Spectre of stagnation: Russia's economy
① Economic policymakers and business bigwigs meet today to wrap up the Gaidar Forum, an annual symposium.
② They had reasons to exhale in 2017: after two years of recession, Russia's economy returned to growth, and inflation was under the central bank's 4% target, down from over 16% in 2015.
③ However, without deep reforms, GDP growth is unlikely to rise above the current level (under 2%, most reckon).
④ That worries the Kremlin ahead of Vladimir Putin's next presidential term. (He is certain to win elections in March.)
⑤ The conference has been filled with talk of how to modernise the economy.
⑥ Most experts agree that more must be spent on human capital, to the possible detriment of defence—a bitter pill for the security services to swallow.
⑦ Liberals pitch their plans in terms Mr Putin is more likely to understand: a stagnant economy cannot support his geopolitical ambitions, and technological backwardness threatens not only incomes, but national security.
▍生词好句
spectre /ˈspɛktə/: n. 幽灵
stagnation /staɡˈneɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 滞涨
bigwig /ˈbɪɡwɪɡ/: n. 大人物；有重要影响的人
wrap up: 总结；使……顺利进行/圆满完成
symposium /sɪmˈpəʊzɪəm/: n. 会议；专题讨论会
academic symposium 学术会议
exhale /ɛksˈheɪl, ɪksˈheɪl/: vi. 长吁一口气；呼气
inhale /ɪnˈheɪl/: vi. 吸入；吸气
reckon /ˈrɛk(ə)n/: vi. 认为；估计
detriment /ˈdɛtrɪm(ə)nt/: n. 损害；缩减
bitter pill: 苦药
a bitter pill to swallow: 难以下咽的苦果；不能不接受的情况
pitch /pɪtʃ/: vt. 提案；说服（vi. 竞价）
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