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情景对话
Ade: Good morning Chris. Tell us, where do you come from?
阿德琳娜：早上好，克里斯。你来自哪里？
Chris: I'm from Antwerp in Belgium.
克里斯：我来自比利时安特卫普。
Ade: Wow! I've never met anyone from Belgium, tell me something about it.
阿德琳娜：哇哦！我以前不认识比利时人，给我介绍一下比利时吧。
Chris:
You've never met anyone from Belgium? Well it's just actually a pretty
small country in Western Europe, about 11 million inhabitants and very
famous for its chocolate. You must have heard about Belgian chocolate.
And of course most famous cities, I would say Antwerp, Brugge and of
course the capital, Brussels.
克里斯：你以前不认识比利时人？比利时是一个西欧小国，大约有1100万人口，最出名的是巧克力。你一定听说过比利时的巧克力。当然你肯定也听说过很多比利时的著名城市。最出名的城市是安特卫普、布鲁日，还有首都布鲁塞尔。
Ade: Oh yeah, Brussels, yes, the heart of Europe.
阿德琳娜：哦，布鲁塞尔，当然，那是欧洲的心脏。
Chris:
Yes indeed, that's what they say, the heart of Europe. It's also the
capital of Europe and where all the ministers come together like ...
have you ever heard of the NATO?
克里斯：没错，人们称布鲁塞尔是欧洲的心脏。同时，布鲁塞尔也是欧洲的中心，所有欧洲部长都会聚集在那里，你听说过北约组织吗？
Ade: Of course I did, I'm a translator.
阿德琳娜：我当然听说过，我是名翻译。
Chris: So what do you mean, you translated for them?
克里斯：你是什么意思，你为他们做过翻译？
Ade: No, I wish, there you can make a lot of money. But oh yes, a lot of big decisions are made there regarding Europe.
阿德琳娜：没有，这是我的希望，这样能挣很多钱。我知道他们会做出很多与欧洲有关的重大决定。
Chris: Oh yes, that's right, a lot of big decisions, some good decisions but also some not that good decisions, let's say.
克里斯：对，没错，很多重大决定，有一些是好的决定，但是另外一些可能不太好。
Ade: Tell me what's your opinion about the euro and how does affect on the economy?
阿德琳娜：跟我说说你对欧元的看法以及欧元对经济所产生的影响吧。
Chris:
The euro, well that's a big question. I mean I think there's a lot of
different opinions about the euro and also not all countries have agreed on
that. There are still a few missing, like the big ... how you say it
... the big United Kingdom, I mean they still didn't join it and I don't
think they will ever join. It's now 12 or, yeah, 11 years ago it
started, in 2002, the 1st January with only 12 countries agreeing, then a
year later, 13. Today there are 17, so there are still 10 missing. And
they haven't decided yet whether to join the euro or not. And then on
the other hand there's countries that are in the Eurozone that are about
to collapse, so many people think the euro would eventually collapse.
The more troubled Eurozone like Greece, they will have to leave the euro
and eventually go back to their own currency. Spain, Portugal, Ireland,
Italy, eventually they'll have to leave the euro and go back to their
own currency. I mean the stronger countries, they will get tired of standing up for
the weaker ones that are bringing the economy down. It will be in the
end too much to bear and citizens will end up insisting they leave. So
as to have more control over their own finances. I mean what's going on
now in Greece, paying, this cannot go on for much longer. For the
northern countries the euro does work. And the euro would be even
stronger with full-federalization. The northern countries will survive,
but the southern countries will have to go back to their own original
currency and rely on tourism for their growth. And then you have the
Eastern countries who wanted to join the euro, but they will have to
think twice before doing that.
克里斯：欧元，这是个大问题。我认为外界对欧元有很多不同的看法，不是所有国家都赞同欧元这个想法。现在仍有国家没有加入欧元体系，比如……你们怎么说，比如英国，英国还没有加入欧元区，我认为英国永远不会加入欧元区。欧元在12年前……不对，在11年前，也就是2002年1月1日开始流通，当时有12个国家加入欧元区，1年以后，成员国为13个国家。现在欧元区共有17个成员国，不过仍有10个国家没有加入。这些国家还没有决定是否加入欧元区。另一方面，有一些欧元区成员国面临崩溃的风险，所以许多人认为欧元最终也会崩溃。希腊是问题比较大的欧元区成员国，希腊将不得不离开欧元区，重新使用本国货币。西班牙、葡萄牙、爱尔兰、意大利最后可能也必须离开欧元区，重新使用本国货币。更强的国家可能会厌倦为那些经济下滑的弱国提供支持。最后，他们可能会无法忍受，然后民众坚持要退出欧元区。这样可以在本国财政方面有更多的控制权。目前希腊的情况持续不了太久。对北部地区的国家来说，欧元带来了益处。在完全联邦化的情况下，欧元可能会更强大。北部国家可以存活下去，但是南部国家却不得不重新使用本国货币，依赖旅游业带动经济发展。虽然东部国家想加入欧元区，但是他们在决定之前要三思。
Ade: So what do you think about the UK, do you think they should join us or stay the way they are?
阿德琳娜：你认为看英国的情况，你认为英国应该加入欧元区还是保持现状？
Chris: The UK, they never had any plans to join the euro. The UK is a big powerhouse and if eventually the euro collapses, they will benefit from
it. I mean the euro has caused job destruction, recession, the UK were
smart and they shouldn't join the euro, they should stay with their
pound the way they are doing.
克里斯：英国从来就没有加入欧元区的计划。英国是强国，如果最终欧元崩溃，那英国将会从中获益。欧元已经造成工作岗位流失和经济衰退，英国很聪明，他们不应该加入欧元区，继续使用英镑就好。
Ade: Yes, that's true. Thanks for sharing your opinions with us today Chris.
阿德琳娜：对，没错。克里斯，谢谢你今天和我们分享你的观点。
Chris: Sure, no problem.
克里斯：不客气。
重点讲解：
1. agree on 商定；议定；就…达成协议；
例句：The plan strikes me as ridiculous, but the others agree on it.
我觉得那项计划可笑，但其他人却同意。
2. get tired of 厌烦的；厌倦的；
例句：Don't get tired of life; you are still young.
不要对生活厌倦；你还年轻。
3. stand up for 坚决维护；捍卫；
例句：Bill is too tame to stand up for his own rights.
比尔太没骨气，竟不敢起来维护自己的权利。
4. benefit from 获益；对…有益；有利于；
例句：She has never benefited from all that experience.
她从未得益于那个经验教训。
