VOA标准英语2014--New Fed Chief Faces Reporters 新任美联储主席首次面对记者

 

New Fed Chief Faces Reporters 新任美联储主席首次面对记者

WASHINGTON — The new head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, is busy trying to bolster¹ the economy, cut unemployment and watch out for inflation. On Wednesday she will face reporters for the first time as Fed chief, a job that makes her one of the world's most powerful bankers and most important women. She says better communication about economic issues and policies will help the economy.

When Janet Yellen talks, powerful people listen.

The Federal Reserve chair has been briefing congressional committees about efforts to speed up the economic recovery and improve the job market without sparking inflation.

She said a Fed program using bond purchases to push down long-term interest rates was not being cut back too slowly - or too quickly.

It’s an example of the economics professor putting her teaching and communications skills to work.

“I strongly believe that monetary² policy is most effective when the public understands what the Fed is trying to do and how it plans to do it,” she said.

President Obama picked Yellen to be the first woman to head the Fed, in part because she could relate to ordinary people. 

“Too many American still can’t find a job and worry how they will pay their bills and provide for their families," she said.

Obama said Yellen was also tough, effective, and skillful.

“She sounded the alarm early about the housing bubble, about excesses in the financial sector³ and about the risks of a major recession,” he said.

Besides her experience in dealing⁴ with Congress, Yellen has also been second-in-command at the Fed, head of the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, and a presidential economic advisor⁵.

She is an economics professor, a researcher, and teacher at the University of California at Berkeley and other top schools.

An academic colleague, who has known Yellen for decades, says she will do well leading the Fed because she listens to the opinions of others, is good at putting people at ease, and even learned from her students who come to Berkeley from all over the world.

In a Skype interview, Berkeley professor Jim Wilcox said Yellen could also use humor to defuse a tense meeting, but was probably not the one in the middle of the room telling a joke.

"She does have a good sense of humor. She is more likely to be on the demand side than the supply side [more likely to laugh at a joke then to tell one] when it comes to jokes, she appreciates a good joke," he said.

Economics is a family affair for Yellen, who is married to a Nobel-prize winning economist⁶ and their son is an economics professor.

“I would also like to thank my spouse⁷ George, and my son Robert. I couldn’t imagine taking on this new challenge without their love and support," she said.

 

Between the fragile U.S. economy and Washington's tangled⁸ politics, Yellen will need all the family support and personal skill she can muster⁹.

1 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

2 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。

3 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。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 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。

6 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。

7 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

8 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

9 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。