[1010G]【决战2010精英组Economist阅读贴----DEBATE分贴】by TEAR(xingfuhbj)

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

Rebuttal statements

Defending the motion

Heiner Flassbeck   

Director, Globalisation and Development Strategies, UNCTAD

Germans should know about the dilemma created by wage divergences. It was the deviation of East German wages measured in international currency that destroyed East German industry after the German Monetary Union of 1990.

【1990的德国统一后，东德的工资水平偏离了国际货币衡量的的平均水平，从而摧毁了德国工业。】我真是没看懂这话的意思，德国工业不是德国最强的么？！

Against the motion

Michael Hüther   

Director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research

By 2006, when the most recent boom began to stimulate the labour market in Germany, wage restraint had led to about 600,000 new jobs. This result matches a variety of empirical studies that identify a positive relationship between wage restraint and employment.

【很多研究表明，工资限额政策与就业增长呈现正向关系，而德国证实了这一点】

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Featured guest

Andreas Freytag

There is the claim that Germany's export orientation is a curse rather than a blessing, not only for the country itself, but especially for it EU neighbours. Two arguments are often put forward to justify this claim. First, the dependence on exports is hurting the German economy if export demand is declining, which happened in 2008 and 2009. It would be favourable if the country was more highly diversified and could rely more on domestic demand, which is too low overall. Second, by relying on competitive export firms and their products, Germany is behaving unfairly compared with its European partners. In particular, it is said that German wages are unduly(过度地，不适当地) low, which is hurting the competitiveness of French, Greek and other EU member firms. As a consequence, Germany piles up export surpluses.

【德国过度依赖于出口是害人害己的。首先，如果外需减少，会对德国经济造成巨大的打击，事实上2008和2009年已经发生过了；其次，德国通过不公正的方式—过分抑制工资水平而获得极大的竞争力从而削弱了其他国家的国际竞争力。】

Both arguments lack economic sense. The first is based on at least one wrong presumption, namely that domestic demand is less volatile (反复无常的，易变的) than foreign demand. If, as they do, German firms offer competitive products and services, the volatility of export demand is also low: Serving the worldwide markets is regional diversification, from a single firm's point of view as well as from a national one. In addition, those firms who are successful in export markets make good profits, pay excellent wages and offer reliable jobs. Therefore, they contribute themselves to the demand side of the economy. In domestic markets, it is not secured that salaries are as competitive and high as they are on export markets. Serving the domestic consumer does not protect from crisis, neither for the firm nor at the macroeconomic level.

【德国的公司实质上通过满足巨大外需提供了很多工作岗位、支付了很多薪水，从而间接刺激了内需。何况没有证据证明内需比外需更具更稳定性。】

The second argument is even weaker. Germany's good position on export as well as on import competing markets is indeed based on competitive cost structures.(成本结构) However, it is not an absolutely low wage level but low unit labour costs that lead to this competitiveness. In particular, the development of the last decade was favourable for the German industry and for the German workforce. Many new jobs were created. It is wrong to argue that wages always have to grow with a rate equal to productivity growth plus inflation. Coming from high unemployment demands—at least periodically—modest wage claims to reduce this economic and social burden, leading to relatively declining unit labour costs. By neglecting the permanent Keynesian litany(冗长的陈述) to increase wages to boost domestic demand, the German unions have contributed much to these jobs—a threefold(三倍的，三重的) hurray(万岁呼声, 狂热) for them! In addition, one has to consider that absolute wages are comparable to the French wage levels, but the productivity is higher. Thus, German exports are more competitive than French; that is correct. However, the high income earned on exports is spent on imports, among other things. In other words, if Germans reduce their exports due to higher wage levels and lower competitiveness, they can spend less money on imports. The trade balance is not influenced by the cost structure, at least not directly. It is the result of intertemporal decision-making. Germany's population invests less than it saves; this is the simple reason for the trade surplus. Thus, the trade surplus does not tell us anything about the competitiveness of German firms.

【贸易平衡并非仅仅受成本结构影响。事实上贸易盈余是由于德国人储蓄大于投资的消费习惯。】

Therefore, reducing its export competitiveness would neither help Germany nor its neighbours. If domestic demand should be increased, two ways can be thought of. Either we save less or we invest more. An ageing population like the German is probably difficult to convince to save less, in particular in uncertain times under unclear economic policy conditions. This leaves us domestic investment to support the demand side: Demand is not restricted to the consumer. If investment in Germany picks up, the difference between savings and investment decreases, demand for domestic and imported investment goods increases, and the export surplus is reduced as a side-effect. However, it should also be clear that if Germans spend the German savings via investment, other people in France, Greece or Spain cannot borrow the German savings, which implies that they cannot spend them. Every euro can only be spent once.

【要改变现状应从改变德国人的消费观念出发：要么少储蓄要么多投资。由于德国的老龄化，减少储蓄是不现实的，而多投资又会导致其他国家可从德国接到的资金减少。】

In addition, if the French government wants to reduce imports from Germany, it should create the conditions for French companies to become more competitive and to take part of the German export market shares in France and third countries or to export better products to Germany themselves. In this case, the higher French earnings may stimulate French imports; Germany might even export more. However, this time it is not at the expense of French firms but because of their success. Instead of weakening German firms, the governments of other EU member countries should learn the lesson of the last German upswing (before as well as in the crisis) and care about production costs. The result would be a wealthier Europe, on the whole.

【事实上，其他国家应该从自身找原因，提高其国内企业的竞争力。但这种方式会导致其国人工资增加，进而促进对德国的进口。所以其他国家应该向德国学习其成功的经验，降低生产成本。】
简直就是谬论！谁说别的国家居民钱多了就一定会增加对德国的进口~

Germany's export performance is not the result of a zero-sum game(零和游戏). It would not suffer on average, if other countries also perform better, although some firms will suffer from harder competition. In total, all countries would benefit. If the Lisbon strategy has any meaning at all, the German export model should rather be copied than abolished.

【其他成员国应通过学习德国的成功经验来实现自身的发展。】

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词汇：
litany(冗长的陈述)
专有名词：
the Lisbon strategy :http://baike.baidu.com/view/962766.htm
Native表达：
unduly(过度地，不适当地)
piles up
volatile (反复无常的，易变的)
cost structures.(成本结构)
modest wage
threefold(三倍的，三重的)
hurray(万岁呼声, 狂热)
zero-sum game(零和游戏)
结构：
There is the claim that Germany's export orientation is a curse rather than a blessing, not only for the country itself, but especially for it EU neighbours.

It would be favourable if the…. was more highly…

Both arguments lack…sense

By neglecting the…

Thus, the trade surplus does not tell us anything about the competitiveness of German firms.

Two ways can be thought of. Either we save less or we invest more.

