talk.  Others, like 32-year-old Sam Van de Pol, wandered through outdoor markets, checking out stands selling cheese, clothes or vegetables.

　　Van de Pol is bracing for stormier weather. Not the impending⁴ winter, but chances that economic growth in prosperous Netherlands may slow down.  He is out of work, and fears his unemployment benefits may shrink next year.

　　"And even if it's not so much consequences for me, I'm already in the system, there will be some serious consequences for the people who are not in this position and who need this kind of help," he said.

　　While tough austerity measures in debt-strapped Greece have sparked massive protests, the fallout of the eurozone's financial crisis is beginning to be felt elsewhere.

　　Banks in Germany and France that have lent massive amounts to Greece, Portugal and other struggling economies are beginning to teeter.  Fears are growing that taxpayers⁵ in richer nations like the Netherlands will be bailing⁶ out poorer ones.  And a slew⁷ of recent forecasts, including one by the International Monetary⁸ Fund this past week, are revising down growth estimates across the 17 nations that use the euro currency.

　　Even countries outside the eurozone, like Britain, are passing austerity budgets.  In an address to his party this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to rally Britons for the hard times ahead.

　　"I know how tough things are," he said.  'I don't underestimate for one minute how worried people feel - whether that's about making ends meet or the state of the world economy.  But the truth is, right now we need to be energized⁹, not paralyzed, by gloom and doom¹⁰."

　　Uncertain future

　　In France, Parisians like 45-year-old business owner Marc Bakous are uncertain about the future.

　　The problem, Bakous says, is that nobody knows what's going on.  The government doesn't say much. People are afraid; they don't know how the government is going to get out of the larger financial crisis.

　　Like Britain, France also is cutting spending, an unpopular move just a few months before presidential elections.  Opposition¹¹ parties have been quick to criticize a new 2012 austerity bill introduced by President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government.

　　In an interview on French radio, leading presidential hopeful Martine Aubrey of the opposition Socialist¹² Party said that while France's budget deficit¹³ needs to be reduced, the country also needs economic growth, jobs and more competitiveness.

　　Vivien Pertusot, head of the Brussels office of the French Institute for International Relations, says these concerns are reflected elsewhere in Europe.

　　"People are increasingly realizing that the crisis is going to be hitting very, very hard.  It's been difficult already, but it's going to be more difficult in the coming months and the coming years.  This is something everyone understands and fears," said Pertusot.

　　In Amsterdam, the financial crisis still feels very far away.  Some Dutch, like Joris Montens, who owns an art gallery, also feel stronger for having survived the last economic downturn, in 2008.

　　"My first experience in selling art was to law firms and other kinds of enterprises, who just in the downturn of 2008 decided¹⁴ not to buy art any more.  If a company has to let go of 20-30 persons, then it's not the best time to invest in art," Montens.

　　But Montens got creative, handing out flyers door to door to attract new customers to his gallery.  Today, he believes the solution to Europe's financial crisis is not just an economic one, but a human one.  He believes richer Europeans should help out poorer ones, and ensure that the fundamental concept of a European Union survives.

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

3 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

4 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

7 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

8 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。

9 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

10 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

13 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。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。