VOA标准英语2009-Asian Development Bank Wants Balanced Growth

The Asian Development Bank says Asia needs to balance its growth to prevent damage from future crises like the global economic slow-down. The bank has pledged to increase funds to strengthen growth.

The Asian Development Bank is holding its annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia, this week with the global economic crisis's effect on Asia at the top of the agenda.
　
Asia Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda (File photo)

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told the opening session Asia needs to restructure its growth model.

The bank says Asian economies are too dependent on foreign demand and need to move away from their reliance on exports.

"Rebalancing helps us to endure the current crisis," said Jong-Wha Lee, the Manila-based lender's acting¹ chief economist². "And, more importantly, help protect us from the future external shocks."

Lee says Asian governments need to spend more on social services to encourage more domestic spending.

He says although the global financial crisis started in the United States it is rooted in global imbalances.

"Asia's excess savings³ and current account surpluses allowed the United States to maintain excessive household consumption and huge current account deficit," Lee said. "Asia should use its own savings more efficiently⁴ and more productively."

The Asian Development Bank says Asia 's growth this year is expected to fall to 3.4 percent.

The bank predicts 60 million Asians will remain trapped in poverty and that number will rise to 160 million in 2010.

Bank president Kuroda says with strong national and regional efforts, and a mild global recovery expected, the region should bounce back to six percent growth in 2010.

The Asia Development Bank says it plans to increase its capital base by 200 percent to $165 billion. The lender has also increased assistance for this year and next by $10 billion.

The extra funds are to help with the speed and efficiency of the bank's poverty alleviation⁵ efforts.

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 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。

3 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。

4 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

5 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语