VOA常速英语2008年-Bush Acknowledges Economic Woes, Expresses Opti

By Scott Stearns
White House
14 March 2008

President Bush says he is confident that a series of tax rebates¹ and business incentives² will help ease the pain of a slowing U.S. economy. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

With the dollar at an all-time low against the Euro and higher prices for food and gasoline depressing retail³ sales, President Bush says there is no doubt the U.S. economy is going through tough times.

"The economy shed more than 80,000 jobs in two months," he said. "Prices are up at the gas pump and in the supermarket. Housing values are down. Hard-working Americans are concerned. They are concerned about their families, and they are concerned about making their bills."

But Mr. Bush told the Economic Club of New York that he is optimistic because economic fundamentals remain strong and the federal government is acting⁴ to ensure that the economy is flexible enough to adjust to adversity and strong enough to attract capital.

"I believe that we are a resilient economy, and I believe that the ingenuity⁵ and resolve of the American people is what helps us deal with these issues," he said. "And it is going to happen again."

The president says his administration recognized the economic slowdown early and took action with Congress to ease its impact.

Mr. Bush last month signed a temporary stimulus⁶ package that gives tax incentives to businesses to make new investments in equipment this year. It also provides tax rebates to more than 130 million households.

"The purpose is to boost consumer spending," he said. "The purpose is to try to offset⁷ the loss of wealth if the value of your home has gone down. The purpose is to buoy⁸ the consumer."

The Treasury⁹ Department says those checks should be mailed by the second week of May, so White House officials expect consumer spending to rise in the second and third quarters.

President Bush again called on Congress to make his record tax cuts permanent and urged lawmakers to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia before the end of the year.

1 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

2 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

6 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。

7 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

8 buoy   

n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
• The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。

9 treasury   

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。