短信预约提醒成功
Section 1: English-Chinese Translation (英译汉)(50 points)
The Money Ran Out; Then the Villagers Stepped In
HIGUERA DE LA SERENA, Spain ― It didn’t take long for Manuel García Murillo, a bricklayer who took over as mayor here last June, to realize that his town was in trouble. It was 800,000 euros, a little more than $1 million, in the red. There was no cash on hand to pay for anything ― and there was work that needed to be done.
But then an amazing thing happened, he said. Just as the health department was about to close down the day care center because it didn’t have a proper kitchen, Bernardo Benítez, a construction worker, offered to put up the walls and the tiles free. Then, Maria José Carmona, an adult education teacher, stepped in to clean the place up.
And somehow, the volunteers just kept coming. Every Sunday now, the residents of this town in southwest Spain ― young and old ― do what needs to be done, whether it is cleaning the streets, raking the leaves, unclogging culverts or planting trees in the park.
“It was an initiative from them,” said Mr. García. “Day to day we talked to people and we told them there was no money. Of course, they could see it. The grass in between the sidewalks was up to my thigh. “
Higuera de la Serena is in many ways a microcosm of Spain’s troubles. Just as Spain’s national and regional governments are struggling with the collapse of the construction industry, overspending on huge capital projects and a pileup of unpaid bills, the same problems afflict many of its small towns.
But what has brought Higuera de la Serena a measure of fame in Spain is that the residents have stepped up where their government has failed. Mr. García says his phone rings regularly from other town officials who want to know how to do the same thing. He is serving without pay, as are the town’s two other elected officials. They are also forgoing the cars and phones that usually come with the job.
“We lived beyond our means,” Mr. García said. “We invested in public works that weren’t sensible. We are in technical bankruptcy.” Even some money from the European Union that was supposed to be used for routine operating expenses and last until 2013 has already been spent, he said.
Higuera de la Serena, a cluster of about 900 houses surrounded by farmland, and traditionally dependent on pig farming and olives, got swept up in the giddy days of the construction boom. It built a cultural center and invested in a small nursing home. But the projects were plagued by delays and cost overruns.
The cultural center still has no bathrooms. The nursing home, a whitewashed building sits on the edge of town, still unopened. Together, they account for some $470,000 of debt owed to the bank. But the rest of the debt is mostly the unpaid bills of a town that was not keeping up with its expenses. It owes for medical supplies, for diesel fuel, for road repair, for electrical work, for musicians who played during holidays.
Higuera de la Serena is not completely without workers. It still has a half-time librarian, two half-time street cleaners, someone part-time for the sports complex, a secretary and an administrator, all of whom are paid through various financing streams apart from the town. But the town once had a work force twice the size. And when someone is ill, volunteers have to step in or the gym and sports complex ― open four hours a day ― must close.
Section2: Chinese-English Translation (汉译英)(50 points)
10年来，中国经济持续快速发展，经济实力、综合国力、人民生活水平迈上新的台阶，国家面貌发生举世瞩目的历史性变化，为促进亚洲和世界经济增长作出了重要贡献。
中国虽然取得了举世瞩目的发展成就，但仍然是世界上最大的发展中国家，经济社会发展面临巨大的人口、资源、环境压力，发展中不平衡、不协调、不可持续问题依然突出。
2011年，中国开始实施国民经济和社会发展第十二个五年规划纲要，提出了今后5年中国经济社会发展的总体任务。
未来5年，中国将着力实施扩大内需特别是消费需求的战略，建立长效机制，释放消费潜力，着力促进经济增长向依靠消费、投资、出口协调拉动转变。
中国将着力实施“走出去”战略，引导各类所有制企业有序到境外投资，积极开展有利于改善当地基础设施和人民生活的项目合作。中国将着力参与全球经济治理和区域合作，推动国际经济金融体系改革，推动建立均衡、普惠、共赢的多边贸易体制，反对各种形式的保护主义，促进国际经济秩序朝着更加公正合理的方向发展。