VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Investors Concerned Aout US Debt Ceiling Crisis

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)經(jīng)濟(jì)報(bào)道。

There has been a lot of talk about the debt ceiling in the United States. The debt ceiling is a legal limit on the amount of money the federal government can borrow. Political disputes over that amount have concerned investors in recent weeks.

很多人都在談?wù)撁绹?guó)的債務(wù)上限。債務(wù)上限是指聯(lián)邦政府允許借款的法定限額。最近幾周就這一限額的政治爭(zhēng)議令投資者深感擔(dān)憂。

Alexander Gelber is an assistant professor of public policy at the University of California in Berkeley. He says American lawmakers must negotiate a new debt ceiling everytime the federal debt reaches that legal limit.

亞歷山大·蓋爾伯(Alexander Gelber)是加州大學(xué)伯克利分校公共政策助理教授。他說(shuō)，每次聯(lián)邦債務(wù)觸及該法定限額時(shí)，美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)都必須重新商定新的債務(wù)上限。

"The debt ceiling is a limit on the amount that US Treasury can borrow, and that limit needs to be raised by congress periodically."

“債務(wù)上限是指美國(guó)財(cái)政部允許借款的限額，該限額必須由國(guó)會(huì)定期提高。”

National debt is necessary when a government spends more money than it has available. Governments offer bonds and other investments to raise money to pay for the spending. In return, the government promises to repay investors who buy the securities.

當(dāng)政府開(kāi)支超出自身所有時(shí)就必須發(fā)行國(guó)債。政府發(fā)行債券和其它投資募集資金用于支付開(kāi)銷。作為回報(bào)，政府承諾償付買入債券的投資者。

The financial demands of World War I led American lawmakers to establish a total debt limit. In 1917, congress agreed that the president could borrow up to a set amount without seeking congressional approval.

第一次世界大戰(zhàn)的金融需求迫使美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)議員建立了一個(gè)總的債務(wù)上限。在1917年，美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)同意總統(tǒng)可以借到一個(gè)設(shè)定的金額而無(wú)需尋求國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)。

Congress has agreed to change the debt limit 10 times since 2001. But the major parties have yet to agree on spending levels or on the need to borrow to pay for government operations.

自2001年以來(lái)，國(guó)會(huì)已經(jīng)10次同意修改債務(wù)上限。但主要政黨尚未就政府開(kāi)支水平或政府運(yùn)作資金需求達(dá)成一致。

Other nations buy United States Treasury department securities because they are considered the safest investment in the world. The partial shutdown of the federal government led to worldwide concern about the safety of these investments.

其它國(guó)家購(gòu)買美國(guó)財(cái)政部債券，是因?yàn)樗鼈儽徽J(rèn)為是全球最安全的投資。聯(lián)邦政府的部分停擺導(dǎo)致全球開(kāi)始擔(dān)心這些投資的安全性。

The debt ceiling was supposed to reach the legal limit last week. Without power to borrow more, the government would have been unable to pay investors who owned Treasury department securities.

上周，美國(guó)債務(wù)上限本應(yīng)該觸及法定限額。失去借貸能力，政府將無(wú)力償付擁有財(cái)政部債券的投資者。

Professor Gelber says the possibility of the United States failing to pay its debts caused concern around the world.

蓋爾伯教授表示，美國(guó)政府無(wú)法償付債務(wù)的可能性引發(fā)了全球的關(guān)注。

In recent years, disputes over spending and debt limits have led to delays in congressional approval of a budget and in raising the debt ceiling.

近年來(lái)，就政府支出和債務(wù)上限的爭(zhēng)議已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致國(guó)會(huì)推遲批準(zhǔn)預(yù)算和提高債務(wù)上限。

Last week, only 1 day before borrowing reach the legal limit, congress agreed to re-open the government without enforcing the debt ceiling.

上周，在借貸觸及法定限額前一天，美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)才同意在不執(zhí)行債務(wù)上限的前提下重啟政府。

Lawmakers agreed to let the president decide what the Treasury department could borrow through February 7th. Congress approved a budget to operate the government through January 15th.

議員們同意讓總統(tǒng)決定2月7日前財(cái)政部的借貸限額。國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)了一份預(yù)算讓政府運(yùn)作到1月15日。

The president and congress must now negotiate a new spending plan and another debt limit in order to avoid another crisis.

總統(tǒng)和國(guó)會(huì)現(xiàn)在必須商定新的支出計(jì)劃和新的債務(wù)限額以避免另一場(chǎng)危機(jī)。