Italy's Monti Sets Agenda for New Government

 　　Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, said on Thursday the country faces a major emergency, and promised rigor¹ and fairness in sweeping² reforms to dig Italy out of a major financial crisis.

　　Prime Minister Mario Monti, sworn in at the presidential palace in Rome Wednesday, presented his legislative³ agenda and plans to stimulate⁴ economic growth to the upper house of parliament.

　　He told the country that the end of the euro would cause the disintegration⁵ of the united market, its rules and institutions. Outlining the priorities for his government, Mr. Monti said he would concentrate on reigning⁶ in Italy’s spending and spurring growth.

　　He said he would focus on lowering Italy’s massive public debt, which stands today at 120 percent of GDP. He indicated Italians would be paying new taxes. But he also said he would fight tax evasion⁷ and black market labor⁸.

　　Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti reads his speech during a vote of confidence at the Senate in Rome, November 17, 2011

　　The new prime minister said the government must focus on women and young people so that they can enter the workforce⁹.

　　But not all Italians are convinced the plan will work.

　　Students and workers took to the streets in various Italian cities Thursday to protest the austerity measures.

　　Police scuffled with students in Milan and in Turin. In Palermo, demonstrators hurled¹⁰ eggs and smoke bombs at a bank, and protesters threw rocks at police. And in Rome, hundreds of students marched to the Senate, where the new prime minister gave his first speech.

　　One student said that the government plans to make them pay for a debt they did not create. He said the government will implement¹¹ the same measures that the previous Berlusconi government was planning but in a harsher way and will increase cuts even more.

　　Mr. Monti will serve as economy minister as well as prime minister for the time being. Analysts¹² say restoring market confidence is crucial because it is the third largest economy in the eurozone. They say that a debt default by Italy could break up the eurozone as it is too big for Europe to rescue.

1 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

4 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

5 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

6 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

7 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 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。