VOA标准英语2011--Euro Under Fire as Debt Crisis Continues

Euro Under Fire as Debt Crisis Continues

The debt crisis in some countries that use the euro has caused social unrest and speculation¹ that the euro’s run as a joint² currency may be coming to an end. There is a plan in place to solve the problem, but it is not popular in either creditor³ or debtor⁴ countries, and the outcome is uncertain.
Europe’s economic troubles have spilled out into the streets in Greece and other countries. Workers are angry because government budget cuts, designed to fight the debt and budget deficit⁵, are reducing services, hurting salaries and pensions, and eliminating jobs.
But France, Germany and other wealthy European nations are reluctant to take on the burden of bailing⁷ out euro partners that have been less careful about financial regulation, government spending and tax collection.
“In a way, it’s a game of chicken that’s going on, with the leaders of the creditor countries saying we want Greece to do more, and Greece saying we can’t do any more because we’re being squeezed so much that our populations are rebelling," said Professor Iain Begg at the London School of Economics. "And anyway we must have economic growth, otherwise we can’t continue.”
But it’s not just Greece, there are Spanish protesters, and protesters in Italy, as the Italian parliament voted to adopt an austerity plan.
In Britain, a European Union member that kept its own currency, the impact of the euro crisis on workers has been cushioned, but people are still worried.
“It seems already to have had an effect on our economy, and it seems as if it’s likely to have an even greater effect if it gets worse,” one woman said.
"I think there’s interdependency regardless of whether it’s in or out," expressed one man. "It’s all interconnected regardless of whether Britain is inside the euro or not.”
“You’ve got the current problem - Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy - I mean, it goes on and on and on," another man noted⁸. "And though we’re part of it, and we’ve got the barrier, we’re not in the monetary⁹ part of it, it’s going to affect us, as sure as night follows day.
Another woman says she recently lost her job, and blames the financial crisis. “We shouldn’t have got to this point. Steps should have been taken a lot earlier to keep the banks curtailed¹⁰ and to make sure the over-loaning, or over-lending, wasn’t happening,” she stated.
European finance ministers have agreed on the outlines of a plan to bail⁶ out the countries with the most unmanageable debts. And while success is not assured, Iain Begg thinks speculation about a euro zone breakup is unfounded, at least for now. “It’s certainly a concern, that all of this may lead to the collapse¹¹ of the euro, but you find it expressed much more by what’s known in the trade as the Anglo-Saxons - the Brits and the Americans - than by continental¹² Europeans," he said. "Who simply don’t believe that it’s a credible¹³ option.”
The next decision point for European finance ministers comes in October, when they must decide whether to go ahead with their bailout plan.

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 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。

3 creditor   

n.债仅人，债主，贷方

参考例句：

• The boss assigned his car to his creditor.那工头把自己的小汽车让与了债权人。
• I had to run away from my creditor whom I made a usurious loan.我借了高利贷不得不四处躲债。

4 debtor   

n.借方，债务人

参考例句：

• He crowded the debtor for payment.他催逼负债人还债。
• The court granted me a lien on my debtor's property.法庭授予我对我债务人财产的留置权。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

7 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

8 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。

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

12 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

13 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？