VOA标准英语2008年-Massive US Financial Bailout Package Urged

The Bush administration is urging U.S. lawmakers to quickly pass its sweeping¹ $700-billion bailout plan for financial institutions that are holding large amounts of bad mortgage debt. U.S. Treasury² Secretary Henry Paulson said in television interviews Sunday that failure to take action to resolve the financial crisis will result in economic catastrophe³. From Washington, VOA's Michael Bowman reports.
　
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

Tax-payer funded bailouts of private firms are never popular in the United States, particularly when the cost being discussed amounts to more than $2,000 in revenue for every man, woman and child in the country. But Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appeared repeatedly on U.S. television Sunday with a simple message: failure to act will bring economic catastrophe.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Paulson said the plan's ultimate cost will likely be less than the initial outlay⁴ of funds.

"This is a program where the government would buy illiquid [non-cash] assets, hold those assets, and sell those assets," Paulson said. "And the funds would come back into the Treasury. The cost will be determined⁵ by how quickly the economy recovers, and how quickly housing prices stabilize⁶. I do not like the fact that we have to do this. I hate the fact that we have to do it. But it is better than the alternative."

In recent weeks, Americans have watched with dismay as many of the country's largest, best-known financial firms have failed, been bought out, or been taken over by the U.S. government.

The crisis stems from millions of mortgages given in recent years to home-buyers with poor credit or unstable⁷ finances. The result has been a tidal wave of foreclosures that have incurred⁸ massive losses on financial institutions and some insurance firms.

Economists⁹ fear the current situation will effectively shut down the availability of credit in the country, strangle economic growth, and put at risk the finances of people across the nation. Last week, President Bush proposed a solution that is without precedent¹⁰ in America's financial history: the creation of a massive government fund to purchase bad debt and eventually sell off the assets involved.

The question now is: what will Congress do weeks before a general election?

Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, who heads the Senate Banking¹¹ Committee, spoke¹² on ABC's This Week program.

"People [legislators] have a lot of ideas on what they think should be in or not in this package," Dodd said. "We need to give the [Treasury] Secretary the authority to work. These are complex issues. I do not think we ought to micro-manage that part of it. I happen to believe very strongly that the cause of this issue is still the bad lending practices. The foreclosure issue still lurks¹³."

Some Democrats¹⁴ have suggested expanding the package to include benefits for homeowners and others facing economic struggles.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer expressed strong support for broader initiatives, but said they may be addressed in legislation that is separate from the Bush administration's proposed financial bail-out.

"Many of us believe we need a stimulus¹⁵ package. But it does not necessarily have to be part of the bail-out," Schumer said.

But some Republicans in Congress are warning against trying to do too much for too many, rather than focusing on the immediate¹⁶ crisis at hand. Representative John Boehner spoke on "This Week".

"It is about protecting our economy, protecting American jobs. This is not a time for ideological¹⁷ purity," Boehner said. "We face a crisis. And if we do not act quickly, we are going to jeopardize¹⁸ our economy."

After several days of steep losses, the U.S. stock market rallied sharply Thursday and Friday as initial reports of the bail-out package surfaced.

 

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 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。

3 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

4 outlay   

n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费

参考例句：

• There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
• The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

7 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

8 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

9 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》

10 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 spoke   

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 lurks   

n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Behind his cool exterior lurks a reckless and frustrated person. 在冷酷的外表背后，他是一个鲁莽又不得志的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fortune lies within Bad, Bad fortune lurks within good. 福兮祸所倚，祸兮福所伏。 来自互联网

14 democrats   

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》

15 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。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

17 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

18 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。