时间:2019-02-04 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(七月)


英语课

The U.S. government says it will not take charge of the nation's two largest mortgage finance firms as their stock prices plunge 1 in further signs of trouble for America's housing market. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.
 
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, left, and Treasury 2 Secretary Henry Paulson, center, look on as President Bush makes a statement at the Energy Department in Washington, 11 July 2008


U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the federal government's primary focus is supporting the mortgage finance companies in their current form.


For now, the written statement appears to rule out a government take over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee about $5 trillion worth of mortgages, more than half of the U.S. mortgage market.


Those firms have lost billions of dollars in the continuing decline of the U.S. housing market with record loan defaults and foreclosures.


Shares in the companies' stocks have lost close to 90 percent of their value in the last year. Investors 3 are worried that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will lose more money and will have to borrow more to cover those losses.


Secretary Paulson said the Treasury is maintaining a dialogue with regulators and the companies as they take steps necessary to allow them to continue to perform what he called their important mission.


Congress created the firms to make mortgage loans more available to more Americans by buying up mortgages from banks, bundling them together, and reselling them to investors around the world.


If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac were unable to raise additional capital, they might be unable to buy mortgages from lenders, making it much harder for people to get home loans


The federal government does not guarantee their debts, but most investors believe Washington would not allow the firms to collapse 4, especially in a weak economy.


Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his top economic advisors 5, U.S. President George Bush said Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be working the issue of the mortgage giants very hard.


"Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are very important institutions," he said. "We spent a fair amount of time discussing these institutions."


At a time of record high gasoline prices, President Bush again called on Democrats 6 in Congress to expand offshore 7 oil drilling and allow for drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.


"These are tough economic times for American citizens," he added. "There is a way forward to help relieve some of the pressure on their pocketbooks, and I am looking forward to watching this Congress respond in a positive way."


Paulson's announcement sent U.S. stocks on a downward spiral Friday. The Dow industrials fell below the 11,000 level for the first time since August 2006, as oil topped a record $147 a barrel. Analysts 8 say prices are up because of violence in Nigeria, a possible strike in Brazil, and continuing tensions between Israel and Iran.


 


 



v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲
  • Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
  • That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
  • 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。
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
n.顾问,劝告者( advisor的名词复数 );(指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
  • The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.海面的,吹向海面的;adv.向海面
  • A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
  • A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
  • City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
  • I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
学英语单词
aculars
address-book
agglutinating
agryban
at (one's) pleasure
autoequivalences
Baccaurea
banana-leaf
Bartholomew doll
bass flute
blood-spattered
brown rice belly
buttered someone up
caridina brevicarpalis
circuit tourism
clomiphenes
closed circuit filling system
coleocela
constrictor naris
corneal abrasion
cosmic microwave radiation
Dalby's carminative
decentred lens
degree of polymerization of a polymer
derrick erecting truck
diachronic public relations
double ended wrench (double ended spanner)
ear tick
focal reducer
Fortcinolone
gafiating
glans of clitoris
gourd vegetables
graphic control
Green Cay
Grosa, I.
heat analysis
high modulus weave
homotharicrine
hosecock
house-party
i-hoked
induced homomorphism
indurain
infant-toddler
infantile oxyuriasis
integral joint casing
Jiantizi
Kombinat
Krasnovodsk
lepiota alba
liverer
low frequency electrical porcelain
mcgarvey
mercurification
nearest neighbor search
nerve cement
non-convertible
off-keier
one group critical equation
ony
orris-powder
palew
palmatipartite
partially hanging rudder
petrophytes
phase accumulator
photohobia
phylloporus rhodoxanthus
Piper betle L.
platismatia formosana
pledge card
plumpline
preset potentiometer
profitability index
propylene glycol alginate
public-address systems
randonnee
reflected radiation
relocating loader
ricebird
rolled joint
roof baggage rack
rubber sleeve core barrel
sea otter fur
shore-fast
sight bill
sodium ethyl sulfate
somlich
spell-binders
stabilized sulphur trioxide
synandrium
tan sb's hide
tank drainback
time correction circuit
too littlest
turbine low vacuum protection
two-way latticed grid
video-tapeds
well-carved
woodland pasture
Yatenga, Prov.