VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Advisor Urges Another Economic Stimu

The Obama administration appears to be sending mixed signals on whether a second stimulus¹ package will be needed to pull the U.S. economy out of a deep and prolonged recession. Democrats² and Republicans are expressing dissatisfaction with the impact of the $787 billion stimulus package President Barack Obama signed into law in February.

Obama economic advisor³ Laura Tyson says the federal government should begin crafting a second package to stimulate⁴ the U.S. economy on what she termed a "contingency⁵ basis," Tyson said.

"We are in a situation where the economic outlook is very uncertain and the risks are all on the downside [conditions could worsen]. It looks like the economy is weaker than expected. Why not begin to think about, over the next several months, whether we need a stimulus package and what it should include, so that we are ready [to act] as we get more information?"
　
Vice⁶ President Joe Biden in Washington (File)

Tyson spoke⁷ at a conference in Singapore. Her remarks raised eyebrows⁸ among economists⁹ and political analysts¹⁰, coming two days after Vice President Joe Biden downplayed the suggestion that another stimulus package is needed.

"I think it is premature¹¹ to make that judgment," Biden said.

Biden spoke on the "Fox News Sunday" television program. He admitted that, when President Obama entered office, the administration had "misread" the economy and how severe U.S. job losses would become. But the vice president said February's stimulus package, the biggest-ever federal effort to jumpstart the U.S. economy, was the proper tool to promote growth.

The $787 billion package includes infrastructure¹² projects, energy initiatives, educational programs, aid for struggling state governments and tax cuts spread over a two-to-three year period.

House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer helped craft an early version of the bill.
　
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

"I do not think anybody can honestly say that we are satisfied with the results so far. But we believe that the stimulus was absolutely essential," Hoyer said. We need to get the money that is already in the stimulus bill out [spend it]."

But appropriating federal funds takes time. And many of the lawmakers who championed the bill are frustrated¹³ by the lag between enactment¹⁴ of the stimulus plan and getting the money into the economy.

Republicans say the fact that unemployment continues to mount more than four months after the stimulus package was signed into law shows that the plan was flawed from the start.

House Minority Leader John Boehner also appeared on Fox News Sunday.

"This [stimulus plan] was supposed to be about jobs, jobs and jobs. And the fact is, it turned into nothing more than spending, spending and more spending," Boehner said.

In February, President Obama said the stimulus plan would save or create more than two million jobs. Success or failure is hard to prove, given that no one knows how much worse the economy would be if no stimulus had been undertaken, according to former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

"We will never know what the world would have looked like without the stimulus package,"Holtz-Eakin said. "So we will never be able to put numbers on exactly what the impact was."

Holtz-Eakin appeared on Bloomberg television. He said America's worsening employment picture illustrates¹⁵ the limits of the federal government's ability to generate economic activity quickly.

He said he is skeptical¹⁶ of the current stimulus package and would opposed to a second one.

"We should hold off and really be cognizant of the fact that the U.S. has a very daunting¹⁷ fiscal¹⁸ outlook,"Holtz-Eakin said. "We cannot afford to be spending money without thinking what we will get for it."

Other economists argue that at a time when businesses and consumers are cutting back on spending, the federal government is the only entity¹⁹ capable of jolting²⁰ the economy out of recession.

 

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

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 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

5 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

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 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。

11 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 enactment   

n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过

参考例句：

• Enactment refers to action.演出指行为的表演。
• We support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.我们支持要求通过《权利法案》的呼声。

15 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

17 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

18 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

19 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

20 jolting   

adj.令人震惊的

参考例句：

• 'she should be all right from the plane's jolting by now. “飞机震荡应该过了。
• This is perhaps the most jolting comment of all. 这恐怕是最令人震惊的评论。