纽约时报 股市即将迎来20年来最大利好

Stocks Are on the Verge¹ of the Best Year Since 1997

股市即将迎来20年来最大利好

The world is enmeshed in a trade war.

全世界都陷入了贸易战。

The president has been impeached².

总统已被弹劾。

The tech industry is under attack from regulators worldwide.

科技行业也已面临着世界各地的监管机构的攻击。

But this year investors³ said: So what?

投资者却说：那又怎样?

The stock market is closing in on its best year in two decades.

股市即将迎来20年来的最好行情。

With only two days of trading to go, the S&P 500 could fare better than it has since 1997.

再交易两天，标普500指数就能攀升至1997年以来的最高水平。

Stock prices have been buoyed⁴ by a mere⁵ whiff of optimism that the economy —

人们对经济仍会继续稳步增长——尽管偶尔还是会出现小问题，

despite occasional hiccups⁶ and dire⁷ prognostications by so-called experts — will keep chugging along.

以及所谓专家的可怕预言——的一丝乐观推动了股票的继续上涨。

And the Federal Reserve deserves credit, too,

美联储的降息之举也值得肯定，

for cutting interest rates despite scowls⁸ from a White House that wanted more.

尽管白宫不满其降息幅度不够大而对其予以了斥责。

So far this year, the S&P is up 29 percent.

截至目前，标准普尔指数已经上涨了29%。

But the market crept up gradually as investors felt their way through the turbulent year,

尽管这一年颇为坎坷，投资者们都是摸着石头在过河，好在市场逐渐有了起色，

interrupted only by a handful of short-lived retreats.

期间只出现了为数不多的几次短暂回落。

Since mid-October, stocks haven’t had a single daily gain of more than 1 percent.

自10月中旬以来，股市单日涨幅从未超过1%。

Even on Friday, the increase was tiny, but it left the index at a record and capped a fifth consecutive⁹ week of gains.

即便是上周五，涨幅也很小，但该指数仍然创下了历史新高，并出现了连续上涨五周的情形。

Through the uncertainty¹⁰, investors saw things they liked: Job growth continued, American consumers kept spending,

投资者依然透过这种不确定性看到了他们喜闻乐见的东西：就业持续增长，美国消费者仍在继续消费，

and President Trump’s bluster¹¹ about the trade war eventually gave way to promises for an early-stage deal with China.

特朗普总统叫嚣的贸易战也还是让位给了与中国初步达成协议的承诺。

The damage the trade war might cause was the biggest concern for both investors and the Fed this year.

贸易战可能造成的损害堪称投资者和美联储今年最大的担忧。

The central bank cut interest rates three times to protect the economy.

为保护美国经济，中央银行已经三度降息。

By December, several key measurements of growth suggested

截至12月，衡量经济增长的多个关键指标表明，

that a recession in the United States was unlikely to ruin the party anytime soon.

经济衰退不太可能在短期内毁掉这场盛宴。

Major American companies reported that their profits continued to grow,

美国的企业巨头报告称，他们的利润仍在继续增长，

and even the tech industry showed resilience in the face of multiple attacks from presidential candidates and Congress.

就连科技行业也没有屈服于总统候选人及国会的多番攻击。

Still, stock market analysts¹² are warning against outright¹³ exuberance¹⁴.

不过，股市分析师依然就股市的全面繁荣敲响了警钟。

The forces that lifted stocks this year might fade, and investors will face a new set of risks in 2020 —

今年提振股市的动力可能会减弱，2020年投资者可能还会面临一系列新风险——

namely that the long-running expansion of the job market could end and corporate¹⁵ profits could start to fall short of expectations.

换句话说，就业市场的长期扩张可能会结束，企业利润可能会开始低于预期。

All good business cycles come to an end, and there’s always a recession somewhere around the corner.

任何景气的经济周期都有结束的一天，总有不景气的经济周期蠢蠢欲动。

1 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

2 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

6 hiccups   

n.嗝( hiccup的名词复数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿v.嗝( hiccup的第三人称单数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to "hiccups". 我不能找到和hiccups同韵的词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can we rhyme 'hiccups'with 'pick-ups'? 我们能把‘hiccups’同‘pick－ups’放在一起押韵吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

8 scowls   

不悦之色，怒容( scowl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All my attempts to amuse the children were met with sullen scowls. 我想尽办法哄这些孩子玩儿，但是他们总是满脸不高兴。
• Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in. 1. 愁眉苦脸只会把人推开，而微笑却把人吸引过来。

9 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

11 bluster   

v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声

参考例句：

• We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
• He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

14 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。