Mixed reactions in Greece over new EU deal

　　ATHENS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- A new deal reached early Thursday at the European Union summit in Brussels to tackle the Greek debt crisis and avert¹ contagion² across the eurozone was met with mixed reactions in Greece.

　　Opposition³ political parties, media commentators⁴ and ordinary citizens in Athens expressed relief or harsh criticism over a 50 percent "haircut" of the Greek state debt owned by private investors⁵ up from 21 percent initially⁶ agreed at the July 21 summit, along with further funding to Athens.

　　Critics voiced strong skepticism over the strengthened EU monitoring of a Greek austerity and reform program to overcome the crisis by 2014, expressing worries about a fresh wave of painful austerity measures for the common people and the impact on the country's sovereignty.

　　The Greek government presented the agreement as a major success that supports its efforts to turn the 360 billion-euro (506.6 billion U.S. dollars) debt sustainable and restore growth.

　　The deal gives Greece a better opportunity to put its finances in order, said Prime Minister George Papandreou. Upon his return from Brussels, Papandreou is due to brief President Karolos Papoulias and other political leaders on the new development and address the nation on television later Thursday.

　　In statements to Greek media on Thursday, government spokesman Elias Mossialos said that the permanent supervision⁸ clause does not threaten any sovereign rights.

　　On the contrary, he argued the permanent presence of EU auditors⁹ in Athens will boost cooperation on technical issues to implement¹⁰ reforms and will save Greece from "misunderstandings" over the visits of foreign officials to Greece every three months.

　　Voicing disbelief regarding the terms and final outcome of the deal, main opposition conservative New Democracy party officials, including shadow Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, warned that the party will vote against the deal in a parliamentary vote.

　　"If the recipe is the same and fiscal¹¹ adjustment will not be combined with urgent development measures to address deep recession, we are led in a dead end," he said.

　　The Greek Communist Party and the left SYRIZA Coalition¹² to the far-right Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) warned against a new round of cutbacks on salaries, pensions and tax hikes, the "sell off" of the country's assets, the development of the current situation to eventual¹³ default and the "ruling of Greece by foreign lenders."

　　"I am worried that the obligations attached to the deal will add more burden on my family," Margarita Gavala, a 37-year old lawyer and mother of two children, told Xinhua in central Athens.

　　"It is certainly a breath of relief. We escaped the worst scenario¹⁴ of a bankruptcy¹⁵ at the time being, but I am not convinced that the deal is enough to solve our problems in the long term. And I am certain that I and my children and grandchildren will face more tight-belting measures," said pensioner¹⁶ Spyros Vrahoritis.

　　Under the deal, the Greek debt will be reduced by some 100 billion euros (140.8 billion U.S. dollars) through the "haircut" and the target is to slash¹⁷ its debt to 120 percent of the country's GDP by 2020 to the level of 2009, down from the current 160 percent.

　　Local analysts¹⁹ said that the reduction is not sufficient to save Greece from speculations²⁰ in international markets. Meanwhile, Greece would have to try hard to safeguard the local banking²¹ sector²² and pension system.

　　"The only certainty is that the way ahead will be tough and the current government on its own cannot handle the crisis," analyst¹⁸ Yorgos Hatzilidis wrote in an article in the country's Naftemporiki daily.

　　"The wisest choice would be the creation of a national unity⁷ administration. In case the government will seek the ratification²³ of the deal in parliament with an enhanced majority of 180 votes, we will most probably go to early general elections," he underlined, noting that ruling socialist²⁴ PASOK party holds 153 seats in the 300-member strong assembly.

1 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

2 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。

3 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。

4 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

9 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

14 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。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

16 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

17 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

19 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。

20 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

21 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

22 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。

23 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

24 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。