CNN 2010-09-24

Weather and warrior¹. Those two things might not seem like they go together, but they will by the end of today's show. Hello, everyone. I'm Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN Student News.

The National Bureau of Economic Research says the recession is over and that it ended in June of last year. The stock market was happy with this news. It hit a four-month high yesterday based on the announcement. That group that we mentioned, the National Bureau of Economic Research, is the only one that officially declares when a recession starts and finishes. One question: Why are they just announcing it now? The NBER usually takes a while to declare when recessions start and end. This one started in December '07; the group didn't announce that until a year later. They wait because they want to make sure that economic changes are going to last. Poppy Harlow is breaking down what goes into the decision. What do you have for us, Poppy?

Hi there, Carl. Well, yes, the recession officially over. That coming to us on Monday morning from the National Bureau of Economic Research. This is a group of economists², the only group that can say whether this country is in or out of a recession. They said that we fell into a recession in December 2007, and they say that recession ended in June 2009. That makes it officially 18 months long, the longest recession in this country since World War II. Actually, the longest recession since the Great Depression; that's why it is called the "Great Recession" now. They say that June 2009 is when this economy hit rock-bottom, and they saw recovery after that. They do everything from measure GDP in this country, to salaries, to income, to employment, to industrial production to gauge³ whether or not we're out of a recession.Now, they did say the economy is sluggish⁴, the recovery is sluggish since then. If they do say there is a double-dip, or another recession, that would be considered a new recession, not a continuation of this recession. But I'll say, a lot of people don't feel like we are out of a recession, and here's why. Take a look at these numbers: When the recession officially ended in June 2009, the unemployment rate in this country was 9.5 percent. It is now 9.6 percent, so the jobs picture hasn't gotten any better. And the housing picture hasn't gotten any better either. Take a look at these numbers. When you look at median home prices in 2007, when we fell into the recession, we were about $219,000. In 2009, when we came out of the recession, they were $172,000 or so, and now they are just mildly higher than that.So, you have still a housing crisis in this country, a jobs crisis as well. That's why many Americans don't feel like this recession is officially over. A lot more details to explain it all for everyone out there. You can check them out right here on CNN Money.com. Carl?

1 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

2 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》

3 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

4 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。