Are we there yet.doc翻译例文1.doc

Are we there yet?我们到达目的地了吗？Americas recovery will be much slower than that from most recessions; but the government can help a bit 这次美国复苏将比大多数从衰退中的复苏慢得多，但是美国政府可以尽一点力。Sep 16th 2010 “WHITHER goest thou, America?” That question, posed by Jack Kerouac on behalf of the Beat generation half a century ago, is the biggest uncertainty hanging over the world economy. And it reflects the foremost worry for American voters, who go to the polls for the congressional mid-term elections on November 2nd with the countrys unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at nearly one in ten. They should prepare themselves for a long, hard ride.“美国，你将何去何从？”半个世纪前，杰克克鲁亚克代表“垮掉的一代”提出了这个问题，而这个问题一直是笼罩在世界经济上方的最大不确定性。此外，它还反映出了美国选民的最大担忧，他们将于11月2日在本国失业率维持在10%上下的情况下参加国会中期选举的投票。他们应该为艰难的长途之旅做好准备。The most wrenching recession since the 1930s ended a year ago. But the recoverynone too powerful to begin withslowed sharply earlier this year. GDP grew by a feeble 1.6% at an annual pace in the second quarter, and seems to have been stuck somewhere similar since. The housing market slumped after temporary tax incentives to buy a home expired. So few private jobs were being created that unemployment looked likelier to rise than fall. Fears grew over the summer that if this deceleration continued, Americas economy would slip back into recession.20世纪30年代以来最严重的经济衰退1年前结束了。但是美国的复苏一开始每个国家的复苏都不强劲在今年早些时候大幅放缓。第二季度国内生产总值年化增长率为微弱的1.6%并且似乎自此就按类似的速度增长。买房的税收刺激政策到期后，楼市萎靡不振。私有企业创造的工作机会寥寥无几，因此失业率更有可能上升而不是下降。这个夏天，人们越来越担心，如果这种颓势不改，美国经济将再次陷入衰退。Fortunately, those worries now seem exaggerated. Part of the weakness of second-quarter GDP was probably because of a temporary surge in imports from China. The latest statistics, from reasonably good retail sales in August to falling claims for unemployment benefits, point to an economy that, though still weak, is not slumping further. And history suggests that although nascent recoveries often wobble for a quarter or two, they rarely relapse into recession. For now, it is most likely that Americas economy will crawl along with growth at perhaps 2.5%: above stall speed, but far too slow to make much difference to the jobless rate (see article).幸运的是，这些担忧目前看来似乎夸大其词了。第二季度的国内生产总值疲软部分可能是由中国进口暂时暴增造成的。8月份合情合理的良好零售业绩和领取失业补贴人数的减少等最近的统计数据表明，尽管经济仍然疲软，但是不至于会继续衰退。此外，历史的经验表明，早期复苏常常会动荡一两个季度，但是它们很少会重陷衰退。目前而言，美国经济最有可能以2.5%的速度缓慢增长：高于停滞的速度，但是对于减少失业率来说太慢了。Why, given that America usually rebounds from recession, are the prospects so bleak? Because most past recessions have been caused by tight monetary policy. When policy is loosened, demand rebounds. This recession was the result of a financial crisis. Recoveries after financial crises are normally weak and slow as banking systems are repaired and balance-sheets rebuilt. Typically, this period of debt reduction lasts around seven years, which means America would emerge from it in 2014. By some measures, households are reducing their debt burdens unusually fast, but even optimistic seers do not think the process is much more than half over. 鉴于美国常常从衰退中复苏，为何这次的前景如此惨淡？因为过去的大多数衰退是由从紧的货币政策引起的。货币政策放宽，需求就反弹了。而这次衰退是由金融危机造成的。正常情况下，由于要修复银行体系和重建资产负债表，金融危机之后的复苏是乏力而且缓慢的。通常，削减债务需要近7年，这意味着美国到2014年才能从债务中脱身。根据一些衡量标准，家庭的减债速度异常迅速，但是连乐观的预测者也认为这个过程现在最多只完成了一半。Battling on the bus 在车上争斗Americas biggest problem is that its politicians have yet to acknowledge that the economy is in for such a long, slow haul, let alone prepare for the consequences. A few brave officials are beginning to sound warnings that the jobless rate is likely to “stay high”. But the political debate is more about assigning blame for the recession than about suggesting imaginative ways to give more oomph to the recovery. 