VOA标准英语2009-EU Economy Worse Than Predicted

Europe has received more bad economic news, with the 27-member European Union announcing the business downturn would be far worse this year than its earlier predictions.

The European Union's economy is expected to shrink by four percent this year - more than twice what was estimated in January. And that is only part of the grim news that was delivered by the European Commission - the bloc¹'s executive arm.

Unemployment increasing
　
People line up to enter a government job center in Madrid, 04 May 2009

Unemployment in the 27-member EU is expected to reach 11.5 percent by 2010 - the highest level since World War II. And as governments invest heavily in economic stimulus² plans, their deficits³ are expected to soar to about 7.5 percent of gross domestic product - more than twice the limit allowed under EU rules.

But EU economic commissioner⁴ Joaquin Almunia tried to offer a bright side to the gloomy news he delivered to reporters in Brussels.

"Some positive signals have appeared in the last weeks, including the evolution of the financial markets, improvement in business expectations and some real indicators⁵, such as export data in Asia, pointing, all of them, to a stabilization⁶ of the economy in the second part of this year and a gradual recovering in 2010," Almunia said.

Situation likely to get worse

But the economic situation is likely to get worse in Europe before it gets better. The European Union predicts the German economy, Europe's largest, is likely to contract by 5.4 percent this year, a larger decline than the EU average. The Latvian economy is expected to be hit even harder, shrinking 13.1 percent in 2009, while Ireland's economy is expected to shrink by nine percent.

The European Union predicts the bloc may begin to slowly recover next year, but only if the banking⁷ system and international trade pick up.

1 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

2 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

3 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

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

6 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。