不管是雅思写作还是翻译，我们都需要和数据打交道。英语中关于数量减少的表达有很多，本期介绍9个相关的单词。

1. decelerate

The Economist Intelligence Unit expects global trade growth to decelerate to 3.7% in 2019, from 5.3% in 2017, causing economic growth to slow in the US and Europe.

经济学人智库预计，全球贸易增速将从2017年的5.3％降至2019年的3.7％，导致美国和欧洲的经济增长放缓。

2. down

Exports were down by 6.6% compared with the same month last year, much better than expected.

出口与去年同期相比下降了6.6％，远远超出了预期的水平。

3. shrink和contract

Assuming that COVID-19 and restrictions on daily life peak in the second quarter, the fund thinks global GDP will shrink by 3% this year, although advanced economies are expected to contract by an average 6.1%.

假设新冠疫情以及对日常生活的限制在第二季度达到顶峰，国际货币基金组织认为，尽管预测中发达国家的经济将整体缩小6.1％，但今年全球经济将萎缩3％。

语言点：

在表达数量最大或事物发展达到最高点的时候，除了常用的形容词最高级，其实我们可以简单地使用一个动词peak。

4. slump

Before the global financial crisis they were rising by about 10% a year, but in 2009 they slumped by 5%.

全球金融危机爆发之前，汇款的年均增长速度为10％左右，但到了2009年则下降了5％。

5. fall

In the first half of 2018 the bank’s credit impairment charge fell by 72% year on year.

2018年上半年，银行的信用减值损失同比下降了72％。

6. drop

One of the biggest American lenders, Wells Fargo, has just reported that its profits dropped by 99% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier.

美国最大的银行之一富国银行（Wells Fargo）在报告中指出，第一季度的利润与去年同期相比下降了99％。

以上几个表达都是以减少的事物为主语的，这类通常是在外因影响下被动的下降。那么，有时候在主体明确的情况下，由主体主动作出调整的，我们可以以主体为主语，使用相关的动词来表达。如以下两个例子：

7. slash

Oil companies have already slashed capital spending by about 25% this year.

今年，石油公司已经将资本开支削减了25％左右。

8. cut

Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their oil-price war, agreeing to a deal that will see oil-producing countries cut output by a record 9.7m barrels a day over the next two months, around 10% of global supply.

沙特阿拉伯和俄罗斯结束了油价大战，并达成协议，未来的两个月里，石油生产国日均减产970万桶原油，约占全球供应量的10％，达到了历史新高。