Closed for business: Two thirds of people think Britain is heading for another recession
Two thirds of the British public fear that the UK is heading for another recession, a survey showed today. The news came as it was revealed that Britain has been rated the second worst country in Europe to live in.
And while 85 percent of people say that the eurozone crisis has endangered the UK economy, a new report suggests that Britain's economic slowdown predatedthe recent turmoil.
More than half - 59 percent - of Britons are cutting back on spending in anticipation of another recession, according to a ComRes poll.
Almost three quarters said they were worried that another recession would have a severe impact on them and their family, while just 13 percent said they would not expect to be affected.
But fewer than one in five - 18 percent - believe Britain should contribute more money to help solve the eurozone's financial crisis, if it would help avoid another recession.
The survey of more than 2,000 people showed that 77 percent believe the crisis proved the UK was right to stay out of the eurozone, and about the same number think the eurozone debt crisis has been badly managed by Europe's political leaders.
Another study, a report by think-tank Demos entitled 'Good Growth', suggests that Britain is one of the worst places to live in Europe.
Judging by factors such as health, housing and the job market, the report said that only Spain was a less desirable home than the UK. The best places to live are Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, said the study.
Fears of another British recession will be reinforced by findings from the OECD, a respected think-tank, which say that the UK economy has been slowing for at least seven months.
Britain is not the only country facing a worse economic outlook, as all of the other G7 industrial nations are suffering from a similar slowdown.
But the fact that the UK's economy has been sluggish since before Greece started heading for default undermines the Government's argument that Britain's poor performance is the fault of the eurozone.
今日发布的一项调查显示，三分之二的英国民众担心英国将遭遇新一轮经济衰退。与此同时，调查还揭示，英国被评为欧洲第二大不适合居住的国家。
85%的人认为，欧元区危机已经危及英国经济，而一项新报告指出，在本次经济动荡发生之前，英国经济就已经在减速了。
ComRes的调查显示，超过半数(59%)的英国人正在削减开支，以应对可能到来的新一轮经济衰退。
近四分之三的英国人称，他们担心新一轮经济衰退会给自己和自己的家庭带来严重的冲击，只有13%的人说他们认为自己不会受到影响。
不过，不到五分之一(18%)的人认为，如果有助于避免新一轮经济衰退，英国就应该拿出更多钱，帮助解决欧元区的金融危机。
这项涵盖了2000多人的调查显示，77%的人认为这次危机证明英国不加入欧元区是正确的，另外有数量相近的人的认为欧洲的政治领导人在处理欧元区的债务危机上很失败。
另一项由智囊团Demos撰写的题为“良性增长”的研究报告指出，英国是欧洲最不适宜居住的地方之一。
这一研究报告称，从健康、住房和就业市场等多种因素来看，全欧洲只有西班牙比英国更不适宜居住。该研究称，最适宜居住的地方是挪威、德国和荷兰。
经济合作与发展组织的研究发现将进一步加剧人们对英国新一轮经济衰退的担心。这一受敬重的智囊团说，英国经济增速放缓已经持续了至少七个月。
英国不是唯一一个经济前景惨淡的国家，七国集团的所有其他工业国也同样面临经济减速的困境。
不过，英国经济在希腊陷入债务危机之前就已经开始停滞不前了，这一事实削弱了英国政府所持的欧元区造成英国经济颓势的论点。
Vocabulary:
predate:在日期上早于
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