VOA标准英语2011--Europe’s Economic Crisis Hits Developing Countries

Europe’s Economic Crisis Hits Developing Countries

The European economic crisis is having an impact around the world, and causing concern that if it is not ended soon it could spread to a variety of countries that depend on Europe to buy their exports.
Many developing countries live or die economically on the strength of their exports. Whether it is workers in India making auto¹ parts, or those developing software, coffee plantation² workers in Laos, or carpet weavers³ in Egypt - all have one thing in common. Their most important buyers are people in Europe and other developed regions.
“For most of the countries, the European Union is one of the most, if not the most, important business partners for trade, for investment, for imports and exports,“ said Philippe de Buck⁴, director general of BUSINESSEUROPE, an organization of European chambers⁵ of commerce.
But as Europe’s financial crisis forces governments to cut their budgets, and slows economic activity, many consumers have less to spend. And that is having a ripple⁶ effect around the world.
Even a big economy like China is not immune from Europe’s problems. The port of Shanghai is a major gateway⁷ for the country’s products, but the government announced that its meteoric⁸ growth in exports slowed in September due to a drop in demand from Europe and the United States.
Economics researcher Zolt Darvas at the Bruegel research organization in Brussels says low demand will likely continue for several years in some European countries, and maybe for longer.
“The impact will largely depend on whether the European financial crisis will be contained or whether it will escalate⁹," Darvas said. "If it will escalate and Europe ends in a deep recession, certainly the impact in the rest of the world, not just on emerging countries, but also on the U.S. and other advanced countries, may be very, very adverse¹⁰.”
But former EU economics official Mario Monti notes that the continent still has several strong economies, and he says overall the problem may not be as bad as it appears.
“Of course, there is a huge combined banking¹¹ and public budget crisis in several eurozone member states," he said. "However, if we take the eurozone as an aggregate¹², the problem is smaller than it is in the U.S., in the U.K. or in Japan.”
Monti believes relative economic strength in some areas will help Europe work its way out of the current crisis over time.
But that may be small consolation¹³ for those who depend on the continent to be a strong market for their products and services.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

3 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

8 meteoric   

adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的

参考例句：

• In my mind,losing weight is just something meteoric.在我眼中，减肥不过是昙花一现的事情。
• His early career had been meteoric.他的早期生涯平步青云。

9 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

10 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

11 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。

12 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

13 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。