VOA标准英语 US Treasury Secretary Says Confidence Returning to C

U.S. Treasury¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner has defended the Obama administration's program to rescue financially troubled banks. Secretary Geithner spoke² before a congressional panel overseeing the massive bailout.
　
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies on Capitol Hill before Congressional Oversight⁴ Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 21 April 2009

It was Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's first appearance before the Congressional Oversight Panel, which was established as part of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program approved by Congress at the height of the global financial crisis last October.

Geithner told the panel there appears to be signs of confidence returning to credit markets:

"Indicators⁵ on inter-bank lending [on corporate⁶ issuance] and credit [spread] suggest some improvement in confidence in both the stability of the system and some thawing⁷ in credit markets over the last several weeks and months," he said.

But he added a cautionary note.

"It is important to note that evaluating the impact of these programs is difficult because it is impossible to judge how the financial markets, how banks would have operated in the absence of these actions," he said.

Although confidence in credit markets appears to be rising, Geithner said the cost of credit remains⁸ too high. He said reports on bank lending show significant declines in consumer loans, including credit card loans, and commercial and industrial loans.

His testimony⁹ comes as an inspector¹⁰ general for the bailout released a report to Congress that concludes the Treasury Department is not doing enough to adequately oversee³ the program, which uses public and private funds. Inspector General Neil Barofsky expressed concern about the potential for fraud, and called on banks receiving bailout funds to report on their use of taxpayer¹¹ funds.

It is a point underscored by the panel's chairwoman, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren.

"In a crisis, transparency, accountability, and a coherent plan with clear goals are essential to maintain the confidence of the public and capital markets," she said.

Geithner agreed on the importance of oversight and accountability, and he pledged to provide the panel with the information it needs.

Inspector General Barofsky is to testify before Congress on Thursday.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

6 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。

7 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 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。

9 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

10 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

11 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。