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The moderator's rebuttal remarks

Apr 9th 2010 | Brooke Unger

So far, the house is almost evenly divided, with a small majority disagreeing with the proposal that Germany depends too much on exports (and makes life miserable for its trading partners). Many seem bewildered by the very idea. As Ampoliros pithily(有力地，简洁地) put it from the floor, "I cannot help but find this entire notion absurd." Why should Germany apologise for being so successful on the global market?
【票数基本持平。略倾向于反方】
A change of course, not an apology, is what the motion's defenders are after. Heiner Flassbeck argues that Germany has broken faith with the euro. It may be dangerous for countries to drive up(抬高) wages beyond productivity plus targeted inflation, says Mr Flassbeck, but it is equally foolhardy(鲁莽的，有勇无谋的) to hold down wages so that they rise by much less, as Germany has done. The first courts inflation, the second deflation and both create unsustainable trade imbalances. In Mr Flassbeck's view, the contribution of net exports to growth should be close to zero.
【正方认为德国没有遵守欧盟的规定，真正健康的经济增长应伴随着平衡的国际收支】

Michael Hüther, arguing against the motion, points out that it is only recently that Germany has been denying itself handsome pay rises. If you go back to the early 1990s wage increases were extremely expansive. The recent restraint merely corrected that and allowed employment to grow once again. If it's higher domestic demand you want, job growth is a more powerful spur to consumption than wage growth. The implication is that if Germans paid themselves more, they would destroy jobs and import even less, hardly a cure for what ails struggling euro members like Greece.

【反方指出德国近些年才开始压制工资，且是出于提高就业水平，因为就业的增加比工资的增加更能促进内需】

Trade imbalances come from a mismatch between savings and investment, notes Andreas Freytag, who joins the debate from the University of Jena. Germany's ageing population is unlikely to save less; it is more likely to reduce its surplus by increasing investment, but that would reduce the flow of German savings to euro-partners like France, Spain and Greece.

【贸易不平衡是由储蓄和投资的不合理搭配导致的。】

Watching this contest from the sidelines, I am struck by how much it turns on a question that ought to be answerable with empirical evidence: Does wage restraint destroy jobs and demand, as the Keynesians defending the motion argue? Or does it contribute to job growth and therefore consumption, as the dissenters insist? I invite debaters and spectators to lob any empirical missiles(不太懂意思~) they may possess in this direction.

【答案需要从现实中寻找、证实】
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词汇：
pithily(有力地，简洁地)
drive up(抬高)
foolhardy(鲁莽的，有勇无谋的)
hold down
结构：
broken faith with(违约,失信)
a more powerful spur
…hardly a cure for
Watching this contest from the sidelines, I am struck by how much it turns on a question that

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The proposer's rebuttal remarks

Apr 9th 2010 | Heiner Flassbeck

My line of argument in the opening—and in numerous warnings about an "explosive in the making" in the euro area during the last ten years—proves that Michael Hüther's main proposition is wrong. He holds that "The demand for a weakening of the German export position is based exclusively on distributive arguments—on the national and international levels." However, the distribution of income is about real concepts like the wage share and real unit labour costs. Monetary unions or any other kind of monetary arrangement between states involving national currencies or supranational currencies are about nominal concepts like inflation or nominal unit labour costs or "real exchanges rates" (indeed, the latter is a nominal concept and it is not an exchange rate but a measure of competitiveness). In fact, misunderstandings abound in Germany regarding currency union; let's do some basics.

【收入分配的真实情况取决于实际的概念而不是名义上的定义】

Nations can easily open their borders for trade and capital flows if it is assured that their companies have a fair chance in the global division of labour and that they are not in danger of permanently losing against the rest of the world. This is the simple proposition(论点，主张) underlying all international arrangements about trade in the World Trade Organisation and elsewhere. If, at the level of the overall economy, the nominal remuneration(报酬，赔偿，补偿) of the immobile(不动的，不变的，静止的) factor in one nation state, labour, exceeds the effectiveness of its use (labour productivity) consistently by a wider margin than in the competing countries, the country is in deep trouble because most of its companies are in trouble.(这句话好长的说~可以注意一下先定义 labour再接着说话的这种表达) They have to ask for higher prices and accept the permanent loss of market shares or accept lower profits to avoid the loss of market shares. Obviously, whether domestic prices follow the increase in unit labour costs or not, constituting the distributive effect reflected in the real labour costs, is not important at all for the international reasoning.

【当市场开放后，如果一国在某一地区相较于其他竞争国家来说，其劳动报酬高于劳动生产率，那么公司必须抬价同时损失部分市场份额或者降价以避免市场份额的减少。】
还是没看懂~看来我上学期的英文版国经真是白学了…

A situation like this, called an overvaluation due to an appreciation of the real exchange rate, is unsustainable and once the accumulated overvaluation reaches some 20% or so the crisis is unavoidable. The deficit on the current account is just the most visible indicator of the pathological(病理的, 病态的) constellation(星座，星群), but not its core. In Europe, Italy and Britain were facing such a problem as members of the European Monetary System in 1992; one opted in, one opted out, but both devalued. In systems of adjustable exchange rates, the solution is rather simple: the currency of the country in trouble has to devalue, bringing the nominal wages and nominal unit labour costs measured in international currency back to a competitive level. Indeed, devaluation leads to a relative fall in real wages, but that is not an important aspect of the analysis.

【正如意大利和英国曾经经历过的一样，这种由于实际汇率的增加而导致的过于高估的情况会产生极大的不良后果。】
我真的看的好迷糊…

In a currency union the member countries explicitly or implicitly agree not to go the inflationary way (nominal wages exceeding national productivity by more than an explicit inflation target) any more or to go altogether. With an inflation target of close to 2% (in EMU established by a decision of the ECB) the implicit contract is that nominal wages do not rise more than national productivity growth plus 2%. Please note: Each country can and should enjoy its productivity increase, be it 1% like in Germany or 2% like in Greece, in terms of real wage growth, and it is encouraged to do whatever is needed to improve its productivity performance. However, in such a union deviations from the common anchor, the inflation target, by claiming too high nominal wages is as dangerous as claiming wage growth far below national productivity plus 2%. The former creates inflationary dangers for the union as a whole, the latter deflationary dangers. If one member deviates upward or downward it creates an externally unsustainable situation. By the way, Germans better than anyone else should know about the dilemma created in a currency union by wage divergences(分歧，分开). It was the deviation of East German wages measured in international currency that destroyed the East German industry after the German Monetary Union of 1990 and forced a transfer union.

我真的不知道他在说什么…大概就是名义工资不能太高也不能太低吧~

Against this background(在这个背景下), Mr Hüther's statement that German growth was balanced because the external contribution was lower than the domestic contribution is quite funny. Under normal circumstances the contribution of net exports to growth should be very close to zero in all countries. Don't we expect a better allocation(配置，分配) of resources from the division of labour among nations reflected in higher productivity in all countries from an efficient trade regime(贸易制度)? Significant positive contributions from net exports in one country are associated with negative contributions in others. As with current-account surpluses and deficits a fallacy of composition applies: the overall contribution of net exports is definitively zero for the world as a whole as long as we are not engaged in exchanges with Venus or Mars.

