1、标题：voa慢速英语讲解附字幕:爱尔兰为坏账担保引发危机对应音频：1126a.mp3听力内容：How a Promise to Guarantee Bad Debts Came to Haunt IrelandThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.On Wednesday, Irelands Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced measures to cut the biggest budget deficit in Europe.BRIAN COWEN: Today weve come to a
2、nnounce a four-year plan, between now and 2014. Its to bring certainty for our people. Its to ensure they have hope for the future.The plan aims to cut spending and raise taxes by twenty billion dollars. These austerity measures are a step toward getting aid from the European Union and the Internati
3、onal Monetary Fund.But Mr. Cowens government could fall before next years budget is passed.The government asked for help Sunday after weeks of saying it did not need any. The EU and the IMF are expected to provide about one hundred fifteen billion dollars - or about half of Irelands economy.Ireland
4、got into trouble by guaranteeing the debts of its banks during the world financial crisis two years ago. That promise has now cost over sixty billion dollars.Roisin OSullivan is an economics professor at Smith College in Massachusetts and a former economist at the Central Bank of Ireland.ROISIN OSUL
5、LIVAN: What was different about the Irish approach was that all deposits were guaranteed and bondholders, investors that had bought bonds in these banks, also received the government guarantee. This was a more extensive bailout than most countries pursued.Professor OSullivan says Irish bankers and b
6、anking supervisors had too close of a relationship.Ireland was known as the Celtic Tiger in the nineteen nineties. Its educated, English-speaking workers and low taxes appealed to foreign companies. Its economy grew quickly.But foreign investment and low interest rates inflated a property bubble, ra
7、ising prices to levels that could not be supported. Bad property loans hit hard at Irelands main banks. Unemployment is over thirteen percent.Irelands bank bailout and government spending have expanded this years deficit to more than thirty percent of gross domestic product. This is ten times the EU
8、 limit for a deficit in relation to the size of an economy, as measured by GDP.But John James at Pace University in New York state says there is little the European Union can do. Germany and France want to give the European Commission more power over national budgets. For now, rescues by the Europea
9、n Central Bank and other lenders are the only answer in a debt crisis.EU officials want to complete the Irish aid plan quickly. They want to be ready in case of more bad news from economies like Greece, Portugal and Spain.And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I
10、m Steve Ember.1.ensure vt.确保, 担保例句：I will ensure that the car arrives by six oclock.我保证汽车六点钟以前到。We ensured it to be pure.我们担保它是纯的。ensure，insure，assure，guarantee，pledge，promise这些动词都有“保证”之意。ensure侧重使人相信某个行为或力量产生的结果。insure常与ensure换用，但前者多指经济方面的保证、保险。assure侧重指消除某人思想上的怀疑或担心，从而有达到目的的保证感，但不如ensure普通。guarant
11、ee指对事物的品质或人的行为及履行义务、义务等承担责任的保证。pledge正式用词，指通过郑重许诺、协议或立誓等保证承担某一义务或遵守某一原则。promise侧重表自己的主观意向，设法用语言使人感到稳当可靠。2.guarantee vt.保证; 担保例句：We cant guarantee our workers regular employment.我们不能保证我们的工人定期受雇。3.extensive adj.广阔的, 广大的, 大量的; 广泛的, 大规模的, 广博的例句：The house has extensive grounds.这栋房子有广阔的空地。4.inflate v.(使)通
12、货膨胀, 物价上涨例句：The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标, 往往人为地提高价钱。5.bubble n.泡影, 幻想例句：News of the defeat quickly burst the bubble of our self-confidence.失败的消息使我们的自信心迅速破灭了。6.expand vt.vi.使…变大, 扩大, 扩张, 增强（尺码、数量或重要性）例句：The ranks of the teachers are constantly
13、 expanding.教师队伍日益扩大了。1.Its to ensure they have hope for the future.be to 表示客观安排或受人指示而做某事。 be going to 表示主观的打算或计划。I am to play football tomorrow afternoon. (客观安排)Im going to play football tomorrow afternoon. (主观安排)2.What was different about the Irish approach was that all deposits were guaranteed and
14、 bondholders, investors that had bought bonds in these banks, also received the government guarantee.What was different about the Irish approach是what引导的主语从句。that had bought bonds in these banks是定语从句，修饰investors。3.Its educated, English-speaking workers and low taxes appealed to foreign companies.appe
15、al to对…有吸引力例句：This job rather appeals to me.这工作对我有吸引力。4.They want to be ready in case of more bad news from economies like Greece, Portugal and Spain.in case of万一, 如果,发生例句：In case of fire, walk quickly to the nearest door.如果失火, 就赶快朝最近的门跑。防备例句：The wall was built along the river in case of floods.沿河筑了防护墙以防洪水。
