VOA慢速英语:Italy Considers Budget Cuts, Rising Borrowing Costs

The economic situation in Italy is worrying investors and may have cost its prime minister his job. Like Greece, Italy is facing pressure to make unpopular cuts in government spending. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been seeking to enact measures meant to satisfy his country’s creditors. The interest rate Italy can expect to pay for borrowing money is increasing and recently passed seven percent.
意大利的经济形势让投资者担忧，而且可能导致其总理丢掉工作。像希腊一样，意大利正面临做出不受公众欢迎的削减政府开支的压力。总理贝卢斯科尼一直在寻求制定措施，以满足其国家债权人的要求。预计意大利要支付的借贷利息率不断增加，而最近更超过了7%。

This week, Mister Berlusconi won a budget vote in Italy’s lower house of parliament.
本周，贝卢斯科尼在意大利下议院赢得了预算投票。

(SOUND)

TRANSLATOR: Three-hundred-nine attending, three-hundred-eight in favor, one boycotted, no vote against the chamber approves…”
TRANSLATOR：“309人出席，赞成的308票，一人弃权，无反对票，表决通过...”

But the prime minister lost something else. A majority of lawmakers in the lower house refused to vote. It appeared Mister Berlusconi had lost their support. He announced on Tuesday that he would resign after parliament passes budget cutting measures.
但总理也失去了别的东西。大多数国会下议院议员拒绝投票，看来贝卢斯科尼已经失去了他们的支持。他在周二宣布，他将在议会通过预算削减措施后辞职。

Italian government debt is about one hundred twenty percent the size of the country’s economy. That is second only to Greece in Europe.  Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all required rescue loans to help them pay creditors. But unlike those nations, Italy has the third largest economy using the euro. And it is among the ten largest economies in the world.
意大利政府债务大约是该国经济规模的120%，这在欧洲仅次于希腊。希腊、爱尔兰、葡萄牙已经全部申请所有必需的救援贷款，以帮助他们支付给债权人。但是，与这些国家不同的是，意大利是欧元区的第三大经济体。而且排名在全球十大经济体之间。

On Monday, European finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the deepening debt crisis among nations using the euro. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Italy needs to enact reforms.
周一，欧洲各国财长在布鲁塞尔举行会议，讨论欧元区国家之间不断深化的债务危机。欧盟经济和货币事务专员奥利雷恩说，意大利需要进行改革。

OLLI REHN: "[It is] essential now that Italy will stick to its fiscal targets, ensure their implementation and intensify the structural reforms that can boost growth and job creation."
奥利雷恩：“意大利现在必须坚持其财政目标，确保实施与深化能够促进经济增长和创造就业机会的结构改革。”

Unlike Greece, Italy’s budget deficit is not out of control.  Of greatest concern, however, is Italy’s lack of growth and job creation.
与希腊不同的是，意大利的财政赤字并未失控。然而，最令人关注的是意大利的经济增长和创造就业机会的缺乏。

Financial officials and market watchers are also concerned that Italy’s debt problems may be too big to solve for the seventeen nations using the euro. European leaders have yet to agree on the size and conditions of a rescue fund, or plan.
财政官员和市场观察家也担心，意大利债务问题对欧元区的17国来说可能过于庞大而无法解决。欧洲领导人还同意一个救援基金或计划的规模和条件。

In Brussels, Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager said the rescue fund needed to be bigger.  But he said budget reform of euro nations was important, too.
在布鲁塞尔，荷兰财政大臣Jan Kees de Jager称需要更大的救助基金。但他表示，欧元区国家的预算改革也同样重要。

JAN KEES DE JAGER: "We have to increase the capacity of the emergency fund, that's very important, but it's not the only thing.  Economic reforms and budget cuts in countries currently under attack of the financial markets are at least as important than more money in the emergency fund.''
JAN KEES DE JAGER：“我们必须扩大应急基金的规模，这是非常重要的，但这不是唯一的事情。正面临金融市场攻击的国家经济改革和预算削减措施和扩大应急基金规模一样重要。”

On Wednesday, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano named former European commissioner Mario Monti a Senator for life. Mister Monti is now considered a leading candidate to replace Mister Berlusconi.
周三，意大利总统Giorgio Napolitano任命前欧盟委员会委员Mario Monti为终生终身参议员。Monti先生目前被认为是取代贝卢斯科尼的优先人选。