【健康的贸易制度应该使最终各国的国际收支平衡】
好像impossible啊~

A similar reasoning holds regarding Mr Hüther's (and the European Commission's recent) saving-investment philosophy. I am asking myself why Germany is fighting like a Cerberus(地狱三头犬) to(应该是形容固执的守着) generate current-account surpluses and avoid a current-account deficit for the last 50 years if such a deficit means "to import capital and thus to create a potential for investment, so that opportunities for more growth and employment occur". (我觉得这句非常精彩)Who would doubt that Germany, in contrast to these lazy Mediterranean people, would be able to put the imported capital to productive use? On the other hand, why has East Germany, the region with the highest current-account deficit in the world, not managed to use the imported capital productively? Lesson: do not try to interpret identities in a causal way.(感觉写的很好,就是不太清楚啥意思)

【如果真如反方所说，CA赤字有利于XXX的话，为什么德国在过去五十年中都坚持CA盈余？没有人会怀疑”勤劳的”德国人会如他们所说的一样好好利用流入的资本创造更多的财富。可为何东德，这个世界上CA赤字最高的地方，没有做到这一点呢？】

Last remark: (最后一点,可做AW倒数第二段开头.)although it is the main business of(主要任务) the Cologne(科隆(德国城市名）) Institute for Economic Research to draw conclusions on the basis of absolute wage comparisons (as Mr Hüther does by comparing France's and Germany's industrial hourly wages), couldn't we stop that once and for ever? Can economists really take responsibility for the political confusion they have created with such useless but suggestive "facts"?

【这些经济数据无法作为政治问题的有力证据。】
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词汇：
proposition(论点，主张)
remuneration(报酬，赔偿，补偿)
immobile(不动的，不变的，静止的)
pathological(病理的, 病态的) constellation(星座，星群)
divergences(分歧，分开)
allocation(配置，分配)
专有名词：
Cologne(科隆(德国城市名）)
trade regime(贸易制度)
结构：
abound in

explicitly or implicitly

X better than anyone else should know about

Against this background(在这个背景下)

As with current-account surpluses and deficits a fallacy of composition applies:

… like a Cerberus(地狱三头犬) to(应该是形容固执的守着)…

Last remark: (最后一点,可做AW倒数第二段开头.)

the main business of(主要任务)

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The opposition's rebuttal remarks

Apr 9th 2010 | Michael Hüther

Heiner Flassbeck argues that the current problems of the European Monetary Union are rooted not in Greece but in Germany. In his view Germany's high export surplus makes it clear that national economic policy under the terms of a common currency would be misleading. German wage moderation has damaged the other European economies. Only with an expansionary wage policy over several decades could Germany help to correct the trade imbalances in Europe. What to make of this argument?

【陈述对方观点和理由。】

We should not forget that the establishment of the EMU changed the supply side conditions of the economies involved fundamentally. Especially in the 1990s, monetary integration was a burden on Germany. With the convergence of inflation and inflation expectations for the European countries that were viewed by financial markets as future participants in the monetary union, the German economy lost one of its key advantages. The convergence of real interest rates reduced the competitiveness of the country that had previously had the highest degree of price stability.

【德国加入欧盟削弱了其竞争力】

In the first half of the 1990s Germany experienced an extremely expansive wage policy. From 1991 to 1995 unit labour costs in manufacturing rose by 3.4% while they decreased by 2.4% in Europe (without Germany). The collective(集体的，共同的) bargaining agreement in the western German metal industry in spring 1995 led to an increase in hourly wages of 6.4%. Outward foreign investment by German companies for reasons of(因为) cost increased significantly. Jobs were moved offshore(此处应该是” 往国外”的意思吧). Wages had to respond. In fact, moderate wage increases in the following decade led to almost stable unit labour costs in Germany.

【德国在20世纪90年代时,工资水平相较于其他成员国增长了很多。】

The improved price competitiveness of the German economy stabilised supply-side conditions. By 2006, when the most recent boom began to stimulate the labour market, wage restraint had led to about 600,000 new jobs. This result matches a variety of empirical studies that identify a positive relationship between wage restraint and employment. It can therefore be assumed that the real wage elasticity of employment in the long run is about one.

【事实证明低工资确实可以导致更多就业】

Studies, for example by the EU Commission (2006), show that if employment rises by 1%, consumption increases by 0.8%. However, if the real wage rises by 1%, consumption grows by just 0.2%. Therefore, wage levels must rise moderately if employment and, indirectly, consumption are not to be imperilled(危害(使 ... 陷于危险)). As about 22% of German jobs depend directly or indirectly on exports (1995: 15%), no one can fail to recognise the importance of manufacturing strength and export success for the German economy as a whole.

【数据表明同幅度的就业水平增长相较于工资水平增长更能刺激消费，因而在现今就业和消费情况并非恶劣的情况下无需增加工资水平。】

A sensible wage policy brings particularly high rewards in a flexible labour market. Although employment increased as much between 2006 and 2008 as between 1998 to 2000 (by 3.5% and 3.4% respectively), in the more recent boom 96% of new jobs were well-paid enough to be subject to social insurance contributions, whereas in the previous upturn, this had been the case for only 47% of the newly created positions. Between 1998 and 2000 the number of low-paid jobs increased by 10%, whereas between 2006 and 2008 the corresponding increase was only 1%. In recent years, therefore, Germany has by no means (决不,
并没有)had a policy of creating low-paid jobs at the expense of its European neighbours. Moreover, the new flexible jobs have been stepping stones to more permanent employment: Between 2003 and 2008, 1.1m unemployed took up such a job. Conversely, 600,000 workers with flexible jobs in 2003 were unemployed five years later.

【认为德国的成功归功于其灵活的劳动力市场。将就业增长幅度相同的两端时间进行对比，凸显德国因其灵活的岗位设置而促进了就业。】

These facts should make clear that to understand Germany's current situation, a longer-term view is required.(可做AW段落开头) The same can be said of Greece, which is not a victim of German economic policy but is in the throes(剧痛，挣扎) of a national crisis of historic proportions. According to a study by Greek Industries SEV, tax evasion(偷漏(税)) amounts to 30 billion euros annually, a sum corresponding to the country's budget deficit of about 12.7% of annual economic output. In the Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010 issued by the World Economic Forum, Greece ranks 71st among 133 countries, immediately below Colombia and Egypt. Germany is ranked 7th. According to Transparency International(透明国际), Greeks pay an annual average of 1,355 euros each in bribes, for example, to pass the driving test or register a vehicle, to obtain a building permit, to manipulate(操纵，控制) the result of a tax audit or be treated quickly in a public hospital. If the public sector is permanently bloated(肿胀的) and tax laws are not applied, this has nothing to do with German export strength. As previously argued, if Germany had not exported any goods at all to Greece, the Greek balance of trade deficit would have sunk by only 20% (2008).

