VOA常速英语2014--Growth Forecast Prompts Hope for End to Euro Crisis 增长预测暗示了欧元危机终结的希望

Growth Forecast Prompts Hope for End to Euro Crisis 增长预测暗示了欧元危机终结的希望

LONDON — The European Union has revised upward its forecasts for economic growth. The news comes as Greece aims to secure another slice of its bailout money after posting a budget surplus. And in Italy, the new government has pledged to turn around the stagnant 1 economy.

伦敦——欧盟已经修订提高了其对经济增长的预期。这条消息恰逢希腊政府打算在发布预算盈余之后确保另一部分救市资金的安全。与此同时在意大利，新一届政府承诺扭转经济颓势。

So is this the beginning of the end of the euro crisis? Many analysts 3 think not.

如此想来，这是欧元危机结束的开端吗？许多分析人士并不这么认为。

The welcome was hostile in Athens as bailout inspectors 4 from the so-called troika of international lenders - the European Union, the International Monetary 5 Fund and the European Central Bank - arrived for talks at Greece’s Finance Ministry 6.

在雅典，当欧盟、国际货币基金组织、欧洲中央银行，即被称作“三套车的国际债权人”派遣的救助巡视组来到希腊财政部进行谈判，受到了不友好的欢迎。

Greece desperately 7 needs its next tranche of bailout money to fund debt payments in May that will total $12.8 billion. Talks have stalled for months over claims that Greece is dragging its feet over labor 8 reforms.

希腊极度需要国际货币基金组织下一部分的救市资金的款项，以偿还将在5月到期的总计128亿美元的债务。谈判已经停滞数月，声称希腊在劳动改革上步履维艰。

Protesters shouted at the inspectors: “We are talking about human lives, you are talking about profits and losses.”

反对派对巡视组大叫道：“我们考虑的是生存，你们谈论的缺失收益和损失。”

Since 2008, Greece’s economy has shrunk by nearly a quarter; unemployment is at 28 percent.

自从2008年，希腊经济已经缩水了近四分之一，失业率高达28%。

The country has just posted a budget surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP - good news after years of brutal 9 austerity.  But there’s a long way to go, says analyst 2 Simon Tilford with the London-based Center for European Reform.

政府日前公布的预算盈余占GDP的1.5%——这是多年来严酷的紧缩政策后的好消息。但是总部位于伦敦的欧洲改革中心的分析人士西蒙·迪尔福德（SimonTilford）认为，希腊的这条路依旧还很漫长。

“Certainly no developed or even second-world country has ever pulled off a fiscal 10 adjustment of the scale that the Greeks have managed.  But they don’t just need a surplus; they need a huge surplus in order to service their debt burden," said Tilford.

迪尔福德讲到，“当然，没有一个发达国家或者甚至是第二世界国家已经完成希腊正设法面对的这种规模化的财政调整。但是他们（指希腊政府）不单单是需要这个盈余，他们更需要一个充足的盈余从而来处理他们的债务负担。”

The EU issued revised growth forecasts this week - suggesting the eurozone will grow by 1.2 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2015.

本周欧盟修订了增长预期——暗示欧元将在今年增长1.2%，并且在2015年达到1.8%。

Olli Rehn is EU commissioner 11 for economic and monetary affairs.

奥利·雷恩（Olli Rehn）是欧盟经济和货币事务专员。

“Recovery in the European Union is gaining ground and spreading across countries, although it remains 12 still modest. It is good news that economic activity has also started to strengthen in the vulnerable countries," said Rehn.

雷恩说道，“欧盟的复苏已经取得了长足的进展，并扩展到周边国家，尽管这种（复苏）势头保持的依旧很谨慎。经济活跃是一个好消息，这也开始在形势脆弱的国家里得到巩固。”

Italy is seen as one such vulnerable eurozone member. The former mayor of Florence, 39-year-old Matteo Renzi, became the country’s youngest-ever prime minister this week after ousting 13 his party rival. In a speech to the lower house, he pledged to slash 14 spending and taxes and "revolutionize" Italy’s economy.

意大利一直被视为这种经济形势脆弱的欧元区成员国。弗洛伦萨前任市长，39岁的马泰奥·伦齐（Matteo Renzi）这周在取代他的党内竞争对手后，成为该国历任中最年轻的总理。在下议院的演讲中，他承诺削减开支和税收同时彻底改革意大利经济。

“Outside of this parliament, nobody believes any longer that politicians can get things done,” Renzi said. “Therefore, at great risk, we have pledged to accelerate a process to implement 15 reforms within precise deadlines.”

伦齐谈到，这个议会的外面，没有人再相信政客能把这件事做完，因此，冒着极大的风险，本届政府已经承诺在精确的最后期限内，加速实施改革的进程。

With political change in Italy - and green shoots of recovery in the eurozone - some EU politicians believe this is the beginning of the end of the euro crisis, says the Center for European Reform's Simon Tilford.

欧洲改革中心的分析人士西蒙·迪尔福德说道，“意大利在政治形势变化的同时欧元区出现复苏的绿芽，一些欧盟政客相信这是欧元危机结束的开始。”

 “I think there is a risk of complacency that a return to growth and relative calm on the financial markets is encouraging European policymakers to believe that they can get away without any significant institutional reforms of the Eurozone - i.e., without any pooling of risk or any fiscal mutualization," he said.

他说，“我认为这是一种自满的危险表现，这种回到增长模式的同时金融市场相对平静的现状正鼓舞着欧洲政策制定者去相信他们能摆脱困境，在欧元区内没有任何重大制度改革的条件下，也就是说，没有任何风险的分摊或是财政的交互作用。”

Without those changes, many analysts fear Europe will fail to solve the inherent problems at the core of the eurozone. But news that even the weaker economies are showing signs of life has been warmly welcomed after seven years of austerity and stagnation 16.

没有这些变革，许多分析人士担心欧洲将会在解决欧元区核心的内部问题上失败。但是消息显示，即使是较为虚弱的经济体仍一直表现出生命的迹象并在7年的紧缩政策和不景气之后正受到热烈的欢迎。