詞匯輔導(dǎo)：通過閱讀學(xué)習(xí)英語六級詞匯(三十二)
時(shí)間：
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英語六級詞匯
Unit thirty-two
A Stunning Advance in Third World Productivity?
Two weeks ago, China had the 10th largest economy in the world. This week it jumps to third, behind the U.S. and Japan. India, formerly No.11, leaps to No.6. Mexico climbs from No.12 to No.10.
what has been going on? A stunning advance in Third World productivity? No, something more mundane but almost as far-reaching is taking place as the Washington-based International Monetary Fund switches to a different system for estimating the size of each country’s economy. Those most affected are rapidly industrializing nations such as Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand, and their upgraded status, is likely to change perceptions of the world’s economic balance of power. Says Robert Hormats: “This new accounting underscores in quantitative terms just how powerful China, India and other developing countries are today, both as markets and as competitors.”
The IMF’s latest calculations replace an accounting technique that valued in the U.S. dollars the output of goods and services in every nation. That system, still widely used by economists as well as by multilateral lenders like the world Bank, produces swings in a country’s gross national product, its total output of goods and services, every time the value of its currency shifts in relation to the U.S. dollar. The IMF’s new gauge relies on “purchasing-power parity,” a means of calculating national income that many economists believe should have been put into practice long ago. Rather than GNP being measured in dollars, a national basket of goods and services encompassing the likes of transport, food, clothing and shelter is tallied in local currency and compared with purchasing power of similar goods and services in other parts of the world. This method provides a more accurate assessment of the value of what each person is able to buy, a figure that is multiplied by a country’s total population to reach an estimate of national output. Using this standard, the IMF pegs China’s output as $1.7 trillion last year, far above the $400 billion used in earlier estimates.
While the higher IMF estimates may be better yardsticks of economic progress, they have also aroused Third World concern that some hard-pressed developing nations may suddenly be seen as too well-off to receive needed World Bank loans. Under current rules, only countries with a per capita GDP of less than $765 qualify for 35-year interest-free loans, the most favorable terms available. World Bank officials insist that they have no plans to change their own measuring techniques to match the IMF’s revised numbers. So the worries in some countries may be justified.
The IMF’s new tallies are still controversial. Some economists believe that in a number of cases, the value of goods and services in different countries cannot be meaningfully compared. But a majority of economists seem to applaud the change. Nor is the end is sight: forecasters who use IMF methods in adding the economies of Hong Kong and Taiwan to that of China -- envisaging a Greater China, so to speak – calculate that total output will exceed the U.S.’s in less than a decade.
leap vi. 1.跳,躍,跳動(dòng) 2.急速行動(dòng),沖 vt. 躍過 n. 1.跳,跳躍 2.激增,驟變
[聯(lián)想詞]
hop (hopped; hopping) vi. 1.(人)單足跳躍 2.(鳥或昆蟲等)齊足跳躍 vt. 跳上(汽車,火車,飛機(jī)等) n.1.蹦跳 2.(飛機(jī)等)短程航行
skip (skipped; skipping) vi. 1.跳,蹦跳 2.跳繩 vt.跳過,略過,漏過 n.跳,蹦跳
stun vt. (stunned; stunning) 1.使震驚,使目瞪口呆 2.把…打昏,使昏迷
productivity n.生產(chǎn)力,生產(chǎn)率
productive a. 1.多產(chǎn)的,富饒的 2.富有成效的
mundane a.1.世俗的,平凡的 2.宇宙的,世界的
monetary a.錢的,貨幣的,金融的
upgrade vt.提升,使升級 n.向上的斜坡
[聯(lián)想詞]
degrade vt.1.降低…的身份,有辱…的人格 2.使降解,使退化
elevate vt.1.提升…的職位,提高,改善 2.使情緒高昂,使興高采烈 3.舉起,使上升
