U.S poverty rate rises to 14.3 percent last year

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. poverty（贫困） rate climbed to 14.3 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994, as households' incomes were squeezed by the deepest recession（衰退） since the 1930s and high unemployment（失业率）, the U.S. Census¹ Bureau reported Thursday.
    The report, formally known as "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage（保险范围） in the United States," showed that about 43.6 million people, or 1 in 7, were in poverty last year. That's up from 39.8 million, or 13.2 percent, in 2008.
    The rise in poverty rate was not unexpected, as the world's largest economy is still struggling to recover from the recession which began in December 2007.
    With hundreds of billions of dollars of fiscal² stimulus³ injected to the economy and a host of unconventional monetary⁴ facilities mobilized by the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy returned to growth in the second half of last year, even though the pace of the recovery has slowed down in recent months.
    The unemployment rate jumped from 7.7 percent at the beginning of 2009 to 10.1 percent by October, and remained around 10 percent for the rest of the year.
    "The Census Bureau（人口调查局） released data that illustrates⁵ just how tough 2009 was: along with rising unemployment, incomes failed to rise for the typical household," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.
    "Our economy plunged⁶ into recession almost three years ago on the heels of a financial meltdown and a rapid decline in housing prices. Last year we saw the depths of the recession, including historic losses in employment not witnessed since the Great Depression," he said.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 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。

3 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。

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

6 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。