From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Pakistan is preparing for national elections next month. Many likely voters seem more concerned about the economy than stopping militant violence.
巴基斯坦正在筹备下月将举行的全国大选。许多潜在选民似乎更关注经济而不是阻止激进暴力。
But few Pakistanis are hopeful for changes. Zafar Saeed directs an occupational training centre in Islamabad, the capital. For the past ten years, the centre has trained thousands for work in an increasingly difficult economy. Now his own business is struggling from power cuts and inflation, he blames the government for the situation.
但几乎没有巴基斯坦人对改变抱有希望。扎法尔·赛义德（Zafar Saeed）管理着首都伊斯兰堡的一家职业培训中心。在过去十年日益艰难的经济中，该中心累计培训了数千人。现在他的生意正在停电和通货膨胀中苦苦挣扎。他将这一局面归咎于政府。
"Our organization has suffered major financial losses, particularly over the past five years, because prolonged power outages have not allowed us to perform our activities. The other main reason is inflation because people can no longer afford to pay for their fees to learn income-generating skills.”
“我们这个机构遭受了重大经济损失，特别是在过去五年里，因为长时间停电使得我们无法进行经营活动。另一个主要原因是通货膨胀，因为人们不再有能力支付学费来学习创收技能。”
Many people share his opinion. Street protests against power cuts are common in Pakistan. Some cuts can now last all day long.
很多人都赞成他的观点。针对停电的街头抗议在巴基斯坦非常常见。现在有些停电会持续一整天。
Ashfaque Hassan Khan is a professor at the Nast Business School in Islamabad.
阿什法克·哈桑·汗（Ashfaque Hassan Khan）是伊斯兰堡纳斯特商学院的一名教授。
"We are facing economic challenges and the reason for this is that for five years the economy has never been on the radar of the government.”
他说，“我们正面临经济挑战。而原因是由于五年来经济从未在政府的考虑之中。”
He also says part of the problem has been too little political will to fix the national tax system. Less than one percent of Pakistan’s 180 million people pay income taxes. About 70 percent of federal lawmakers did not complete any income tax documents last year, most of them are likely to be returned to parliament in the elections.
他还表示，部分原因是巴基斯坦极少有政治意愿来解决国家税务体系。巴基斯坦1.8亿人口中，只有不到百分之一的人口缴纳所得税。大约70%的议会议员去年没有填写任何所得税文件，他们中的大多数在这次选举中可能会重返议会。
As professor Khan notes, that makes it more difficult to ask the country's major donors for help.
正如汗教授所指出的，这使得巴基斯坦更难开口向该国的主要捐助者求援。
"There is a genuine complaint from [the] international community because their taxpayers have started raising questions that 'why should our government give our taxpayer money to Pakistan when [the] Pakistani government doesn’t tax their own rich and influential people?'"
他说，“国际社会会抱怨，因为他们的纳税人已经开始质疑，‘为什么政府要把我们纳税人的资金给巴基斯坦，而巴基斯坦不向自己的富人或有影响力的人征税？’”
60 percent of the Pakistani population is under the age of 25. Recent opinion surveys show most young people are concerned about unemployment, power shortages, and corruption.
巴基斯坦60%的人口在25岁以下。最近的民意调查显示，大多数年轻人都关心失业、停电和腐败问题。
Maleeha Lodhi is a former ambassador to the United States. She says young people have grown less hopeful about the future.
马利哈·洛迪（Maleeha Lodhi）是前任巴基斯坦驻美国大使。她说，年轻人已经逐渐对未来失望。
"So, the message to Pakistan’s next government is a very strong one. And that message is deal with the economy otherwise young people will opt out of the system and when young people opt out of the system and lose faith then frankly, the future prospects for any country begin to look very bleak."
她说，“所以，给下届巴基斯坦政府的信息非常明显。这一信息就是应对经济，否则年轻人会脱离体制。当年轻人脱离体制并失去信心，那么坦白说，国家的未来前景便会显得非常暗淡。”
To build support among young voters, some political parties are promising to reduce unemployment, and fight corruption. However, opinion surveys have shown low ratings for politicians, this is why voters like Zafar Saeed are wondering whether the next government will be any different from the last one.
为了赢得年轻选民支持，一些政党承诺降低失业率并打击腐败。然而，民意调查显示，人们对政治家的评价很低。这就是为什么赛义德等选民想知道下届政府和最后一任政府会不会有任何不同。
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