VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report - 15 Months Out of Re

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Businesses are still slow to hire and unemployment remains¹ near ten percent. But an economic research group reported this week that the recession in the United States ended in June of last year.

It was the longest since the nineteen thirties.

James Stock is on the committee that dates the rises and falls of the business cycle for the National Bureau of Economic Research. The Harvard professor says this recession was in some ways a lot like others since World War Two.

JAMES STOCK: "I think what I’ve been struck by is how these numbers basically look like all the other recessions we've had in the postwar period."

But one difference was the length -- eighteen months. Many recessions since the nineteen forties lasted less than a year.

Another difference was the severity. The economy shrank by more than four percent. About eight million people lost their jobs.

Professor Stock thinks job growth is likely to increase in the coming months based on current levels of productivity.

JAMES STOCK: "I think that we are at a point right now where productivity has increased so much that for output to continue to grow, we will be seeing increases in hiring."

Some economic signs have improved. Manufacturing, industrial production and consumer spending have made small gains. But a Labor² Department report shows that new claims for unemployment insurance rose unexpectedly last week.

On Monday, President Obama took questions at a meeting shown on CNBC television. One questioner wondered if today's young Americans still could hope for a good life.

QUESTIONER: "What I'm really hoping to hear from you is several concrete steps that you're going to take moving forward that will be able to re-ignite my generation, re-ignite the youth who are beset³ by student loans. And I really want to know, is the American Dream dead for me?"

BARRACK OBAMA: "Absolutely not. Look, we still have the best universities in the world. We’ve got the most dynamic private sector⁴ in the world. We've got the most productive workers in the world. There is not a country in the world that would not want to change places with us."

But the economy could change the balance of power in Congress in the November elections.

Critics say the president's economic stimulus⁵ programs have only put the country deeper in debt. Economists⁶ disagree about the extent to which the spending has helped. But many agree that the president's policies avoided a worse situation.

Or, as Mr. Obama put it at the United Nations on Thursday: "The global economy has been pulled back from the brink⁷ of a depression."

In Washington, central bank policy makers⁸ said inflation remains low. In fact, they said it may be too low to support their aims for price and wage stability.

And, Lawrence Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council, said he will leave at the end of the year to return to Harvard University.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I’m Steve Ember.
 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》