英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

VOA双语新闻:美国政府债务面临严峻考验

时间:2011-11-01 06:48来源:互联网 提供网友:木子平儿   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

  The political wrangling1 in Washington about federal budgets is likely to get more intense as the stakes rise from billions of dollars to trillions. Some of the focus is changing from a squabble over government spending for one year, to a bigger battle over the soaring debt accumulated over many years. Some of the bickering2 is over the "debt limit," an issue that is generally not well understood.
华盛顿关于联邦预算的政治争吵看来将愈演愈烈,涉及的预算金额已从数十亿美元上升到数万亿美元。争论的焦点也从本年度的政府开支扩展到了多年累积起来的政府债务。其中颇为引人注目的一个问题就是所谓的“债务限额”。
U.S. Treasury3 Secretary Timothy Geithner says the stakes in the fight over the debt limit are very high.
美国财政部长盖特纳认为,有关债务限额的纷争所引起的风险非常高。
"The consequences would be catastrophic to the United States. Default by the United States would precipitate4 a crisis worse than the one we just went through," said Geithner. "I think it would make the crisis we just went through look modest in comparison."
盖特纳说:“其后果对于美国来说可能是灾难性的。美国政府如果违约,势必引起一场比我们刚刚经历的这场金融危机更加严重的危机。跟美国违约引起的危机相比,最近这场危机将是小巫见大巫。”
Geithner's point is that if Congress does not take action to raise the debt limit, current spending commitments and the need to refinance the government's earlier loans might force Washington to miss payments on existing U.S. debt. That could cause major economic problems because investors6 might drastically raise interest rates which would raise costs and compound the problem.
盖特纳财长的意思是:假如国会不采取行动提高债务上限,不增加当前的开支额度,不允许借新债还旧债,那么华盛顿就将被迫拖延偿还现存的欠债。那将造成重大的经济问题,因为投资者会因此而大幅提高利率,增加美国的借贷成本,使问题进一步恶化。
"[Default] would be a reckless and irresponsible act of this country. I find it inconceivable that Congress would not act to increase the limit," added Geithner.
盖特纳说:“违约等于这个国家在采取一种不计后果和不负责任的行动。我难以想象国会在提高债务限额问题上会无动于衷。”
For many years, Washington has been spending more than it takes in from taxes and other sources of revenue. That leaves a deficit7 in the annual budget. The government has to borrow money to cover the shortfall. All these annual deficits8 add up to the total debt.
多少年来,华盛顿一直都是入不敷出,实际支出总是大于税收和其他收入,结果年复一年预算赤字不断膨胀,政府只好通过借债来弥补财政漏洞。就这样,联邦债务一年接一年地扶摇直上。
Under U.S. law, the Treasury Department cannot borrow more money by issuing bonds unless Congress gives its approval by increasing the legal limit on borrowing. The current debt limit is more than $14 trillion, a sum nearly equivalent to all the goods and services produced in the United States in a year.
根据美国法律,除非国会批准提高法定的借贷限额,财政部不能通过发行债券来筹借更多的资金。目前的国债上限是14多万亿美元,差不多相当于美国一年的国内生产总值。
The government is expected to hit its debt limit next month.
预计美国政府的负债总额将在下个月达到上限。
There has been a debt limit law of some kind in the United States for nearly a century. During that time, the limit has been lowered on a few occasions, and raised more than 60 times.
美国的政府债务限额法已经有一百来年的历史了。在这期间,债务限额偶尔被降低过几次,但却被先后提高过60多次。
As the limit approaches Republicans are pressuring President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party allies in Congress to cut spending on social programs and keep taxes low. The Democrats9 want to deal with the debt by raising taxes on wealthy Americans and cutting military programs.
现在,随着国债总额再次接近债务上限,共和党人正向奥巴马总统及其在国会的民主党盟友施加压力,要求削减社会福利项目,并保持较低的税收。民主党人则要求通过增加对富裕美国人的税收和削减军事项目来解决债务问题。
A former high-ranking Treasury Department official, Timothy Bitsberger, says the two sides will eventually make a deal to avoid default, but only after a flood of rhetoric10.
蒂莫西?比茨伯格(Timothy Bitsberger)曾经是美国财政部的高级官员。他表示,双方最终将达成协议以避免债务违约,但是在这之前,免不了一场激烈论战。
"There's a lot of political theater involved... I expect the Republicans will try to extract as much blood as they can as the debt negotiations11 go forward," said Bitsberger.
比茨伯格说:“大批政治角色会粉墨登场,随着债务谈判的进一步展开,我预期共和党人将试图争取到尽可能多的让步。”
Bitsberger spoke12 in an interview on the Bloomberg financial news service. He worked on debt limit issues at the Treasury Department during a previous Republican administration, and says deficits and debt have grown under both Republicans and Democrats.
比茨伯格是在接收彭博财经新闻采访时说这番活的。他过去在共和党政府的财政部任职时负责债务限额。他指出,不论是在共和党当政时期还是民主党当政时期,美国联邦政府的预算赤字和国家债务都是不断增长。
While there are deep divisions between the two political parties, the global credit-rating agency Fitch says the likelihood of a default is "extremely low."
虽然民主共和两党在债务问题上分歧严重,但是全球信用评级机构惠誉国际说,美国政府债务违约的可能性极低。
The top analyst13 on U.S. government debt at Moody's Investor5 Service, Steve Hess, says only an "astonishing miscalculation" by the government would lead to default. He says bickering over spending cuts may continue until the very last moment, and might force officials to take "Draconian14" actions to manage short-term financial problems.
穆迪投资服务公司的高级分析师史迪夫?黑斯(Steve Hess)指出,只有在美国政府出现重大失误的情况下才有可能导致违约。他说,民主共和两党的争吵很有可能会持续到最后一分钟,迫使政府官员采取严厉措施来对付短期的财政问题。
Hess says if political squabbling really worried lenders, they would raise interest rates they charge on loans to Washington.
黑斯认为,如果两党的政治纷争真的令债权人感到担忧,他们会提高给华盛顿贷款的利率。但是目前还没有这种迹象。
"If you look at the market, it does not seem that the wrangling so far has had a big effect on the government's cost of borrowing," noted15 Hess.
黑斯说:“假如你看一看市场,迄今为止,这些争吵并没有对政府的借贷成本造成很大影响。”
Continuing annual deficits have made the total debt double in the past few years, and many members of Congress believe continuing that course will eventually raise the debt so high it would cause a severe economic crisis.
年复一年的财政赤字使美国政府的债务总额在过去几年中翻了一番。很多国会议员都相信,长此以往,美国不断膨胀的债务总有一天会引起一场严重的经济危机。


