VOA标准英语10月-Iceland Says It Needs $6 Billion Bailout

Iceland's prime minister says his country needs about $6 billion in loans to recover from the global financial crisis, as Reykjavik's central bank hikes its interest rates by a massive six percentage points. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

The International Monetary¹ Fund has already granted $2 billion of Iceland's $6 billion requirement and the remaining $4 billion shortfall could be bridged by loans from places like the European Central Bank and or the U.S. Federal Reserve.
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A man walks past a branch of the Kaupping bank in Reykjavik, Iceland, 08 Oct 2008

And as part of the IMF financial deal, Reykjavik has agreed to boost its interest rates up to 18 percent as it battles against financial collapse.

The move is designed to stabilize³ the currency, and officials say they hope it can be relaxed after a short period of time.

Iceland has been struggling since it was forced to take over its three biggest banks that became caught up in the global credit crisis.

In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says more countries feeling the squeeze like Iceland will be lining⁴ up for assistance from the IMF. And as he sees it, more money must be made available.

"The IMF has said it has $250 billion available and new instruments to lend to countries in crisis, but this may not be enough," said Brown. "We will consider the necessary reforms to the International Monetary Fund in the weeks ahead. But it is becoming increasingly clear to me that we cannot delay and that we now need substantial additional resources in addition to the $250 billion the IMF already has available. We need this for the crisis that we face now in the 21st century."

In European markets on Tuesday, share prices rose, breaking a five-day losing streak⁵. The upturn⁶ came as British Petroleum⁷ announced record quarterly profits.

But many analysts⁸ warn that the fundamental weakness in the markets has not gone away. Former Bank of England advisor⁹ Danny Gabay is one of those who say that the economic pain is far from over.

"I feel that we have only got halfway¹⁰ through this in a sense that the financial market has had a real capitulation," he said. "It has not really hit the real economy yet. We have just begun that and when unemployment starts to rise, we night see default rates rise quite quickly on mortgages and other forms of debt and that could have quite a significant feedback loop back again to banks and the financial market. And I think that is why you are seeing share prices behaving so erratically¹¹ at the moment."

Pressure here and elsewhere is growing for additional interest rate cuts to stimulate¹² the economy and combat increasing concerns about the depth and extent of any forthcoming recession.

1 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。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 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。

4 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

5 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

6 upturn   

n.情况好转

参考例句：

• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。
• The economy is experiencing an upturn.经济正在好转。

7 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

11 erratically   

adv.不规律地，不定地

参考例句：

• Police stopped him for driving erratically. 警察因其驾驶不循规则而把他拦下了。 来自辞典例句
• Magnetitite-bearing plugs are found erratically from the base of the Critical Zone. 含磁铁岩的岩栓不规则地分布于关键带的基底以上。 来自辞典例句

12 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。