VOA标准英语10月-Developing Nations at Ghana Summit Worry About Pr

Heads of state from 79 nations in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific are ending a summit in Ghana calling on the international community to stabilize¹ financial markets and prices for oil and food. The leaders also asked for greater flexibility² in negotiating trade agreements with the European Union, as we hear from VOA's Scott Bobb in our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Delegates to the summit in Accra of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations noted³ that their countries have experienced relatively⁴ little of the recent turmoil⁵ seen in western stock markets and financial institutions.

But many expressed fears that their economies will bear the brunt of the economic slowdown that is expected to result.

The director of Ghana's Development Policy Institute, Nii Moi Thompson, acknowledged that global market forces are putting pressure on basic commodities. But he says conditions within developing nations also contribute to higher prices.

"Credit in Africa is exceedingly high. In Ghana you pay as much as 30 percent for interest rates to do business," he said.

In addition, he says many ACP nations maintain rigid⁶ domestic exchange rates. These favor domestic exports if they are low but put pressure on consumer prices.

And he says subsidies⁷ to farmers are also a serious issue but adds that these can have positive effects and therefore should be studied closely.

The main focus of the ACP summit, however, was primarily on a controversial series of Economic Partnership⁸ Agreements advocated by the European Union.

EU officials say these agreements are meant to encourage trade and open markets between Europe and the ACP which represents 300 million people in some of the world's least wealthy nations.

The World Trade Organization has ruled that an earlier set of EU accords with ACP nations was illegal.

But some ACP members oppose the agreements because they are negotiated separately with each of the ACP's 79 member-nations.

They say this weakens the collective bargaining power of the group as a whole and favors the more powerful EU block of nations. They want more time to allow ACP nations to develop a common position on the agreements.

Economist⁹ Thompson says very few ACP governments have seriously studied EPAs and their effects. "The opposition¹⁰ to EPA has become something fashionable that people do without thinking through the problems and emerging with solutions, lasting¹¹ solutions not just as far as EPAs are concerned but also as far as Africa's economic well-being¹² is concerned," he said.

He acknowledges that EPAs can cause a loss of jobs in certain sectors¹³ of the economy but says they also can encourage job creation in other sectors. And he says they can provide a force for economic reform and more open markets.

1 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。

2 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 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。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

12 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》