VOA标准英语2014--US Businesses More Optimistic in 2014, but Hiring Challenges Remain 美国经济2014年乐观但就业挑战仍在

 

US Businesses More Optimistic in 2014, but Hiring Challenges Remain 美国经济2014年乐观但就业挑战仍在

American companies are feeling more optimistic.  A new survey by the National Association For Business Economics says a majority of companies surveyed expect stronger sales and higher profit margins¹ as U.S. economic growth accelerates in 2014.  But, some challenges could put the brakes on the U.S. recovery.

After a slow start, a late pick-up in sales in the final months of 2013 appears to have bolstered² business confidence. The National Association for Business Economics says of 64 members who took part in its January survey - about 70 percent predict the U.S. economy will grow between 2.5 to 3 percent this year.  

NABE’s Ken³ Simonson says the low point came during the 16-day government shutdown last October.  

“That certainly depressed⁴ investments in 2013.  Now, however, companies look as if they’re going to invest more heavily in equipment in 2014, at least according to this survey," said Ken Simonson.

More than a third reported higher profit margins and nearly half expect to raise prices.  Still, only 37 percent say they plan to hire more workers in the next six months.  And those who are hiring say a lack of skilled workers could hamper⁵ job growth.

“Well, consistently, about a quarter of the firms have been saying finding skilled labor⁶ has been a difficult problem," said Simonson.

It’s an especially acute problem for petrochemical firms which recently announced more than 130 investment projects this year valued at nearly $100 billion.

“You can’t get 135 projects done in a short time frame with the labor pool that we have in this country.  We’re going to need to import some workers to do that and if we can’t, costs are going to escalate⁷, there will be delays, there will be cancellations," said Simonson.

Despite recent market volatility⁸, most of the firms surveyed say they expect little or no impact from the Federal Reserve’s decision to scale back monetary⁹ policy.  

 

And only 20 percent anticipated a negative impact from the implementation¹⁰ of the Affordable¹¹ Care Act, better known as "Obamacare."

1 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

2 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

3 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

4 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

5 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

8 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

9 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

10 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。