VOA标准英语2009-APEC Ministers say Economic Recovery Fragile

By Daniel Schearf
Singapore
12 November 2009

Finance and trade ministers meeting in Singapore for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum¹ have agreed the global economic recovery is still fragile and more coordinated² efforts are needed for sustained growth.

Ministers from 21 Pacific Rim³ economies discussed sustaining growth and connecting the region.

The economic leaders issued a statement saying although most economies are now recovering from last year's financial crisis, the recovery remains⁴ fragile and growth over the next few quarters is likely to be uneven⁵.

 
US Treasury⁶ Sec. Timothy Geithner (L) talks to a fellow minister at a joint⁷ APEC Finance Ministers press conference in Singapore, 12 Nov 2009
The United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says while inflation is low across most major economies there are very high levels of unemployment. He says more efforts are needed to ensure an early economic recovery.

"Right now the challenge is growth ... let us make sure we have a business confidence restored, private investment expanding again, unemployment coming down, financial sectors⁸ definitively⁹ repaired. That is our basic challenge now," he said.

Geithner says it will take some time to bring down unemployment levels, which in October reached a 26-year high in the United States.

The ministers agreed on the need to find new ways for sustaining economic growth, which has largely depended on the U.S. market.

Geithner says the United States is seeing signs of a shift to saving more and borrowing less. He says private investment and exports are growing again.

"But what it means is, if the world is going to grow at the rate it can in the future, the rest of the world is going to have to shift to more domestic sources of growth, investment, and spending," he said.

In the statement, APEC economies with large deficits¹⁰ pledged to encourage private savings¹¹, while those with large surpluses pledged to strengthen domestic growth.

APEC ministers, including China, also agreed to pursue "market oriented" exchange rates. China has been accused of keeping its currency, the yuan, artificially low to boost exports. But, ministers played down currency exchange concerns.

Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said none of the ministers called for any sudden or significant change in exchange rates, but said they should remain flexible.

The finance and trade ministers were meeting before an APEC summit this weekend that is to include U.S. President Obama on his first trip to Asia as president.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 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》

9 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

10 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

11 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。