问答题 The American Economy just isn't looking up these days. The growth rate for this quarter will probably be close to zero. Unemployment is rising. The stock market remains sluggish(缓滞的). And now many worry that the growing economic stagnation(停滞) abroad will affect the United States. With trouble spots multiplying around the globe, investors are already coming to the conclusion that the safest place to put their money is in the U. S. A.
How else to explain the gravity-defying feat of the dollar? By all economic logic, the dollar should fall when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. But as any American tourist knows, the greenback has been firming up against the euro and the yen despite six rate cuts this year. European and Asian investors are using their savings to buy American bonds even though they can get higher interest rates in their own countries.

【正确答案】美国经济这些日子以来一直不景气。本季度的增长率将近为零。失业率在上升。股票市场依然不景气。而且现在很多人都在担心国外日益加剧的经济萧条将影响美国。由于全球各地出现麻烦的地方越来越多，投资者已经得出结论，认为投资最安全的地方还是美国。那么又如何解释美元不怕任何压力的特点呢?按照各种经济逻辑而论，当联邦储备局宣布降低利率时，美元应当贬值。但任何一个美国旅游者都知道，尽管美元今年6次降息，它对欧元和日元的汇率一直坚挺。欧洲和亚洲投资者利用他们的积蓄购买美国债券，即使他们在自己的国家得到的利息还可能更高些。

【答案解析】[题目精解] 1．just isn't looking up意思是“一直不向上走”，译成汉语就是常说的“一直不景气”。
2．在The stock market remains sluggish这句话中，sluggish的意思是“不活泼的，缓慢的，缓滞的”。因此，将这句话译成“股票市场依然呆滞”。
3．With trouble spots multiplying around the globe是一个带介词with的独立主格结构，意思是“随着全球各地出现麻烦的地点成倍增加”，作原因状语说明投资商得出结论的原因。
4．How else to explain the gravity-defying feat of the dollar?省掉了主语和部分谓语， gravity-defying feat中gravity指“压力”。故该词组可译为“不怕任何压力，敢于挑战任何压力”。
5．By all economic logic，the dollar should fall…这句话的意思是说：“按照各种经济逻辑而论，美元应当贬值。”但事实是目前没有贬值。the Federal Reserve指联邦储备局。
6．the greenback指美钞。the euro and the yen指欧元和日元。to buy American bonds意思指“购买美国发行的债券”。