Italy Approves Austerity Measures

 　　Italy's new prime minister said his government has approved a package of emergency budget measures worth more than $40 billion (30 billion euros) that will help pull Italy back from the brink¹ of bankruptcy².

　　Mario Monti said Sunday the measures include immediate³ budget cuts as well as significant steps to fight tax evasion⁴.  To do his part to cut the spending, Mr. Monti said he will forego his salary as prime minister.

　　The measures will be presented to the parliament, which must approve them.

　　Mr. Monti spent the weekend briefing political parties, unions, business groups, consumer lobbies and others.

　　Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already been forced to secure international bailouts over the last year and a half.  The chief fear now for European leaders is that Italy, with the continent's third biggest economy, may also need a bailout to avoid defaulting on its debts - a crisis that would threaten the continent's monetary⁵ union and could lead to a renewed worldwide recession.

　　German Chancellor⁶ Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are to meet in Paris on Monday to announce a joint⁷ German-French plan to resolve the crisis, ahead of an European Union summit next Friday in Brussels.

　　All 27 EU nations would have to approve changes to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty that created the EU, but that broad approval may not be necessary if spending controls apply only to the 17 nations that use the euro as their currency.

　　U.S. Treasury⁸ Secretary Timothy Geithner will urge European leaders to take action on the debt crisis when he travels to Europe this week. In Frankfurt Tuesday, Geithner will meet with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.

　　Later in his three-day trip he will meet with Mr. Monti, President Sarkozy and Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy.

1 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

7 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。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。