津巴布韦上周的政府账目仅剩$217

时间：2013-01-31 07:46:52

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Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said that the country only had $217 left in its public account last week after paying civil servants.

津巴布韦财政部长腾达伊·比提称，上周支付了公务员的工资之后，政府账目上只剩217美元。

However, he said that the following day some $30m of revenue had been paid in.

Mr Biti told the BBC he made the revelation in order to emphasise¹ that the government was unable to finance elections, not that it was insolvent²（无力偿还的）.

Polls are due this year, with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF fighting Mr Biti's Movement for Democratic Change.

Mr Biti has previously³ complained that diamond mining companies have not been paying revenues to the government.

The power-sharing government set up in 2009 ended years of hyperinflation（恶性通货膨胀） by using the US dollar, but the economy remains⁴ fragile.

'Challenging position'

Mr Biti told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that his statement had been deliberately⁵ taken out of context.

"You journalists are mischievous⁶（恶作剧的） and malicious⁷ - the point I was making was that the Zimbabwean government doesn't have the funds to finance the election, to finance the referendum," he said.

"To dramatise the point, I simply made a passing reference metaphorically⁸ that when we paid civil servants last week on Thursday we were left with $217... but even the following day we had $30m in our account."

Zimbabwe needs nearly $200m to pay for a referendum on a new constitution, as well as the election.

The government-run Herald⁹ newspaper says Mr Biti and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa have been given the task of sourcing this money from donors¹⁰.

Analysts¹¹ say the power-sharing government has achieved some economic stability.

However, high levels of unemployment mean the country's tax and revenue base remains extremely low.

"We're in a challenging position, we're a small economy and we've got huge things to be done but… the minister for finance of Greece has an even worse story," Mr Biti told the BBC.

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收听单词发音

1 emphasise
vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重
参考例句：
What special feature do you think I should emphasise? 你认为我该强调什么呢？ The exercises heavily emphasise the required readings.练习非常强调必须的阅读。

2 insolvent
adj.破产的，无偿还能力的
参考例句：
They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。 The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

3 previously
adv.以前，先前（地）
参考例句：
The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。 Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 deliberately
adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地
参考例句：
The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。 They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 mischievous
adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的
参考例句：
He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。 A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

7 malicious
adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的
参考例句：
You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。 Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

8 metaphorically
adv. 用比喻地
参考例句：
It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。 Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

9 herald
vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎
参考例句：
In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。 Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

10 donors
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者
参考例句：
Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。 About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。来自《简明英汉词典》

11 analysts
分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
参考例句：
City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。 I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。