今日主題：Greece and Germany--Angela's Athens / 希臘與德國--安吉拉在希臘
康康精選GRE&GMAT會考的主題，堅持每天精讀一定會進步的哦!!
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http://xia2.kekenet.com/Sou…/2016/…/eco160804_5429259Etg.mp3
只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：
中英文稿：
Greece and Germany--Angela's Athens
希臘與德國--安吉拉在希臘
Greeks bearing grudges
希臘怨聲載道
AS a stiff Aegean breeze fluttered the hair and lapels of Angela Merkel’s pale-green jacket, one Greek reporter thought the outfit looked familiar. The German chancellor, making a one-day working visit to Athens, seemed to have picked the same jacket she wore in July while watching Germany trounce Greece 4-2 at this year’s European football championship. Was Mrs Merkel planning to blast the Greeks again, this time for foot-dragging over economic reforms?
德國總理正對希臘進行為期一日的工作訪問，安吉拉•默克爾身著淡綠色夾克站立在愛琴海的微風中，頭髮和衣領隨風翩翩起舞。此情此景令一名希臘記者覺得似曾相識。七月份的歐洲足球錦標賽決賽上她穿的也是這件衣服。她似乎特意挑選過，難道默克爾打算再一次扇希臘一嘴巴嗎？上次是因為希臘以2-4大敗於德國，這次難道是因為停滯不前的經濟改革？
Antonis Samaras, the prime minister, need not have worried. The European Union’s toughest advocate of austerity gave a positive message, even if it was typically cautious. Mrs Merkel said she hoped and wished that Greece would remain a member of the euro zone, praised the country’s progress with cutting expenditure and offered “practical” assistance with structural reforms, such as German expertise on overhauling tax administration and modernising local government.
希臘總理安東尼斯•薩馬拉斯不必憂心忡忡。歐盟中態度最強硬的緊縮政策擁護者雖然仍保持謹慎態度，但其已向希臘傳達了積極的信號。默克爾表示她希望希臘能維持其歐元區成員國的地位，她表揚了希臘在削減財政支出方面所取得的進展，並切實為希臘提供結構改革方面的援助，其中包括為希臘稅收管理大檢修提供德國專家的指導，以及為當地政府現代化提供幫助。
The chancellor’s efforts to empathise with ordinary Greeks suffering the pain of a five-year recession were less successful. Hostile protesters outside parliament waved banners declaring “Angela you are not welcome”. Alexis Tsipras, leader of the radical left-wing Syriza, now the main opposition party in parliament, joined the demonstration, railing against “barbarous” measures imposed by international lenders. Several municipal workers in full Nazi uniform, one of them with an Adolf Hitler moustache, drove a jeep flying swastika flags through a central boulevard as a tasteless reminder of the German occupation of Athens in the second world war.
德國總理向5年經濟衰退中受苦的希臘民眾表示同情，但是卻並不受待見。滿懷怨恨的抗議者在國會大廈外面揮舞旗幟揚言“安吉拉，我們不歡迎你”。極左派聯盟西裡紮（Syriza）是議會中主要反對黨，其領導人亞曆克西斯•西普拉斯也參加了這次遊行示威，斥責國際借貸者強制實行的政策“慘無人道”。更有些市政工作者穿上納粹全套制服，其中一人還留著阿道夫希特勒的八字須，開著吉普車，揮舞帶有卍標誌的旗幟，穿行于中央林蔭大道，不痛不癢地提醒著人們二戰時德國侵佔希臘的罪行。
At one point, as riot police briefly used tear gas and stun grenades to block protesters from approaching the parliament building, it looked as if the visit might backfire disastrously. Shortly afterwards Karolos Papoulias, the plain-speaking Greek president, told Mrs Merkel the Greeks could not endure much more austerity. At a business gathering, Greece’s senior industrialist complained about pressure on Athens to legislate a lower minimum monthly wage of 580 ($747), aimed at making Greek companies more competitive, The chancellor said mildly she would consult the troika-the EU, European Central Bank, and IMF officials working with the Greek finance ministry on a new 13.5 billion austerity package.
當防暴員警用煙霧彈閃光彈阻止遊行者靠近國會大廈時，人們一度覺得此次訪問會產生災難性的反作用。此後不久，希臘總統卡羅洛斯•帕普利亞斯明確的告訴默克爾，希臘沒法承受這麼大幅度的緊縮。在商業聚會上，希臘資深企業家也抱怨緊縮給希臘的巨大壓力，法定最低月工資降到了580 ($747)，儘管此舉旨在提升企業競爭力。德國總理態度很柔和，表示將與“三頭馬車”商討，即歐盟，歐中央行和國際貨幣基金組織，努力與希臘財政部長達成新的135億的緊縮方案。
Mr Samaras’s approval rating at home may benefit from having hosted Europe’s most powerful politician. Even so, he must wrap up the new economic package and persuade the socialist and left-wing party leaders, his coalition partners, to back it before the European summit on October 18th. He must also push the measures through parliament before Greece can draw down a long-overdue 31.2 billion loan disbursement. For as long as government suppliers continue to be unpaid and banks undercapitalised, the cash-starved economy has no prospect of moving again.
薩馬拉斯在國內的支持率會因為接待歐洲這位最有實力的政治家而提升。儘管如此，他必須完成新經濟計畫，並在10月18日歐洲峰會前說服其聯合黨派社會黨和其他左翼黨派領導人。他必須先在議會上通過緊縮方案，然後才能獲得期盼已久的312億的貸款援助。若政府資金提供方一直不提供貸款，銀行便資金不足，亟待資金的希臘便沒可能挪動步子向前走。
All the measures for 2013, amounting to 9 billion of spending cuts, have been agreed on, including reductions in farmers’ modest pensions and a new tonnage tax that patriotic shipowners whose vessels fly the Greek flag have unexpectedly agreed to pay. The gap for 2014 is “fairly small” and could be closed within days, barring an upset in talks with the troika, negotiators say. Greece should be able to balance its budget next year (before interest repayments). Yet if reforms start falling behind, talk of a “Grexit” from the euro will quickly resurface.
2013年的財政削減共達90億，對此各方都已達成一致，其中包括削減農民適度養老金。另外插有希臘旗幟的愛國船商竟然出乎意料地答應交付巨額稅款。2013與2014的差距已經相當小了，並且這個缺口將在數天內填補，但是與三頭馬車的協商卻不是很順利，談判者如是說。希臘應能在明年平衡預算（不包括利息償還），但是如果改革跟不上，“希臘退出歐元區”的議題又會被放到議桌上。
Mr Samaras has come a long way since his centre-right New Democracy party scraped a narrow election victory in June. As opposition leader he denounced Greece’s first bail-out in 2010. Advisers recall that afterwards Mrs Merkel and the troika berated him as an irresponsible southern European politician. Mr Samaras says Greece has turned a page; he chose to make his first trip abroad as prime minister to Berlin. His efforts may be starting to show results, but Mr Samaras still has a long road ahead.
自從薩馬拉斯領導的中右翼新民主黨在6月的選舉中勉強獲勝以來，他已經取得了很多突破。作為反對黨領導人，他曾譴責2010年對希臘的救援行為。據回憶，那次救援行動後，默克爾和三頭政治批評他為不負責任的南歐政治家。薩馬拉斯則表示希臘已經改過自新，並且決定對柏林進行成為總理以來的第一次訪問。薩馬拉斯的努力將初顯成效，但他還有很長的路要走。
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