美国有线新闻 CNN 2017年这个国家吸引了世界的关注

Next, we`re traveling to the South American nation of Venezuela, which is trying something new to help save its failing economy. Venezuela used to be the wealthiest country in Latin America, but its government has become increasingly authoritarian<sup>1</sup> in recent years, taking over businesses, limiting people`s freedoms and increasing its controls over the nation`s economy. And now, that economy is in shambles².

接下来，我们将前往南美国家委内瑞拉，该国正在尝试一些新举措，以帮助挽救其日渐衰退的经济。委内瑞拉曾经是拉丁美洲最富有的国家，但近年来，委内瑞拉政府变得越来越专制，接管了企业，限制了人们的自由，增加了对国家经济的控制。现在，经济陷入混乱。

SUBTITLE³: Venezuela caught the world`s attention in 2017 with months of anti-regime protests.

在长达数月的反政府抗议活动中，委内瑞拉在2017年吸引了全世界的关注。

In 2018, empty supermarket shelves and looting show the economy is still at a dangerous low.

2018年，空荡荡的超市货架和趁乱打劫的行为显示了该国经济仍处于危险水平。

Skyrocketing prices and rampant⁴ inflation of over 4,000 percent last year have devoured⁵ people`s salaries.

飞涨的物价和去年高达四千多的通货膨胀已经吞噬了人们的工资。

Venezuela`s currency, the bolivar, lost 98 percent of its value in one year.

委内瑞拉货币玻利瓦尔在一年内贬值了98%。

Getting money out of the bank has become a huge struggle.

把钱从银行取出已经变成了一场巨大的斗争。

Years of government mismanagement and widespread corruption⁶ have crippled the economy.

多年的政府管理不善和广泛的腐败已经使经济瘫痪。

At the end of 2017 oil production fell to one of its lowest points in nearly three decades.

到2017年底，石油产量降至近30年来的最低点。

That further deprived the cash-strapped country of its only major source of revenue.

这进一步剥夺了资金短缺的国家的唯一主要收入来源。

President Maduro tried to control prices and raised the minimum wage to curtail⁷ the crisis.

马杜罗总统试图控制物价，并提高最低工资以遏制危机。

1 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

2 shambles   

n.混乱之处；废墟

参考例句：

• My room is a shambles.我房间里乱七八糟。
• The fighting reduced the city to a shambles.这场战斗使这座城市成了一片废墟。

3 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

4 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

5 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。