VOA标准英语2012--Afghan Economy Slows
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2012年(十一月)
Afghan Economy Slows
Row upon row of heavy construction equipment lies idle along Kabul's Jalalabad Road as international contracts begin to dry up with international forces pulling out. Machines like these had been used to build the heavily fortified 1 bases that coalition 2 troops established around the country.
Business owner Haji Abdul Khalil Ahmadzai used to sell 10 - 15 of these machines a month. Now he is lucky if he sells one.
"The country's situation is getting worse, we can't sell our equipment, or send them out, sometimes the insurgents 3 burn our vehicles," Ahmadzai said. "Our country is going through hard times. Work is slowing down, it's not like it was in the past."
Ahmadzai's worries are echoed across the business community.
In an effort to prevent a steep economic downturn which could further destabilize already weak government institutions, U.S. and Afghan officials are trying to attract investment in the country's mineral, agricultural and energy resources.
Noorullah Delawari, governor of Afghanistan's Central Bank, says the country's GDP growth is healthy and that a pledge of $16 billion in international aid will help.
"We have been given assurance, people are hopeful, we are all hopeful in accordance with agreements we have with the donors 4 that will carry us at least to 2020 even 2024," said Delawari. "So with those negotiated or promised support to Afghanistan, I believe we can carry on our economic activities at the same level we have had as we have in the past few years."
But some say businessmen are beginning to cash their money in for dollars.
Former minister and current economics professor Hamidullah Farooqi says the government has failed to create a healthy economy.
"The majority of our economy is, unfortunately, illegal, and the forces of the mafia system and mafia economy are huge, and that creates enough difficulty for the legal economy, for the economic forces which were in the society," Farooqi noted 5.
Farooqi predicts even tougher economic times are ahead, if Afghanistan's government doesn't start working harder for its people.
- He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
- The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。
- The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
- Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
- The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网
- Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
- About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》