2006年VOA标准英语-Nobel Laureate Friedman Dies at 94
时间:2019-01-04 作者:英语课 分类:2006年VOA标准英语(十一月)
By Paul Francuch
Chicago
16 November 2006
Professor Milton Friedman, hailed by some as perhaps the 20th century's greatest champion of capitalism 1 and economic freedom, is dead at the age of 94.
Dr. Milton Friedman, 1976 Nobel Prize winner for economics, poses for a photo in 1977
Not since the 18th century and the great Scottish economist 2 Adam Smith has there been such an eloquent 3 proponent 4 of the "hands-off" or "laissez-faire" philosophy of economic growth as Milton Friedman. A persistent 5 critic of government intervention 6 in the workings of a nation's economy, Friedman won the Nobel Prize In Economics in 1976 for his theories.
Born in New York to poor Jewish parents, Friedman displayed brilliance 7 in mathematics at a young age, winning a scholarship to Rutgers University in neighboring New Jersey 8. Intrigued 9 by the field of economics, Friedman went on to do graduate work at the University of Chicago, the home of some of the nation's leading conservative economists 10 of the time.
While at Chicago, he married fellow graduate student Rose Director. Following World War II, Friedman earned his doctorate 11 at Columbia University, then returned to Chicago as a faculty 12 member.
While championing the cause of the free marketplace, Friedman faced much opposition 13 from his fellow economists who believed in the teachings of liberal British economist John Maynard Keynes. The United States government under President Franklin Roosevelt spent its way out of the great depression of the 1930s, following the theories of Keynes. Needless to say, Keynes's theories enjoyed remarkable 14 popularity.
Yet Professor Friedman and his followers 15 at the Chicago school attacked Keynes' sanctioning of government intrusion in the free market. Friedman argued that inflation caused by the government's printing of more money distorts the economy, eventually leading to its collapse 16, thereby 17 creating an even bigger role for the state in the private lives of its citizens.
He said individualism and freedom of enterprise were the preferable alternatives.
"A free market and maintaining a free market, under conditions where the market is not distorted, is by all odds 18 the most useful role a government can play in economic life," said Friedman. "But this requires that government be relatively 19 small. When government imposes taxes, when it buys things, spends money, it distorts the terms on which people can trade with one another."
"The most obvious example is in foreign trade," he added, "our government, most of the governments around the world impose restrictions 20 on foreign trade. They impose tariffs 21, or quotas 22, or subsidize exports."
"All such restrictions, all such impositions, interfere 23 with the effective operation of the market, prevent people who could benefit jointly 24 from trading with one another from doing so. So I go back: the most useful role government can play is to stay out of the details of the market, but establish an effective framework for a free market," he said.
Friedman argued that a free market encompasses 25 much more than just economic concerns.
"A free market includes the free exchange of views, the ability to read what people write, regardless of what their views are, the whole area of freedom of speech, of religion, of discussion, of the press, is really an aspect of a free market," he said. "It is an area in which individuals should be free to cooperate with one another, to exchange views, to say what they believe."
Friedman began teaching his laissez faire economic theories at a time when many in his profession scorned such ideas. That is not the case today.
Milton Friedman's students include some of the best and the brightest. He served as an economic advisor 26 to several presidents, and his ideas are bound to influence economists and economic policy for many years to come.
- The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
- Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。
- 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。
- He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩,胜过最好的演说家。
- These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。
- Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
- Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
- The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
- Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
- I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
- The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。
- He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
- They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
- You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧!
- He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。
- The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
- Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
- Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士?
- He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
- He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
- the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
- The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
- 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。
- I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市,因此对它不怎么熟悉。
- He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民,因而得到了投票权。
- The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
- Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
- The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
- The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
- British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
- The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。
- In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
- Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。
- If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话,可能弊多利少。
- When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件,棘手的事情就来了。
- Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
- She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。
- The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
- Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句