美国最大的问题是其政客还未承认美国经济正在经历这样漫长缓慢的复苏，更不用说为其后果做好准备了。一些勇敢的官员开始发出警告，失业率可能“居高不下”。但是政治辩论更多的是指责衰退，而不是提出为复苏提供更多动力的可想象的方法。Republicans argue that Barack Obamas shift towards “big government” explains the economys weakness, and that high unemployment is proof that fiscal stimulus was a bad idea. In fact, most of the growth in government to date has been temporary and unavoidable; the longer-run growth in government is more modest, and reflects the policies of both Mr Obama and his predecessor (see article). And the notion that high joblessness “proves” that stimulus failed is simply wrong. The mechanics of a financial bust suggest that without a fiscal boost the recession would have been much worse. 共和党人称，奥巴马向“大政府”转型是经济疲软的原因，高失业率证明财政刺激计划是一个糟糕的主意。实际上，到目前为止，政府增加的大部分支出都是临时的而且是不可避免的；较长期的政府开支增长更加适度并且反映了奥巴马先生以及其前任总统的政策。高失业率证明刺激计划失败的观点纯粹是错误的。金融破产的过程表明，如果没有财政刺激，衰退的情况会糟糕的得多。Democrats have their own class-warfare version of the blame game, in which Wall Streets excesses caused the problem and higher taxes on high-earners are part of the solution. That is why Mr Obamas legislative priority before the mid-terms is to ensure that the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year for households earning more than $250,000 but are extended for everyone else.民主党人在指责过程中也有自己的一套，称华尔街的恣意妄为产生了问题，增加对高收入者的税收可以解决部分问题。这就是为何奥巴马先生要把它当做中期选举之前优先立法任务的原因。奥巴马的优先立法任务是保证今年末结束收入超过25万美元的家庭的布什减税政策，对其他所有人都延长这一政策。This takes an unnecessary risk with the short-term recovery. Americas experience in 1937 and Japans in 1997 are powerful evidence that ill-timed tax rises can tip weak economies back into recession. Higher taxes at the top, along with the waning of fiscal stimulus and belt-tightening by the states, will make a weak growth rate weaker still. Less noticed is that Mr Obamas fiscal plan will also worsen the medium-term budget mess, by making tax cuts for the middle class permanent.没有必要为短期复苏冒这种险。美国1937年的经历和日本1997年的经历有力地证明了不合时宜的增税会导致疲软的经济重陷衰退。国家税收的增加，再加上各州财政刺激的减少和财经紧缩将导致乏力的增长率更加乏力。不太引人注意的是奥巴马先生为中产阶级永远减税的财政计划将进一步恶化中期混乱的预算。Ways to overhaul the engine 彻底改革引擎的方法In an ideal world America would commit itself now to the medium-term tax reforms and spending cuts needed to get a grip on the budget, while leaving room to keep fiscal policy loose for the moment. But in febrile, partisan Washington that is a pipe-dream. Todays goals can only be more modest: to nurture the weak economy, minimise uncertainty and prepare the ground for tomorrows fiscal debate. To that end, Congress ought to extend all the Bush tax cuts until 2013. Then they should all expireprompting a serious fiscal overhaul, at a time when the economy is stronger.在一个理想的世界里，目前美国正致力于中期税收改革和削减开支，从而控制预算，同时又为再维持宽松的财政政策一段时间留出余地。但是在狂热、盲从的华盛顿，这只是一种妄想。如今的目标只能更加适度一些：促进疲软的经济、尽力减少不确定性、为今后的财政辩论奠定基础。为了达到这个目标，国会应该将所有布什减税政策延长至2013年。到那时，应该结束所有布什减税政策在经济更加强劲的时候，认真推进一项彻底的财政改革。A broader set of policies could help to work off the hangover faster. One priority is to encourage more write-downs of mortgage debt. Almost a quarter of all Americans with mortgages owe more than their houses are worth. Until that changes the vicious cycle of rising foreclosures and falling prices will continue. There are plenty of ideas on offer, from changing the bankruptcy law so that judges can restructure mortgage debt to empowering special trustees to write down loans. They all have drawbacks, but a fetid pool of underwater mortgages will, much like Japans loans to zombie firms, corrode the financial system and harm the recovery. 一系列更加广泛的政策有助于加速摆脱宿醉。一项优先任务是鼓励增加有担保的抵押债务。近四分之一美国人身负的按揭贷款比其住房价值要多。这种情况不发生变化，住房没收增多，房价下跌的恶心循环将持续下去。有众多方案可供选择，从改革破产法让法官重组抵押债务到授权特定的信托机构担保贷款。这些方案都有缺陷，但是一潭发出恶臭的无法偿还的按揭贷款，与日本向缺乏活力的企业提供的贷款非常相似，将会损害金融体系和复苏。Cleaning up the housing mark