专八人文知识精讲(9)：英国经济

V. Main problems associated with Britain's iron and steel industry today.
如今英国钢铁工业的主要问题。

British iron and steel industry is declining for the following reasons:
英国钢铁工业衰退的原因如下：

1. Local supplies of iron ore have become exhausted;
当地贮备枯竭；

2. Old fashioned furnaces for making coke cannot recover valuable by-products;
生产焦炭的老式炉不能提取有价值的副产品，

3. Blast furnaces, steelworks, and rolling mills are often separated from each other and thus cannot perform as well as more compact operation;
高炉、钢铁厂和轧钢厂经常分开，导致不如更紧凑的企业出效益；

4. Many steelworks have to be closed down, causing major unemployment in an area.
许多钢铁厂倒闭，导致该地区的大批人失业。

VI. Textile Industry
纺织工业

The main textile producing regions of Britain are the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Humberside, and Northern Ireland.
英国主要纺织基地是现在的中东部，约克郡和汉伯塞德郡及北爱尔兰。

The reasons behind the decline of Britain's textile industry are:
英国纺织业的衰退原因如下：

(1) Exports of textiles have not competed well with those of other foreign producers who have managed to produce cheaper goods.
纺织品出口不能很好地与设法生产出更便宜商品的国外产家竞争。

(2) There has been a rise in cheaper imports of textiles to Britain from foreign producers.
英国增加了从外国产家进口更廉价纺织品。

(3) Poor and outdated management decisions have caused problem.
薄弱及过时的管理决策导致许多问题。

(4) Substitutions of human-made fibres have been made for natural fibres.
人造纤维代替品已取代了天然纤维。

(5) An improvement of output per worker has been achieved, due to mechanization.
由于机械化，每个工人的生产量有了提高。

VII. New Industries
新兴工业

New industries include microprocessors and computers, biotechnology and other high-tech industries. There are three areas in Britain which have seen some high-tech industrial growth: (1) the area between London and South Wales, (2) the Cambridge area of East Anglia and (3) the area between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. The third area is the most spectacular of the three and is now often referred to as the "Silicon Glen". By the end of 1985 half of Britain's microchip output was estimated to have come from Scotland.
英国的新兴工业包括微处理器、计算机、生物技术和其他高科技产业。英国的草科技产业主要集中在以下三个地区：（1）伦敦和南威尔士之间的地区，（2）东英吉利的剑桥地区，（3）苏格兰格拉斯哥和爱丁堡之间的地区。其中最后一个地区是最大的，如今有“硅谷”之称。j到1985年底，英国有一半的微芯片都产自苏格兰。