VOA标准英语2011--Economic Confidence Declines in US, Euro
时间：2018-12-16 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2011年(九月)
Economic Confidence Declines in US, Europe
Separate reports on U.S. consumer confidence and European economic sentiment added to the volatility 1 in global markets Tuesday.
In the U.S., consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in 16 months, while the European Union's index of economic sentiment saw a sixth consecutive 2 decline. The pessimism 3 reflects the growing economic uncertainty 4 on both sides of the Atlantic.
U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated 5 sharply in August as Americans grew more pessimistic about jobs and the slow pace of recovery. Despite an uptick in consumer spending, the Commerce Department says U.S. growth has been less robust 6 than expected, expanding at an annual rate of just 1 percent in the second quarter. Economist 7 Gary Burtless at the Brookings Institution says the political debate on deficits 8 and the debt ceiling has made matters worse.
"Nothing that the Congress has done so far this year is going to boost the rate of growth of the economy and, arguably, it's going to - in the short-run - make things a little bit worse over the next 12 months," Burtless said.
While the appetite for spending cuts could increase the risk of another U.S. recession, weak growth prospects 9 in Europe is adding to the pessimism. Germany, considered the powerhouse economy among the 17-nations that use the euro, grew by a mere 10 one tenth of one percent in the second quarter. Analysts 11 say that further complicates 12 the eurozone's ability to underwrite debt-heavy nations such as Greece and Portugal.
The uncertainty could force banks to hike interest rates -- raising the risk of debt defaults among weaker eurozone countries.
Iain Begg at the London School of Economics says the resulting crisis could have a domino effect on banks in the U.S.
"I think we already know the degree of the contagion 13 because we witnessed it in 2008 after the demise 14 of Lehman Brothers, which showed just how heavily interconnected both sides of the Atlantic - indeed the whole world - is when it comes to financial markets. So the risks are considerable," Begg said.
Economist Vincent Reinhart at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington says such a scenario 15 might cause investors 16 to pull their money out of the banking 17 system.
"The extent to which problems in Europe infect financial intermediaries and the extent to which problems in Europe lead investors to withdraw from risk taking generally -- that hits our asset markets," Reinhart said.
Despite the inability of Europe's leaders to find a short-term solution to end the debt crisis, there are a few glimmers 18 of hope in the U.S.
Global markets remain optimistic about the possibility of new action to jolt 19 the U.S. economy when the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee meets in September.
Investors are also anticipating a big announcement next week by President Barack Obama on a new initiative to encourage U.S. companies to hire more workers.
- That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
- Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。
- It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
- The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。
- He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
- There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。
- Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
- After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。
- Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
- His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。
- She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
- China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。
- He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
- He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。
- 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
- 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。
- That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
- It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
- 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。
- What complicates the issue is the burden of history. 历史的重负使问题复杂化了。
- Russia as a great and ambitious power gravely complicates the situation. 俄国作为一个强大而有野心的国家，使得局势异常复杂。
- A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
- The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。
- He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
- The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。
- But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
- This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
- 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
- John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
- He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。