VOA常速英语2007年-Worries Persist Slowing US Economy Could Turn i

By Barry Wood
Washington
05 December 2007
 

American consumers are being squeezed by higher oil prices, falling home prices and a falling dollar. VOA's Barry Wood reports that some analysts¹ are turning pessimistic about the economy and worrying that hard times lie ahead.

For many Americans the economy is turning sour.

The rising price of gasoline is making the commute² to work more expensive.

The long boom in mortgage credit, real estate and home construction has, in many communities, reversed course.

And the once mighty³ dollar is losing value, boosting the costs of imports.

Ted⁴ Truman is a former official at the Treasury⁵ Department and the Federal Reserve. He says Americans are beginning to pay for having lived beyond their means. "We've been overconsuming as a country for an extended period of time, to the tune⁶ of six percent of GDP [gross domestic product]. That consumption boom is coming to an end."

The U.S. trade deficit⁷ has doubled since 2001.

David Hale, an economist⁸ in Chicago, foresees a wave of home foreclosures next year because borrowers will not be able to meet their payments. "It's not a huge part of the population. But it's a distinct number. You know, two million people at risk. And it's concentrated more in low income neighborhoods than in high income neighborhoods."

It is not just Americans who are concerned. Thomas Putter is a money manager at Allianz Capital in Germany. He says, "The big worry is that the sub-prime crisis is not contained to sub-prime, but may spread over to other areas like credit card defaults."

But other economists⁹ dismiss the skeptics as false prophets of gloom. In the three months ending in September, the U.S. economy grew at a nearly five percent annual rate. Employment is strong and rising.

Surjit Bhalla is an investor¹⁰ based in New Delhi. He disagrees with the notion of a recession. "I don't belong to the camp that thinks the U.S. economy is going into a recession."

Bhalla says even if the U.S. economy slows down, China and India will fill the gap and world growth will continue. "What you have in terms of a world dynamic is a fantastic situation. Vietnam, the developing countries, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America -- they are all joining in world growth. So I think this is a tremendous time. The world has never, ever witnessed what we are witnessing today."

For most Americans times are still good. But Christmas cheer may be more subdued¹¹ this year.

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 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》

10 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

11 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

12 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

13 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。