VOA慢速英语2011--Bernanke Meets the Press in a First for

Economics Report - Bernanke Meets the Press in a First for US Central Bank

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Central bankers have to choose their words carefully. So they often say little in public -- or little that makes sense. But the United States central bank says it is trying to be more clear and timely in communicating its policies.
The latest example: a press conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke. Wednesday's event was the first of its kind in the ninety-eight-year history of the Federal Reserve.
In his opening comments. Mr. Bernanke explained a decision by the Federal Open Market Committee to leave its main short-term interest rate near zero. The committee had just completed a two-day meeting.
BEN BERNANKE: "The committee continues to anticipate that the economic conditions -- including low rates of resource utilization¹, subdued² inflation trends and stable inflation expectations -- are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate for an extended period."
In other words, the economy is not growing fast enough to worry about inflation. A reporter asked what an "extended period" means to the Fed. Mr. Bernanke said it suggests "a couple of meetings probably" but it all depends on the economy.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The chairman said it is very hard to blame the American public for being impatient with the speed of the recovery. But he pointed³ out that unemployment is still high -- 8.8 percent in March. Oil and gasoline prices are high. And the housing market remains⁴ very weak.
The committee said it will complete purchases of six hundred billion dollars in Treasury⁵ securities in June. The Fed launched the bond buying program late last year in an effort to keep interest rates low and strengthen the economy.
Some economists⁶ say this second round of what is known as quantitative⁷ easing, or "QE2," has not been effective. Mr. Bernanke disagreed and pointed to examples like gains in stock prices.
The Fed has two main goals for its monetary⁸ policy: the highest possible employment rates and stable prices. The bank faced criticism for intervening either too little to some critics or too much to others in the financial crisis.
The press conference produced no surprises. Yet, as recently as the middle of the nineteen nineties, the Fed did not even release its decisions or its interest rate targets to the public.
Today the Fed is trying to reach out to Americans through ways like this video on its website.
BEN BERNANKE: "Hi, I'm Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve System. The Fed, as it's often called, is the central bank of the United States … "
The Fed announced in March that Mr. Bernanke will hold four press briefings a year. The next of three planned for this year will follow a decision on interest rates in June.
And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report. I’m Mario Ritter.
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Contributing: Mil Arcega

1 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。

2 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 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》

7 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。