纽约时报 美国物价飙升--通胀持续(3)

 

Fast inflation began to kick in early last year, and many forecasters initially¹ predicted that it would fade by the end of 2021 as the economy reopened from the pandemic and conditions returned to normal.

去年初开始出现快速通胀，许多预测者最初预测，随着经济从疫情中恢复，情况恢复正常，通胀将在2021年底前消退。

Instead, turmoil² in supply chains collided with strong consumer demand for goods, and price gains accelerated.

供应链的动荡与消费者对商品的强劲需求相碰撞，反而导致价格加速上涨。

Now, it is hard to guess how quickly and how much prices will moderate in 2022 as conflict abroad threatens to keep shipping³ routes tangled⁴ and parts scarce.

现在，很难猜测到2022年，油价会以多快的速度、在多大程度上得到缓和，因为海外冲突可能导致航运路线混乱、零部件短缺。

Ukraine is an important producer of neon, which could keep computer chips in short supply, perpetuating⁵ the shortages that have plagued automakers.

乌克兰是重要的霓虹灯生产国，霓虹灯可能导致电脑芯片供应短缺，令困扰汽车制造商的短缺问题长期存在。

Higher energy costs could ricochet through other industries.

更高的能源成本可能会波及其他行业。

Even without further supply chain troubles, there are signs that inflation is widening beyond a few pandemic-affected sectors⁶, an indication that they could last as the latest virus surge fades from view.

即使没有进一步的供应链问题，也有迹象表明，通胀正在扩大，超出了几个受疫情影响的行业，这表明随着最新的病毒激增逐渐淡出人们的视线，通胀可能会持续下去。

Rent of primary residences, for instance, climbed by 0.6 percent from the prior month — the fastest monthly pace of growth since 1999.

例如，主要住宅的租金比前一个月上涨了0.6%，这是1999年以来最快的月度增长速度。

Price gains have been rapid around much of the world, causing many central banks to scale back how much help they are providing to their economies.

全球大部分地区的价格上涨都很迅速，这导致许多各国央行缩减了对本国经济的帮助。

The European Central Bank on Thursday decided⁷ to speed up its exit from its bond-buying program as it tries to counter rising inflation.

欧洲央行周四决定加快退出债券购买计划，以应对不断上升的通胀。

Europe’s push to end its energy dependence⁸ on Russia promises to raise costs at a time when inflation is already nearly triple the central bank’s target.

在通胀已经接近央行目标的三倍之际，欧洲试图结束对俄罗斯能源依赖的努力，将提高成本。

In the United States, there are still reasons to think price gains will slow his year.

在美国，仍有理由认为今年价格上涨将放缓。

Beginning in March, the data will be compared to relatively⁹ high readings from last year, which should mechanically start to bring down the year-over-year measure.

从3月开始，这些数据将与去年相对较高的数据进行比较，数据会机械地开始降低同比指标。

But it is unclear when inflation will recede¹⁰ to the Fed’s 2 percent inflation goal.

但目前还不清楚通胀何时会回落到美联储2%的通胀目标。

The central bank defines that target using a separate inflation index, but one that is also up considerably¹¹.

美国央行使用一个单独的通胀指数来定义这一目标，但该指数也在大幅上升。

Rapid price increases have caused some people to adjust their lifestyles.

物价的快速上涨使一些人不得不调整他们的生活方式。

Timothy Gutbrod, who formerly¹² worked as a stage actor, has been a driving instructor¹³ in Albany, N.Y., since March 2020, and the job pays him a little more than $30,000 per year.

蒂莫西·古特布罗德曾是一名舞美演员，自2020年3月以来，他一直在纽约州奥尔巴尼担任驾驶教练，这份工作的年薪略高于3万美元。

 

1 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

2 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

5 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 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。

8 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 recede   

vi.退(去)，渐渐远去；向后倾斜，缩进

参考例句：

• The colleges would recede in importance.大学的重要性会降低。
• He saw that the dirty water had begun to recede.他发现那污浊的水开始往下退了。

11 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

12 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

13 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。