《纽约时报》详解：希腊经济危机始末

 　　How did Greece get to this point?

　　希腊如何落到今天这般田地？

　　Greece became the epicenter of Europe’s debt crisis after Wall Street imploded¹ in 2008. With global financial markets still reeling, Greece announced in October 2009 that it had been understating its deficit² figures for years, raising alarms about the soundness of Greek finances.

　　2008年，美国华尔街爆发了金融危机。希腊成为欧洲债务危机的重灾区。随着全球金融市场局举步维艰，希腊在2009年10月宣布，在过去数年里，它的赤字都被有意虚报。这敲响了希腊金融稳定的警钟。

　　Suddenly, Greece was shut out from borrowing in the financial markets. By the spring of 2010, it was veering³ toward bankruptcy⁴, which threatened to set off a new financial crisis.

　　突然之间，金融市场停止向希腊提供借贷。到2010年春季，希腊开始走向破产，这预示了新的金融危机的爆发。

　　《纽约时报》详解：希腊经济危机始末

　　To avert⁵ calamity⁶, the so-called troika — the International Monetary⁷ Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission — issued the first of two internationalbailouts for Greece, which would eventually total more than 240 billion euros, or about $264 billion at today’s exchange rates.

　　为了避免这一灾难，所谓的三驾马车（国际货币基金组织、欧洲央行和欧盟委员会）向希腊提供了两项国际援助中的一笔，根据今天的汇率，这笔援助最终将达到2400亿欧元或2640亿美元。

　　The bailouts came with conditions. Lenders imposed harsh austerity terms, requiring deep budget cuts and steep tax increases. They also required Greece to overhaul⁸ its economy by streamlining the government, ending tax evasion⁹ and making Greece an easier place to do business.

　　这些援助是有条件的。贷方强加给希腊一些财政紧缩条款，要求它大幅削减预算和增加税收，此外还要求希腊通过精简政府机构、终止偷税漏税、改善商业环境来彻底改造其经济。

　　If Greece has received billions in bailouts, why is there still a crisis?

　　既然希腊收到了数以亿计的援助，为什么还会发生危机？

　　The money was supposed to buy Greece time to stabilize¹⁰ its finances and quell¹¹ market fears that the euro union itself could break up. While it has helped, Greece’s economic problems haven’t gone away. The economy has shrunk by a quarter in five years, and unemployment is above 25 percent.

　　这笔钱是用来为希腊换取稳定财政的时间，以及压制市场对欧盟分裂的恐慌。虽然达到了这些目的，但希腊的经济问题并未得到解决。希腊经济在5年里下滑了1/4，失业率超过25%。

　　The bailout money mainly goes toward paying off Greece’s international loans, rather than making its way into the economy. And the government still has a staggering debt load that it cannot begin to pay down unless a recovery takes hold.

　　援款主要用于偿还希腊的国际债务，而不是用于发展经济。除非经济复苏，否则希腊政府仍有数额惊人的负债无法偿还。

　　Many economists¹², and many Greeks, blame the austerity measures for much of the country’s continuing problems. The leftist Syriza party rode to power this year promising¹³ to renegotiate the bailout; Mr. Tsipras said that austerity had created a “humanitarian crisis” in Greece.

　　许多经济学家和希腊民众谴责经济紧缩政策要为该国一直以来的问题付大部分责任。今年上台的左翼激进联盟党承诺将就援助进行谈判。齐普拉斯表示，经济紧缩在希腊造成了“人道主义危机”。

　　But the country’s exasperated¹⁴ creditors¹⁵, especially Germany, blame Athens for failing to conduct the economic overhauls¹⁶ required under its bailout agreement. They don’t want to change the rules for Greece.

　　但是被激怒的债权人们，尤其是德国，批评希腊政府没能执行援助协议中规定的经济重组。他们不会为希腊改变规则。

　　As the debate rages, the only thing everyone agrees on is that Greece is yet again running out of money — and fast.

　　争论日趋激烈的同时，只有一件事是每个人都赞同的：希腊很快就将再次耗尽现金。

1 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 veering   

n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• Anyone veering too close to the convoys risks being shot. 任何人改变方向，过于接近车队就有遭枪击的风险。 来自互联网
• The little boat kept veering from its course in such a turbulent river. 小船在这湍急的河中总是改变方向。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 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。

6 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

7 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。

8 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

9 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。

10 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

11 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

14 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

15 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 overhauls   

v.彻底检查( overhaul的第三人称单数 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• The plant overhauls 8 locomotive, manufactures and repairs 100 train vehicles annually. 年机车解体大修8部，修、制各类型铁路车辆百余辆。 来自互联网
• The wind turbine generator overhauls what is the standard flow? 风机检修的的标准流程是什么？ 来自互联网