(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
Today we tell you more about the effects of falling oil prices. Lower demand for oil and too much supply have sent prices to their lowest levels in five years.
Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to keep production at current levels. Representatives of the 12-nation group met in Vienna, Austria. They were unable to reach agreement on changing OPEC's production targets.
Lower oil prices are causing economic hardship in some OPEC members. Officials in some countries are exploring ways to cut government spending.
The president of Venezuela announced last week that he and other government officials should take pay cuts as part of budget reductions. The Reuters news service says the reductions are meant to answer the lower oil prices. It says Venezuela gets 96 percent of its export earnings from oil sales. The nation has among the highest inflation rates in Latin America.
Russia is a major oil exporter, but does not belong to OPEC. This week, Russia's economic development ministry predicted that the Russian economy will shrink by eight-tenths of a percent in 2015. Oil exports are important to Russia. The value of Russian money has lost about 40 percent of its value this year compared to the American dollar. Observers have blamed the drop on falling profits from oil exports, and Western sanctions to punish Russian actions in Ukraine.
But economists say the fall in oil prices is helping economies in Asia. Andrew Colquhoun is with Hong Kong-based Fitch Ratings.
"Most Asia-Pacific economies are oil importers and therefore the decline in oil prices is equivalent to a kind of income gain for them and the impact depends on whether they save or spend the income gain."
In a recent report, Fitch Ratings said China and most major Asian economies would effectively earn more money from sustained lower oil prices. Thailand spends 15 percent of national income on oil, the largest percentage in the area.
Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia all are moving to reduce oil price supports, or subsidies, which are often a major part of government spending.
Last month Indonesian President Joko Widodo raised subsidized fuel prices by over 30 percent. Trade unions and opposition parties criticized the move. The Indonesian government says it is providing social assistance to over 15 million people to ease the effect of higher fuel costs.
But some experts say it is a matter of time before prices recover. Jack Gerard is president of the American Petroleum Institute. He says demand for oil will rise, and prices will find an equilibrium.
And that's the VOA Learning English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.
词汇学习
1.hardship n. 艰难；困苦；艰难情况
Many people are suffering economic hardship.
很多人正处于经济困难之中。
2.shrink vt.& vi.收缩
There was a general acceptance that the defence budget would shrink.
人们普遍相信国防预算将会缩减。
3.equivalent adj.相等的，相同的
Changing his job like that is equivalent to giving him the sack.
那样调换他的工作等于是解雇了他。
4.effectively adv. 有效地；实际上
This effectively means that the government does not agree with the proposals.
这实际上就意味着政府不赞同这些提议。
5.subsidy n.补贴；津贴
The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.
那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
内容解析
1.The Reuters news service says the reductions are meant to answer the lower oil prices.
are meant to旨在，为了
The talks are meant to clear the way for formal negotiations on a new constitution.
会谈旨在为新宪法的正式商讨扫清道路。
2.Russia is a major oil exporter, but does not belong to OPEC.
belong to属于；附属；归于
They belong to an older, more self-denying generation.
他们属于更加克己的上一代人。
3.Observers have blamed the drop on falling profits from oil exports, and Western sanctions to punish Russian actions in Ukraine.
blame on归罪于；责怪；归咎于
She seemed to be placing most of the blame on her mother.
她好像把大部分责任都推到了母亲身上。
参考翻译
美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是经济报道。
今天我们讨论一下油价下跌影响的更多内容。石油需求降低和供应过量已经使其价格下降至五年来的最低水平。
上周，石油输出国组织(the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)决定将产量维持在当前水平。该组织12个成员国的代表在奥地利维也纳会晤。他们未能就改变石油输出国组织的产量目标达成一致。
油价下跌造成OPEC一些成员国经济困难。一些国家的官员正在探讨削减政府开支的方法。
委内瑞拉总统上周宣布他和其他政府官员减薪，作为预算削减的一部分。路透社表示，这次预算削减是为了回应油价下跌。委内瑞拉96%的出口收入来自于石油销售。在整个拉丁美洲，委内瑞拉的通胀率已经达到最高水平。
俄罗斯是一个主要的石油出口国，但它不属于OPEC。本周，俄罗斯经济发展部预测，2015年，俄罗斯经济将缩减0.8%。石油出口对俄罗斯非常重要。今年俄罗斯货币相对于美元的价值已经下跌大约40%。观察员认为设是由于石油出口收益下降，以及西方旨在惩罚俄罗斯在乌克兰行为的制裁措施。
但经济学家表示，油价下跌对亚洲经济有所帮助。Andrew Colquhoun就职于香港惠誉国际评级公司。
“大多数亚太经济体依赖进口石油。因此油价下跌对它们来说相当于收入的增加。而对他们造成的影响取决于他们把这笔收入存起来还是花出去。”
惠誉评级在最近的报告中表示，中国和大多数亚洲主要经济体将从持续低油价中有效获得更多收入。泰国将15%的国民收入花在石油上，是该地区比例最高的国家。
泰国、马来西亚和印尼都在采取措施减少石油价格补贴，这通常是政府支出的主要部分。
上个月，印尼总统佐科·维多多(Joko Widodo)将补贴后的燃油价格提高了超过30%。工会和反对党对此举提出了批评。印尼政府表示，它向超过1500万民众提供社会补助，以缓解燃料成本上升带来的影响。
但一些专家表示，石油价格回升只是时间问题。Jack Gerard是美国石油学会会长。他说，石油需求将上升，而油价将会找到平衡点。
以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语经济报道的全部内容。我是Mario Ritter。