underscore vt.1.在…下面劃線 2.強(qiáng)調(diào),加強(qiáng)
[聯(lián)想詞]
underline vt.1.在…下面劃線2.強(qiáng)調(diào),使突出
bracket n.1.括號 2.(年齡,收入等的)等級段,檔次vt.1.把…置于括號內(nèi) 2.把…歸入同一類
tick n.1.記號,句號 2.滴答聲 vt.給…標(biāo)記號 vi.發(fā)出滴答聲
quantitative a.(數(shù))量的,定量的
[聯(lián)想詞]
qualitative a.(性)質(zhì)的,定性的
bilateral a.雙邊的,雙方的
[聯(lián)想詞]
multilateral 1.多邊的 2.多國(或多方)參加的,多國(或多方)間的
swing v.(swung) 1.使搖擺,使搖蕩 2.旋轉(zhuǎn) 3.突然轉(zhuǎn)向 n.1.擺動(dòng),搖擺 2.秋千
[聯(lián)想詞]
whirl vt.1.旋轉(zhuǎn),急轉(zhuǎn) 2.發(fā)暈,(感覺等)變混亂 n.1.旋轉(zhuǎn),急轉(zhuǎn) 2.混亂 pendulum 1.鐘擺 2.搖擺不定的事態(tài)
gauge n.1.測量儀表 2.(金屬板的)厚度,(金屬線的)直徑 vt.1.估計(jì),判斷 2.計(jì)量,度量
practice n.1.練習(xí),實(shí)習(xí) 2.實(shí)踐,實(shí)際 vt.1.練習(xí),實(shí)習(xí) 2.從事 3.執(zhí)行
practical a.實(shí)際的,實(shí)用的
practicable a.可行的,適用的
parity n.1.相同,相等 2.類似,相似
tally vt.計(jì)算,統(tǒng)計(jì),合計(jì)
peg n.1.小釘,栓,掛物釘 2.樁 vt.1.用釘子釘,用釘固定 2.限定(價(jià)格,工資等) 3.將…看成,將…歸入
[聯(lián)想詞]
cork n.軟木,軟木塞 vt.用瓶塞塞住
trillion n.萬億
yardstick n.1.碼尺(指直尺) 2.計(jì)算標(biāo)準(zhǔn),尺度
qualify v.使勝任,具有資格,合格
[聯(lián)想詞]
eligible a.1.有條件被選中的,有恰當(dāng)資格的 2.合適的,合意的
applaud vi.鼓掌,喝彩 vt.1.向…鼓掌,向…喝彩 2.稱贊,贊許
envisage vt.想象,設(shè)想
A Stunning Advance in Third World Productivity?
Two weeks ago, China had the 10th largest economy in the world. This week it jumps to third, behind the U.S. and Japan. India, formerly No.11, leaps to No.6. Mexico climbs from No.12 to No.10.
what has been going on? A stunning advance in Third World productivity? No, something more mundane but almost as far-reaching is taking place as the Washington-based International Monetary Fund switches to a different system for estimating the size of each country’s economy. Those most affected are rapidly industrializing nations such as Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand, and their upgraded status, is likely to change perceptions of the world’s economic balance of power. Says Robert Hormats: “This new accounting underscores in quantitative terms just how powerful China, India and other developing countries are today, both as markets and as competitors.”
The IMF’s latest calculations replace an accounting technique that valued in the U.S. dollars the output of goods and services in every nation. That system, still widely used by economists as well as by multilateral lenders like the world Bank, produces swings in a country’s gross national product, its total output of goods and services, every time the value of its currency shifts in relation to the U.S. dollar. The IMF’s new gauge relies on “purchasing-power parity,” a means of calculating national income that many economists believe should have been put into practice long ago. Rather than GNP being measured in dollars, a national basket of goods and services encompassing the likes of transport, food, clothing and shelter is tallied in local currency and compared with purchasing power of similar goods and services in other parts of the world. This method provides a more accurate assessment of the value of what each person is able to buy, a figure that is multiplied by a country’s total population to reach an estimate of national output. Using this standard, the IMF pegs China’s output as $1.7 trillion last year, far above the $400 billion used in earlier estimates.
While the higher IMF estimates may be better yardsticks of economic progress, they have also aroused Third World concern that some hard-pressed developing nations may suddenly be seen as too well-off to receive needed World Bank loans. Under current rules, only countries with a per capita GDP of less than $765 qualify for 35-year interest-free loans, the most favorable terms available. World Bank officials insist that they have no plans to change their own measuring techniques to match the IMF’s revised numbers. So the worries in some countries may be justified.
