Pumped up
肌肉膨胀
America’s extraordinary economy keeps defying the pessimists
美国经济的非凡表现不断打破悲观预期
- defy 指“违抗、反抗、对抗”以及“蔑视、藐视”，即在权威、法律、规则等方面公开拒绝服从或表示尊重，常意味着敢于挑战被认为是不可战胜的力量或者敢于去做被认为是不可能做到的事情，并时常含有一种较为明显的嘲弄意味 （参见：小词详解 | defy）
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have ideas that endanger it
特朗普和拜登的计划都可能破坏这一势头
- endanger 使遭危险；危及；危害
YOU HAVE to marvel at America’s economy. Not long ago it was widely thought to be on the brink of recession. Instead it ended 2023 nearly 3% larger than 12 months earlier, having enjoyed one of the boomier years of the century so far. And it continues to defy expectations. At the start of this year, economists had been forecasting annualised growth in the first quarter of 1%; that prediction has since doubled. The labour market is in rude health, too. The unemployment rate has been below 4% for 25 consecutive months, the longest such spell in over 50 years. No wonder Uncle Sam is putting the rest of the world to shame. Since the end of 2019 the economy has grown by nearly 8% in real terms, more than twice as fast as the euro zone’s and ten times as quickly as Japan’s. Britain’s has barely grown at all.
你不得不惊叹美国经济的表现。不久前，人们普遍认为美国经济濒临衰退。但相反，在2023年结束之际，美国经济总量较12个月前增长近3%，成为本世纪较繁荣的年份之一。美国经济还在打破预期，今年年初，经济学家预测第一季度的年化增长率为1%，现在预测已翻了一番。就业市场同样强劲，失业率已连续25个月低于4%，创下50多年来最长纪录。难怪美国让世界其他国家相形见绌。自2019年底以来，美国经济实际增长近8%，是欧元区的两倍多，是日本的十倍。而英国几乎没有增长。
- marvel 表示“大为赞叹、惊讶不已、感到惊奇”，常用搭配 marvel at sth 指人对某物充满了惊奇、惊叹或钦佩（参见：小词详解 | marvel）
- brink 表示危险的、新的、令人兴奋的事情或处境的“边缘、初始状态、始发点”，强调从一个状态突然转变到另一个状态的可能性或风险（参见：小词详解 | brink）
- consecutive 连续不断的
- 拓展学习：熟词僻义 | spell 是一种怎样的时间和意味？
America’s expansion is all the more striking when you consider the many things that could have killed it. As the Federal Reserve has fought inflation the economy has endured the sharpest rise in interest rates since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. The covid-19 pandemic, an intensifying trade war with China and the fight against climate change have together reshaped supply chains, labour markets and consumer preferences. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza have aggravated geopolitical tensions and worsened the strains on the global trading system.
考虑它面对的诸多不利因素，美国的经济增长更显惊人。为对抗通胀，美联储实施了自卡特执政时期以来最大力度的加息。新冠疫情、与中国日益激烈的贸易战，以及应对气候变化的努力共同重塑了供应链、劳动力市场和消费者偏好。乌克兰和加沙的战争加剧了地缘紧张态势，给全球贸易体系带来了更大压力。
- aggravate 指“加重、加剧、使严重、使恶化”，多指使疾病、问题、伤害、罪行等不好或困难的局势明显加剧（参见：小词详解 | aggravate）
