VOA标准英语2012--World Bank Downgrades Global Growth Forecast

（单词翻译）

World Bank Downgrades Global Growth Forecast

The world's economy is expected to grow more slowly this year.
Hans Timmer, head of development projects at the World Bank, projects overall growth in 2012 at around 2.5 percent - more than a full percentage point below the bank's initial estimate.
"This will be a very slow recovery and it will take many, many years before the damage done by the great recession and the damage done by the imbalances created in a boom period before the recession are undone," said Timmer.
Developing countries will continue to outpace growth in richer, more developed economies but emerging countries face significant risks. World Bank economist¹ Lin Yifu says that includes reduced capital flows and trade if the European crisis worsens.
"The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has appeared to be contained, however the risks of global freezing up of capital markets as well as a global crisis, similar to what happened in 2008 are real," said Yifu.
Although the World Bank says high-income countries are primarily responsible for preventing a larger crisis, it says developing countries also have an obligation. Timmer says a crucial element is the role of Asian investment.
"To say it differently, the world is no longer dependent on the U.S. consumer or the European consumer, but it's increasingly dependent on what you could call the Asian investor," he said.
The World Bank says no region can escape the consequences of a serious downturn. It urged governments in developing countries to support cooperative trade mechanisms² and develop contingency³ plans aimed at softening⁴ the impact of a potentially deeper and longer lasting⁵ crisis.