VOA常速英语2014--Improving US Economy May Help President 美国经济改善可能有利于总统（在线收听）

Improving US Economy May Help President 美国经济改善可能有利于总统

WASHINGTON — As President Obama prepares to give a key annual address to the nation, he faces political problems that have hurt his approval ratings. Experts say he may get some political help over the next year, as a gradually improving U.S. economy helps heal the battered housing sector and reduces unemployment.

Severe problems in the housing sector contributed to the recession that threw millions of Americans out of work and out of their homes.

房屋市场的严重困境导致经济衰退，使得数百万美国人失去工作和家园。

Without jobs, they could not pay mortgages, so banks evicted families and tried to sell houses to recover the loan money. A glut of unsold homes pushed down prices, hurting homeowners, banks, and the overall economy.

没有工作就不能支付贷款，于是银行就将这些人家赶走，想卖掉房屋来还房贷。很多未售的房屋价格下跌，这就影响了房主、银行和整个经济。

But now the economy is growing again, and home sales are up, according to RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist, who spoke to VOA via Skype. "We saw a great bounceback in the housing market in 2013 in terms of prices, home price appreciation, and sales," he said.

地产跟踪公司副总裁布鲁克明在Skype上告诉美国之音，现在经济再次增长，房屋销售有了好转，“无论是价格、房价增值还是销售方面，2013年房屋市场都有很大回升。”

Blomquist said prices rose as investors bought houses, and families got back into the market, though he expects the market to improve more slowly this year.

布鲁克明说由于投资者购买房屋，房主再次回到市场上，房价就开始上涨，但他预料今年房市的增长会更慢。

The president may talk about gains in the housing market and the improving unemployment situation in this year's State of the Union speech.  

总统可能会在今年的国情咨文演讲中谈到房屋市场的发展和就业状况的改善情况。

When he took office, unemployment centers were busy and the jobless rate was headed above 10 percent.

在他刚上任时，失业中心很繁忙，就业率高达10%以上。

It took years for the unemployment rate to fall to the current 6.7 percent, which still leaves more than 10 million people out of work.  Four million of them have been jobless for six months or longer, which is worse than previous recessions.  

经过几年的时间，失业率下降到目前的6.7%，仍有1000多万人失业。其中400万人已经六个月甚至更久没有工作了，这比之前衰退期时的状况还要糟。

But recent economic reports show growth, construction, manufacturing, consumer confidence and other important measures mostly improving. They also show the jobless rate heading down in the future.  

但最近的经济报告显示有增长，建筑、制造业、消费者信心和其他重要指标大都有所改善，同时显示未来失业率会下降。

Aparna Mathur, who researches the economy at the American Enterprise Institute, said, "The long-term trend suggests we are heading in the right direction. We might reach pre-recession [unemployment]  levels of five percent over the next couple of years “

Many economists say presidents usually get too much blame when the economy goes badly - and too much credit when things go well.

The chief economist for the Associated General Contractors, Ken Simonson, said it is mostly private business, rather than the government, that drives the economy. But he said things have gotten better on Obama's watch. "I'm sure that he will take credit for the sharp drop in unemployment rates that we have seen in recent months and for the gradual, but always positive, change in jobs over the last three and a half years."  

Simonson pointed out, though, that the president's Republican rivals certainly will be quick to offer a rebuttal -- and point out that the jobless rate remains higher than what most Americans view as normal.