格林斯潘时代的终结

Allan Greenspan: Thank you very much.

Anthony Mason: Only months after he was tapped by President Reagan to head the Federal Reserve in 1987, Alan Greenspan faced his first crisis -- the stock market crash. He calmly steered¹ the economy through it as he's done for eighteen years.

Allan Greenspan: It's like eating peanuts here. Keep doing it, keep doing it. And you never get tired.

Allan Greenspan: The job had never been high-profile, but Greenspan has become an economic icon², serving four presidents as Fed chairman.

Bill Clinton: I knew he was a Republican, I was a Democrat³. But we both believed that the debts had to be brought down. We believed in long-term fundamentals.

Anthony Mason: Through President Clinton's two terms, Greenspan presided over "the longest economic expansion in the nation's history". But he also warned of a stock market bubble with his two most famous words: irrational⁴ exuberance⁵.

Anthony Mason: Did that concern you?
Bill Clinton: No. Because I think he, he believed it.

Anthony Mason: But when the bubble began to burst in 2000 and the 9/11 attacks then set us back again, the economy didn't collapse⁶. Greenspan's quick moves to lower rates made sure the recession was brief.

Jack⁷ Welch: Mexican crisis, two recessions, Asian crisis, bubble, 9/11, and we're still rocking. When you think about that, you gotta say this guy did one hell of a job.

Anthony Mason: Jack Welch says while he was heading GE, Greenspan would often call up to take the temperature of the economy.

Jack Welch: He'd always want to know what does the order book look like, what does this look like, how does that feel.

Bill Clinton: That's the thing that struck me, you know, a lot of people reach a certain age, and they don't think they have many things to learn any more. Not Greenspan, he was always, always curious. And that's why he served our country so well.
Anthony Mason: And he's a saxophone player too?
Bill Clinton: Yeah, well that too. That, that, er, I liked that a lot.
Anthony Mason: Did you ever talk about the saxophone?
Bill Clinton: A Little bit, yeah. ur.. Both of us decided⁸ that if we played better, we'd have been in a different line of work. (Ha ha ...)

Anthony Mason: Greenspan's next line of work? He'll reportedly start a consulting firm. As Ben Bernanke prepares to succeed him, many are wondering whether he'll have the Greenspan touch.

Anthony Mason: Is there a risk there that we're losing his stature⁹?
Jack Welch: I'll let you know. I mean no one is irreplaceable. But Alan Greenspan will leave a big hole, that this guy will have to work like hell to fill.

Anthony Mason: Behind the Fed's imposing¹⁰ columns, Alan Greenspan himself has become a Washington monument.

Anthony Mason, CBS News, New York.

EXPRESSION:

like hell
1. very much. It was raining like hell.
2. very badly. My shoulder hurt like hell.

1 steered   

v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导

参考例句：

• He steered the boat into the harbour. 他把船开进港。
• The freighter steered out of Santiago Bay that evening. 那天晚上货轮驶出了圣地亚哥湾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

5 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

10 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。