英伦广角 Issue 130 英国经济时隔16年再陷衰退

The skilled workmen at Allen Brothers Timber in Berwick-upon-Tweed are busy, but only after 40 of the 250 staff were made redundant¹ when orders for their bespoke² windows and doors began to slow.

 

I’m very pleased to say that 20 out of those people were able to find alternative employment elsewhere, but nevertheless there were an excess of 20 hard redundancies.

 

Small businesses like this are on the front line as the economy gets hammered.

 

Yes, obviously, I'm concerned for the future, and I think the moment job is safe at the minute, but who knows for the future.

 

I’m a single dad with two kids, so I’d like to think my job is safe. I’ve been here 21 years ago, like I say who knows for sure at the corner.

 

I got laid off in 1991 from here and I was here for about a year, but if I got laid off, and it was devastating³ a thing because I was paying mortgage * with two kids to bring up and I feel sorry for logical appealing for this thing, put all in the field.

 

Today official figures confirm what everybody had feared: the economy had shrunk in the last quarter and not only that, by an unexpectedly 0.5 of a percent, more than twice the predicted drop.

 

We are determined⁴ to do everything we can and as soon as we can to help people, so that if they lose their jobs, they can get back into work; and if businesses get into difficulty, we do our level best to help them.

 

The country still isn’t officially in recession. It will take a second quarter of negative growth for that to be confirmed.

 

After that figure, some in the city now think that the economy will continue to slow well into next year, and then remain flat and then maybe, just maybe, some green shoots of recovery in the spring of 2010. One thing is for certain: it will be a long haul. Most of the economy is in its worst state for 18 years, sparking demands for a serious policy response.

 

I think the Bank of England will cut interest rate sharply. I think they will cut interest rates to at least 2%. But if I was there, I would actually argue that rate should be down to 1% by next summer

 

The leader of the Conservative Party says the government should have been better prepared.

 

We’ve had ten years of being told no more boom and bust⁵, ten years of government not putting aside money for a rainy day. Well, that rainy day has now come. We will get through this, but we need change.

 

There’s a concern that output shrunk so significantly so early on in the downturn. How long the slump⁶ will last and how deep it will be is a question for the future. Now the onus⁷ is on the Bank of England since inflation is yesterday’s story. Today's question is how quickly can they get the cost of borrowing down and how quickly will it work.

 

1 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

2 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

6 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

7 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。