美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-09-16

 　　The effects of that recession obviously still being felt today. And there are fears about the possibility of another recession, if America goes off thing called a fiscal¹ cliff. And that refers to some tax increase and government spending cuts. That scheduled to happen at the end of this year, unless congress agrees on how to stop it. Recessions are usually followed by periods of recovery, this time that recovery has been weak. Maggie Lake explores this mystery.

　　In this off-Broadway production, the race is on to find the cold-blooded killer² of W.Harrison Brant who lives in Connecticut with his wife. In real life, another mystery has been unfolding for months. The case of who or what killed the US economic recovery. Just like in this show, there is no shortage of suspects for what's slowing economic growth.

　　Suspect NO.1, Europe.

　　"The biggest headwind the American economy is facing right now is uncertainty³ about Europe."American firms have seen European sales plummet⁴ amid fears at Greek default could spark another global banking⁵ crisis.

　　Suspect NO.2, congressional gridlock.

　　"If congress has passed the proposal the president submitted, there'd be a million more jobs today."New stimulus⁶ for Democrats⁷ say, could have created jobs has been shut down amid Beltway bickering⁸.

　　"They believe that government creats and spending creats jobs, we believe business and growth creates jobs."Suspect NO.3, runaway⁹ national debt.

　　" This sixteen trillion dollar with a debt, serves like a wet blanket over our economy, scaring employees of all size."Fiscal uncertainty is the key reason why companies aren't hiring. And the fiscal cliff of automatic spending cuts and tax increase that could hit next year, it's terrifying firms.

　　Suspect NO.4, energy crisis.

　　"The ever accelerating gasoline prices, this will break the back of the recovery."High gas and hitting bills act like a direct tax on consumers. Taking away money that would otherwise be spent at restaurants and stores. But one thing is certain, US growth has fallen from over 4% last year to under 2% today, amid one of the weakest post-war recoveries on record.

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 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

5 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。

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 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》

8 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。