美国有线新闻 CNN 冠状病毒导致美国史上最长经济扩张期终结

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: The picture is getting a little sharper in terms of how coronavirus is impacting America's economy. And that's where we start today's edition of CNN 10. I'm Carl Azuz. Since the summer of 2009 when the Great Recession came to an end, the United States Gross Domestic Product had grown in every quarter, every three month period of the financial calendar. It was America's longest economic expansion in history. But now according to many economists¹, it's over. The U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday that Gross Domestic Product fell by 4.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. That's its worst drop since the country was in the midst of the Great Recession in 2008. And it's because of all the closures, shutdowns and especially the drop in consumer spending brought on by the coronavirus.

CNN10分钟新闻主持人卡尔·阿祖兹：新冠肺炎对美国经济的影响日益明朗。这是今天CNN10分钟新闻的首个话题。我是卡尔·阿祖兹。自2009年夏天大衰退结束以来，美国的国内生产总值（简称GDP）在财务日历上每个季度，也就是每三个月都在增长。这是美国历史上持续时间最长的经济扩张。但现在许多经济学家认为，这种经济扩张已经结束了。美国商务部周三表示，今年第一季度国内生产总值下降了4.8%。这是美国自2008年陷入大衰退以来最严重的一次下跌。原因是冠状病毒导致的停业、停工以及消费支出下降。

Consumer spending is the biggest factor in America's GDP. Recession is generally defined as when GDP shrinks for two quarters in a row. And economists increasingly believe that one started last month. There's more data on the way. The U.S. government's monthly jobs report is set to come out tomorrow. It will give estimates on the number of jobs lost and the unemployment rate, the percentage of American workers who don't have a job. But this is a unique situation. It was brought on by sudden shocks of businesses closing and people staying home. So it's hard to say how quickly the economy will recover after coronavirus fears have passed or what it will look like when it does.

消费支出是影响美国国内生产总值的最重要因素。经济衰退通常被定义为国内生产总值连续两个季度收缩。经济学家越来越相信，收缩从上个月就开始了。还有更多数据即将公布。美国政府的月度就业报告定于明天发布。该报告将估算失业人数以及失业率，失业率指没有工作的美国工人的占比。但这是特殊情况。这都是由企业停业以及人们呆在家里的突然冲击造成的。因此，很难确定在冠状病毒的担忧过去之后，经济恢复的速度会有多快，或经济会呈现何种面貌。

1 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》