VOA慢速英语20061103a

ECONOMICS¹ REPORT - For a Country, a Lot of Debt Is Not Always a Bad ThingBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, November 03, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Listener Adamu Onakpa at Hillside High School in Cross River State, Nigeria, has a question. How can the United States be both the richest nation in the world and the biggest borrower?

Part of the answer lies in how you look at borrowing.


Negative numbers on an adding machine tape

Generally, a nation's public debt is considered along with the size of its economy in terms of the gross² domestic³ product. The G.D.P. represents the value of all goods and services produced within a territory in a year.

The United States debt is the world's largest: more than eight and one-half million million dollars. But so is the G.D.P.: more than twelve million million dollars.

Economists⁴ often look at public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product. Measured this way, the United States had the thirty-fifth largest debt last year, about sixty-five percent of G.D.P.

That was less than Canada, Germany or France -- and a lot less compared to Japan and Italy. Both have public debts larger than their G.D.P. So, in this way, the United States debt is not considered oversized compared to other developed nations.

Still, many experts remain concerned about federal⁵ budget deficits⁷. The historical average is a little more than two percent of G.D.P. The White House Office of Management and Budget reported a deficit⁶ of just over three and one-half percent in two thousand four.

Since then the deficit has fallen. But there are concerns that future costs could grow sharply⁸, in part because of the Iraq war and federal programs for older people. At the same time, the economy has slowed. Increased borrowing in times of slow growth can quickly add to the debt.

In the past, the government borrowed mostly from Americans. Today, foreign countries -- especially China and Japan -- have been willing to buy huge amounts of American debt even at low interest rates.

Americans have been hearing a lot lately about the economic risks should that willingness ever change. But the issues involved, including international trade, are more complex than that.

Foreign direct investment⁹ in the United States continues at record levels. The Congressional Budget Office says America's foreign investments¹⁰ add up to almost ten million million dollars. And that is more than the size of its debt.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. You can download transcripts¹¹ and MP3 files of our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

2 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

3 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

4 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》

5 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

8 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

9 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

10 investments   

n.投资( investment的名词复数 )；投资额；（时间、精力的）投入；值得买的东西

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句