(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The debt crisis in Greece has gained the world's attention. However, some activists say many other countries are building up dangerous levels of debt. They say private investors are lending money to those countries without enough rules or legal safeguards.
European officials avoided one financial crisis recently. Greece reached a deal with other European countries to meet its short-term loan obligations last week. The Greek government is expected begin negotiations on a three-year plan, valued at over $90 billion, to deal with its international debt.
Debt activists say there is the possibility of a debt crisis in other areas, especially in the developing world. Tim Jones is with a British group called the Jubilee Debt Campaign. It studies debt owed by countries around the world. This month, the group released a report called, "The new debt trap: How the response to the last global crisis has laid the ground for the next".
Mr. Jones says an increase in lending to poor countries has become a problem.
"There's a huge boom in lending happening, especially in some of the most impoverished countries in the world at the moment. So we're worried that unless action is taken, they could end up in new debt crises again."
Mozambique is among the countries the report describes as facing a possible debt crisis.
"Its economy has been booming massively. It's had huge amounts of lending to the country, but actually poverty is increasing at the same time, and inequality is increasing. So the loans are not necessarily helping in tackling the problems of the country."
The Jubilee Debt Campaign says the total amount owed by debtor countries rose 30 percent, from 2011 to 2014, to $13.8 trillion. It predicts that amount will grow to $14.7 trillion dollars this year.
The group says 22 countries are currently in a debt crisis. Many more face a high risk of financial problems in their public or private sectors.
Judith Tyson is with the Overseas Development Institute, a public policy group based in London. She told VOA on Skype that the current debt problems are all tied to the financial crisis of late 2007 and 2008.
While the world financial crisis hurt many countries, some have struggled with debt for 20 years or more. Jamaica, Tim Jones says, is one example.
"If we take Jamaica, their debt crisis first began in the 1970s. And actually since the 1990s they've had huge government surpluses, but the debt has remained because the interest is just so high, and the economy has been depressed in the attempt to pay these debts. And it just shows you can't get out of a debt crisis by making cuts."
The Greek government made a similar argument during negotiations over its financial rescue plan. However, European countries, led by Germany, have called for continued spending cuts and reforms.
Greece reached a deal so that the country will stay in the Eurozone, the group of nations that use the euro as their currency. But for developing nations, Tim Jones says, there is additional risk when a nation's currency loses value compared to other currencies because of high debt.
"The debts are all owed in foreign currencies, like the dollar or the euro. And so when a country has a currency devaluation, then the debt payments shoot up."
So as debt grows, so do the risks.
Debt campaigners are calling for tighter controls of international lending and cancelling some loans for countries already in crisis.
I'm Mario Ritter.
词汇解析
1.impoverished adj. 穷困的；用尽了的，无创造性的 v. 使贫困（impoverish的过去分词）
Money and food were sent to the impoverished drought victims.
给贫困的灾民送去了救济金和粮食。
2.inequality n. 不平等；不同；不平均
People are concerned about corruption and social inequality.
人们对腐败和社会不公感到担忧。
3.depressed adj. 沮丧的；萧条的；压低的 v. 使沮丧；使萧条（depress的过去式和过去分词形式）；压低
Many states already have enterprise zones and legislation that encourage investment in depressed areas.
许多州都已经有鼓励在萧条地区投资的工业区和立法。
内容解析
1.So we're worried that unless action is taken, they could end up in new debt crises again.
end up in 在…结束；最后到了…；以……为终局
If she carries on shoplifting, she'll end up in jail.
她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。
You'll end up in hospital if you drive your car like that.
你那样乱开汽车最后总要弄到进医院才了事。
2."The debts are all owed in foreign currencies, like the dollar or the euro. And so when a country has a currency devaluation, then the debt payments shoot up."
shoot up 射出；发芽；暴涨；迅速成长
Sales shot up by 9% last month.
上个月的销售猛增了9%。
If raging inflation returns, then interest rates will shoot up.
如果再发生严重的通货膨胀，那么利率就会迅速上调。
参考译文
希腊债务危机吸引了全世界的注意力，然而，一些活动人士称还有其他很多国家的债务水平也积累到危险水平，他们称私人投资者在缺乏制度或法律保障的前提下把钱借给这些国家。
欧洲官员们最近避免了一场金融危机，上周，希腊与其他欧洲国家达成协议来兑现其短期阶段责任。希腊政府有望就一项三年计划进行协商来解决其国际债务，该计划涉资900亿美元。
债务活动人士称其他地区可能会发生债务危机，尤其是在发展中国家。提姆·琼斯就职于名为禧年债务运动的英国组织，该组织研究世界各国的债务。本月，该组织发布这样一份报告《新债务危机陷阱：如何应对已经奠定未来基础的上一次世界危机？》
琼斯说，增加对贫困国家的借款已经成为问题。
“借贷业务增长很快，尤其在全世界一些最贫困国家，所以我们担心除非采取行动，否则这些国家将再次出现新债务危机。”
莫桑比克是该报告所称的面临可能的债务危机的国家之一。
“该国经济发展迅速，获得了大量阶段，但事实上同时贫困也在加剧，不平等在加剧，所以债务不一定就能帮助解决该国的问题。”
禧年债务运动称从2011到2014年，债务国家所借贷总额增长了30%，达到13.8万亿美元，同时预测今年借款额将增加到14.7万亿美元。
该组织称目前有22个国家处于债务危机中，还有更多国家的国有或私营部门面临高风险的财政问题。
朱迪思·泰森就职于海外发展研究所，这是一家总部在伦敦的公共政策组织，她通过Skype告诉美国之音，目前的债务问题都与2007年底到2008年的金融危机有关。
世界金融危机伤害了很多国家，一些国家还深陷债务20多年。提姆·琼斯说，牙买加就是一个例子。
“就拿牙买加来说，该国的债务危机从20世纪70年代就开始了。事实上自从20世纪90年代起，牙买加一直有大量的政府财政盈余，但其债务仍存在，因为利率很高，由于国家试图偿还债务，其经济一直受到压抑，这就说明，仅靠削减开支是不能摆脱债务危机的。”
在就其财政援救计划进行协商时，希腊政府也提出了类似观点，然而，以德国为首的欧洲国家呼吁希腊继续削减开支并进行改革。
希腊达成了一项协议，这样就可继续留在欧元区，该集团内的各国使用欧元作为货币。但提姆·琼斯说，对于发展中国家来说，当一个国家的货币因为高债务而相对其他国家货币贬值时，就会出现额外的风险。
“其债务都是以美元或欧元等外国货币来结算，所以当一个国家货币贬值时，那么要偿还的债务就会增加。”
所以当债务增加时，风险也会增加。
债务活动人士呼吁对国际借贷施加更严格限制，并取消已经出现危机国家的一些债务。
我是马里奥·利特。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
