(单词翻译:单击)
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As the U.S. economy reopens, prices have been going up, which makes economists types worried about higher inflation, something we haven't seen in years. One tool economists use to measure that is the CPI, the Consumer Price Index. And the new data out this morning shows that prices were up 4.2% in April from a year earlier. NPR's David Gura has been tracking this, and he joins us now. Good morning, David.
DAVID GURA, BYLINE: Hey, Rachel.
MARTIN: All right. So this new data is out this morning. What does it tell us?
GURA: Yeah. Let me just say first, this is the biggest increase we've seen since the 2008 financial crisis. And it confirms what you may have noticed at the supermarket, that the stuff you buy has started to get more expensive from bacon to bread and paper towels.
MARTIN: Yep.
GURA: Keep in mind, this number compares this April to April of 2020. It was a whole different world then, of course. The global economy had shut down. Now the economy is reopening, and that's really what's behind this spike. Businesses are having a hard time keeping up with demand, so they're raising their prices, and hiring has gotten difficult. On top of that, interest rates are extremely low, and there've been trillions of dollars in government spending. So a few things stand out from this report from the numbers we got this morning. Big price increases in travel — hotel rates up 7.6% from March to April. Airfare is up more than 10%. There is still a lot of demand for used cars and used trucks. Supply chain issues have made it really hard to make new cars. Prices for used cars up 10% from March to April. That is the largest increase, Rachel, we have seen since the year 1953.
MARTIN: Wow. So what does this mean writ large for the economy?
GURA: Yeah. This could get tough for consumers, especially for low-wage workers. We're in the middle of a recovery, but millions are out of work. They're still struggling. And if this were to continue, the Fed Reserve could decide to raise interest rates sooner than it said it will. Right now, rates are near zero, and economists expect they're going to stay there for a couple more years. What the Fed wants to see is for inflation long term to be around 2%. I talked to William Lee. He's the chief economist at the Milken Institute. And he says look at today's number in a broader context.
WILLIAM LEE: The one thing economists always try to do is distinguish between a price pop and inflation.
MARTIN: Explain that.
GURA: Well, a price pop is a temporary spike. But inflation is a steady rise in prices and wages that last. So it's a nuanced thing but an important thing. And the Fed chair, he thinks this is a price pop, so does the treasury secretary. They argue that prices are going to come back down when supply and demand come back into balance. I should say opponents of President Biden's latest spending plan are already using today's number to argue against more government spending.
MARTIN: Any reaction from Wall Street to this news?
GURA: Yeah. Investors watching this very closely, trading started, stocks are down this morning. They were pointing down before the bell opened. Look, the market has been setting records, and there is fear that inflation could end a record-setting run. You know, shifting to businesses, big companies have been setting all kinds of records — record sales, record profits. But we've heard from their executives about supplies getting more expensive. So they've been wrestling with what to do about that. Are they going to cut costs or are they going to try to absorb these price increases or is this something they're going to pass on to consumers? And indeed many companies have already decided to do that.
MARTIN: So I don't know about you, David, but a year of living in lockdown pandemic era has meant that a lot of my appliances are just done, right? Like, my dishwasher needs to be replaced, my laundry machine. Are these things going get more expensive as a result of all this?
GURA: Yeah. Manufacturers have said that they're going to raise prices on appliances, and we're hearing that if prices keep going up, you know, there is this argument made by some economists that consumers will be willing to pay these higher prices because they've received these direct payments from the federal government. One thing else I'll be paying attention to is wages. We've been seeing these record profits as I mentioned. They've been going up, but wages have not been going up, and now employers are having to offer incentives to attract new workers.
MARTIN: NPR's David Gura. We appreciate it. Thanks.
GURA: Thanks, Rachel.
