(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Egyptian officials are making plans to open a newly-expanded Suez Canal on August 6th. Officials say the "new" canal will be more than double the waterway's earnings over the next 10 years. But some experts say the project alone will not be able to turn around Egypt's economy.
Admiral Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh heads the Suez Canal Authority.
He says the project will cut in half the amount of time it takes to travel through the Suez Canal. He says this time savings will lower costs for shippers.
The expansion of the current canal means two ships will be able to sail by each other. Now, there is only enough room for one ship to pass through the waterway.
The Suez Canal connects Europe and Asia. The canal earned $5.5 billion in income for Egypt last year.
Admiral Mameesh says less than 10 years from now, the expanded canal will earn $13 billion a year.
Professor Andrew Lambert teaches naval history at King's College in London. He says the success of the canal will depend largely on the health of the world's shipping industry. He says that is something Egypt cannot control. And he says even if the expanded canal is successful, he does not think it will improve the lives of average Egyptians. People in Egypt are facing rising poverty rates and prices. The economy is slowly recovering from recent financial and political unrest.
"Egypt is a large, complex country with a very big population. It is highly unlikely it is going to be able to live off the kinds of incomes it will get -- even from two canals. The costs of governing Egypt are very large. It has major debt problems."
But officials say the economy is growing. And they say the canal is just one project that will both increase foreign investment in Egypt and create income for the country.
I'm Jim Tedder.
词汇解释
1.canal n. 运河；[地理] 水道；[建] 管道；灌溉水渠 vt. 在…开凿运河
The Panama Canal joins two oceans.
巴拿马运河连通两大洋。
2.naval adj. 海军的；军舰的
He was the senior serving naval officer.
他曾是高级现役海军军官。
3.unrest n. 不安；动荡的局面；不安的状态
The real danger is civil unrest in the east of the country.
真正的危险是该国东部的民众骚乱。
内容解析
1.The economy is slowly recovering from recent financial and political unrest.
recover from 经过…后恢复原状；复原；康复；从…重新获得；从…索回：
It will be a long time before he recovers from his present troubles.
要使他从目前的困境中恢复过来需要很长时间。
Don't lend money to others;it's difficult to recover it from them.
不要把钱借给别人，因为借出的钱很难从那些人手里再要回来。
2.It is highly unlikely it is going to be able to live off the kinds of incomes it will get -- even from two canals.
live off 以…为食料；靠…生活；住在…之外
She had to live off 6 pound a week.
她一个星期只有6英镑的生活费。
A tiger lives off some small animals.
老虎靠吃一些小动物为生。
参考译文
埃及官方计划8月6日开放新扩建的苏伊士银河，官方称这条“新”运河未来十年的水道收益将翻倍。但一些专家称单单该项目并不能扭转埃及的经济。
海军上将莫哈布·马米什是苏伊士运河当局的负责人。
他说该项目将使得苏伊士运河的渡河时间减半，他说节省的时间将降低货主的成本。
运河扩建意味着两艘船将能同时通行，现在的空间只够一条船通过该水道。
苏伊士运河连接欧洲和亚洲，这条运河去年给埃及带来了55亿美元的收入。
马米什上将从现在起不到10年内，扩建的运河每年将获得收益130亿美元。
安德鲁·兰伯特教授在伦敦国王学院教授海军历史，他说这条运河的成功将在很大程度上取决于全世界航运业的健康发展，他说这是埃及所无法控制的。他说即使扩建后的运河运营成功，他认为它也无法改善埃及普通民众的生活。埃及人面临越来越高的贫困率和物价，该国经济正从最近的金融和政治动乱中慢慢恢复。
“埃及是个有着庞大复杂的人口大国，不大可能以这条运河为生，即使有两条运河，治理埃及的成本很高，还有严重的债务问题。”
但官方称经济在发展，他们说运河只是一个能给埃及增加外国投资及创收的项目。
我是吉姆·泰德。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
