最新BEC中级阅读材料精选整合

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BEC中级阅读材料：世界经济论坛公布全球竞争力排名

世界经济论坛公布全球竞争力排名

在近日发布的一份备受关注的经济竞争力排行榜中，美国跃居榜首，理由是美国经济因其市场效率和创新能力而受到好评。

The US rose to top spot in a closely watched economic league table yesterday, as its economy was praised for its market efficiency and ability to innovate.

总部位于瑞士的智库世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum)昨日发布了其一年一度的全球竞争力报告。该机构在报告中表示，美国经济失衡对其生产率和全球经济构成了威胁，但结论是，美国的经济成就超过了这些风险。 In its annual report on global competitiveness, the World Economic Forum, the Swiss-based think-tank, said US economic imbalances posed a threat to its productivity and the global economy but concluded that its achievements outweighed these risks.

除美国以外，排在前10位的包括7个欧洲经济体——瑞士、丹麦、瑞典、德国、芬兰、英国和荷兰——以及新加坡和日本。

Also appearing in the top 10 were seven European economies – Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland, the UK and the Netherlands – as well as Singapore and Japan.

世界经济论坛自1979年开始发布这一排名。许多国家要么用它赞扬一国政府的成就，要么用它批评其失败。但今年这样做的难度要比往年大，因为世界经济论坛调整了其评估模型，这对各国的排名产生了很大影响。

The rankings, which have been produced by the WEF since 1979, are used by many countries either to shower praise on a government’s achievements or to criticise its failings. But this will prove harder than usual this year as the WEF has adjusted its model, with large effects on countries’ places in the league table.

世界经济论坛还根据其新排名方法，发布了一份去年排行榜的修正版本。曾高居榜首多年的芬兰跌至第六位。世界经济论坛在去年发布的报告中将芬兰排在第二，但昨日在修正后的报告中指出，芬兰应一直排在第六位。

The WEF also released a revised league table for last year, based on its new methodology. Finland, which topped the league for many years, has dropped to sixth. The WEF gave it the second spot in last year’s published report but yesterday’s revisions suggest it should always have been sixth.

美国显然从世界经济论坛排名方法的变化中获益。去年，世界经济论坛报告将美国这个全球经济体排在第六位，但昨日修正后的报告将其排在首位。

The US has clearly benefited from the change in the WEF’s calculations. Last year, the report ranked the world’s largest economy sixth but the revised table puts it top.

人们常常认为中国和印度是世界上有竞争力的经济体——其低成本制造业和服务业对发达经济体构成了威胁，但其巨大的市场和合计超过20亿的人口，也为发达经济体提供了机遇。

China and India are often believed to be the most competitive economies in the world – a threat to advanced economies with low-cost manufacturing and services, but also an opportunity with huge markets and combined populations of more than 2bn.

尽管中国和印度的经济成就令人敬畏，但在世界经济论坛的全球竞争力指数中，两国分别排在第34位和第48位。它们较低的排名表明，要想与发达经济体相提并论，它们市场中的许多方面尚有待改进，并需要提高居民的平均生活水平。

For all the awe that their economies create, China and India rank 34th and 48th respectively in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index. Their low ranking reflects the need for these economies to improve many aspects of their markets and average living standards before they can be compared with advanced economies.

中国需要改善其高等教育、金融市场和培训领域，而印度则受到宏观经济不稳、健康和教育体系落后以及劳动力市场效率低下的困扰。印度今年的排名略有下滑。

China needs to improve its higher education, financial markets and training, while India, falling slightly down this year’s league, is plagued by macroeconomic instability, poor health and education systems and low labour market efficiency.

但在分类指数中，中国在国内市场规模和外国市场准入方面分别排在第二位和位，而印度则在创新方面排在第四位。

But in the sub-indices, the size of China’s domestic market and its access to foreign markets are ranked 2nd and 1st respectively, while India ranks 4th on innovation.