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 wrangling 44be8b4ea358d359f180418e23dfd220     
v.争吵,争论,口角( wrangle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
  • The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具(互相)争吵。 来自辞典例句
2 bickering TyizSV     
v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 );口角;(水等)作潺潺声;闪烁
参考例句:
  • The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
  • The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
3 treasury 7GeyP     
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
参考例句:
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
4 precipitate 1Sfz6     
adj.突如其来的;vt.使突然发生;n.沉淀物
参考例句:
  • I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
  • The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。
5 investor aq4zNm     
n.投资者,投资人
参考例句:
  • My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
  • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。
6 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
7 deficit tmAzu     
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
参考例句:
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
8 deficits 08e04c986818dbc337627eabec5b794e     
n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 );赤字;亏空;亏损
参考例句:
  • The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句
9 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 rhetoric FCnzz     
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语
参考例句:
  • Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗?
  • Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后,他和军队的关系岌岌可危。
11 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
12 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
13 analyst gw7zn     
n.分析家,化验员;心理分析学家
参考例句:
  • What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务?
  • The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
14 draconian Skvzd     
adj.严苛的;苛刻的;严酷的;龙一样的
参考例句:
  • You can't expect the people to obey such draconian regulations.你不能指望人民服从如此严苛的规定。
  • The city needs a draconian way of dealing with robbers.这个城市需要一个严苛的办法来对付强盗。
15 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