【希腊的赤字更多的应归咎于其国内巨大的偷税漏税和贿赂现象。】

First and foremost, Greece can and must help itself. Any direct or indirect assistance from the EU would put the validity of the no-bail-out rule in question. And this rule is one of the cornerstones of the monetary union. Only with this provision will a lack of budget discipline on the part of individual countries be effectively answered by differences in credit ratings in the financial markets. Casting doubt on this rule harms all members of the EMU by raising risk premiums (风险差额，风险酬金). European politics are therefore correct in believing that there must be national solutions.

【希腊必须靠自己走出困境。成员国应遵循欧盟的基本规定，不对其伸出援手】

Criticism of Germany's export strength is also misleading because it ignores other compensatory mechanisms: Germany's position as net contributor(净援助国) to the EU and its net capital exports. The international movement of capital can only develop its productive effect if risk assessment is not distorted by a European transfer union or a bail-out promise. In recent weeks, Greece has been able to place two government bonds (注意动词的使用)internationally. The capital markets were somewhat receptive. The risk premiums have a major controlling effect. A monetary union without political union needs the discipline of capital markets. Those who ignore this have misunderstood the logic of the EMU.

【应该是说欧盟应该关注其资本市场吧~没太整明白~】

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词汇：
collective(集体的，共同的)
offshore(此处应该是” 往国外”的意思吧)
imperilled(危害(使 ... 陷于危险))
throes(剧痛，挣扎)
tax evasion(偷漏(税))
manipulate(操纵，控制)
bloated(肿胀的)
专有名词：
Transparency International(透明国际)
http://baike.baidu.com/view/493282.htm
risk premiums (风险差额，风险酬金)
net contributor(净援助国)
Native表达：
for reasons of(因为)
by no means (决不,
并没有)
place two government bonds (注意动词的使用)
结构：

What to make of this argument?

We should not forget that…

no one can fail to recognise the importance of…

These facts should make clear that to understand…a longer-term view is required.(可做AW段落开头)

First and foremost

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Closing statements

Defending the motion

Heiner Flassbeck

Director, Globalisation and Development Strategies, UNCTAD

The German wage experiment provides clear evidence that the neoclassical(新古典主义的) nexus(连结, 关系) of lower wages leading to higher employment is faulty. The employment effect never occurred.

【德国的实情表明反方所述的低工资催生高就业的理论是完全错误的。】

Against the motion

Michael Hüther

Director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research

Mr Flassbeck's litany of misleading assertions includes the statement that all the member countries of a monetary union cannot pursue a policy of wage restraint simultaneously.

【正方尤其错误的一点是认为欧盟各成员国不能同时采取工资限制的政策】

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Featured guest

Gustav Horn

For quite a time some observers have noted that things within the euro area have turned for the worse(可作”每况愈下”的native表达). When the euro area was established, public debate focused on the question of how to convince those countries that were used to high inflation figures to enter a path of price stability German style. In the past, countries like Greece suffered from double-digit(两位数的) inflation rates, which were now supposed to go down to 2%. Their international competitiveness was always in danger and occasional drastic(激烈的，猛烈的，极其严重的) nominal devaluation was necessary to preserve it. Within the monetary union that exit is blocked. So people were afraid that high-inflation countries' exports and consequently their trade balance would suffer in the longer run. As it turned out, that perception(观念，看法) was true, but for a different reason.

【欧盟的状况每况愈下。在欧盟建立之初，众人已就如何使高通货膨胀的国家降至要求水平作过激烈。由于欧盟固定了汇率，高通胀的国家在长期来看利益将受损。事实正是如此，但是由于其他的原因导致】

The main reason is that the largest economy of the euro area, Germany, started a race for real depreciation. Wage demands by unions were denounced(v. 告发，公然抨击) as an attempt to diminish Germany's competitiveness, which put a lot of pressure on wages. Furthermore, the government initiated labour market reforms that significantly weakened the bargaining power(讨价还价的能力) of the unions. In addition to that, (native表达,注意其阐述步骤)the social security system was "reformed", primarily to reduce employers' contributions. All this was done to increase a seemingly(表面上，看上去) ailing(生病的，境况不佳的
很native的词) competitiveness, and it was a success story(native 表达). In no other country of the euro area were wage increases as weak as in Germany. (值得研究的表达结构)Year by year wage increases did not meet productivity trends. In no other country were unit labour costs, which have a close relation to prices, reduced. No wonder that German exports surged. Simulations(这词在这儿什么意思?) show that about 400,000 people found jobs in export industries due this policy approach.

【德国在违背欧盟的宗旨进行真正的贬值。虽然做足了表面功夫，但是其低廉的劳动力无疑是促使其出口暴增的原因】

But as always(一直以来) there is no free lunch. Because of this onslaught(.猛攻，猛袭) on wages real incomes of private households(私人经济) in Germany stagnated for a decade. Consequently Germany still faces domestic demand that is even weaker than that of deflationary(通货紧缩的) Japan. The price is about 1m jobs. In the end Germany's growth performance is one of the poorest in the euro area and the employment balance is negative too. Without excessive wage restraint there would have been about 600,000 jobs more.

【事实上，德国因实行工资压制政策而失去了更多的工作岗位】

There is another price that has to be paid and that is the loss of euro-area stability. Implicitly(含蓄地，暗中地) Germany violated(违反，违背) the European Central Bank (ECB) inflation target by always striving for a lower inflation rate than targeted by the ECB. Explicitly(明白地，明确地) (注意此处两个反义词相对的表达)Germany accumulated huge trade surpluses within the euro area that are not sustainable in the longer run. Surpluses are mirrored by deficits and those countries facing a deficit will sooner or later arrive at the limit of their debt burden. Against the backdrop of the present severe global crises the time has now come for some countries and the long-looming danger comes to the surface.(so好的句子)

【德国巨大的出口盈余威胁到了欧盟经济区的稳定性】

Beyond doubt(无疑地，确实地) deficit countries did not pay enough attention to price stability. But their negligence was minor compared with the German one in the other direction. Nevertheless, a mild wage restraint is advisable. But the German economy desperately needs higher wages. In the first place the German economy itself would benefit by spurring domestic demand and employment. Second, the euro area could regain its stability. Imports to Germany would soar, which would stimulate the rest of the euro area. Furthermore, Germany's trade surplus would shrink, as would the deficits of other countries like Greece. Therefore higher wages in Germany would be a much welcomed contribution to European stability.

【德国提高工人工资是个利人利己的事儿】

However, in order to achieve that a major turnaround in German economic policy is needed. Instead of focusing on export industries aggregate growth(总增长) should be the major target of economic policy. A sustainable growth performance requires a balanced trade record. High exports should be matched by high imports. Therefore the government has to stimulate domestic demand by a particularly expansionary fiscal policy. In the present situation this means that the exit from the stimulatory fiscal policy should come relatively late in Germany. In general fiscal policy exit strategies(撤退政策) should happen in an asynchronous(异步的) way. Exit should be early in deficit countries and late in surplus countries. This kind of policy co-ordination would be a way to achieve European stability. After all, we share responsibility for a joint European market.

