文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：Debt on the Nile
原文发布时间：27 Jan. 2023
Debt on the Nile
To the list of spectacular ruins across Egypt, you can now add its economy. The Egyptian pound lost half its value over the past year and has been the world's worst-performing currency in 2023. On January 5th the government devalued it for the third time in less than a year. Nearly half of the state's revenue goes to servicing its debts, which amount to 90% of GDP. Officially, inflation is running at 21%. The price of food is rising even faster. But official figures have not kept up with Egypt's economic decline, so the reality is almost certainly worse.
This has brought misery to the Egyptian people. Around a third of them live on less than $2 a day. Another third are on the brink of joining them. They have been failed by officials who put their own interests above those of their citizens.
Egypt's economic crisis has been a long time in the making, and is partly caused by forces beyond the state's control. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has hurt Egypt badly, since it is the world's biggest importer of wheat and its two biggest suppliers have usually been Russia and Ukraine. Higher wheat prices have made it ruinously expensive for the government to provide the ultra-cheap, subsidised bread that Egyptians have come to expect (they may riot if it is unavailable). The war has also walloped tourism which, before the pandemic, generated about 5% of GDP.
尼罗河上的债务
精听党背景导读
美联储加息风暴仍在冲击着新兴市场，2023年开年不久，埃及货币——埃及镑突然遭遇崩盘。
1月11日盘中，埃及镑兑美元汇率一度暴跌超15%，再度创出历史新低，2023年年内，累计贬值幅度已经接近20%。
据法新社1月11日报道，在埃及央行进行了作为国际货币基金组织贷款协议一部分的市场干预后，当天埃及镑的交易汇率仍低至为去年3月时的一半。
报道称，埃及镑的此轮贬值——在10个多月里贬值超过50%——是在这个阿拉伯世界人口最多国家的进口食品和其他商品价格飙升之际发生的。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：Debt on the Nile原文发布时间：27 Jan. 2023关键词：经济 债务 埃及
精听党带着问题听
1.“经济衰退”用英语如何表达？2. 世界上最大的小麦进口国是哪个国家？3. 如何理解第三段中的“wallop”？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Debt on the Nile
尼罗河上的债务
debt n. 欠款，债务；1. national debt 国债；2. in debt 负债；
Nile n. 尼罗河（位于非洲）；
段一
To the list of spectacular ruins across Egypt, you can now add its economy. The Egyptian pound lost half its value over the past year and has been the world’s worst-performing currency in 2023. On January 5th the government devalued it for the third time in less than a year. Nearly half of the state’s revenue goes to servicing its debts, which amount to 90% of GDP. Officially, inflation is running at 21%. The price of food is rising even faster. But official figures have not kept up with Egypt’s economic decline, so the reality is almost certainly worse.
spectacular adj. 壮观的；引人注目的；惊人的；1. The erupting volcano was a spectacular sight. 这次火山爆发的景象很壮观。2. a spectacular success 辉煌的成功；3. a spectacular rise in house prices 房价的暴涨；
ruin n. 毁坏；破产；堕落；破败的建筑；1. to be on the brink of financial ruin 处于破产的边缘；2. The abbey/castle is now a ruin. 这座修道院/城堡现在已破败不堪。
worst-performing adj. 表现最差的；
revenue n.（企业、组织的）收入，收益；（政府的）税收；
service vt. 支付（债务）利息；为……提供服务，满足……的需求；
amount to 总计；相当于；1. a cargo amounting to 2,000 tons 共计2,000吨的货物；2. It amounts to blackmail. 这等于勒索。3. The rain didn't amount to much. 雨并没有下大。
run vi. 持续，延续；（以某种方式或在某个时间）发生；1. The course runs for 6 months. 这门课程持续6个月。
keep up with 跟上（人、潮流、形势等）；不落后；
economic decline 经济衰退；1. economic recession 经济衰退；2. economic slump 经济萧条；经济衰退；3. business recession 经济衰退；
参考译文
在埃及各地惊人的毁坏清单上，你现在可以加上它的经济。埃及镑在过去一年中贬值一半，成为2023年世界上表现最差的货币。1月5日，政府在不到一年的时间里第三次将其贬值。国家近一半的收入用于偿还债务，这些债务占GDP的90%。官方称，通货膨胀率为21%。食品价格上涨得更快。但官方数字没有跟上埃及经济衰退的步伐，所以实际情况几乎肯定更糟糕。
段二
This has brought misery to the Egyptian people. Around a third of them live on less than $2 a day. Another third are on the brink of joining them. They have been failed by officials who put their own interests above those of their citizens.
