VOA标准英语--Asian Government Subsidies Ease Inflation Pa

Consumer prices are rapidly rising in Asia, and many people are trying to stretch their budgets. As governments are giving out cash and increasing subsidies¹ on fuel and staple² goods to soften³ the blow on consumers.
In Thailand, food vendors⁵ say inflation is biting into their daily profit.
One man says he raised the price of noodles by 16 cents or 5 baht because fuel, cooking oil, chicken and pork prices have all gone up.
A banana fritter vendor⁴ says he reduced the number of bananas he sells for 32 cents from 20 pieces to 15 pieces.
"What we see is because the economy is doing well, people feel like they should be able to pass along some of those increases but you'll never be able to pass a 100 percent," noted⁶ Frederico Gil Sander, an economist⁷ at the World Bank in Thailand.
Bad harvests, political tensions and higher demand have wreaked⁸ havoc⁹ on many families' budgets. Many are getting less for their money.
Oil prices
As world oil prices surged in recent months because of tensions in the Middle East, the Thai government capped the price of diesel¹⁰ - the fuel used by truckers to transport goods from the provinces to the cities - to not more than 96 cents per liter. Indonesia decided¹¹ to delay a planned cut in fuel subsidies. And in the Philippines, the government approved $11.5 million in fuel subsidies to public transport drivers.
In Hong Kong, a city which imports nearly all its food supply, inflation surged to a 30-month high in February. Shortages and higher demand in mainland China, the source of much of Hong Kong's food, have spilled over here. One eggplant can now cost more than a dollar in supermarkets.
The government promised to use its budget surplus this year to help citizens by offering electricity subsidies, increasing welfare payments and handing out $770 to every resident.
"Well, I think those subsidies help to provide certain relief especially to the grassroots and the lower middle class," said Connie Bolland, the chief economist of Economic Research Analysis in Hong Kong. "But the amount I think is probably too small to make a difference."
Not sustainable
But economic analysts¹² say that while price controls and subsidies help some people, they are not sustainable because they could cost governments a lot of money in the long run, worsening budget deficits¹³. Sander says subsidies should be targeted to benefit everybody.
"If these subsidies were very targeted to people in the bottom, we think that there will be a lot more to benefit than this overall subsidy¹⁴ which basically ends up reaching everyone," said Sander.
Authorities in China, the Philippines, South Korea, India, Thailand and Indonesia have also raised interest rates in the last two months to reduce the amount of money in the financial system - another means of reining¹⁵ in inflation. They say rates could still go up as long as prices keep on climbing.
Credit costs
Higher credit costs could add to many businesses' woes¹⁶ as they would have to pay more on their loans. Some analysts also worry that it could stifle¹⁷ economic growth, leading to unemployment.
In Hong Kong, authorities have little room to tackle inflation. Bolland says Hong Kong's fixed¹⁸ exchange rate to the dollar makes Hong Kong assets cheaper to mainland Chinese buyers who hold an appreciating yuan. And that drives up the stock and property market. In some pockets of the property market, prices have surpassed their former peaks in 1997.
"Of course with the liquidity¹⁹ in the system in the mainland, even though they are trying to tighten²⁰ credit and bank lending and all that, there's a lot of cash that somehow manages to find its way to Hong Kong," said Bolland.
Positive effect
With every country in Asia struggling to contain rising prices, Sander at the World Bank says inflation has propelled energy efficiency and agricultural productivity higher on Asian governments' agenda.
"In the long term basically you tie this to increases in the productivity of agriculture where there are more people demanding more food," said Sander. "You need to have the supply response and have agriculture produce more food and we think that there is a lot of potential for that. And number two, on the fuel situation. If you need less oil, increases in the price of oil will hurt you less."
The United Nations estimates that between 10 and 42 million people in Asia will be pushed into poverty or prevented from getting out of poverty this year because of higher prices.

1 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

3 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

4 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

5 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 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。

8 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

9 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

10 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 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。

13 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

14 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

15 reining   

勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的现在分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理

参考例句：

• "That's a fine bevy, Ma'm,'said Gerald gallantly, reining his horse alongside the carriage. "太太！好一窝漂亮的云雀呀！" 杰拉尔德殷勤地说，一面让自己的马告近塔尔顿的马车。
• I was a temperamental genius in need of reining in by stabler personalities. 我是个需要由更稳重的人降服住的神经质的天才。

16 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

17 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

18 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

19 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

20 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。