【德国需要采取货币政策和财政政策来配合】

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

词汇：
drastic(激烈的，猛烈的，极其严重的)
perception(观念，看法)
were denounced(v. 告发，公然抨击)
onslaught(.猛攻，猛袭)
stagnated
violated(违反，违背)
double-digit(两位数的)
bargaining power(讨价还价的能力)
seemingly(表面上，看上去)
deflationary(通货紧缩的)
aggregate growth(总增长)
exit strategies(撤退政策)
asynchronous(异步的)
专有名词：
private households(私人经济)
Native表达：
turned for the worse(可作”每况愈下”的native表达)
ailing(生病的，境况不佳的
很native的词) competitiveness
it was a success story(native 表达)
Beyond doubt(无疑地，确实地)
a much welcomed contribution
结构：
As it turned out…
The main reason is that …→Furthermore …→In addition to that (native表达,注意其阐述步骤)
In no other country of the euro area were wage increases as weak as in Germany. (值得研究的表达结构)
No wonder that…
But as always(一直以来) there is no free lunch.
There is another price that has to be paid and that is the…
Implicitly(含蓄地，暗中地)----Explicitly(明白地，明确地) (注意此处两个反义词相对的表达)
Against the backdrop of the present severe global crises the time has now come for some countries and the long-looming danger comes to the surface.(so好的句子)
In the first place…→Second…→ Furthermore …→Therefore
as would
A sustainable growth performance requires a balanced trade record.
High exports should be matched by
high imports.

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

The moderator's closing remarks

Apr 14th 2010 | Brooke Unger

"Nirvana(涅盘，极乐世界)-bound(跳跃，界限，范围)" (完全不懂这个词的意思)characterises the debate at hand as "full of sound and fury(愤怒，狂暴), signifying nothing". I disagree, perhaps because I'm staying put(留在原地). In fact, with the discussion now in its final stages I've found it a probing(好探索的，尖锐的) and enlightening argument about a vital issue. Heiner Flassbeck (for the motion) and Michael Hüther (against it) have hurled fact and theory at each other while managing to observe the Marquess of Queensbury rules(昆斯伯里侯爵规则), just about. Last weekend's announcement that Greece can expect a bailout if it needs one is a reminder of what is at stake: unchecked, budget and trade imbalances can force the euro group into having to make an awful choice between bailouts and defaults.

Mr Hüther now appears to have the upper hand: more than 60% of those who voted disagree with the notion that Germany is too dependent on exports. Most of you, understandably, have a hard time accepting the idea that being good at something—such as supplying the world with high-end(高端) cars, chemicals and machines—deserves anything but encouragement. Some detect a conspiracy(阴谋，密谋) of the weak against the strong in the proposal that Germany rein in(严加控制) its trade surpluses. "La vyrity" describes the proposer's arguments as "socialist-humanitarian".

Mr Flassbeck would probably retort(反驳) that in this situation everyone is a victim, except perhaps the owners of Germany's export-oriented companies. His final salvo counters Mr Hüther's contention(论点；争论，争辩) that German wage restraint was good for employment (though he admits—does anyone want to pounce on(突然袭击) this?—that it might have led to "temporary employment gains"). The euro made it easy to increase market share by wage dumping: Germany could hide a real depreciation behind the curtain of the single currency, in effect exporting unemployment. If surplus countries refuse ever to run deficits, debtors will eventually default, Mr Flassbeck warns. Or worse could ensue(接着发生，接踵而来，因而产生). Mr Flassbeck draws an ominous parallel(平行的；类似的) between Germany's "beggar-thy-neighbour" ways and the punitive policies inflicted(使遭受，折磨) on Germany by the victors of the first world war. The political implications "could be equally alarming". One hopes he is exaggerating for effect.

Mr Hüther challenges the gloomy idea that if everyone imitates Germany's wage restraint there will be a generalised deflation. Moderate wages will put machines out of work, not workers, he argues. Then he asserts, somewhat surprisingly, that wages were not so important to Germany's export success after all. Germany has strong industrial clusters(产业集群) today because it was splintered(分裂) into small states during the 19th century. France, by contrast, never made up for its late industrialisation.

Are there grounds for compromise in Joerg Bibow's observation that "German exports are fine but perpetual(永久的，长期的；无休止的) export surpluses are not"? In other words, exporters can be as competitive as they please but Germany should do something to lift imports. Gustav Horn, who joins the debate from the Macroeconomic Policy Institute of the union-friendly Hans Böckler Stiftung, makes a radical suggestion. Germany should wait longer than other countries to roll back(压低，击退，退回重来，重新运行) its growth-stimulating fiscal policy. That may make economic sense. It probably sounds reasonable to people living in countries with even higher debt and deficits. But in Germany, where red ink(赤字，赤字状况) has been a harbinger(先驱，预兆) of revolution, it is not likely to win much support. Germans hate deficits so much that they recently inserted a balanced-budget amendment into the constitution. A delayed exit from fiscal stimulus would now arguably be illegal as well as unpopular.

Mr Hüther favours other ways of nudging domestic demand. He cites the OECD's suggestions that Germany make the labour market more flexible, deregulate services and spend more on higher education and life-long learning. Only the last idea will not prompt howls(吼叫，哀号) of protest from somebody.

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词汇：
Nirvana(涅盘，极乐世界)
bound(跳跃，界限，范围)
fury(愤怒，狂暴)
staying put(留在原地)
probing(好探索的，尖锐的)
conspiracy(阴谋，密谋)
rein in(严加控制)
retort(反驳)
contention(论点；争论，争辩)
ensue(接着发生，接踵而来，因而产生)
parallel(平行的；类似的)
inflicted(使遭受，折磨)
splintered(分裂)
perpetual(永久的，长期的；无休止的)
harbinger(先驱，预兆)
roll back(压低，击退，退回重来，重新运行)
howls(吼叫，哀号)
专有名词：
Marquess of Queensbury rules(昆斯伯里侯爵规则)
http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/34407812
industrial clusters(产业集群)
http://wiki.mbalib.com/wiki/%E4%BA%A7%E4%B8%9A%E9%9B%86%E7%BE%A4
high-end(高端)
red ink(赤字，赤字状况)

Native表达：
hurled fact and theory at each other
at stake
have the upper hand
pounce on(突然袭击)

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

The proposer's closing remarks

Apr 14th 2010 | Heiner Flassbeck

Unfortunately, in his rebuttal to my opening Mr Hüther completely misses the point of this debate. The question of whether "Germany should reduce its dependence on exports" is not about small Greek corruption (and tax evasion) and big German corruption (Siemens, Daimler and tax evasion). Nor is it about the ideal solution for German labour-market problems as if Germany were an isolated island.