BEC中级阅读材料：英国工资减少工资差别

英国工资减少工资差别

牛津大学(Oxford University)的一份报告显示，引入工资已导致薪资级别受到挤压，这“在消除工资差别，同时在影响对高技能的奖赏和激励。”

The introduction of the minimum wage has led to pay levels being compressed, “destroying differentials and removing rewards and incentives for improving skills”, according to a report by Oxford University.

英国零售商协会(British Retail Consortium)委托进行的这项研究显示，接待行业96%的员工以及零售和批发行业75%的员工拿到的都是工资，今年10月，英国工资将升至时薪5.35英镑至5.52英镑。

The study, commissioned by the British Retail Consortium, found that 96 per cent of workers in the hospitality industry and 75 per cent of retail and wholesale workers earned the minimum wage, which is due to rise from ￡5.35 to ￡5.52 an hour in October.

自1999年实行工资标准以来，英国工资已提高46%，为逾100万员工提供了经济安全保障。欧盟(EU)统计机构欧盟统计局(Eurostat)的一份报告显示，在20个欧盟成员国中，英国工资水平排名第三，几乎是美国联邦标准的两倍。

Britain’s minimum wage, which has risen by 46 per cent since it was introduced in 1999, provides a financial safety net for more than 1m workers. It is the third highest out of 20 European Union nations and almost twice the US federal level according to a report from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical arm.

英国零售商协会表示，低收入委员会(Low Pay Commission)确定工资水平的方法，应考虑到一个事实：即工资已成为数十万员工的工资标准，而非基本工资基数。

The BRC says the way rates are set by the Low Pay Commission should take into the account the fact that the minimum wage has become the norm rather than a basic pay floor for hundreds of thousands of workers.

英国零售商协会会长凯文?霍金斯(Kevin Hawkins)表示，遏制通胀因素的工资涨幅已开始影响到雇主创造新就业岗位的能力。英国零售商协会表示，低收入委员会不应“试图成为雇主和工会不同出价之间的裁判”，而是应以各行业薪资中值和生产率的变化为指引。

Inflation-busting rises have begun to undermine the ability of employers to create new jobs, says Kevin Hawkins, BRC director-general. The Low Pay Commission instead of “trying to act as a referee between conflicting bids from employers and unions” should be guided by movements in median wages and productivity in individual sectors, says BRC.

英国零售商协会警告称：“许多雇主，特别是那些在零售业等竞争激烈、普遍处于通缩市场上经营的雇主，发现他们的薪资结构受到了挤压。因此，那些出钱培训员工、支持员工再教育、并希望能够认可并奖励员工新增技能和技能提高的企业，无力做到这些。”

It warns: “Many employers, particularly those who operate in fiercely competitive and generally deflationary markets such as retailing, have seen their pay structures compressed. As a result, those who invest in training their staff and supporting further education and who want to be able to recognise and reward new and enhanced skills are un-able to do so.”

薪资福利专业机构IDS 2005年年底进行的一项研究显示，在引入工资制后，超市已削减了薪资等级的数量，在一家超市，已“引入了单一的副主管薪资等级”。

A study at the end of 2005 by IDS, the pay and benefits specialists, reported that supermarkets had reduced the number of pay grades and in one case had “introduced a single sub-supervisor grade” following the introduction of the minimum wage.

英国零售商协会表示：“如果工资继续以近来的平均速度增长，那么就业率将下降，雇主也会发现自己无力奖励技能高超的员工、保持薪资差距并提供宝贵的非薪资福利。包括零售业在内的多个行业已感受到这些影响。”

The BRC said: “If the minimum wage continues to grow at its recent average rate, employment will fall and employers will find themselves unable to reward skills, preserve wage differentials and provide valued non-wage benefits. These effects are already being felt in several sectors, including retail.”

然而，英国职工大会(TUC)秘书长弗朗西斯?奥格拉迪(Frances O’Grady)表示：“工资标准已发挥了作用，因为这个标准由低收入委员会确定，该委员会将雇主和工会代表组织在一起，讨论对英国经济为有利的政策。用机械的指数来替代这一成功的合作过程，将是愚蠢的。”