VOA慢速英语2010年-Online Dictionary says Austerity Tops

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

December is a time of holiday gift-giving and strong business activity in many places.

But this year, a different idea is weighing on the minds of people in many countries: austerity.

This week, publisher Merriam-Webster released its list of top ten words of the year for two thousand ten. And “austerity” was at the top. The company made its list based on how often people looked up definitions using its online dictionary.

Merriam-Webster defines “austerity” as “enforced or extreme economy.” Greece and Ireland face huge budget deficits¹. This has forced severe spending cuts for those governments. And they are not alone.

When nations get into financial trouble, they may request loans from the International Monetary² Fund or other donors³. Donors, however, demand austerity measures such as sharp cuts in government spending and tax increases.

Michael Izza is chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He says the world financial crisis pushed some governments to spend more. But not all debt problems are the same.

European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) members demonstrate against European austerity measures at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels.

Economist⁴ Dev Kar says Greece got into trouble by having too many government employees, spending freely on retirement⁵ pay and misleading investors⁶. Last spring, Greece received rescue loans of over one hundred billion dollars. But Germany agreed to help only if Greece promised tough austerity measures.

Ireland’s budget deficits grew sharply after it guaranteed the bad loans of the country’s biggest banks. In November, European officials agreed to a bailout nearly as large as the one Greece received.

But austerity measures are unpopular. Large protests have taken place not only in Greece and Ireland, but also in Britain, Portugal and Romania.

Other nations facing big deficits and slow economic growth are also seeing their borrowing costs rise. Credit rating agencies are warning about the debts of Portugal and Spain and others may follow.

Protesters gather during a rally in Athens to protest against the government's tough austerity program.

In May, European leaders agreed to set aside nearly seven hundred billion dollars to help troubled countries in the area. But the chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, says a more organized approach is needed.

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN: “Europe has to provide, the euro zone has to provide, a comprehensive solution to this problem. The piecemeal⁷ approach, one country after the other one, is not a good one.”

This could mean “austerity” will remain a top word for two thousand eleven.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I’m Steve Ember.

1 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 piecemeal   

adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块

参考例句：

• A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes.叙述缺乏吸引力，读者读到的只是一些支离破碎的片段。
• Let's settle the matter at one stroke,not piecemeal.把这事一气儿解决了吧，别零敲碎打了。