【德国是否需要降低对出口的依赖性是一个需要多方面考虑的问题】

In the same vein(同样的), the fact that Germany had problems of its own during the 1990s could only be relevant for this debate if, as I mentioned in my opening, that had created absolute disadvantages compared with the other members of EMU before EMU started. The undisputed(无可置辩的) evidence of Germany gaining massive market shares while others were losing during the past ten years shows plainly that this is definitively not the case.

【事实证明现在的情况和1990s的情况不同】

The only pertinent(相关的，中肯的) argument that I am able to detect is in his statement about the "burden" created for Germany by the process of European monetary integration in the 1990s. Mr Hüther seems to say that Germany lost something in terms of real interest rate advantage because many other countries in Europe departed from the inflationary way and converged towards the most stable country. This is a strange argument, as it means that the German interest rate advantage that was lost must have been replaced by an absolute cost advantage. Can Germany not survive economically without an absolute advantage, whereas all the others have to live with at least one absolute disadvantage?

【反方关于德国因为之前有着利率的绝对劣势因而需要用成本的绝对优势来弥补的观点是完全错误的。】

But the argument, if taken literally(照字面上理解), reveals a deeper misunderstanding. He writes that "the convergence of real interest rates reduced the competitiveness" of the most stable country. However, if my neighbour improves his credit rating and gets better credit conditions than before while mine remain unchanged, does somebody have to lose? Can't we both enjoy the chance to invest in the future and improve our standard of living? Or is he saying that the others would be better off if they returned to inflation? Moreover, the argument is empirically weak: German short-term real interest rates have fallen from 3.5% annually between 1990 and 1999 to 2.2% between 2000 and 2009, hardly a negative shift.

【大概意思是可以双赢吧~】

Mr Hüther describes German labour-market success in a selected number of years with data and definitions ("low-paid jobs") that are somewhat dubious. But even if his figures are correct, he again misses the main point. There can be no doubt that an open and competitive economy, by means of politically induced wage dumping, can dramatically increase its international market shares and improve its labour-market performance for some time. In the unique historical situation this was easy because Germany was able to hide temporarily its gain in competitiveness (the real depreciation) behind the curtain of a currency that it shared with other countries that were not doing exactly the same.

【德国通过政府强制压制工资当然可以增加其国际市场份额,使其劳动市场表现较佳,但这种把戏是玩不长久的】

The last point is of particular importance. Without the euro the German surplus on the current account would have been a topic high on the international agenda, and the focus of the "markets" would have been on an appreciation of the German currency that would have destroyed any German advantages or even (overshooting) created advantages for others. Additionally, Germany's beggar-thy-neighbour policies would have faced enormous political pressures from the deficit countries outside EMU, in particular from America. Consequently, the temporary employment gains resulting from wage restraint came through real depreciation and that means at the expense of other countries. Germany was as successful in exporting its goods as it was in "exporting its unemployment".

【德国如果继续现在的经济模式,最终将使其他国家利益受损】

Domestically, wage restraint was a disaster. German investment fell absolutely and real private consumption rose at an annual rate of only 0.4% between 2000 and 2009, compared with growth in private consumption of 2.1% in EMU. The German wage experiment provides clear evidence that the neoclassical nexus of lower wages leading to higher employment is faulty. The overall reduction of nominal and real wage growth led to negative domestic demand effects before employers could hire more people in an attempt to substitute capital with the now cheaper labour.  Thus the employment effect never occurred. The only identifiable positive effect is the expansion of exports as a result of the real depreciation, as the other countries did not also cut their wages. German exports increased by 6.8% annually from 2000 to 2008 (imports by 4.1%), excluding the crisis year 2009. If the same approach were taken by more closed economies such as EMU countries or the world as a whole, the outcome could only be deflationary.

【德国的实情表明反方所述的低工资催生高就业的理论是完全错误的。】

Globally, the lesson is obvious: the competition of countries does not follow the same rules as the competition of companies. With or without flexible exchange rates, an indebted country can only service its debt and repay if the surplus country allows the deficit country to become a surplus country, sooner or later, by means of changes in competitiveness through price adjustment triggered by wages and/or exchange rates. If the surplus country refuses to become a deficit country, default of the debtor is unavoidable because a long and painful recession that would produce a surplus solely through the fall of imports would be politically unfeasible. This is the same logic underlying the stark(严酷的；完全的) warning John Maynard Keynes issued in 1919 concerning the dangerous economic effects of the reparations Germany was forced to pay for the first world war. If Europe has still not understood that lesson, the political implications for many European countries could be equally alarming.

Overall, while it is easy to identify the flaws in Mr Hüther's arguments, the political confusion in Germany will remain. To call in the capital markets—after the crisis has originated in the profligacy of these "markets"—to act as referee(仲裁人) over countries, as has happened with Greece, and to bet on the "discipline of capital markets" to force countries to adjust is not only bad economics, it is the final surrender of politics to the "markets".

【不能让市场高于政府,否则就会出现类似希腊的境况.】
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
词汇：
undisputed(无可置辩的)
pertinent(相关的，中肯的)
stark(严酷的；完全的)
referee(仲裁人)
Native表达：
In the same vein(同样的)
if taken literally(照字面上理解)
a selected number of years

The last point is of particular importance.

a topic high on the international agenda

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

The opposition's closing remarks

Apr 14th 2010 | Michael Hüther

The world of Mr Flassbeck is simple. The current problems of European Monetary Union have a single cause: the development of unit labour costs in German manufacturing during the past decade. In other words, it is only Germany that must finally accept the "golden rule" that nominal wages should rise at the same rate as national productivity growth plus the European Central Bank inflation target of 2%. Thus wage policy is entirely defined by European monetary policy. And obviously wages have nothing to do with employment. International capital movements and the logic of structural change are totally unimportant. These ideas are strange.

Orienting wage increases on the trend rate of productivity plus 2% inflation is only correct if a country starts off(出发，动身，开始) with full employment. Yet this was not the case in Germany. It had—and still has—significant structural (non-Keynesian) unemployment. In such a case, wage moderation is the appropriate response. Wage increases may then not fully exploit the scope(机会) defined by productivity and inflation. This is equally correct in a monetary union. Supply-side problems can be solved only on the supply side of the economy.

【欧盟的目标是不符合德国国情的~】我真的看不懂~

A monetary union is not closed to the rest of the world, even if Mr Flassbeck tries to foster this impression. The European economies are still faced with global competition. In this context, wage policy is important. This is what must be borne in mind when assessing the facts. From 2003 to 2006, unit labour costs in German manufacturing developed in line with the international picture (see chart). Compared with the other euro-zone countries, it was the first time there had been a noticeable difference in the development of unit labour costs. In the 1990s Germany had had to cope with considerable cost disadvantages and in this sense it was a correction of previous excesses. In the crisis year of 2009, German unit labour costs rose dramatically and, owing to the introduction of short-time working arrangements and extensive exploitation of the flexibility offered by working time accounts, much more than in all other European countries.

