Dictionary Says 'Austerity' Topped 2010 Words
30 июля 2013

Dictionary Says 'Austerity' Topped 2010 Words

Dictionary Says 'Austerity' Topped 2010 Words
I'm Alex Villarreal with the VOA Special English Economics Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | facebook.com/voalearningenglish At the end of December, publisher Merriam-Webster released its list of top ten words of the year for two thousand ten. "Austerity" was at the top. The company made its list based on how often people looked up definitions using its online dictionary. Merriam-Webster defines "austerity" as "enforced or extreme economy." Greece and Ireland face huge budget deficits. This has forced severe spending cuts for those governments. And they are not alone. When nations get into financial trouble, they may request loans from the International Monetary Fund or other donors. Donors, however, demand austerity measures such as sharp cuts in government spending and tax increases. Michael Izza is chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He says the world financial crisis pushed some governments to spend more. But not all debt problems are the same. Economist Dev Kar says Greece got into trouble by having too many government employees, spending freely on retirement pay and misleading investors. Last spring, Greece received rescue loans of over one hundred billion dollars. But Germany agreed to help only if Greece promised tough austerity measures.Ireland's budget deficits grew sharply after it guaranteed the bad loans of the country's biggest banks. In November, European officials agreed to a bailout nearly as large as the one Greece received.But austerity measures are unpopular. Large protests have taken place not only in Greece and Ireland, but also in Britain, Portugal and Romania.Other nations facing big deficits and slow economic growth are also seeing their borrowing costs rise. Credit rating agencies are warning about the debts of Portugal and Spain and others may follow.In May, European leaders agreed to set aside nearly seven hundred billion dollars to help troubled countries in the area. But the chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, says a more organized approach is needed.He said: "Europe has to provide a comprehensive solution to this problem. The piecemeal approach, one country after the other one, is not a good one."This could mean "austerity" will remain a top word for two thousand eleven. For VOA Special English I'm Alex Villarreal. You can find more economics reports at voaspecialenglish.com. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 24Dec2011)
Английский язык с видео Dictionary Says 'Austerity' Topped 2010 Words станет доступнее.
 
#1 написал: OghamTheBold (1 августа 2013 13:13)
The 'Odford English Dictionary' defines 'Austerity' as; Luxury horse baguette and sterilised milk tea I think it is a pun (joke) - because horse is not luxury and sterilised milk is an acquired taste In many parts of England we abbreviate 'sterilised milk' to just 'stera' So the word? 'Austerity' sounds like 'Horse-Stera-Tea' Many English speakers - drop their H's - (i.e. they do not pronounce the letter H at the start of words) So it becomes 'Orse-Stera-Tea'
#2 написал: joellecmoi (1 августа 2013 13:13)
Thank you VOA, it's a real pleasure to read your report. It's very clear, and the voice too for? a beginner in English like me. JM - France