VOA慢速英語(yǔ):埃及稱新建蘇伊士運(yùn)河將于八月開(kāi)放

Egyptian officials are making plans to open a newly-expanded Suez Canal on August 6th. Officials say the "new" canal will be more than double the waterway's earnings over the next 10 years. But some experts say the project alone will not be able to turn around Egypt's economy.

埃及當(dāng)局正計(jì)劃于八月六日開(kāi)放新建成的蘇伊士運(yùn)河。官方稱新運(yùn)河將會(huì)在接下來(lái)的十年水道收益翻倍。但是一些專家稱僅憑這個(gè)工程不能扭轉(zhuǎn)埃及經(jīng)濟(jì)局勢(shì)。

Admiral Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh heads the Suez Canal Authority.

Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh上將管理蘇伊士運(yùn)河部門(mén)。

He says the project will cut in half the amount of time it takes to travel through the Suez Canal. He says this time savings will lower costs for shippers.

他說(shuō)這項(xiàng)工程將會(huì)將通過(guò)蘇伊士運(yùn)河的時(shí)間減半。他說(shuō)縮減時(shí)間將會(huì)降低船夫的成本。

The expansion of the current canal means two ships will be able to sail by each other. Now, there is only enough room for one ship to pass through the waterway.

運(yùn)河擴(kuò)張意味著可以同時(shí)兩條船在運(yùn)河航行?，F(xiàn)在僅有一條船道的空間用來(lái)流通。

The Suez Canal connects Europe and Asia. The canal earned $5.5 billion in income for Egypt last year.

蘇伊士運(yùn)河連接著歐洲和亞洲地區(qū)。每年該運(yùn)河都會(huì)給埃及帶來(lái)55億美元收入。

Admiral Mameesh says less than 10 years from now, the expanded canal will earn $13 billion a year.

Mameesh上將說(shuō)從現(xiàn)在開(kāi)始十年內(nèi)，運(yùn)河擴(kuò)張每年將會(huì)收益130億美元。

Professor Andrew Lambert teaches naval history at King's College in London. He says the success of the canal will depend largely on the health of the world's shipping industry. He says that is something Egypt cannot control. And he says even if the expanded canal is successful, he does not think it will improve the lives of average Egyptians. People in Egypt are facing rising poverty rates and prices. The economy is slowly recovering from recent financial and political unrest.

Andrew Lambert教授在倫敦國(guó)王學(xué)院任教。他說(shuō)運(yùn)河成功擴(kuò)張將在很大程度上依賴全球航運(yùn)業(yè)的健康狀況。他說(shuō)這是埃及無(wú)法控制的。他還說(shuō)，即使運(yùn)河擴(kuò)張成功他也不認(rèn)為會(huì)改善埃及人民的平均生活水平。埃及人民政面臨著貧困率和物價(jià)的上升局面。埃及經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展正在從現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟(jì)和政治動(dòng)蕩中緩慢恢復(fù)中。

"Egypt is a large, complex country with a very big population. It is highly unlikely it is going to be able to live off the kinds of incomes it will get -- even from two canals. The costs of governing Egypt are very large. It has major debt problems."

埃及是一個(gè)有著巨大人口和土地面積的復(fù)雜國(guó)家。它不大可能依靠這些收入為生，哪怕有兩條運(yùn)河的收入。管理埃及的費(fèi)用非常巨大。埃及也存在著嚴(yán)重的債務(wù)問(wèn)題。

But officials say the economy is growing. And they say the canal is just one project that will both increase foreign investment in Egypt and create income for the country.

但是官方稱其經(jīng)濟(jì)正在發(fā)展總。并說(shuō)運(yùn)河僅僅是其增加國(guó)外對(duì)埃及投資的其中一項(xiàng)工程，并且會(huì)給國(guó)家?guī)?lái)收入。

I'm Jim Tedder.

VOA's Heather Murdock reported this story from Ismailia, Egypt. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

canal – n. a waterway that is designed so boats can pass through it

income – n. earnings; money that is earned from work, business or investments

complex – adj. of or having many parts that are difficult to understand; not simple.