The IMF’s new tallies are still controversial. Some economists believe that in a number of cases, the value of goods and services in different countries cannot be meaningfully compared. But a majority of economists seem to applaud the change. Nor is the end is sight: forecasters who use IMF methods in adding the economies of Hong Kong and Taiwan to that of China -- envisaging a Greater China, so to speak – calculate that total output will exceed the U.S.’s in less than a decade.
leap vi. 1.跳,躍,跳動(dòng) 2.急速行動(dòng),沖 vt. 躍過 n. 1.跳,跳躍 2.激增,驟變
[聯(lián)想詞]
hop (hopped; hopping) vi. 1.(人)單足跳躍 2.(鳥或昆蟲等)齊足跳躍 vt. 跳上(汽車,火車,飛機(jī)等) n.1.蹦跳 2.(飛機(jī)等)短程航行
skip (skipped; skipping) vi. 1.跳,蹦跳 2.跳繩 vt.跳過,略過,漏過 n.跳,蹦跳
stun vt. (stunned; stunning) 1.使震驚,使目瞪口呆 2.把…打昏,使昏迷
productivity n.生產(chǎn)力,生產(chǎn)率
productive a. 1.多產(chǎn)的,富饒的 2.富有成效的
mundane a.1.世俗的,平凡的 2.宇宙的,世界的
monetary a.錢的,貨幣的,金融的
upgrade vt.提升,使升級 n.向上的斜坡
[聯(lián)想詞]
degrade vt.1.降低…的身份,有辱…的人格 2.使降解,使退化
elevate vt.1.提升…的職位,提高,改善 2.使情緒高昂,使興高采烈 3.舉起,使上升
underscore vt.1.在…下面劃線 2.強(qiáng)調(diào),加強(qiáng)
[聯(lián)想詞]
underline vt.1.在…下面劃線2.強(qiáng)調(diào),使突出
bracket n.1.括號 2.(年齡,收入等的)等級段,檔次vt.1.把…置于括號內(nèi) 2.把…歸入同一類
tick n.1.記號,句號 2.滴答聲 vt.給…標(biāo)記號 vi.發(fā)出滴答聲
quantitative a.(數(shù))量的,定量的
[聯(lián)想詞]
qualitative a.(性)質(zhì)的,定性的
bilateral a.雙邊的,雙方的
[聯(lián)想詞]
multilateral 1.多邊的 2.多國(或多方)參加的,多國(或多方)間的
swing v.(swung) 1.使搖擺,使搖蕩 2.旋轉(zhuǎn) 3.突然轉(zhuǎn)向 n.1.擺動(dòng),搖擺 2.秋千
[聯(lián)想詞]
whirl vt.1.旋轉(zhuǎn),急轉(zhuǎn) 2.發(fā)暈,(感覺等)變混亂 n.1.旋轉(zhuǎn),急轉(zhuǎn) 2.混亂 pendulum 1.鐘擺 2.搖擺不定的事態(tài)
gauge n.1.測量儀表 2.(金屬板的)厚度,(金屬線的)直徑 vt.1.估計(jì),判斷 2.計(jì)量,度量
practice n.1.練習(xí),實(shí)習(xí) 2.實(shí)踐,實(shí)際 vt.1.練習(xí),實(shí)習(xí) 2.從事 3.執(zhí)行
practical a.實(shí)際的,實(shí)用的
practicable a.可行的,適用的
parity n.1.相同,相等 2.類似,相似
tally vt.計(jì)算,統(tǒng)計(jì),合計(jì)
peg n.1.小釘,栓,掛物釘 2.樁 vt.1.用釘子釘,用釘固定 2.限定(價(jià)格,工資等) 3.將…看成,將…歸入
[聯(lián)想詞]
cork n.軟木,軟木塞 vt.用瓶塞塞住
trillion n.萬億
yardstick n.1.碼尺(指直尺) 2.計(jì)算標(biāo)準(zhǔn),尺度
qualify v.使勝任,具有資格,合格
[聯(lián)想詞]
eligible a.1.有條件被選中的,有恰當(dāng)資格的 2.合適的,合意的
applaud vi.鼓掌,喝彩 vt.1.向…鼓掌,向…喝彩 2.稱贊,贊許
envisage vt.想象,設(shè)想