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Europeans head into a grim holiday season, as governments cut spending and recession fears mount for 2012. Austerity is the byword in some of the countries hardest hit by Europe's debt crisis, but others are sending out the old year with a final, celebratory bash.
歐洲民眾正進(jìn)入一個(gè)黯淡的節(jié)日季節(jié)，因?yàn)檎谙鳒p開支而且擔(dān)心2012年經(jīng)濟(jì)會(huì)陷入衰退。在受歐洲債務(wù)危機(jī)沖擊最嚴(yán)重的一些國(guó)家，"緊縮"一詞成了一個(gè)標(biāo)語(yǔ)。
Shoppers crowd the holiday window displays outside the Galleries Lafayette, the famous department store in central Paris. Most are juggling shopping bags filled with holiday gifts. Thirty-five-year-old Alexandra de Brito is among the few who is bare-handed.
在法國(guó)巴黎市中心著名的老佛爺百貨店的節(jié)日展示櫥窗外，擠滿了購(gòu)物人群。多數(shù)人手上都提著裝滿了節(jié)日禮品的購(gòu)物袋。35歲的亞歷山德拉·德布里托是為數(shù)不多的兩手空空的人之一。
De Brito says she will not be buying any presents this Christmas time - even though she makes a good salary. Instead, she will make her family a good Christmas dinner and buy them presents during the after-Christmas sales. That is because the cost of everything is going up, she says - everything except salaries.
德布里托說(shuō)，雖然她的薪水不菲，但圣誕節(jié)時(shí)她不會(huì)買任何禮物。她會(huì)給家人做一頓豐盛的節(jié)日晚餐，然后在圣誕節(jié)之后的商家打折期間給家人買禮物。她說(shuō)，因?yàn)樗形飪r(jià)都在上漲，只有工資沒(méi)漲。
Across Europe, citizens like De Brito are pulling in their belts this holiday season - in line with their governments, who are introducing austerity measures to combat the region's sovereign debt and banking crisis. In some of the hardest-hit countries, like Portugal, Greece and Spain, local governments have cut their holiday budgets and dimmed their Christmas lights.
在歐洲各地，像德布里托這樣的居民這個(gè)節(jié)日季節(jié)正在勒緊褲腰帶，和他們的政府一樣。政府正在實(shí)行緊縮措施，以對(duì)抗該地區(qū)的主權(quán)債務(wù)和銀行危機(jī)。在葡萄牙、希臘和西班牙等一些受創(chuàng)最嚴(yán)重的國(guó)家，政府已經(jīng)削減了節(jié)日預(yù)算，并調(diào)暗了圣誕節(jié)燈光。
But the picture is more mixed in countries like France, which are still teetering on the brink of the eurozone crisis. Thousands of people protested in Paris and other French cities this last week against new government austerity measures.
但在法國(guó)等國(guó)家，情況更多樣化一些。這些國(guó)家仍處于歐元區(qū)危機(jī)的邊緣。過(guò)去這個(gè)星期，巴黎和法國(guó)其它城市的數(shù)千名民眾走上街頭示威，抗議新的政府緊縮措施。
Twenty-five-year-old student Pierre Dubovatsky joined the Paris demonstrations.
25歲的學(xué)生皮埃爾·杜博瓦特斯基參加了巴黎的示威活動(dòng)。
"I am afraid for my future," he said. "I do not have enough money to live [on] ... As things are difficult and I do not live with my family, I will just use the little money I have to get my family in the south of France, and this will be how I'll be celebrating Christmas. There will be no presents, just getting together."
杜博瓦特斯基說(shuō):"我擔(dān)心我的未來(lái)。我沒(méi)有足夠的錢生活......情況很艱難，我沒(méi)有和家人住在一起，我會(huì)用僅有的這一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)錢回到法國(guó)南部的家人那里......這將是我慶祝圣誕節(jié)的方式。沒(méi)有禮物，只是家人團(tuán)聚。"
British tourists Paul and Anita Scotney, eyeing a window display at a Cartier's diamond store on the elegant Champs Elysees, are also worried.
英國(guó)游客保羅和安妮塔·斯科特尼在優(yōu)雅的香榭麗舍大街上的一家卡地亞鉆石店櫥窗外駐足觀看。他們也感到憂慮。
"We are not here to buy anything really," he said. "It is just purely to see my son and to see Paris, because we have never been to Paris before."
保羅·斯科特尼說(shuō):"我們來(lái)這里并不是要買什么東西。只是來(lái)看我的兒子和看看巴黎，因?yàn)槲覀円郧皬臎](méi)來(lái)過(guò)巴黎。"
Although Britain is not part of the eurozone, its economy is struggling, and the Scotneys are concerned.
雖然英國(guó)不屬于歐元區(qū)，但是英國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)也很艱難。斯科特尼夫婦感到擔(dān)心。
"Depressed, mostly," said Paul Scotney. "Worried. I am retired so it does not really affect me but Anita is still working, so the job situation could affect us."
斯科特尼說(shuō):"主要是感到沮喪。還有擔(dān)心。我已經(jīng)退休了，所以不太會(huì)影響到我，但是安妮塔還在工作，所以工作前景可能會(huì)對(duì)我們有影響。"
But other people - French and Europeans - are opening their pocketbooks this holiday season. Throngs packed department stores during the last weekend before Christmas. Analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges believes people are celebrating while they can.
然而在這個(gè)節(jié)日季節(jié)，法國(guó)和歐洲的其他人正打開荷包。在圣誕節(jié)前的最后一個(gè)周末，大量人群涌入百貨商店。分析人士菲利浦·莫羅·德法爾日認(rèn)為，人們是在還能夠慶祝的時(shí)候進(jìn)行慶祝。
"I think many Europeans and many French are becoming aware that next year will be difficult," he said. "That is why if we can have a last merry Christmas - let us take it."
德法爾日說(shuō):"我認(rèn)為許多歐洲意識(shí)到，明年將會(huì)很艱難。因此，如果我們可以過(guò)最后一個(gè)快樂(lè)的圣誕節(jié)，我們就盡情過(guò)吧。"
As strollers admire the holiday decorations on the Champs Elysees, a young man called Gwele rings a bell charity, soliciting donations.
當(dāng)人們?cè)谫澝老汩葵惿岽蠼稚系墓?jié)日裝飾時(shí)，一個(gè)名叫格威爾的年輕男子請(qǐng)人們關(guān)注慈善團(tuán)體"救世軍"，他在那里募捐。
Gwele still giving to the poor and homeless this holiday season - aware that they are the first to suffer in these hard economic times.
格威爾說(shuō)，今年節(jié)日季節(jié)法國(guó)人仍在者捐獻(xiàn)。要知道，在經(jīng)濟(jì)困難時(shí)期，這些人首當(dāng)其沖受到影響。
