时代周刊:美国经济复苏的不平等问题(2)

More than 850,000 women dropped out of the labor¹ force in the same month, according to the National Women's Law Center, vs. just 216,000 men.

全国妇女法律中心的数据显示，同月内，还有逾85万女性退出劳动力大军，而男性的这一数据为21.6万人。

There are clear reasons for this grotesquely² unequal impact.

造成这种离奇的不平等影响的因素其实是显而易见的。

While the Federal Reserve has pumped money into the stock market,

尽管美联储向股市注入了资金，

Congress and the White House have struggled to maintain emergency- support programs to help the less affluent³.

国会和白宫维持紧急支持计划，帮助不太富裕的民众的工作却显得颇为吃力。

After passing an estimated $2 trillion economic relief package in March in a show of rare bipartisanship,

今年三月，各执己见的国会两院罕见地达成了合作，通过了约2万亿美元的经济救助方案，

the split chambers⁴ have since been unable to reach an agreement on any further funding of that scale,

从那以后，即便薪资支持计划这样的方案已经到期，

even as initiatives like the Payroll⁵ Support Program have expired.

两院也一直未能就任何同等规模的进一步救助方案达成一致。

It isn't for lack of trying.

但并不是因为双方没有付出尝试。

House Democrats⁶ passed a $3 trillion bill in May and a $2.2 trillion package on Oct.1.

众议院民主党于5月份通过了一项3万亿美元的法案，10月1日又通过了一项2.2万亿美元的一揽子计划。

But Senate Republicans and the White House have rejected both as too expensive.

只不过，民主党的方案遭到了参议院共和党和白宫的拒绝，理由是耗资太大。

On Oct.6, Trump⁷ ordered his deputies to pause negotiations⁸ with Democrats until after the election—

10月6日，特朗普命令副手暂停与民主党人的谈判到大选结束——

only to backpedal and call for standalone stimulus⁹ checks, airline support and small-business funds in a flurry of tweets sent after the stock market plunged¹⁰.

结果，股市暴跌后他又立即变卦，发了一长串推文呼吁共和党策划独立的刺激支票、航空补贴和小企业救助金计划。

The chaotic¹¹ reversal, coupled with a COVID-19 outbreak at the White House and upcoming Supreme¹² Court confirmation¹³ hearings,

特朗普态度的转变，加上白宫也爆发了疫情，再加上最高法院确认听证会在即，

renders the prospect¹⁴ of a deal before Nov.3 murkier¹⁵ than ever.

混乱的局面导致民共双方在11月3日前达成协议的可能性变得比以往任何时候都更渺茫。

Meanwhile, industries hit by the recession are still bleeding jobs.

与此同时，受到疫情带来的经济衰退打击的行业工作岗位仍在继续流失。

The National Restaurant Association said in September that some 100,000 restaurants closed in the first six months of the pandemic, putting nearly 3 million people out of work.

美国国家餐馆协会9月份表示，疫情爆发的前六个月就约有10万家餐厅倒闭，导致近300万人失业。

A union representing flight attendants estimates 100,000 airline workers are furloughed.

据某代表空乘人员的工会估计，有10万名航空公司工作人员被停职。

Disney laid off 28,000 workers in September, weeks after the mega corporation reportedly ended pay cuts for executives.

迪士尼也在9月份裁掉了2.8万名员工，就在迪士尼裁员的几周前，据报道，这家巨型公司刚刚结束了对高管的减薪政策。

1 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。

2 grotesquely   

adv. 奇异地,荒诞地

参考例句：

• Her arched eyebrows and grotesquely powdered face were at once seductive and grimly overbearing. 眉棱棱着，在一脸的怪粉上显出妖媚而霸道。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Two faces grotesquely disfigured in nylon stocking masks looked through the window. 2张戴尼龙长袜面罩的怪脸望着窗外。

3 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

6 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》

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 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。

10 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

11 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

14 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。

15 murkier   

adj.阴暗的( murky的比较级 )；昏暗的；（指水）脏的；混浊的

参考例句：

• If not, the outcome may be a lot murkier. 而如不然，结果可能就会更加含糊不清。 来自互联网
• This leads us into the murkier areas of human behaviour. 这让我们看到了人类行为较阴暗的领域。 来自互联网