This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Egypt is the biggest of the nations hit by recent protests in North Africa and the Middle East. One of the causes of this spreading wave of popular dissatisfaction is a lack of economic progress.
埃及是最近北非和中东地区遭受抗议活动打击的最大的国家。这波民众不满蔓延的原因之一是经济方面缺乏进展。
Egypt is not a major oil exporter and its economy is not big enough to affect world economic growth. But important pipelines cross Egypt. And Egypt controls the Suez Canal. About eight percent of world shipping passes through this link between Europe and Asia. That includes two million barrels of oil each day, mainly to Europe.
埃及不是石油主要输出国，其经济也并不足以影响世界经济增长。但是重要的石油管道从埃及穿过，同时埃及控制了连接欧亚的苏伊士运河，全球大约8%的航运要经过这里，其中包括每天200万桶主要运往欧洲的石油。
Many experts say they expect the canal to remain open. Still, concerns about the Suez have pushed oil prices to their highest levels since two thousand eight.
许多专家表示，他们预计苏伊士运河将保持开放。然而，对苏伊士运河的担忧已将石油价格推高至2008年以来的最高点。
Fariborz Ghadar heads the Center for Global Business Studies at Penn State University. He says poverty in Egypt remains high -- up to forty percent in some areas.
Fariborz Ghadar负责宾夕法尼亚州立大学全球商业研究中心。他表示，埃及的贫困率仍然很高，在某些地区甚至高达40%。
Yet Egypt is not alone. Foreign investors worry about corruption, mismanagement and security problems across North Africa and the Middle East.
然而埃及并不是特例。外国投资者都担心北非和中东的腐败、管理不善和安全问题。
Every year millions of young people enter the job market. Populations are young and fast growing. In Egypt, the economy grew about five percent last year -- too little growth to create enough jobs.
每年，数百万年轻人进入就业市场，就业人群主要是青年并快速增长。埃及去年经济增长了大约5%，不足以创造出足够的就业机会。
Fariborz Ghadar says the United States in a good year creates fewer than two million jobs.
Fariborz Ghadar表示，美国在年头好的时候也创造不了多于200万个就业机会。
FARIBORZ GHADAR: "Europe and the US together generate three million jobs. [The] Middle East alone to keep their youth employed has to generate six, seven, eight million jobs. So they have to produce two or three times as many jobs as the total US and total European economies."
FARIBORZ GHADAR：“欧洲和美国一共创造了300万个就业机会。中东仅满足其年轻人就业就需要创造6到8百万个就业机会。因此他们需要创造的就业机会是美国和欧洲经济体加起来的2到3倍。”
Fariborz Ghadar says protests could spread to bigger economies.
Fariborz Ghadar表示，抗议活动可能会蔓延到更大的经济体。
FARIBORZ GHADAR: "So the mismanagement of the Iranian economy could in fact see a backlash of the Iranian population because their food prices are going up too. Their inflation is going up, too."
FARIBORZ GHADAR：“伊朗的食品价格也在不断上涨，通货膨胀也在不断上升。因此管理不善的伊朗经济可能将看到伊朗人民的强烈反对。”
The World Bank has praised Egypt for cutting barriers to trade. But economist Deborah Hewitt at the College of William & Mary in Virginia says private foreign investment remains weak. She says those investments have grown quickly from almost nothing eight years ago. But they are still not enough to lift the economy.
世界银行称赞埃及消除贸易壁垒。但弗吉尼亚州威廉与玛丽学院的经济学家德博拉·休伊特（Deborah Hewitt）表示，埃及的外国私人投资依然疲软。她称，外国私人投资从8年前几乎为零起步快速发展，但仍不足以提振经济。
Professor Hewitt says Egypt could look to reforms in Morocco that have appealed to investors. Morocco has strengthened its education system and invested in roads, ports and electric power. She says investments like these not only put people to work. They also create the basis for future economic -- and political -- development.
休伊特教授称，埃及可以观察一下摩洛哥吸引投资者的改革措施。摩洛哥加强了教育体系和对道路、港口、电力的投资。她说，这些投资不仅解决了就业，还创造了未来经济、政治和发展的基础。
DEBORAH HEWITT: "With economic growth and expansion comes the desire for more political freedom. And the two go hand in hand. They feed on each other."
休伊特：“经济增长和发展来自对更多政治自由的渴求。这两者相辅相成，相互推动。”