misery n. 痛苦，苦难；穷困，悲惨境遇；
on the brink of 濒于，濒临；在……的边缘；1. the brink of sth. 某物的边缘；2. be on the brink of doing sth. 正要做某事；
fail vt. 失败；未能做到，未能做；辜负，使失望；1. You failed me. 你辜负了我。2. I have been failed by you. 我被你辜负了。
interest n. 利益，好处；利息；
参考译文
这给埃及人民带来了苦难。大约三分之一的人每天的生活费不到2美元。另外三分之一的人正处于加入他们的边缘。他们被那些将自己的利益置于公民利益之上的官员所抛弃。
段三
Egypt’s economic crisis has been a long time in the making, and is partly caused by forces beyond the state’s control. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt Egypt badly, since it is the world’s biggest importer of wheat and its two biggest suppliers have usually been Russia and Ukraine. Higher wheat prices have made it ruinously expensive for the government to provide the ultra-cheap, subsidised bread that Egyptians have come to expect (they may riot if it is unavailable). The war has also walloped tourism which, before the pandemic, generated about 5% of GDP.
in the making 在生产过程中；在发展中；1. a social reform in the making 酝酿之中的社会变革；2. These events are history in the making. 这些事件将载入史册。
importer n. 进口商；输入者；
wheat n. 小麦（植物），小麦（籽实）；
ruinously adv. 毁灭地；败坏地；无法承受地；1. ruinously expensive 贵得离谱；
subsidised adj. 有补助的，获得补贴的；1. subsidised housing 住房津贴；
riot vi.（人群）发生骚乱，聚众闹事；暴动；
wallop vt.（非正式）猛击，痛打；击溃，击败（对手）；
参考译文
埃及的经济危机由来已久，部分是由国家无法控制的力量造成的。俄罗斯对乌克兰的入侵严重伤害了埃及，因为埃及是世界上最大的小麦进口国，其两个最大的供应商通常是俄罗斯和乌克兰。小麦价格的上涨使得政府提供埃及人所期待的超廉价、有补贴的面包的成本变得非常高（如果没有面包，他们可能会暴动）。战争也使旅游业受到打击，在大流行病之前，旅游业创造了大约5%的国内生产总值。
精听党每日单词
debt
/det/ n. 欠款，债务；
Nile
/naɪl/ n. 尼罗河（位于非洲）；
spectacular
/spekˈtækjələr/ adj. 壮观的；引人注目的；惊人的；
ruin
/ˈruːɪn/ n. 毁坏；破产；堕落；破败的建筑；
worst-performing
/wɜːrst pərˈfɔːrmɪŋ/ adj. 表现最差的；
revenue
/ˈrevənuː/ n.（企业、组织的）收入，收益；（政府的）税收；
service
/ˈsɜːrvɪs/ vt. 支付（债务）利息；为……提供服务，满足……的需求；
amount to
总计；相当于；
run
/rʌn/ vi. 持续，延续；（以某种方式或在某个时间）发生；
keep up with
跟上（人、潮流、形势等）；不落后；
economic decline
经济衰退；
misery
/ˈmɪzəri/ n. 痛苦，苦难；穷困，悲惨境遇；
on the brink of
濒于，濒临；在……的边缘；
fail
/feɪl/ vt. 失败；未能做到，未能做；辜负，使失望；
interest
/ˈɪntrəst/ n. 利益，好处；利息；
in the making
在生产过程中；在发展中；
importer
/ɪmˈpɔːrtər/ n. 进口商；输入者；
wheat
/wiːt/ n. 小麦（植物），小麦（籽实）；
ruinously
/ˈruːɪnəsli/ adv. 毁灭地；败坏地；无法承受地；
subsidised
/ˈsʌbsɪdaɪzd/ adj. 有补助的，获得补贴的；
riot
/ˈraɪət/ vi.（人群）发生骚乱，聚众闹事；暴动；
wallop
/ˈwɑːləp/ vt.（非正式）猛击，痛打；击溃，击败（对手）；
精听党文化拓展
日前，埃及媒体金字塔在线网盘点了2023年埃及经济面临的四大主要挑战。
一是美元短缺。自俄乌冲突以来，总计约250亿美元的外国间接投资（主要集中于本地债券的“热钱”）逃离埃及市场，美元流动性和国际储备捉襟见肘，进口受到严重冲击。目前大部分货物滞留港口，导致国内市场基本商品短缺。
二是通货膨胀。2022年3月以来，埃及通货膨胀率持续攀升，11月底达到21%以上，是近五年来最高水平，主要是食品、饮料篮子以及服务价格上涨。
三是债务问题。根据财政部数据，埃及总债务的87%是国内债务，其余主要是在安全区内的国际机构债务。截至2022年6月底，埃及外债增至1557亿美元（占2021/2022财年GDP的37.2%），而2021年同期为1379亿美元（占GDP的32.3%）。
四是实际GDP增长。6月底截止的2021/22财年，埃及经济实际增长率达到6.6%。据IMF等预测，2022/23财年埃及经济将放缓，2025/2026财年和2026/2027财年将升至7%。
精听党每日美句
He that doth most at once doth least.
贪多嚼不烂。