中文翻译
参考译文：
伴随美国经济的重新开放，物价一直在上涨，这让经济学家担心通胀率也会随之上升，而这是我们多年来从未见过的情况。经济学家用来衡量通胀的一个工具是消费者物价指数（简称CPI）。今早公布的最新数据显示，4月份CPI同比上涨4.2%。NPR新闻的大卫·古拉一直在追踪这件事，现在他将和我们连线。早上好，大卫。
大卫·古拉连线：你好，蕾切尔。
马丁：好。今天早上最新数据出炉。这告诉了我们什么信息？
古拉：对。首先我要说，这是自2008年金融危机以来我们看到的最大增幅。这证实了大家在超市可能留意到的情况，即从培根到面包和纸巾，大家购买的物品开始变得越来越贵。马丁：对。
古拉：记住，这是将今年4月的价格与2020年4月的价格进行比较。当然，去年4月可以说是一个完全不同的世界。当时全球经济停滞不前。而现在经济正在重新开放，而这正是导致物价飙升的真正原因。企业很难跟上需求，所以他们提高了价格，而且招聘也变得很困难。除此之外，利率极低，政府开支已达数万亿美元。从今天早上的数据来看，这份报告中有几点引人注目。旅游酒店价格大幅上涨，从3月到4月上涨了7.6%。机票价格上涨了10%以上。二手车和二手卡车的需求仍然很大。供应链问题使得制造新车变得非常困难。二手车价格从3月到4月上涨了10%。蕾切尔，这是自1953年以来最大的增幅。
马丁：哇哦。那这对经济来说意味着什么？
古拉：好。这可能会令消费者的生活更加艰难，尤其是对低工资工人来说。我们正处于复苏期，但有数百万人处于失业状态。他们仍在苦苦挣扎。如果这种情况持续下去，美联储可能会决定将加息时间提前。目前，利率接近于零，经济学家预计，这一利率还会再维持几年。美联储希望长期通胀率保持在2%左右。我就此采访了威廉·李。他是米尔肯研究所的首席经济学家。他表示，应该从更广泛的角度来看今天公布的数据。
威廉·李：经济学家一直在尽力区分价格暴涨和通货膨胀。
马丁：请解释一下。
古拉：价格上涨是暂时的价格急升。但通货膨胀指物价和工资持续稳定上涨。因此二者之间存在细微差别，但同样重要。美联储主席认为这是一次价格暴涨，财政部长也持同样看法。他们认为，当供需恢复平衡时，价格就会回落。我应该指出，拜登总统最新支出计划的反对者已经在利用今天的数据来反对政府增加支出。
马丁：华尔街对这个消息有什么反应吗？
古拉：有。投资者对此密切关注，今早开盘后，股市出现下跌。在开盘前，股市就已开始下探。股市一直在创造纪录，现在人们担心通胀可能会终结这种创记录的势头。再来看商业方面，大公司创造了各种各样的记录，比如创纪录的销售额和创纪录的利润。但我们从大公司高管处得知，供给越来越昂贵。他们一直在思考解决方法。是削减成本，还是努力消化这些涨价，亦或将涨价转嫁给消费者？事实上，许多公司已经决定转嫁给消费者。
马丁：我不知道你的情况，大卫，但一年的疫情封锁意味着我的很多电器都需要更换，对吧？比如，我的洗碗机，洗衣机都要换掉。这些东西会因此变得更贵吗？
古拉：会。制造商表示，他们计划提高家用电器的价格，我们听到一些经济学家的观点是，如果价格继续上涨，消费者会愿意支付更高的价格，因为他们收到了联邦政府的直接补贴。我还要关注工资问题。我们看到了我刚提到的创纪录利润。利润一直在增加，但工资却并未上涨，而现在雇主不得不提供激励措施来吸引新工人。
马丁：以上是NPR新闻的大卫·古拉带来的报道。谢谢你。谢谢。
古拉：谢谢，蕾切尔。
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. keep up with 跟上（变化等）；
We are having trouble keeping up with the recent surge in demand.
对于近来出现的需求猛增，我们难以应对。
2. distinguish between 区分；辨别；分清；
At what age are children able to distinguish between right and wrong?
儿童到什么年龄才能明辨是非？
3. wrestle with 试图解决；绞尽脑汁处理；
Delegates wrestled with the problems of violence and sanctions.
代表们试图解决暴力与惩处的问题。
4. pass on to 将…转移给；将…转嫁给；
Moreover, the convention in the industry was to pass on to consumers any rise in costs.
此外，按照行业惯例，一旦生产成本上涨，它们就会转嫁给消费者。
