專八人文知識精講（9）英國經濟

I. The Evolution of the British Economy since the War
戰后英國經濟發展

The evolution of the British economy since WWII falls into three periods:
二戰后英國經濟發展可分為三個階段：

(1) Steady development in the 50s and 60s: The British economy in this period is characterized by slow but steady growth, low unemployment and great material prosperity with rising standards of consumption.
（1）戰后50-60年代平穩發展時期。其主要特點是經濟緩慢而持續增長，失業率低，物質豐富，人民消費水平不斷增長。

(2) Economic recession in the 70s: In the 1970s among the developed countries, Britain maintained the lowest growth rate and the highest inflation rate, and the high record of trade deficits.
（2）70年代經濟滯脹。在70年代，英國在所有的發達資本主義國家中，始終保持最低經濟增長率，最高的通貨膨脹率，和最高的貿易赤字紀錄。

(3) Economic recovery in the 80s: An outstanding feature of the economic recovery in the 80s was its length, lasting seven years. Another was the improved financial position of the government, with stronger current account of the balance of payments.
（3）80年代經濟復蘇。一個顯著特點是時間長，復蘇持續了7年。另一個特點是國際收支大大盈余，政府金融地位最高。

II. Measures taken by Mrs. Thatcher's government to improve the economy
撒切爾政府的經濟復蘇政策

Mrs. Thatcher's government took numerous measures to improve the efficiency of the economy during the past decade, using both macroeconomic and microeconomic policies.
撒切爾政府運用宏觀經濟政策和微觀經濟政策，采取了許多措施提高經濟效益。

(1) Macroeconomic measures were directed towards bringing down the rate of inflation and achieving price stability.
宏觀經濟政策直接針對降低通貨膨脹率和維持物價穩定。

(2) Microeconomic policies were aimed at working with the grain of market forces by encouraging enterprise, efficiency and flexibility.
微觀經濟政策旨在通過鼓勵實業，效率和靈活性共同努力提高市場競爭力。

III. Reasons for the British coal mining is called a "sick" industry today.
英國煤礦被稱為"生病"工業的原因。

Today the coal industry in Britain is on the decline，the number of miners, collieries and the total output have been falling.
如今的英國煤礦業衰退，從而導致礦工、煤礦的數量和總產量都大大下降。

The reasons for the decline are as follows: exhaustion of old mines, costly operations of extraction, poor old equipment, little investment, fall in demand due to imports of cleaner, cheaper and more efficient fuels, etc.
煤工業衰退的原因包括：老煤礦的枯竭，昂貴的提煉費用，破舊的設備，極少的投資，由于進口更干凈、更便宜、更高效的燃料導致的需求下降等等。

IV. Britain's oil and natural gas
英國的石油和天然氣

Natural gas was discovered in 1965 and oil in 1970 under the North Sea. Today Britain is not only self-sufficient in oil but also has a surplus for export. The transport and domestic heating systems mostly depend on oil. So does the food supply, because most agriculture is highly mechanized. Modern farming requires things which are all oil-based.
在1965年及1970年在北海發現天然氣和石油。今天英國的石油不僅能自給自足，還有盈余供出口。交通和家庭供熱系統主要依靠石油，因為大部分農業的高度機械化，食品供應也靠石油。

（責任編輯：liushengbao）