2014年大學專四英語聽力文本素材（9）

The European Banking Authority says eight European banks are not strong enough to withstand further financial shocks. A total of 90 banks were tested. Five banks in Spain, two in Greece and one in Austria did not pass the test. The President of the European Union, Herman van Rompuy, has called an emergency meeting next week of the 17 leaders of eurozone countries to discuss the financial situation of the eurozone as a whole and additional aid for Greece.

歐洲銀行業(yè)管理局(European Banking Authority, 簡稱EBA)今天公布，共有八家歐洲銀行不能承受進一步的金融沖擊。共有90家銀行進行了測試。西班牙五家，希臘兩家，奧地利一家銀行未通過測試。歐盟總統(tǒng)范龍佩(Herman Van Rompuy)已經(jīng)呼吁歐元區(qū)17個成員國首腦于下周召開緊急會議，商討歐元區(qū)的整體形勢和對希臘的進一步援助。

The lower house of the Italian parliament has approved a tough austerity package, which was passed on Thursday by the Senate. The package includes tax measures and cuts of $68bn over three years. It’s designed to end speculation on the markets about the Italian economy.

意大利議會下院批準了一項嚴厲的緊縮措施，該計劃上周四已經(jīng)通過參議院的批準。這些措施包括稅收措施和三年內(nèi)削減680億美元的計劃。此舉的目的是終止市場對意大利經(jīng)濟的猜測。

President Obama has said time is running out for a political deal to raise America’s debt limit and stabilise the economy by cutting spending. American officials and economists are warning of national and global consequences if the US starts to default on its obligations. From Washington, Paul Adams reports.

奧巴馬總統(tǒng)曾表示，達成政治協(xié)議，提高美國債務上限，通過削減支出來穩(wěn)定經(jīng)濟的時間已經(jīng)很緊迫。美國官員和經(jīng)濟學家警告稱，如果美國開始拖欠債務，將在全國和全球范圍造成嚴重的后果。來自華盛頓，Paul Adams報道。