Despite a raft of government interventions, markets in Europe have ended a tumultuous week with a steep decline Friday as fears of a worldwide recession start to take hold. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London has been talking to average Britons about the financial problems and gauging their mood.
尽管过去一周里欧洲国家政府采取了一系列救市行动，但欧洲股市星期五仍然以大幅度下滑结束了这个动荡的星期。与此同时，担心全球性经济衰退的情绪有增无减。在遭受金融危机重创的英国，普通市民如何看待这场危机？他们的情绪怎么样？美国之音记者最近和一些普通英国人进行了交谈。
Following the lead in Asia, a shock wave of heavy declines hit all of the European markets Friday. And after weeks of extreme volatility, worries are spreading from the global financial centers to the average man and woman on the street.
星期五，紧随亚洲股市的后尘，欧洲市场急剧下跌。在经历了几个星期的剧烈震荡后，焦虑情绪正在从全球金融中心向普通市民心中蔓延。
In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to shore up sentiments by urging other countries to adopt a financial rescue package similar to the one he unveiled two days ago.
在英国，首相布朗试图通过敦促其它国家效仿英国两天前公布的金融救助计划来振作英国人的士气。
"What we need now as I said this morning, is other countries doing similar things because this is a global financial system," he said. "We have got problems that have come out of America. I'm trying to persuade others leaders to do exactly the same as we have done so we can get the whole system moving again."
布朗说：“就像我今天上午说的那样，我们现在需要其它国家仿效我们的做法，因为金融体系是全球性的。我们现在面对的问题源自美国。我正在试图劝说其它国家领袖采取和我们一样的行动，这样我们才能激活整个系统。”
Mr. Brown is calling for a summit of world leaders to build a unified approach to what is now a firmly established global problem.
布朗呼吁召开一次全球领袖峰会，寻找可以解决这个毫无疑问是全球性问题的统一行动。
Market Analyst at BGC Partners in London, David Buik, says that cannot happen soon enough because the pain is just starting to be felt in the real economy of everyday life.
伦敦BGC公司的市场分析师大卫.布维克说，金融海啸的阵痛已经可以在实体经济中感受得到，因此，出台全球协调的应对措施越快越好。
"The fabric of society is seriously damaged, old people, pensions, schools, all these sort of things," he said. "I sound like a politician, I can assure you I am not but you can feel it around you. So, unless people get a grip on this banking sector and restore this confidence that all these areas that are so dear to everybody's hearts in terms of their futures, is severely under pressure."
布维克说：“我们的社会生活已经受到了损害。老年人、退休金、学校等等，所有这些都受到影响。我听起来有点像个政府官员，但我向你保证我不是。不过，我们确实感受到这场危机的存在。因此，除非我们控制住银行业的动荡并恢复信心，否则所有和人们未来以及日常生活息息相关的方面都将遭受巨大压力。”
Here on a busy, bustling street in west London I spent the afternoon talking to average Britons about their concerns and worries. From senior citizens to teenagers the story was the same. People feel they are in a situation they do not control.
在位于伦敦西部的一条繁华街道上，记者花了一下午时间和普通伦敦居民谈论他们的担心和忧虑。无论是老年人还是十几岁的青少年，他们的谈话内容大同小异。人们觉得现在的情况无法控制。
"I am worried, obviously," said a man. "I think everyone is worried. When it comes to finances, if you are not worried about your finances, there is something wrong with you. Things are changing all the time but it is never for the good. It is always for the bad at the moment. You know, things are going down so, I do not know really, it is definitely worrying you know, you are downsizing everything at the moment."
一名男士对记者说：“我当然感到担心。我想大家都是这样。说到个人理财，如果你现在不担心你的财务状况，那只能说明你有问题。情况在不停变化，但从来没有变好，现在总是往坏了变。总是不停地恶化，我也说不太清楚，但这的的确确让人担心。大家现在都是精打细算，能省就省。”
This man works for an airline at Heathrow airport. He says job security there is becoming a big concern. "We work for a firm at the moment where they are cutting back," he said. "You know, everything is being cut down and trying to go towards, cut back."
这位男士在伦敦希斯罗国际机场为一家航空公司工作。他说，他们那里的饭碗现在能不能保住也成了问题。他说：“我们公司现在正在裁员。一切都在被精简。”
This week, the Bank of England, in concert with a number of other key central banks, cut interests rate by a half point in a coordinated move. So, what does the man on the street here think about that?
本星期，英国央行和其它几个主要经济体的央行一道降息0.5个百分点。这位伦敦男士如何看待这次联合降息行动？
"Half a percent is a drop in the ocean to be honest," he said. "[Let us] see what happens in the next week, two weeks and take it from there."
他说：“半个百分点只不过是杯水车薪而已。我们要看看下个礼拜、下下个礼拜有什么措施。”
"Well, every little helps but a little is not enough really," said another man.
“小动作多少有些帮助，但远远不够。”
At the other end of the age scale, young university students I spoke with are feeling the tightening financial squeeze as well.
在伦敦年轻人群体当中，记者接触的一些大学生也感受到了信贷紧缩的影响。一位同学告诉记者：
"I would say we are cutting down on a how much we spend but purely because we have to," said a student. "We have no choice. We have no money. Like, I am constantly a poor student and so therefore everything else kind of goes with that like. I spend far less on things that I want to spend it on and I have to kind of manage my money a lot more so I can afford to live rather than just buy nice clothes and stuff."
“我们现在花钱更仔细了，原因很简单，我们必须得这样。没别的办法。现在我们没钱。我一直都是个穷学生，现在就更得勒紧腰带了。很多想要花的钱现在必须省着花，比如漂亮衣服还有其它诸如此类的东西。我现在比以前更仔细地理财。”
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that this problem will not be going away anytime soon and there will be more pain is store before things turn around. And no one here seems to know just when that might be.
和记者交谈的所有伦敦居民都认为，现在的金融问题不是短期内可以解决的。在情况好转之前，可能会有更多阵痛。至于情况何时才能好转，大家谁都不知道答案。 |