Greek Political Turmoil Raises Concerns of Eurozone Exit

 　　The political turmoil¹ in Greece over the creation of a coalition² government is raising concerns anew that the country could become the first to exit the 17-nation euro currency bloc³.

　　The Athens government avoided a eurozone exit twice in the last two years as it negotiated billions of dollars in bailouts from its European neighbors and the International Monetary⁴ Fund to avoid a default. In exchange, Greece was forced to agree to impose severe austerity measures that have drawn⁵ widespread street protests.

　　But in national elections last Sunday, voters overwhelmingly rejected candidates supporting the unpopular cuts in social spending. Anti-austerity political leaders are contending the country is no longer obligated to support the budget-cutting terms of the international rescue packages.

　　As a result, financial analysts⁷ say the inconclusive results of the election and the difficulty in forming a new government heighten the possibility the country could exit the eurozone and return to the use of its former currency, the drachma. The effects of a Greek exit from the 13-year-old currency union could spread far beyond the borders of the Mediterranean⁸ nation, leading to worldwide economic uncertainty⁹.

　　One European financial analyst⁶, Andreas Lipokow, said stock markets would fall with a Greek default and the bailouts would have proven to be pointless.

　　"A Greek default would certainly lead to a drop in the markets. It would also serve as an example of what happens when negotiations¹⁰ fail and when, in the Greek case, the outcome [the implementation¹¹ of austerity measures] was taken for granted. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the EU have brought a bail-out package into place which in the end would [in the case of default] have had no result and achieved nothing."

　　An economic analyst, Theodore Krintas, said Greece would have difficulty in financing its government if it abandons the terms of the bailouts and there would be shortages in basic commodities for its people.

　　"You can not reject the austerity measures for simple reasons: if you do so you are going to be abandoned by the markets, so you are going to face directly between two and a half and five billion euros of shortage in fiscal¹², so you will need to find a way to cover the shortage," said Krintas. "And once you will have abandoned the measures on your own, you are going to face another problem, which is the balance of trade. Actually, there will be no one trading with you. As a result Greece will face severe problems with products of first need like food, petrol and et cetera."

　　The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, says European nations must remain united and that political leaders who claim their countries can act unilaterally are not telling the truth to their countrymen.

　　"In order to convince European people we need to do more," he said. "Political leaders must tell the truth, they have to say what the truth is. Populism and nationalism are not appropriate answers to challenges we face today. Those who claim that their country can be successful in going it alone are not just deluding¹³ themselves, they are lying. If we did not have Europe the cost would be inconceivably high."

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 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。

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 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。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 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。

7 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。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

12 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。

13 deluding   

v.欺骗，哄骗( delude的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They used Teresa's desolation as another proof that believers are deluding themselves. 他们用德肋撒嬷嬷的孤寂再一次论证信徒们是在蒙蔽自己。 来自互联网
• There is, for instance, a self-deluding interpretation of the contemporary world situation. 比如说有一些对当代世界时局自我欺骗式的阐释。 来自互联网