Greece’s finance minister says his country’s financial situation is “terribly urgent” and the crisis could come to a head in a couple of weeks. Yanis Varoufakis gave the warning after eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the final €7.2bn tranche(援助资金) of Greece’s €240bn EU/IMF bailout(紧急援助).
Ministers said Greece had made “progress” but more work was needed.
The Greek government is struggling to meet its payment obligations（责任）.Earlier, Greece began the transfer of €750m (£544m, $834m) in debt interest to the International Monetary Fund - a day ahead of a payment deadline.
“The liquidity（资产流动性） issue is a terribly urgent issue. It’s common knowledge, let’s not beat around the bush,” Mr Varoufakis told reporters in Brussels. “From the perspective of timing, we are talking about the next couple of weeks.”
Greece has until the end of June to reach a reform deal with its international creditors. Its finances are running so low that it has had to ask public bodies for help. The crisis has raised the prospect that Greece might default（违约） on its debts and leave the euro.
In a statement, the eurozone finance ministers said they “welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far” in the negotiations,” but added: “We acknowledged that more time and effort are needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues.” Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said there had to be a full deal on the bailout（紧急财务援助） before Greece received any further payments. “There are time constraints(限制；约束) and liquidity constraints and hopefully we will reach an agreement before time runs out and before money runs out.” he said.
There had been fears that Greece would default on its IMF debt repayment due on Tuesday. However, a Greek finance ministry official was quoted as saying that the order for repayment had been executed（实施） on Monday. Almost €1bn has been handed over to the IMF in interest payments since the start of May.
It is unclear how the government came up with the funds, but the mayor of Greece’s second city Thessaloniki revealed last week that he had handed over cash reserves in response to an appeal for money.
1. What is Yanis Varoufakis?| A．He is Greece’s finance minister. |
| B．He is an expert in the eurozone. |
| C．An official of the International Monetary Fund. |
| D．He is Eurogroup chairman. |
| A．The International Monetary Fund would cancel the debt of Greece. |
| B．The EU would help Greece rebuild its financial system. |
| C．Greece might have to leave the eurozone. |
| D．The eurozone would accept Greece. |
| A．The EU Get Challenged. |
| B．The International Monetary Fund Reform. |
| C．The EU Face Economic Crisis. |
| D．Greece Two Weeks from Cash Crisis |
| A．People fear that the International Monetary Fund can’t pay Greece for debt repayment. |
| B．Greece succeeded in paying interest payments to the IMF. |
| C．It is unclear how the government came up with the funds. |
| D．The mayor of Greece’s third city handed over cash reserves in response to an appeal for money. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Decoding Your Emotions
Almost all of us can remember a time when we were angry with a friend or anxious about going to a job interview. We experience such a wide range of emotions in everyday life, and these can influence the decisions we make — important decisions, such as whether we should quit a job, to the more trivial like what we’re going to have for dinner.
Emotions are controlled by many different chemicals, or neurotransmitters and electrical impulses.
Emotions have been studied as far back as the 4 century BC. The Greek philosopher Aristotle attempted to identify the number of core human cmotions. During the 1970s, psychologist Paul Ekman identified six basic emotions — happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust-these provide the basis for more complicated emotional experiences we have.
| A．Electrical impulses are sent along a nerve, which connect to many more nerves. |
| B．Emotions also decides the way we interact with our family, friends and colleagues and even ourselves. |
| C．In fact, the way we express our emotions can vary across cultures. |
| D．Based on the study, distinct cultural backgrounds’ contributing to different emotions has its reasons. |
| E．Ekman later expanded his list of basic emotions to include shame, guilt and relief. |
| F．Additionally, emotions have long-lasting impacts on our interpersonal relationships too |
【推荐2】Volunteering at a nursing home is an often overlooked volunteer area and yet one of the most needed. Statistics show that only 50 percent of nursing home residents have no close relatives and 46 percent have no living children.
Make a list of nursing homes you are able to volunteer at on a regular basis. When doing this, use any resources from family members, friends, or even use an online search engine to find nursing homes. When choosing your home, also keep in mind your schedule; make sure that you can be fully committed to any obligations that the nursing home may give you.
Ask for an application form.
Become a "volunteer in training" at the nursing home.
| A．Expect to attend training if your application is approved. |
| B．Call or visit the top three of your chosen nursing home options. |
| C．Volunteering at a nursing home can be a really wonderful experience. |
| D．From your list, choose the top three that cater to what you are looking for. |
| E．You will be taken into training depending on the area you are assigned to train in. |
| F．The process of becoming a volunteer at a nursing home can often be a little too long. |
| G．The activity director or volunteer coordinator will handle all of your information from here. |
【推荐3】My 83-year-old mother came to live with me a year ago last November. She was very ill and I had to put my life on hold to care for her.
Each morning, I got her up and dressed her and made her breakfast and sat with her. I rushed for a bowl when she felt sick, and lit fires to keep her warm. I cooked and persuaded her to take a few bites.
It’s a hard job caring for a sick or dying parent, whoever you are. But it was especially hard for me, I feel, because I am a doctor myself. I couldn’t help looking at her in two different ways. The medical professional saw a body and scrutinized it with the coldness that medicine requires. But the daughter saw the woman who had given birth to me, wiped my nose, sent me off to college and had been a constant presence in my life for over half a century.
Also, my mother didn’t appreciate how hard it was for me to care for her. I remember an exchange between her and the nurse who came to see her once a week:
“You could get some more help with care.”
“Oh, I don’t think I need that,” Mom said.
Mom didn’t understand that the help would have taken some of the burden off me. None of the treatments her doctors gave her worked, and finally her life became about comfort. She refused painkillers (止痛药) for a long time, but finally the pain convinced her. And when she accepted the painkillers she accepted the fact that she would die.
Illness and needs took us across personal boundaries I’d never before considered. And yet, while living and being and dying with Mom I witnessed something precious dawning. We became closer. We shared so many stories from our past that it was as if our memories had become one.
In the past our relationship had been difficult. We had often argued. But when the end came, both of us simply accepted that we looked at the world in different ways. We were daughter and mother and we loved each other. That was all that mattered.
1. Why was taking care of her mom especially hard for the author?| A．She was too busy living her own life. |
| B．She and her mom had a difficult relationship. |
| C．She was too old to attend to her mom carefully. |
| D．She viewed her mom both as a patient and a loved one. |
| A．held | B．checked |
| C．ignored | D．left |
| A．Helpful. | B．Thankful. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Depressed. |
| A．Love is more important than differences. |
| B．Being alive was the most important thing. |
| C．We should learn to understand other people. |
| D．It was better for family members to live independently of each other. |
