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The head of the U.S. central bank, Ben Bernanke, told a congressional committee the U.S. economy could face a mild recession, but it should recover later this year.

美国联邦储备委员会主席伯南克星期三在国会作证说，美国经济可能面临温和衰退，不过会在今年晚些时候复苏。

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy is going through a very difficult period. While conceding that a recession is possible, he said it is too early to say the economy is in recession, usually defined as six months of negative growth.

美联储主席伯南克说，美国经济正经历一个非常困难的时期。伯南克虽然承认经济衰退是可能的，但他说，现在就说经济已步入衰退还为时过早。经济衰退的定义为6个月的负增长。

Opposition¹ Democrats², who control both houses of Congress, wanted to know why the Federal Reserve last month stepped in to prevent the collapse³ of a Wall Street investment house, but is not doing the same to assist distressed⁴ home buyers having trouble making their mortgage payments.

在国会参众两院占多数的反对党民主党人希望弄清楚为什么美联储上个月出手帮助防止华尔街投资银行贝尔斯登公司倒闭，但是却不能以相同的态度帮助那些陷入困境、无力支付房屋贷款的房主。

"How can one justify⁵ going in with government back-up for Bear Stearns, or any large financial institution, and not for the millions of homeowners," asked New York Senator Charles Schumer, who is the chairman of the Joint⁶ Economic Committee.

国会联合经济委员会主席、纽约州参议员查尔斯.舒默说：“用政府的担保来支持贝尔斯登公司或任何一个大金融公司，但对数百万房主却坐视不救，请问你对此做出何种解释？”

Bernanke replied that the Federal Reserve did not bail⁷ out Bear Stearns, the large investment bank and brokerage rescued from near bankruptcy⁸ in mid-March.

伯南克回答说，美联储并不是解救贝尔斯登公司。3月中旬，濒临破产的大投资银行和证券商贝尔斯登在美联储的协助下被廉价卖给了摩根大通银行。分析人士指出，美联储假如听任贝尔斯登公司破产，美国的整个金融体系都会受到波及。

"Bear Stearns shareholders⁹ took a very significant loss," he said. "An 85-year-old company lost its independence and became acquired by another firm [JP Morgan Chase bank]. Many Bear Stearns employees, as you know, are concerned about their jobs. I do not think any company is interested in repeating the experience of Bear Stearns."

伯南克说：“贝尔斯登的股东蒙受了巨额损失。这个有85年历史的公司失去了它的独立性，被大通摩根银行兼并。很多贝尔斯登的雇员对他们的工作忧心忡忡。我认为，没有任何一家公司愿意重蹈贝尔斯登的覆辙。”

Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve's repeated reductions in short-term interest rates during the past year will help distressed home buyers.

伯南克说，美联储过去一年来连续削减短期利率将帮助陷入困境的房主。

"Our interest rate cuts and our liquidity¹⁰ measures, in particular, have significantly reduced the interest rate reset¹¹ problem faced by many mortgage holders," he said. "And we have extensive efforts on the ground to work with community groups to help reduce delinquencies and problems of foreclosure."

他说：“我们降低利率，尤其是为增加流动性所采取的措施，已经大幅降低了很多房贷债务人所面临的利率重新调整的问题，而且我们还在各方面竭尽全力同社区团体一道帮助减少拖欠房贷和丧失房屋赎回权的问题。”

After five years of steady growth, the U.S. economy has slowed dramatically, in part because the collapse of a speculative¹² bubble in housing. In many markets, home prices that had nearly doubled from 2002 to 2005 have subsequently declined by up to 30 percent.

在经过5年的稳步增长后，美国经济的发展速度已大幅度放慢，部分原因是由于房市投机泡沫破裂。很多地区的房价在2002到2005年间几乎翻了一番，但是现在，在有些地区，房价的下降幅度高达30%。

The troubles in the U.S. housing sector¹³ spilled over into global markets last August, causing a severe contraction¹⁴ in credit and billions of dollars in bank losses.

美国房市的困境去年8月蔓延到全球金融市场，造成严重的信贷紧缩和数百亿美元的银行损失。