Diarmuid: Hello everybody and welcome to Authentic Real English from the BBC with me, Diarmuid. 欢迎来到BBC的地道英语节目，我是圣保罗。

Feifei: And me Feifei. 我是菲菲。

Diarmuid: So what are we talking about today then Feifei? 菲菲，我们今天要说的是什么？

Feifei: Our phrase today is one that has been used a lot in the media recently and is related to the economic problems the world has seen over the last year or so. 我们今天的词组是一个曾经常在媒体中出现的词组。它和去年世界经济问题有关系。

Diarmuid: Oh, that's so depressing. 哦，真是令人沮丧。

Feifei: Depressing 令人沮丧的。Why do you think that is so depressing? 为什么你觉得令人沮丧呢？

Diarmuid: Well, we have done so many words and phrases connected to the economy lately. Words like credit crunch. 嗯，我们最近学了很多和经济有关的词组。

Feifei: 信贷危机。

Diarmuid: Economic crisis.

Feifei: 金融危机。

Diarmuid: Recession.

Feifei: 经济衰退。

Diarmuid: And unemployment.

Feifei: 失业。I see what you mean. All of those words are very depressing. 我知道你什么意思了。所有的词都是令人沮丧的词。

Diarmuid: And pessimistic.

Feifei: 悲观的。In that case I have some good news for you because today's phrase is all about an optimistic 乐观的 view of the economy. 如果这样的话，这是个好消息，因为今天的词组是一个乐观的词。

Diarmuid: I'm intrigued, Feifei. Tell me more. 我挺好奇的，菲菲，继续说说。

Feifei: Today's phrase is green shoots. Green as in the colour green. And shoots. S.H.O.O.T.S. Green shoots.

Diarmuid: Green shoots. Why is that optimistic? 为什么这个词是乐观的呢？

Feifei: It's to do with the meaning of shoots. Shoots 有发芽的意思。

Diarmuid: So in this case shoots are the first little green leaves that come out of the ground when a plant is beginning to grow. 嫩枝是指当植物开始生长的时候新长出来的一点点绿色的叶子。

Feifei: Yes, like in the beginning of spring when plants recover from winter. 是的，像是冬天过去，春天到来的时候植物的复苏。

Diarmuid: But how does that relate to the economy? 但是这和经济有什么关系。

Feifei: The complete phrase is the green shoots of recovery 复苏迹象。就是说经济复苏的一点儿迹象。

Example

Newsreader: The Minister of Finance said today that the first green shoots of recovery were beginning to be seen in the country's economy. 财务部长说今天经济复苏开始在全国经济上有所体现了。

Diarmuid: So green shoots are signs that something, like an economy for example, is beginning to improve after a difficult time? 所以说复苏迹象是某件事的象征，比如经济，艰难的时刻过去了以后开始复苏。