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Sri Lanka’s prime minister recently said his nation’s debt-stricken economy has “collapsed.”
斯里兰卡总理最近表示，该国陷入债务危机，经济已经“崩溃”。
The South Asian island country is running out of money to pay for food and fuel.
这个南亚岛国快要没有钱购买食物和燃料了。
It is seeking help from neighboring India and China and from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
它正在向邻国印度和中国以及国际货币基金组织寻求帮助。
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took office in May.
总理拉尼尔·维克勒马辛哈于5月上任。
He described the difficult task he faces in turning around an economy that he said is heading for “rock bottom.”
他描述了他在扭转经济形势方面所面临的艰巨任务。他说，斯里兰卡的经济正在走向“谷底”。
The United Nations World Food Program says nearly nine of 10 families in Sri Lanka are going without some meals or otherwise decreasing how much they eat.
世界粮食计划署表示，斯里兰卡近十分之一的家庭没有饭吃或减少了食量。
Three million of the country’s 23 million people are receiving emergency humanitarian aid.
该国2300万人口中有300万人正在接受紧急人道主义援助。
Doctors are using social media to try and get important supplies of equipment and medicine.
医生正在使用社交媒体试图获得重要的设备和药品。
Growing numbers of Sri Lankans are seeking passports to go overseas in search of work.
越来越多的斯里兰卡人正在寻求护照，以去海外找工作。
Economists say the crisis comes from in-country causes such as years of poor leadership and corruption.
经济学家表示，引发这场危机的是国内因素，如多年的领导不力和腐败。
They also say it comes from other troubles, such as growing debt, the effects of the pandemic and terror attacks that hurt the tourism industry.
他们还表示，引发这场危机的其他因素包括不断增加的债务、疫情的影响以及损害旅游业的恐怖袭击。
Much of the public’s anger has been directed at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
民众把怒火大多指向总统戈塔巴雅·拉贾帕克萨和他的兄弟，前总理马欣达·拉贾帕克萨。
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned after weeks of anti-government protests that turned violent.
马欣达·拉贾帕克萨总理在持续数周的反政府抗议活动演变成暴力事件后辞职。
The government needed to increase its income as foreign debt for large projects increased.
随着大型项目的外债增加，斯里兰卡政府需要增加收入。
But instead, Rajapaksa pushed through the largest tax cuts in Sri Lankan history, which recently were undone.
然而，拉贾帕克萨推出了斯里兰卡历史上最大规模的减税政策，最近该减税政策被取消了。
Creditors decreased Sri Lanka’s ratings, which blocked the country from borrowing more money as its foreign reserves fell sharply.
债权人下调了斯里兰卡的评级，这使得该国无法借入更多钱，同时该国的外汇储备也在大幅下降。
In April 2021, Rajapaksa suddenly banned imports of chemical fertilizers.
2021年4月，拉贾帕克萨突然禁止进口化肥。
That move decreased the amount of rice produced and drove prices higher.
这一举措降低了大米产量，推高了价格。
This year, the war in Ukraine has pushed prices of food and oil higher.
今年，乌克兰的战争推高了食品和石油的价格。
Inflation was close to 40 percent and food prices were up nearly 60 percent in May.
5月，通货膨胀率接近40%，食品价格上涨了近60%。
The Finance Ministry says Sri Lanka has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves.
斯里兰卡财政部表示，斯里兰卡可用的外汇储备只有2500万美元。
That has left it without the ability to pay for imports or repay billions in debt.
这使得它没有能力支付进口商品的费用或偿还数十亿美元的债务。
The local money, the Sri Lankan rupee, has weakened in value by nearly 80 percent.
当地货币斯里兰卡卢比贬值了近80%。
That makes costs of imports even higher.
这使得进口成本更高。
So far, Sri Lanka has gotten through mainly by $4 billion in credit lines from neighboring India.
到目前为止，斯里兰卡主要从邻国印度获得了40亿美元的信贷额度。
But Wickremesinghe warned against expecting India to keep supporting Sri Lanka.
但维克勒马辛哈警告称，不要指望印度会继续支持斯里兰卡。
The government is in negotiations with the IMF on a bailout plan.
斯里兰卡政府正在与国际货币基金组织就紧急财政援助计划进行谈判。
Wickremesinghe said Wednesday he expects to have some agreement with the IMF by late July.
维克勒马辛哈周三表示，他预计将在7月底之前与国际货币基金组织达成一些协议。
The government also is seeking more help from China.
斯里兰卡政府也在向中国寻求更多的帮助。
Other governments like the U.S., Japan, and Australia have provided a few hundred million dollars in extra support.
美国、日本和澳大利亚等其他国家的政府也提供了数亿美元的额外支持。
Earlier this month, the United Nations began asking countries around the world to help.
本月早些时候，联合国开始请求世界各国提供帮助。
So far, the estimated financial help is not close to the $6 billion the country needs to keep running over the next six months.
到目前为止，估计财政援助还没有接近该国在接下来的六个月里维持运转所需的60亿美元。
I’m Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·施塔赫尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
