葡萄牙抗议政府紧缩措施

 　　LISBON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Some 1,000 Portuguese¹ took to the streets in capital Lisbon on Saturday in protest against the government's tough austerity measures that were widely blamed for deepening economic recession in the heavily debted country.

　　Two groups of protesters who started off from Garden of Principe Real and Cais de Sodre in downtown Lisbon marched towards the country's parliament building after they converged² in Luis de Camoes Square.

　　Raising high placards, the angry protesters chanted anti-government slogans, demanding that government increase investment, reduce unemployment rate and raise minimum wages.

　　Secretary-General of Portugal's main workers' union CGTP Armenio Carlos called for more people to participate in the street protests, safeguard their own rights and benefits and oppose the government's austerity policy.

　　"We are protesting against government's austerity, high unemployment rate, everything," a man in his early 30s who identified himself as one of the organizers told Xinhua. "The unemployment is as high as 20 percent, more than the government's official figure," he added.

　　Another man also in his 30s who works at a post office said the demonstration³ was mainly pointing to the government's austerity measures.

　　"The austerity has made the poor live a more difficult life. The government only cares about the benefits of their friends and monopolies instead of those of the ordinary people and the state," he said.

　　Under a 78-billion-euro bailout agreement with the troika in May 2011, Portugal has been implementing⁴ a harsh austerity policy which has sparked widespread protests across the country in recent months.

　　The protest came just two days before the troika, comprising the European Union, the International Monetary⁵ Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank, is scheduled to arrive in Lisbon on Monday after Portuguese Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that four articles of the 2013 budget were unlawful.

　　The court ruling has made it more difficult for the Portuguese government to meet its newly readjusted public deficit⁶ target of 5.5 percent of its GDP this year by the troika, as the government has to further reduce public spending to compensate⁷ for the 1.3-billion-euro loss.

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

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 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。

7 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。