VOA常速英语2008年-US Central Bank Chief Says Economy Could Face M

By Barry Wood
Washington
02 April 2008

The head of the U.S. central bank, Ben Bernanke, told a congressional committee the U.S. economy could face a mild recession, but it should recover later this year. VOA's Barry Wood reports.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy is going through a very difficult period. While conceding that a recession is possible, he said it is too early to say the economy is in recession, usually defined as six months of negative growth.

Opposition¹ Democrats², who control both houses of Congress, wanted to know why the Federal Reserve last month stepped in to prevent the collapse³ of a Wall Street investment house, but is not doing the same to assist distressed⁴ home buyers having trouble making their mortgage payments.

"How can one justify⁵ going in with government back-up for Bear Stearns, or any large financial institution, and not for the millions of homeowners," asked New York Senator Charles Schumer, who is the chairman of the Joint⁶ Economic Committee.

Bernanke replied that the Federal Reserve did not bail⁷ out Bear Stearns, the large investment bank and brokerage rescued from near bankruptcy⁸ in mid-March.

"Bear Stearns shareholders⁹ took a very significant loss," he said. "An 85-year-old company lost its independence and became acquired by another firm [JP Morgan Chase bank]. Many Bear Stearns employees, as you know, are concerned about their jobs. I do not think any company is interested in repeating the experience of Bear Stearns."

Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve's repeated reductions in short-term interest rates during the past year will help distressed home buyers.

"Our interest rate cuts and our liquidity¹⁰ measures, in particular, have significantly reduced the interest rate reset¹¹ problem faced by many mortgage holders," he said. "And we have extensive efforts on the ground to work with community groups to help reduce delinquencies and problems of foreclosure."

After five years of steady growth, the U.S. economy has slowed dramatically, in part because the collapse of a speculative¹² bubble in housing. In many markets, home prices that had nearly doubled from 2002 to 2005 have subsequently declined by up to 30 percent.

The troubles in the U.S. housing sector¹³ spilled over into global markets last August, causing a severe contraction¹⁴ in credit and billions of dollars in bank losses.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

5 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

8 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

9 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

10 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

11 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

12 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。