2022年经济学人 通胀是对经济的严重威胁

The world this week -- Business

本周国际要闻——商业

America’s annual rate of inflation jumped to 7% in December, its highest level since June 1982.

美国12月份的年通货膨胀率跃升至7%，为1982年6月以来的最高水平。

Several factors are sustaining rising prices, including a tighter labour market.

有几个因素在持续导致物价上涨，其中包括劳动力市场趋紧。

The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% at the end of 2021; average hourly wages rose by almost 5%.

2021年底失业率降至3.9%；平均时薪上涨了近5%。

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, this week described inflation as a “severe threat” to the economy, and reiterated¹ his commitment that the Fed is ready to increase interest rates, and at a fast pace if need be.

美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔本周称通胀是对经济的“严重威胁”，并重申了他的承诺，即美联储准备加息，如果需要的话，还将加快加息步伐。

“It’s a long road to normal from where we are,” he said.

“从现在的状况到恢复正常，还有很长一段路要走，”他说。

The IMF told emerging economies to prepare for the Fed’s policy tightening², warning that faster rate increases could unsettle global markets, and may lead to capital outflows and currency depreciation³ in those countries.

国际货币基金组织告知新兴经济体为美联储的政策收紧做好准备，并警告称，更快的加息可能会扰乱全球市场，并可能导致这些国家的资本外流和货币贬值。

The euro zone’s annual inflation rate crept up to 5% last month, another record high for the currency bloc⁴.

欧元区的年通胀率上个月攀升至5%，创下欧元区的又一个历史新高。

Energy prices were again the main factor.

能源价格再次成为主要因素。

Wholesale⁵ natural-gas prices surged in December, and were up again this week, in a market that is acutely sensitive to fluctuations⁶ in gas supplies from Russia, which provides about half of the EU’s gas imports.

天然气批发价格在12月份飙升，本周再次上涨，市场对来自俄罗斯的天然气供应波动极为敏感——欧盟进口的天然气约有一半来自俄罗斯。

Argentina’s central bank raised its key interest rate from 38% to 40%.

阿根廷中央银行将其关键利率从38%上调至40%。

In December the IMF suggested Argentina’s “appropriate” monetary⁷ policy would be to lift interest rates above inflation, which is running at an annual rate of 51%.

去年12月，国际货币基金组织曾建议阿根廷，“适当”的货币政策是将利率提高到高于通货膨胀率的水平，目前阿根廷的年通胀率为51%。

Take-Two Interactive⁸, the company behind console games such as “Grand Theft Auto” and “Red Dead Redemption”, agreed to buy Zynga, a pioneer in mobile gaming that is best known for titles such as “FarmVille” and “Mafia Wars”, in a deal worth $12.7bn.

《侠盗猎车手》和《荒野大镖客：救赎》等主机游戏的开发商Take-Two Interactive同意收购以《开心农场》和《黑手党战争》等游戏而闻名的移动游戏先驱Zynga，这笔交易价值127亿美元。

Citigroup was reportedly preparing to fire, by the end of January, employees who have not been vaccinated⁹ against Covid-19 (unless they are exempt).

据报道，花旗集团准备在1月底之前解雇尚未接种新冠疫苗的员工（已获得疫苗豁免权的除外）。

Around 90% of the bank’s staff in America have been jabbed.

该银行在美国的员工中约有90%都已接种疫苗。

That number is expected to go up soon.

预计这一数字很快就会上升。

Car sales rose in China last year for the first time since 2017, driven by sales of electric and plug-in hybrid¹⁰ vehicles, which were up by 170%.

去年，中国汽车销量自2017年以来首次增长，这得益于电动汽车和插电式混合动力汽车的销量增长了170%。

New-energy vehicles made up 15% of overall passenger-car sales.

新能源汽车占乘用车总销量的15%。

America’s National Labour Relations Board said that a new vote for workers at an Amazon warehouse¹¹ in Alabama on whether to unionise will begin on February 4th and last two months.

美国国家劳资关系委员会（NLRB）表示，阿拉巴马州亚马逊仓库的工人将于2月4日开始进行新一轮投票，投票内容是关于是否成立工会。

The retailer¹² is adamantly¹³ opposed to letting the unions in.

这家零售商坚决反对工会的进入。

A vote at the Alabama facility last year, which was seen as a crucial test for supporters of unionisation, resulted in a resounding¹⁴ no, but amid claims of worker intimidation¹⁵ the NLRB decided¹⁶ there should be a re-run.

去年在阿拉巴马州工厂举行的投票被视为对工会支持者的一次关键考验，投票结果是绝大多数人反对，但由于据称工人受到了恐吓，NLRB决定应该重新进行一次投票。

In December Amazon reached an agreement with the NLRB to make it easier for its employees to organise¹⁷.

12月，亚马逊与NLRB达成协议，让员工能够更容易地组织工会。

1 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

2 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

3 depreciation   

n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低

参考例句：

• She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
• They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

6 fluctuations   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table. 他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange. 股票市场瞬息万变。

7 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。

8 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

9 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

10 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

11 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

12 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

13 adamantly   

adv.坚决地，坚定不移地，坚强不屈地

参考例句：

• "Come over here,"he told her adamantly. “到这边来，”他对她坚定地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His family were adamantly opposed to the marriage. 他的家人坚决反对这门亲事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

15 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。