ECONOMICS REPORT - Bush Nominates Ben Bernanke as Federal Re

ECONOMICS REPORT - Bush Nominates Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, October 28, 2005

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
George Bush with Ben Bernanke at the White House
President Bush this week nominated economist¹ Ben Bernanke [ber-NAN-key] to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The Senate is expected to confirm Mister Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan. Mister Greenspan has held the position at the central bank for eighteen years. He is expected to leave at the end of January.

Mister Bernanke currently serves as chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers². President Bush appointed him in June. Mister Bernanke served as a governor of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank from August of two thousand two until this year.

But, Mister Bernanke has mainly been a university professor for much of his working life. He headed the Economics Department at Princeton University in New Jersey³ before he was confirmed as a Federal Reserve governor.

Mister Bernanke says he does not plan big changes for the central bank. He says his first job will be to continue what he called "the policies and policy strategies established during the Greenspan years."

However, Mister Bernanke has supported the idea of the Federal Reserve announcing a target rate for inflation. Some nations, mainly in Europe, already do this. Alan Greenspan started announcing target interest rates for money controlled by the central bank. But he has not supported the idea of stated targets for inflation.

Mister Greenspan is seventy-nine years old. He has won praise for his guidance of the world's largest economy. He became Federal Reserve chairman in August of nineteen eighty-seven. Two months later, the stock market faced the worst day in its history. The Dow Jones industrial average lost almost one-fourth of its value. Since then, Mister Greenspan has led the central bank through two recessions, but also a long period of economic expansion.

Mister Bernanke was born in Augusta, Georgia, and is fifty-one years old. He studied at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If confirmed, Mister Bernanke will be the fourteenth chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. And, unlike the current one, the president noted⁴ that Mister Bernanke has been praised for giving speeches in "clear, simple language."

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter.  I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 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。

2 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。