2005年NPR美国国家公共电台十一月-Traditions of Saving and Consuming in Ch

Anchor: From its massive trade surplus with United States to its funding of America's ballooning deficit¹, China's economy has become increasingly intertwined with her own. And this wouldn't be possible without the extraordinary thrift² of ordinary Chinese who save about half of what they earn. With NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing, this frugality³ can cause its own problems for China's economy.

Anthony Kuhn: In northeast Beijing, 58-year-old Dong Yiyuan is making a deposit at a post office which also functions as a savings⁴ bank. She is depositing the equivalent of 120 dollars, that’s roughly a month's pension for Dong, an ethnic⁵ Manchu woman who retired⁶ a few years ago from her job at a semiconductor⁷ plant. Back home, Dong makes tea for visitors, she explains that like other people of her generation, her spending and savings habits were formed during the 1960s and 70s, an era when food and material goods were scarce and nothing of use was wasted or discarded.

Dong Yiyuan: In those days, we needed a little booklet of ration⁸ stamps to buy everything, from bean starch⁹ noodles and sesame paste to soap and detergent¹⁰. The amount was limited. We didn't even see peanuts or melon seeds, except on holidays.

Anthony Kuhn: China's societies aging faster than the government can build social security and health insurance systems. As for Mrs. Dong, she started saving 1/3 or more of her income when she opened her first bank account decades ago. She sees no reason to change her financial habits now, and she has no interest in credit cards, loans or insurance.

Dong Yiyuan: I won't buy things on credit. If I were to borrow money, and spend what I hadn't already earned, I'd be nervous. I'd always be thinking about what I owe people. If I have extra money, I save it. If not, I just (have) to get by as this.

Anthony Kuhn: China's high savings rate allows a high investment rate. This helps Chinese factories churn out more goods for the U.S. market. It also enables China's Central Bank to buy U.S. dollars at the rate of some 20 billion a month. This in turn keeps US interest rates low, allowing Americans to borrow and consume more than they earn or produce. But economists¹² warn that it's risky¹³ for China to produce so much more than it can consume. Tang Ming, a chief economist¹¹ in Beijing for the Asian Development Bank, notes that China state banks are doing a poor job of allocating¹⁴ the money from savers' nest eggs.

Tang Ming: But with 45% GDP investment, China creates the 9.5% GDP growth. Similar country like India, the saving rate or investment rate is around 24 or 25%. They create a 7% growth. So you can see the efficiency in China is quite low.

Anthony Kuhn: Tang says the government could boost consumer spending if it invested less in often unprofitable factories, and more on health, education and reducing poverty. He adds that the answer to the savings rate problem lies partly in future generations of Chinese.

Anthony Kuhn: Dong Yiyuan and her niece Chen Wen go to pick up Chen's daughter from school. Chen is 29, works in retail¹⁵ sales. As her daughter makes paper cutouts, Chen explains that her financial behavior is very different from that of her aunt.

Chen Wen: I have some savings, but when I have to spend, I may use it all at once. I don't really save money.

Anthony Kuhn: Chen wears a black fleece vest and carries a folding silver cell phone. Her wallet bulges¹⁶ with credit cards. She says she was recently confident enough about her economic future to shorten the term of her mortgage from 15 years to 11. Eventually, Ms. Chen and people like her will transform China from the world's factory into the world's market place. But economists say it could take years or even decades.

Anthony Kuhn: Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

1 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。

2 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

3 frugality   

n.节约，节俭

参考例句：

• We must build up our country with industry and frugality.我们必须勤俭建国。
• By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

8 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

9 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

10 detergent   

n.洗涤剂；adj.有洗净力的

参考例句：

• He recommended a new detergent to me.他向我推荐一种新的洗涤剂。
• This detergent can remove stubborn stains.这种去污剂能去除难洗的污渍。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

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 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

14 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

15 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

16 bulges   

膨胀( bulge的名词复数 )； 鼓起； （身体的）肥胖部位； 暂时的激增

参考例句：

• His pocket bulges with apples. 他的衣袋装着苹果鼓了起来。
• He bulges out of his black T-shirt. 他的肚子在黑色T恤衫下鼓鼓地挺着。