【与世界其他国家相比，德国在危机中的表现优秀】

Mr Flassbeck's litany of misleading assertions includes the statement that all the member countries of a monetary union cannot pursue a policy of wage restraint simultaneously. If they did, all the economies involved would be damaged. This argument ignores the fact that wage moderation improves the price of labour relative to capital, a mechanism that will work in all countries and that has the effect of reducing the pressure for rationalisation(合理化) and the replacement of labour by machines. You cannot blame Germany for the fact that other European countries were not willing to take this path of reason in wage policy. Furthermore, the comparison of labour costs in absolute terms does indeed make sense in times of highly mobile international capital because, given identical technologies, productivity is almost independent of location.

【正方尤其错误的一点是认为欧盟各成员国不能同时采取工资限制的政策】

Trade is not only about the current exchange of goods and services but also, and especially, about an intertemporal exchange. Hence(因此), there is no reason to expect a balance at any specific point in time. For example, it is to a certain degree natural and reasonable that countries with strong growth but the need to catch up in per head income exhibit current-account deficits. When their economies have matured and become more productive, they can repay the debt. From the German point of view, a persistent current-account surplus and the associated development of international investment are a way of making provision for the demographic burden of the future, when there will be fewer employment opportunities and shrinking consumption.

【国际收支平衡是不可能达到的】

A high current-account deficit need not be the result of low competitiveness. The countries of southern Europe benefited from the strong real interest rate reduction which preceded(在 ... 之前) the start of EMU. This trend has continued because a real interest rate effect has acted as an internal mechanism of the monetary union. With almost identical nominal interest rates, the economic expansion in these countries increased inflation and lowered real interest rates, which in turn enhanced growth again. In addition, these countries experienced a remarkable housing boom([经] 房屋建筑繁荣) that was also caused by low interest rates and—via higher house prices—stimulated private consumption.

【要让CA盈余减少可以通过其他方式达到.】

Germany's export strength essentially depends on the strength of its manufacturing sector, a factor that can only be truly understood from a historical perspective. There are two interesting aspects. On the one hand, a comparison with France shows that early events—largely during the first half of the 19th century—had long-lasting effects. France has never made up for the disadvantage of its late industrialisation. On the other hand, a comparison with Britain makes clear that losses incurred during structural change may be irreversible. For different reasons, after the Second World War Britain experienced massive de-industrialisation, which is not easy to correct. During the 19th century Germany, was able to turn the disadvantage of late unification into the advantage of regional economic development, which laid the basis for the clusters and networks that today provide the bulk of its industrial value added. These patterns of specialisation are not the result of a few years of wage restraint. Even with less wage moderation in Germany, its export performance would have been more or less the same.

【德国的增长应归功于其杰出的工业，无论是与法国还是与英国相比它都更强】

In its latest report on Germany (March 2010), the OECD argues in favour of a broader domestic foundation for growth. This recommendation does not include the correction of wage policy in manufacturing. The OECD recommends flexible labour markets, the further opening of product markets, deregulation of service markets, a strengthening of the market for venture capital,(结构结构~) an expansion of higher education and lifelong learning. The OECD agrees that: "The challenges going forward are to ensure the continued high performance of the export sector and broaden this performance to the other sectors of the economy. While many reforms have been put in place already, more needs to be done to boost potential growth in sectors serving domestic demand."

【德国应把其灵活的劳动力结构应用于其他的领域如服务业,以使经济增长和刺激内需】

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
词汇：
scope(机会)
rationalisation(合理化)
starts off(出发，动身，开始)
专有名词：
housing boom([经] 房屋建筑繁荣)
NATIVE表达：
it is only Germany that must finally accept

have nothing to do with

This is what must be borne in mind when assessing the facts.

Hence(因此)
preceded(在 ... 之前)

laid the basis for

The OECD recommends flexible labour markets, the further opening of product markets, deregulation of service markets, a strengthening of the market for venture capital,(结构结构~) an expansion of higher education and lifelong learning.

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

Winner announcement

April 16, 2010

Brooke Unger

Under the rules of the game I have to declare the motion defeated and Michael Hüther the winner. Despite a valiant(勇敢的，英勇的) and trenchant(犀利的) defence, Heiner Flassbeck and Gustav Horn could not persuade much more than 40% of you that there is anything wrong with Germany's towering(耸立的，杰出的) current-account surpluses. Even Greece's travails(艰苦劳动，痛苦) left you unmoved. The prevailing(盛行的，流行的) sentiment seems to be: Germany's surpluses reflect strengths deployed(展开，配置，部署) in a (relatively) free global market—good luck to it. Mr Hüther and Andreas Freytag certainly offered compelling and well-argued reasons for you to vote as you did.

【总结最后投票结果】

Before closing, I would like to counter a misconception or two. Although The Economist proposes the motion for debate that does not necessarily mean that we favour it. The question could have read as easily, "This house thinks there is nothing wrong with Germany's export surpluses." One commentator challenged us to name a pro-market economist who would have defended the motion. Messrs Flassbeck and Horn are unlikely to consider themselves "anti-market" but I take the point (理解,接受) . Most German critics of the export-driven model are on the left but there are exceptions. Thomas Mayer, the chief economist of Deutsche Bank, shares Mr Flassbeck's position on surpluses though he would probably not endorse(赞同) his remedies.

【纠正一下理解误区】

Which is probably where The Economist itself would come down. The newspaper has suggested that global trade imbalances—including Germany's surpluses—are unsustainable and has urged Germany to stimulate domestic demand. That does not mean crippling(严重削弱 native表达) German exporters or inflating wages artificially. It does mean undertaking reforms that would stimulate services and consumption. The idea that Germany should pursue (temporarily) a relatively expansionary fiscal policy may be worth a second look. In this debate The Economist would probably have backed Mr Flassbeck, but on most other issues I suspect we would find ourselves in Mr Hüther's corner.

【好抽象的回答。真是说好坏的高手】

I am very grateful to the four invited participants and to all of you who joined in from the floor. Thanks to you, this has been one of the most vigorous and enlightening discussions of the issue that I'm aware of. A disagreement over a seemingly narrow question turned out to be a clash of economic philosophies. And that debate will never end.

【结束】

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词汇：
valiant(勇敢的，英勇的)
trenchant(犀利的)
travails(艰苦劳动，痛苦)
deployed(展开，配置，部署)
endorse(赞同)
towering(耸立的，杰出的)
prevailing(盛行的，流行的)
Native表达：
take the point (理解,接受)
crippling(严重削弱 native表达)

elevenkarUID: 2791267

顶！顶！顶！顶
你好好好好好好认真！我已经把你做的打下来慢慢看了。。。

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

About this debate

What is the right role for government in spurring innovation? The outlines of this age-old debate will be familiar to many. One side argues that governments inevitably get it wrong when they get too involved in innovation: picking the wrong technology winners, say, or ploughing subsidies into politically popular projects rather than the most deserving ones. The other rebuts that given the grave global challenges we face today—in the 1960s America thought it was the Soviet race into space, today many countries worry about climate change and pandemic(全国流行的) threats—governments need to do much more to support innovation.

