VOA双语新闻:审计报告质疑通用继续经营能力
时间:2019-02-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2009年3月
A new report casts doubt on the viability 1 of America's biggest carmaker, General Motors, despite costly 2 government attempts to rescue the domestic automobile 4 industry.
尽管美国政府试图斥巨资挽救国内汽车制造业,但一份新的报告使人们对美国最大的汽车制造商--通用汽车公司能否继续生存下去产生了怀疑。
Since late last year, the federal government has lent tens of billions of dollars to carmakers in return for promises of an aggressive effort to trim costs, restructure operations, and lay the foundation for an eventual 5 return to profitability. But now those plans appear to be in peril 6.
从去年底开始,美国联邦政府已经向汽车制造公司发放了数百亿美元的贷款,这些公司向政府承诺,将大力削减成本支出,进行经营改组,并为最终恢复盈利打下基础。但是现在,这些计划似乎都岌岌可危。
Auditors 7 for General Motors say they have "substantial doubt" the corporation can continue operations, citing massive losses and insufficient 8 cash flows among a long list of concerns.
对通用汽车公司财物状况进行审计的人员说,他们对通用能够继续营业“持有很大的怀疑”,这是因为该公司出现巨额亏损、流动资金不足和其它众多令人担忧的问题。
"I think everybody knows this company, as well as Chrysler, are on the brink 9 of disaster," said John McElroy, auto 3 industry analyst 10. "It may well be that this means GM has taken a big step towards Chapter 11."
汽车业分析人士麦克尔罗伊说:“我认为,人人都知道,通用和克莱斯勒已经处在灾难的边缘,也可以说通用已经离申报破产又近了一大步。”
Part of the U.S. bankruptcy 11 code, Chapter 11 allows a failing business to continue operations while restructuring and negotiating with lenders.
美国破产法的第十一章允许经营不善的企业在进行改组并同借款人进行协商的同时继续营业。
General Motors lost more than $30 billion last year, and a total of more than $80 billion over the last three years. GM has received $13 billion in emergency federal loans in recent months and hopes to obtain billions more. It has until the end of the month to secure concessions 12 from debtors 13 as well as the United Autoworkers Union in order to be eligible 14 for further government aid. Last month, the company announced a plan to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and close several factories. GM says failure to achieve significant cost savings 15 would force it into bankruptcy.
通用公司去年亏损了300多亿美元,在过去三年共亏损超过800亿美元。最近一个月中,美国联邦政府为通用公司提供了130亿美元的紧急贷款,并可能会再提供数十亿美元救助。为了获得政府的进一步救助,通用公司必须在这个月底前确保同其债权人以及美国汽车业工人联合会达成让步协议。上个月,通用公司宣布,计划裁员数万人并关闭多家工厂。通用表示,若无法大幅削减成本将不得不宣告破产。
Automobile industry officials say they worry that filing for bankruptcy would drive away customers. Millions of American jobs are tied directly or indirectly 16 to the car industry.
汽车业官员说,他们担心,汽车公司申报破产会使消费者不愿购买其产品。此外,美国有数百万人的工作同汽车业有直接或间接的关系。
But some question whether GM can survive no matter what it does, given the current economic climate.
但是,也有一些人认为,在目前的经济形势下,无论通用公司采取什么措施都可能无法存活下去。
"We have to see some sort of [economic] stabilization," said Keith Crain, who publishes Automotive News trade magazine. "Once that happens, then I think companies like GM and Chrysler can get their costs in line. But as long as there continues to be a free fall, GM is at grave risk."
美国的汽车新闻杂志的出版人克雷恩说:“我们必须首先看到经济的稳定,然后通用和克莱斯勒这样的公司才能理清它们的成本问题。但是只要经济情况继续直线下降,通用公司就面临严重风险。”
If automakers are hoping for a quick economic rebound 17 to boost their chances of survival, the latest numbers do not look promising 18. More than 600,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total number of people on the jobless rolls to 6.5 million, more than double the number that existed a year ago.
如果汽车制造企业希望靠经济迅速反弹来增加自己生存的希望,那么最近出台的一些数据表明,它们的希望不太可能实现。上周,美国申请失业救济的人超过60万,这使失业人口总数达到650万,是一年前的一倍多。
"These are the worst set of numbers since the fall of 1982. They will get better, probably by the end of this year, but in the meantime they are going to get a lot worse," said Nariman Behravesh, Global Insight chief economist 19.
美国环球通视公司的首席经济学家贝拉韦什说:“这是1982年秋天以来最糟糕的一组数据。情况可能在今年底前会好转,但是在那之前会变得更糟。”
The deep economic recession is believed to have been caused, in part, by a severe credit crunch 20 precipitated 21 by a rash of home foreclosures in the United States. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that more than 10 percent of American mortgage holders 22 were either late in payments or in foreclosure at the end of last year.
人们认为,造成目前严重经济衰退的部分原因是美国大量房屋丧失赎回权后造成的严重信贷紧缩。美国抵押贷款银行家协会的报告说,在去年年底,超过10%的美国按揭户已经迟交按揭费或丧失了住房赎回权。
Separately, U.S. factory orders as well as retail 23 sales fell last month.
另外,美国上个月的工厂订单量和零售业销售额都有所下降。
- What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么?
- Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说,科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。
- It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
- This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
- Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
- The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
- He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
- The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。
- Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
- Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。
- The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
- The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。
- The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
- a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议
- There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
- In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代,科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
- The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
- The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。
- What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务?
- The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
- You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产,就必须节省开支。
- His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。
- The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工,公司将不得不作出一些让步。
- The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。
- Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Never in a debtors' prison? 从没有因债务坐过牢么? 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
- He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
- Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。
- I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
- By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
- I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
- They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人,他们进行了间接接触。
- The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
- Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。
- The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
- We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
- 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。
- If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
- People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。
- His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
- He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
- It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识,才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事,同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。