2021年经济学人 美国4月通货膨胀率创12年新高

The world this week

本周国际要闻

Business

商业版块

America’s annual inflation rate soared to 4.2% in April, higher than expected and fuelling concerns that rising consumer prices may become a problem for the American economy. Inflation hawks¹ blame the huge amounts of stimulus² injected into the economy and a boom in consumer demand (prices for used cars were up by a fifth, year on year). Global supply bottlenecks³ are also pushing up costs for manufacturers. The Biden administration, however, thinks inflationary pressures are temporary and will ease later this year.

美国4月份的年通货膨胀率飙升至4.2%，高于预期，引发了人们对不断上涨的消费者价格或成为美国经济问题的担忧。通货膨胀鹰派将其归咎于向经济注入的大量刺激和消费需求的激增(二手车价格同比上涨了五分之一)。全球供应瓶颈也推高了制造商的成本。然而，拜登政府认为通胀压力是暂时的，并将在今年晚些时候得到缓解。

Commodity prices are also going up, with the prices of iron ore and copper⁴ reaching record highs, in part because China’s factories are sucking up supplies. Oil prices are on the ascent⁵ again, approaching $70 for a barrel of Brent crude.

大宗商品价格也在上涨，铁矿石和铜的价格都达到了历史新高，部分原因是中国的工厂正在消耗供应。油价再次攀升，布伦特原油(Brent crude)逼近每桶70美元。

The FBI launched an investigation⁶ into a cyber-attack that forced the closure of the Colonial Pipeline⁷, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey⁸, providing half the transport fuel for America’s east coast. A criminal gang called DarkSide claimed responsibility. It describes itself as apolitical. There was some panic-buying of petrol (gas) as pump prices soared.

美国联邦调查局(FBI)对一场网络攻击展开了调查，这起攻击迫使科洛尼尔管道公司(Colonial Pipeline)关闭了从德克萨斯州延伸到新泽西州的管道运输服务，美国东海岸半数的燃料都由该公司提供。一个名为“黑暗面(DarkSide)”的犯罪团伙声称对此次攻击负责。该团伙声称，这次事件不牵涉政治。由于燃油价格飙升，一些民众开始恐慌性地囤购汽油。

With the outlook for inflation uncertain, stockmarkets bounced around as investors⁹ pondered whether the Federal Reserve would change direction and raise interest rates. The share prices of high-growth big tech companies have fallen in recent weeks because higher bond yields lower the value of their forecast earnings¹⁰.

由于通货膨胀前景不确定，投资者考虑美联储是否会调整方向并提高利率，股市随之反弹。近几周，高增长大型科技公司的股价下跌，因为债券收益率上升降低了它们的预期收益价值。

Markets were also rattled¹¹ by weak data on the American jobs market. Employers added 266,000 people to their payrolls¹² in April, well below the numbers for February and March. And job vacancies¹³ hit 8.1m at the end of March, the most since records were first compiled in 2000. That led to a lot of head-scratching by economists¹⁴ trying to explain a lack of hiring when the economy is taking off.

美国就业市场的疲软数据也令市场感到不安。4月份新增就业人数为26.6万人，远低于2月和3月的数据。3月底，职位空缺达到810万，是自2000年首次编制记录以来的最高水平。这给经济学家们带来了很多困惑，他们试图解释在经济起飞时就业却不景气的现象。

The British economy shrank by 1.5% in the first quarter compared with the previous three months. The post-Christmas lockdown hit output hard in January, but by March it was expanding again as businesses adapted to the restrictions¹⁵. GDP was still 6% smaller than before the start of the pandemic in February 2020.

与前三个月相比，英国经济第一季度萎缩了1.5%。圣诞节后的封锁令严重影响了今年1月的产量，但到了3月份，随着企业适应了这些限制措施，产量再次扩大。国内生产总值仍比2020年2月疫情开始前低6%。

1 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

2 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。

3 bottlenecks   

n.瓶颈( bottleneck的名词复数 )；瓶颈路段（常引起交通堵塞）；（尤指工商业发展的）瓶颈；阻碍

参考例句：

• Roadworks are causing bottlenecks in the city centre. 道路施工导致市中心交通阻塞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At five o'clock in the afternoon the city streets are a series of bottlenecks. 下午五点市中心的街道就成了拥挤不堪的窄路。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

5 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

8 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

12 payrolls   

n.（公司员工的）工资名单( payroll的名词复数 )；（公司的）工资总支出，工薪总额

参考例句：

• Indices of employment, payrolls, and production steadied in February 1931931年2月，就业、工资额和生产指数稳定。 来自辞典例句
• Wall Street responded to the payrolls figures with gusto. 华尔街对就业数据作出了积极的反应。 来自互联网

13 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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》

15 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制