VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report - With Loan Guarantee

This is the VOA Special English Economics¹ Report.

It has been one year since President Obama signed the economic recovery bill aimed at pulling the country out of recession². The new bill promised jobs -- including many in the nuclear energy industry.

On Tuesday, the president announced plans for the government to guarantee more than eight billion dollars in loans for two new nuclear energy centers in the state of Georgia.

Steam rises from cooling towers at a nuclear power plant near Limerick, Pennsylvania

The Southern Company plans to build the nuclear power centers with the first starting operations in twenty sixteen.

Mister Obama announced the plan at a job training center in Lanham, Maryland. The message was that nuclear energy projects will create jobs.

BARACK OBAMA: "It is a plant that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few years, and some eight hundred permanent jobs -- well paying permanent jobs -- in the years to come."

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve predicted that unemployment will remain near current levels through the year. The present rate is nine point seven percent. The central bank said unemployment could remain high for the next two years.

President Obama has received sharp criticism from Republicans³ over the lack of progress in job creation⁴.

The seven hundred eighty-seven billion dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is also unpopular because of its cost. Critics say the money is being spent too slowly with less than sixty percent being spent so far. But the administration said the measure has saved or created two million jobs.

By supporting nuclear energy, the president may be seeking common ground with Republicans who have called for building as many as one hundred new nuclear power centers.

Mister Obama has linked clean energy with economic growth. He also warned that the United States is falling behind in developing nuclear energy.

BARACK OBAMA: "There are fifty-six nuclear reactors⁵ under construction in the world: twenty-one in China alone, six in South Korea and five in India."

The United States has not built a new nuclear power plant in nearly thirty years. American public opinion about nuclear energy has been mixed. In recent years, public opinion studies show more than half of Americans approve of nuclear energy with greater support among men than women.

About one-fifth of the nation's electricity is generated⁶ by nuclear power.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. Do you have a question about an economic issue? Email us at voaspecialenglish.com, where you can also find transcripts⁷ and archives of our programs. 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 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

3 republicans   

拥护共和政体者，共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5％ lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。

4 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

5 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

6 generated   

a.生成的

参考例句：

• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
• It generated much excitement and frenetic activity. 这使人们非常激动并导致了狂热的行动。

7 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