时间:2019-01-13 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(九月)


英语课

The financial crisis that has gripped the United States has particular resonance 2 for Asia, which was racked by its own financial crisis 11 years ago. Indeed, some of the root causes of the two crises are similar, which has sparked some concern in Asia. But, as VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, there are also some sharp differences as well.


In 1997, the talk of the financial world was the "Asian Tiger" as Asian economies, and particularly those of South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia boomed with phenomenal growth rates.


Ted 1 Truman, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 3 for International Affairs, said the good times could not last.


"Asia had had a miracle, the Asian miracle, so their policies were good, fiscal 4 policy was good," he said. "They had weak banking 5, financial systems, and they had unsustainable exchange rate regimes."


The crisis is believed to have started in Thailand as jittery 6 investors 7 started causing currencies to drop in value. Asian governments exhausted 8 foreign reserves in failed attempts to hold off currency speculators. The crisis spread across Asia like a virus. Once-rich stockbrokers 9 turned into sidewalk food vendors 10 and tried to unload their Mercedes-Benz automobiles 11 and jewelry 12 at bargain prices at impromptu 13 street markets.


Sliding currency is not a hallmark of today's U.S.-based crisis. But as Ted Truman - now senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics - points out, the U.S. and Asian crises are both predicated in large part by a collapse 14 of confidence in credit.


"You had a system that was built on credit, and when people started questioning the underlying 15 value of the credit, things started going bad," he said. "And indeed the underlying value of the credit was bad."


Just as the subprime housing market collapse was a major catalyst 16 of the 2008 crisis, real estate speculators took out huge loans to build commercial real estate during the boom times in Asia. When the loans could not be paid back, banks collapsed 17, currencies plummeted 18 further, and unfinished office blocks - which Thais took to calling "ghost buildings" - dotted the Bangkok skyline.


The most adversely 19 affected 20 nations - South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia - had to turn to the International Monetary 21 Fund for help. But many Asians saw the conditions for economic reforms the IMF attached to the loans as humiliating.


Ted Truman says some Asians must be reveling in the irony 22 that the United States is making some of the same moves in its crisis that it urged Asian nations not to make 11 years ago.


"They can say, 'gee 23, you run around lecturing us for all the things we did wrong, but it's not clear that you've done such a great job yourselves' - with some merit," he said. "They also said, 'gee, you said we shouldn't be bailing 24 out our financial institutions' - where[as] we seem to be bailing out our financial institutions, though I think we're doing less bailing out of the institutions, as opposed to rescuing the system, than they did. We told them they shouldn't lower their interest rates, and we have lowered our interest rates. On the other hand, they had plummeting 25 exchange rates, and we did not."


It is not clear yet how much fallout, if any, Asia will suffer in the current crisis. Analysts 26 say, however, that the region learned some hard lessons and has put protective mechanisms 27 in place.
 
A man watches a display showing stock prices in Hong Kong, 18 Sep 2008


Gus Faucher, the Director of Macroeconomics at the economics Web site Moody's Economy.com, says the healthy economies of the larger countries in the region provide something of a cushion against any repeat of the hard times 11 years ago.


"The one advantage Asia has right now is that China continues to expand, the Indian economy continues to expand, so Asia as a whole is less dependent on the U.S. for demand," he said. "That provides some measure of protection against collapse in the U.S. So in that respect the Asian fundamentals look okay."


Still, some nations in the region are taking additional steps to protect themselves. Having suffered a severe financial illness more than a decade ago, Asia is not anxious to catch that virus again.


 



vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
n.洪亮;共鸣;共振
  • Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
  • The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
adj.财政的,会计的,国库的,国库岁入的
  • The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
  • The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。
n.银行业,银行学,金融业
  • 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。
adj. 神经过敏的, 战战兢兢的
  • However, nothing happened though he continued to feel jittery. 可是,自从拉上这辆车,并没有出什么错儿,虽然他心中嘀嘀咕咕的不安。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • The thirty-six Enterprise divebombers were being squandered in a jittery shot from the hip. 这三十六架“企业号”上的俯冲轰炸机正被孤注一掷。
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
n.股票经纪人( stockbroker的名词复数 )
  • Stockbrokers never more than now lack enthusiasm for the small client. 证券经济人在面对那些小客户时从未像现在这样缺乏激情。 来自互联网
  • Today, I have expensive attorneys, accountants, real estate brokers and stockbrokers. 今天,我雇有身价昂贵的律师、会计师、房地产经纪人以及股票经纪人。 来自互联网
n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 );小贩;(房屋等的)卖主;卖方
  • 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
n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )
  • When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后,就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上,汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
adj.即席的,即兴的;adv.即兴的(地),无准备的(地)
  • The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。
  • The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
  • 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。
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
n.催化剂,造成变化的人或事
  • A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
  • The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。
adj.倒塌的
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
v.垂直落下,骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )
  • Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
  • A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
ad.有害地
  • We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
  • Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。
adj.不自然的,假装的
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
adj.货币的,钱的;通货的;金融的;财政的
  • 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。
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄
  • She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
  • In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。
n.马;int.向右!前进!,惊讶时所发声音;v.向右转
  • Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
  • Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇!我们会赚好多钱啦!
(凿井时用吊桶)排水
  • 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。
v.垂直落下,骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )
  • Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
  • The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
  • 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。
n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 );机械装置;[生物学] 机制;机械作用
  • The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
acoustic homing system
address matcher circuit
alphanumeric program
Anicetus
antirheumatoid drug
apparent turbulent stress tensor
aseptic filling
astronomic transit
atlee
automated batch mixing
Bac Giang, Tinh
bioconcentration
bistable polarization
branch coverage testing
brems
bus hut
cant rail
checking book
chrysanthemum leucanthemums
close-to-nature forestry
cobalt slass
coffee black beans
coodes
crested penguins
crystal-controlled
customer evaluation
daryosphere
diffused base transistor
distributed element
ditylenchus
externally-imposed
flower primordia
foresworn
full crystal
gateway charge
geographical classification of 8oils
guardlike
heteromorphic chromosomes
heterosperminous hybridization
histoimmunological
historical jurisprudence
horn cleat
hydroaluminations
iraqgates
knife tool
laughland
lent an ear to
liasons
limit of aperidicity
local buffer storage
lomasome
longitudinal dispersion
low transmission
mazatzal pk.
medical nomenclature
microcode assembler
mild-mannered
mine swept route
Mugila, Mts.
multispectral satellite data
noboes
obv
Osborne, L.
Paranari
patently
payment notice
Perisporiales
pick his steps
price plan
primary vaccination
protocollyris sauteri
pterygomandibular
Puusepp's reflex
raddicle
read-message
real-time data structure
recosting
reverse mottle
RNA probe
rosin adduct
scutellarin
segmented address space
spread for
sudor anglicus
Symes
symmetric game
tank clean-out opening
televisuality
the eight manifestations of infantile convulsion
theophanous
tisiyeh (tasiyeh)
torpedo bombardment aeroplane
tribenzylethyltin
trickle-irrigated
triphenoxazin
two for one twister
unquenches
versche
vica
wear resistant alloy steel
widely spaced stanchions
zapanta