【政府是否应该干预创新？】

xingfuhbjUID: 2769976

Background Reading  A

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Private-sector space flight

Moon dreams

The Americans may still go to the moon before the Chinese

Feb 18th 2010 | From The Economist print edition

AP Can you direct me to(指下去…的路) reception, please?

WHEN America’s space agency, NASA, announced its spending plans in February,
(我不知道为啥就会想到,当毛主席在天安门上说出”中华银民共和国成立鸟”….不过这确实是个可以考虑的开头方式) some people worried that its cancellation of the Constellation moon programme had ended any hopes of Americans returning to the Earth’s rocky(稳固的,native表达) satellite. The next footprints on the lunar regolith(n. 表土，风化层) were therefore thought likely to be Chinese. Now, though, the private sector(私营部门) is arguing that the new spending plan actually makes it more likely America will return to the moon.

【NASA原本公布的用款计划里取消了对月探索的拨款，致使很多美国人失望的认为下一个登上月球的应该是中国人。但是企业家么认为该计划正是显示了美国可能会重返月球】

The new plan encourages firms to compete to provide transport to low Earth orbit (LEO). The budget proposes $6 billion over five years to spur the development of commercial crew and cargo services to the international space station. This money will be spent on “man-rating” existing rockets, such as Boeing’s Atlas V, and on developing new spacecraft that could be launched on many different rockets. The point of all this activity is to create healthy private-sector competition for transport to the space station—and in doing so to drive down the cost of getting into space.

【新的计划期望通过倡议公司为太空站的运输竞争以达到减少成本的目的】

Eric Anderson, the boss of a space-travel company called Space Adventures, is optimistic about the changes. They will, he says, build “railroads into space”. Space Adventures has already sent seven people to the space station, using Russian rockets. It would certainly benefit from a new generation of cheap launchers.

【太空旅行正在萌芽中】

Another potential beneficiary—and advocate of private-sector transport—is Robert Bigelow, a wealthy entrepreneur who founded a hotel chain called Budget Suites of America. Mr Bigelow has so far spent $180m of his own money on space development—probably more than any other individual in history. He has been developing so-called expandable space habitats, a technology he bought from NASA a number of years ago.

【某企业家XX已耗费巨资研究太空栖息地。】

These habitats, which are folded up(折叠，还有破产，倒闭之意) for launch and then inflated in space, were designed as interplanetary(行星间的) vehicles for a trip to Mars, but they are also likely to be useful general-purpose(通用的,普遍的) accommodation. (典型长句, 对一个名词进行解释和扩充,yuan兄常用句~)The company already has two scaled-down(按比例缩减(小), 按比例减少(降低)) versions in orbit.

【解释这些太空栖息地的用处】

Mr Bigelow is preparing to build a space station that will offer cheap access to space to other governments(两个to中间不用隔开?)—something he believes will generate a lot of interest. The current plan is to launch the first full-scale habitat (called Sundancer) in 2014. Further modules(模块) will be added to this over the course of a year, and the result will be a space station with more usable volume than the existing international one. Mr Bigelow’s price is just under $23m per astronaut. That is about half what Russia charges for a trip to the international station, a price that is likely to go up after the space shuttle retires later this year. He says he will be able to offer this price by bulk-buying(大量购买) launches on newly man-rated(适用于人类) rockets. Since most of the cost of space travel is the launch, the price might come down even more if the private sector can lower the costs of getting into orbit.

【XX准备制造价格更低廉的太空站，这很是吸引人眼球】

The ultimate aim of all his investment, Mr Bigelow says, is to get to the moon. LEO is merely his proving ground(试验场). He says that if the technology does work in orbit, the habitats will be ideal for building bases on the moon. To go there, however, he will have to prove that the expandable habitat does indeed work, and also generate substantial returns on his investment in LEO, to provide the necessary cash.

【XX的最终目的不仅仅是让他的东西可以在LEO运行，而是让其可以在月球上使用】

If all goes well, the next target will be L1, the point 85% of the way to the moon where the gravitational pulls(万有引力) of moon and Earth balance. “It’s a terrific dumping off point,” he says. “We could transport a completed lunar base [to L1] and put it down on the lunar surface intact.”

【美好的设想】

There are others with lunar ambitions, too. Some 20 teams are competing for the Google Lunar X Prize, a purse of $30m that will be given to the first private mission which lands a robot on the moon, travels across the surface and sends pictures back to Earth. Space Adventures, meanwhile, is in discussions with almost a dozen potential clients about a circumlunar mission, costing $100m a head.

【太空旅行的潜在支持者有很多】

The original Apollo project(阿波罗计划) was mainly a race to prove the superiority of American capitalism over Soviet communism. Capitalism won—but at the cost of creating, in NASA, one of the largest bureaucracies(官僚制度，官僚主义) in American history. If the United States is to return to the moon, it needs to do so in a way that is demonstrably(明显地，显而易见地) superior to the first trip—for example,(破折号插入,写长句) being led by business rather than government. Engaging in another government-driven spending battle, this time with the Chinese, will do nothing more than show that America has missed the point.

【政府不应该再纠结于政治上的比拼，而是考虑放手让私人企业代替政府来完成新的登月计划。】
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词汇:
folded up(折叠，还有破产，倒闭之意)
interplanetary(行星间的)
scaled-down(按比例缩减(小), 按比例减少(降低))
modules(模块)
proving ground(试验场)
bureaucracies(官僚制度，官僚主义)
demonstrably(明显地，显而易见地)
regolith(n. 表土，风化层)
general-purpose(通用的,普遍的)
man-rated(适用于人类)
专有名词:
low Earth orbit (LEO)
private sector(私营部门)
bulk-buying(大量购买)
Apollo project(阿波罗计划)
gravitational pulls(万有引力)
Native 表达:
direct me to(指下去…的路)
had ended any hopes of
rocky(稳固的,native表达)
The point of all this activity is to
potential beneficiary
developing
more usable volume
the point 85% of the way to the moon
dumping off point
LEO is merely his proving ground(试验场)
结构:
WHEN America’s space agency, NASA, announced its spending plans in February,
(我不知道为啥就会想到,当毛主席在天安门上说出”中华银民共和国成立鸟”….不过这确实是个可以考虑的开头方式)

These habitats, which are folded up for launch and then inflated in space, were designed as interplanetary vehicles for a trip to Mars, but they are also likely to be useful general-purpose accommodation. (典型长句, 对一个名词进行解释和扩充,yuan兄常用句~)

If the United States is to return to the moon, it needs to do so in a way that is demonstrably(明显地，显而易见地) superior to the first trip—for example,(破折号插入,写长句) being led by business rather than government.