VOA慢速英语2020 美国单周失业人数创新高 美联储警告可能已经陷入衰退

More than 3 million jobless Americans asked the United States government for financial assistance last week.

上周美国有超过3百万失业人口向政府寻求经济援助。

That is a record number for one week, the U.S. Labor¹ Department reported Thursday. The old record had been 695,000 from 1982.

美国劳工部周四报告称，这是单周失业人数的最高记录。旧纪录是1982年的69.5万人。

This is the beginning of the really bad numbers we are going to see for the next few months, said Subadra Rajappa. She is head of U.S. Rates Strategy at Societe Generale in New York City.

拉加帕表示，这才是开始，接下来几个月我们将会看到更糟糕的统计数字。拉加帕是纽约市法兴银行的美国利率策略主管。

Also on Thursday, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, told NBC television that "the U.S. may already be in recession," as many companies have suspended operations. Schools, movie theaters and other businesses have closed as Americans turn to social distancing to slow the growth of coronavirus.

同样是在周四，美联储主席鲍威尔对NBC电视台表示，由于很多公司已经暂停运营，“美国可能已经陷入衰退”。随着美国人开始扩大社交距离以便减缓冠状病毒的增长，学校、电影院以及其它店铺都已经关闭。

The central bank chair added that progress in controlling the spread of the coronavirus will decide when the economy can fully² reopen.

这位美国央行主席还说，控制冠状病毒传播所取得的进展将决定经济何时能够完全重新开放。

Wednesday night, the U.S. Senate approved a $2 trillion bill to help people and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The measure is the largest stimulus³ bill in American history. The House of Representatives is expected to pass it on Friday.

周三晚上，美国参议院批准了一项2万亿美元的法案，以便在冠状病毒大流行期间帮助个人和企业。此举是美国历史上最大的刺激法案。预计众议院将会在周五通过这项法案。

Once signed into law, it will provide direct payments to many Americans as well as provide money to businesses that are hurting.

一旦该法案签署成为法律，它将直接向美国人发放补贴，并向遭受损失的企业提供资金。

Lawmakers hope the bill will prevent the economy from heading into a long economic depression, such as the one the United States experienced in the 1930s.

议员们希望该法案能够防止经济陷入长期的经济萧条，例如美国在上世纪30年代经历过的那种萧条。

U.S. President Donald Trump⁴ said this week that he would like to see Americans go back to work by Easter, April 12. He suggested that efforts to slow the virus may no longer be needed at that date. However, several companies and business groups are listening to health officials who say Americans need to stay home for a much longer amount of time.

美国总统川普本周表示，他希望美国人在4月12日复活节前复工。他表示届时将不再需要为减缓病毒的传播速度做任何努力。然而， 一些公司和商业团体听信卫生官员的话，他们说美国人需要在家里隔离更长时间。

"We urge all businesses and the public to listen to public health officials when it comes to social distancing," says Neil Bradley of the U.S. Chamber⁵ of Commerce.

美国商会的尼尔·布拉德利表示：“在扩大社交距离方面，我们督促所有企业和公众听取卫生官员的意见。”

But some business leaders agree with the president. Former Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankenfein wrote: "Crushing the economy, jobs and morale⁶ is also a health issue." His comments appeared on Twitter.

但是一些商业领袖认同总统的观点。高盛前首席执行官劳埃德·布兰肯芬写道：“破坏经济、就业和士气也是一个健康问题。”他的评论发表在推特上。

The Ford⁷ Motor Company announced Thursday it will open its factories as early as April 6. Ford said it will include "new safety measures" for its workers.

福特汽车公司周四宣布最早将在4月6日开放工厂。福特汽车表示，将对其工人采取新的安全措施。

In Europe, government officials and industry leaders are still discussing the need for a full shutdown. Italy, which has the most coronavirus deaths of any country, is adding new restrictions⁸. French President Emmanuel Macron has urged some workers to continue reporting to work. Spain is in a complete shut down. The country has the second largest number of deaths from the virus, more than 4,000.

在欧洲，政府官员和行业领袖仍在讨论全面封闭的必要性。欧洲冠状病毒死亡人数最多的意大利将出台新的限制措施。法国总统马克龙督促一些工人继续上班。西班牙已经彻底封闭。该国有4000多人死亡冠状病毒，死亡人数高居第二位。

In China, economic conditions are just beginning to improve.

在中国，经济状况才刚刚开始改善。

In the United States, New York City is now the epicenter of the virus. New York has more than 17,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. Hospitals in the city are running out of room to store the bodies of the dead, one worker told news organizations.

在美国，纽约市现在是冠状病毒的震中。纽约有超过1.7万起冠状病毒确诊病例。一名员工告诉新闻机构，该市医院的停尸房已经爆满。

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the peak of the infection is still about three weeks away. He said he expects as many as 140,000 cases and nearly 40,000 people will need hospitalization.

纽约州州长安德鲁·库莫周三表示，距离感染高峰期仍然有3个星期左右时间。他称预计将会有多达14万人感染，并且将会有近4万人需要住院治疗。

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制