VOA标准英语2008年-White House Backs Bailout of Mortgage Giants

American and international financial markets are welcoming word that the U.S. government is taking over two troubled institutions that back roughly half the country's home mortgages. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports the Bush administration says it took the action reluctantly to head off a fiscal¹ crisis.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are entities² created by Congress to finance and guarantee home loans in the United States. While they are government-licensed, they operate like private companies with shareholders³ and corporate⁴ boards.

The two mortgage giants have been severely⁵ weakened by the current turmoil⁶ in the U.S. housing market, which has seen a dramatic rise in foreclosures, and falling home values across the country.

Should they fail, the impact on the U.S. and world economy could be severe. And so the government stepped in - bailing⁷ them out and taking over their operations.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the Bush administration had no choice. "This is not action that we wanted to take. It is action that we needed to take," she said.

Perino says the White House has been warning for years that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in need of reform. She says the federal takeover could have been prevented if Congress had acted on the administration's request for a strong independent regulator to oversee⁸ the mortgage giants. "Remember that we have highlighted the systemic risk posed by posed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of the very large role they play on housing markets and because of their business practices," she said.

Perino says it will be up to the next U.S. president and Congress to decide the ultimate fate of the two institutions. She says for now, the goal must be to help the housing market, and the economy, recover.

Perino says that President Bush, who does not favor corporate bail-outs as a rule, approved this takeover reluctantly as a last resort.

U.S., Asian and European stock markets soared in response to the takeover. China and Japan, the biggest buyers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae debt, praised the move.

But European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet offered a word of caution. He said while the move is welcome, risks remain in the global credit market.

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

8 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。