VOA标准英语2010年-US Treasury Secretary: Economy on the

The U.S. economy is healing from a deep and prolonged recession, according to U.S. Treasury¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner. Geithner struck an upbeat note on America's economic prospects², but also stressed the need to confront pressing risks to the nation's long term financial health.

Friday brought some hopeful news to the battered³ U.S. labor⁴ market. Although employers continue to cut jobs amid a fledgling economic recovery, the U.S. unemployment rate for January dipped below 10 percent to 9.7 percent. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner hailed the development on ABC's "This Week" program. "We are seeing some encouraging signs of healing. This is going to take a while, and it [the economic recovery] is going to be uneven⁵. But there are encouraging signs in this [unemployment] report," he said.

Geithner noted⁶ that the drop in unemployment follows word that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent at the end of 2009. "We have an economy that was growing at almost six percent in the fourth quarter of last year -- the most rapid rate in six years. And we have the capacity as a government to reinforce that process, and help guide this economy back to the point where we are not just growing again, but we see growth translate into jobs," he said.

In its budget projections⁷, the Obama administration is assuming that unemployment will remain stubbornly high -- above 9 percent -- well into next year. Fearing what some economists⁸ are already calling a 'jobless recovery', President Barack Obama is pressing Congress to enact⁹ financial incentives¹⁰ for small businesses to hire new workers.

Treasury Secretary Geithner says a jobs bill is vital, as is an overhaul¹¹ of America's financial regulations to limit risk-taking by the nation's banks and major private financial institutions.

On that point, Geithner has the backing of his predecessor¹², former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who spoke¹³ on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "The economy is clearly recovering. Now, one of the factors that will help is more certainty with regard to actions out of Washington. For instance, certainty with regard to financial regulatory reform will help," he said.

Congress has debated financial reform ever since the financial meltdown of 2008, when major banks, investment houses, insurance giants and mortgage firms collapsed¹⁴ at a catastrophic rate, and credit for consumers and businesses all but evaporated. Many economists say, without far-reaching regulatory reform, the United States risks a repeat in the future.

Also appearing on "Meet the Press" was former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who highlighted another long-term risk to America's economic health: its skyrocketing national debt. Greenspan said the debt will eventually constrain¹⁵ the U.S. economy and erode¹⁶ America's place on the world stage. "History tells us that great powers, when they have gotten into very significant fiscal¹⁷ problems, have ceased to be great powers," he said.

President Obama's budget projects federal deficits¹⁸ in excess of $1 trillion for this year and 2011. He has proposed a freeze on some domestic spending, and sought a bipartisan commission to craft a plan to tackle America's long-term fiscal imbalances.

 

1 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。

2 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

3 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

4 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。

5 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

8 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》

9 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

10 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

12 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

15 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

16 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

17 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

18 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