2022年经济学人 美国的通货膨胀热可能最终会消退（1）

 

Finance & economics

财经板块

The US economy: Fed rest

美国经济：美联储休息

America’s inflation fever may be breaking at last美国的通货膨胀热可能最终会消退

“We will stay the course until the job is done,” said Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve’s chairman, on December 14th, shortly after the central bank’s latest interest-rate rise.

12月14日，美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔在美联储最近一次加息后不久表示：“我们将坚持到底，直到任务完成。”

As a statement of intent, his words were both straightforward¹ and utterly² sensible.

作为一份意向声明，他的话既直截了当，又十分合理。

But what it means for the job to be done is becoming a matter of controversy³.

但这对要完成的任务意味着什么，正成为一个有争议的问题。

Inflation remains⁴ uncomfortably high.

通货膨胀率仍然高得令人不安。

Meanwhile, the aggressive monetary⁵ tightening⁶ of the past year is only now filtering through to the economy, complicating⁷ assessments⁸ of whether the Fed has in fact done enough to rein⁹ in prices.

与此同时，过去一年大刀阔斧的货币紧缩直到现在才开始渗透到经济中，这导致针对美联储是否真的采取了足够的措施控制物价的评估变得复杂。

Promisingly¹⁰, after a difficult two years, inflation does appear to be easing its grip on the American economy.

令人振奋的是，在经历了艰难的两年后，通胀对美国经济的影响似乎正在减弱。

Overall prices increased by a mere¹¹ 0.1% month-on-month in November, according to data published on December 13th, making for that rarest of recent occurrences: a downside surprise.

12月13日公布的数据显示，11月份总体价格环比仅上涨了0.1%，这是近期最罕见的情况：令人惊讶的下降。

Most encouraging was a breakdown¹² showing that core inflation, which strips out volatile¹³ food and energy costs, had decelerated for a second consecutive¹⁴ month.

最令人鼓舞的是，一份细目数据显示，剔除波动较大的食品和能源价格的核心通胀率已连续第二个月减速。

Investors¹⁵ and analysts¹⁶, scarred by America’s relentless¹⁷ run of inflation, have learned to restrain their hopes after a single month of rosy¹⁸ data.

投资者和分析师在美国持续的通货膨胀中伤痕累累，在一个月的乐观数据公布后，他们已经学会了抑制自己的希望。

Year-on-year rates of inflation remain elevated at 7.1% for headline inflation.

同比通胀率仍保持在7.1%的高位。

But the disinflation in November follows a similarly cheerful batch¹⁹ of data for October.

但在11月份出现通货紧缩之前，10月份的一批数据也同样令人欢欣鼓舞。

Optimism is on the rise, albeit²⁰ still mostly of the cautious rather than the unbridled kind.

越来越多人开始持有乐观态度，尽管大多数人的乐观仍然很谨慎，而不是肆无忌惮。

Since mid-October the S&P 500 index of leading American firms has recovered some of the ground it lost earlier this year.

10月中旬以来，美国主要公司的标准普尔500指数已经收复了今年早些时候的部分失地。

Concerns are shifting to the prospect²¹ of weaker growth.

人们的担忧对象正转向增长疲软的前景。

Many economists²² forecast a recession early next year.

许多经济学家预测明年初将出现经济衰退。

1 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

2 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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。

6 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

7 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

8 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

9 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

10 promisingly   

（通常只是开头）给人以希望地，良好地

参考例句：

• The afternoon had begun so promisingly. 下午一开始就很顺利，就预示着成功。
• The first batch of wheat is growing promisingly! 头茬小麦的长势喜人呀！

11 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

12 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

13 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

14 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 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。

17 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

18 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

19 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

20 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

21 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

22 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》