美国有线新闻 CNN 美国通胀率2.6% 高出预期引担忧（在线收听）

First topic is inflation. Could be good if you're trying to get swoll at the gym, but is it good for the US economy?

首个话题来关注通货膨胀。如果你想在健身房放松一下，这可能是件好事，但这对美国经济有好处吗？

Here's what this is all about. Inflation, simply put, is when prices go up and your money doesn't buy as much.

下面来解释一下。简单来说，通货膨胀指物价上涨，一样多的钱买不到原来那么多东西。

Furniture, airplane, tickets, used cars, rent, personal care items like soap, all of this stuff got more expensive last month.

家具，飞机，机票，二手车，房租，肥皂等个人护理用品，所有这些东西上个月都涨价了。

One reason is because gasoline prices have been skyrocketing. They were 22 and 1/2% higher this March than they were last March.

其中一个原因是汽油价格飞涨。今年3月的汽油价格比去年3月上涨22.5%。

This is cutting into family budgets, the cost of living, and it makes it more expensive to ship the items we buy.

这导致家庭预算削减，生活成本降低，使我们所购买物品的运输成本更高。

Coronavirus played a role. When more people were staying home and businesses were shut down, demand for gasoline dropped and so did its price.

冠状病毒也是原因之一。由于更多的人待在家里，企业停工，所以汽油的需求下降，而汽油价格也随之下降。

With people getting back to the office, back to traveling, and businesses reopening, gas prices are shooting upward.

随着人们重返办公室，恢复旅行，企业重新开放，汽油价格也直线上升。

Supply and demand also factor in. Many Americans are in the market for new homes, new bicycles, and many other goods.

供给和需求也是因素之一。许多美国人打算买新房、新自行车和许多其他商品。

But the inventory of these things is exceptionally low. So that's driving prices up.

但这些东西的库存量非常低。这就推动了价格上涨。

But if they go up too much too fast, people may pull back on spending and buy less. And that can hurt the economy.

但如果价格上涨过快，人们可能会减少支出，同时减少购买。而这会损害经济。

Since last year, America's bounce back from COVID-related problems has been faster than many economists expected.

自去年以来，美国从新冠肺炎相关问题中恢复的速度超过了许多经济学家的预期。

Some are neither surprised nor concerned that inflation would rise more than usual in early 2021.

一些人既不感到惊讶，也不担心2021年初通胀率会比平时上升得更多。

But others are concerned by how much it's rising by. Many banking officials are comfortable with an inflation rate of 2% per year.

但也有人对通胀率的涨幅感到担忧。许多银行官员对每年2%的通货膨胀率感到满意。

They believe this is just the right amount to keep price rises moderate, but also to keep the economy growing.

他们认为，这是保持物价温和上涨，同时也保持经济增长的适当幅度。

But between March of last year in March of this year, consumer prices rose by 2.6%, more than half a percentage point higher than bankers comfort zone.

但从去年3月到今年3月，居民消费价格上涨了2.6%，比银行家的舒适区高出超过0.5个百分点。

And the question is, is this temporary and likely to level out as the year goes on?

问题是，这是暂时情况，可能会随着时间的推移趋于平稳？

Or is this a sign of sustained inflation on the horizon? No one knows the answer to that yet.

还是说这是持续通胀即将出现的迹象？目前没有人知道答案。

One thing economists do agree on is that the cost of goods will probably keep rising through the summer.

经济学家观点一致的是，商品成本可能会在整个夏天持续上升。